French manufacturer Thales is to supply avionics and navigation equipment for the cockpit of the Airbus A350 XWB following an award by the European airframer. Thales has been competing against Honeywell and Rockwell Collins for the flight deck supply contract. A Thales spokeswoman confirms the award. The company values the agreement at around €2 billion ($2.9 billion) over a 20-year period. Graphic of proposed A350 XWB cockpit Airbus’ cockpit for the A350 XWB is based on an all-new design featuring six display screens: two mounted in front of each pilot, and two mounted vertically on the console between them. Several major systems suppliers have already been selected to provide equipment for the A350 XWB.

As the A320 family order backlog passes 2,500 aircraft, Airbus has pushed back the window for when it expects the next-generation single-aisle aircraft to enter service to the latter part of the next decade. The revelation comes as American Airlines vents its frustration at the slow progress in the development of new-generation narrowbodies as it seeks a replacement for its huge, ageing Boeing MD-80 fleet. Airbus's chief operating officer customers, John Leahy, says the development of new engine technology is dictating the pace of new narrowbodies from Airbus and Boeing. "The engine-makers say the technology won't be around until 2015, so we're looking at 2017-20 for the next-generation single-aisle," he says. This is later than Airbus previously indicated, having until now maintained that it expected the next-genera

Listen to Lewis Hamilton as he explains how his role with Bombardier has transformed his life, as well as his thoughts on the prospects for some more close racing in the 2008 F1 season.

Lessor International Lease Finance (ILFC) expects some if not all of its initial Boeing 787 deliveries to be impacted by the twinjet's latest delay. The aircraft leasing giant is scheduled to take delivery of its first 787s in 2010; it is slated to accept a total ten for the year. “But we don’t know now,” revealed ILFC president John Plueger in an interview with ATI, flightglobal.com's premium sister news site. “Those [787s] that are coming the first half of the year [2010], I would not be surprised if they were impacted,” he says, adding, however, that it is possible that the entire batch of 10 aircraft could be affected. Boeing in October 2007 opted to delay initial 787 deliveries by six months. At that time, about 15 airlines were affected by the shift in

Alliant Techsystems has released information about its proposed Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demonstration programme launcher for space services company PlanetSpace's bid, after PlanetSpace was selected as a finalist by NASA

Parker Aerospace has been selected to supply the fuel and hydraulic systems for the Airbus A350 XWB. The US company estimates the contracts will generate more than $2 billion in revenues over the life of the programme. Several Parker divisions will collaborate to provide the complete fuel package, including the inerting system, fuel measurement and management systems, mechanical equipment and fuel pumps. The company will also provide the hydraulic power generation and distribution system. The fuel tank inerting system will use air-separation modules provided by Parker's Filtration and Separation division in the Netherlands. The modules will generate nitrogen-enriched air that will be used to reduce the flammability of fuel vapour in the tanks. The US company says the control valves provided by its

US Airways has reached a deal with Airbus to convert some of the narrowbodies it has on order with the manufacturer to larger members of the A320 family. The amended deal allows US Airways to convert thirteen Airbus A319s to A320s, a single A319 to an A321 and eleven A320s to A321s. Deliveries are scheduled for 2009 and 2010. Flight’s ACAS database shows US Airways has 19 A319s, 42 A320-200s and 25 A321-200s on order. US Airways is also looking for long-haul aircraft for its Philadelphia-Beijing flight that’s scheduled to debut in 2009, and has noted its intent to fly

Airbus remains concerned about the progress of development of the A400M transport's TP400 turboprop engine and warns that several critical elements must be completed in the coming months if the tentative late-July target for the much-delayed first flight is to be achieved. "The engine is the critical path - it's my number one concern," says Airbus executive vice-president programmes Tom Williams. The TP400 should have had accrued 1,500h of ground testing by beginning of last year, says Williams, but to date has completed just 600h. The engine slip was cited by EADS as a key reason behind the one-year delay in the start of A400M deliveries to launch customer the French air force announced last October. "We originally wanted a certificated eng

Australian general aviation aircraft manufacturer Seabird Aviation Australia is probing the feasibility...

Thai Airways International has revised a fleet modernisation plan approved by its board last year and will seek government...

Warning lights placed at runway ends and at the intersections between taxiways and runways are "a viable technology for preventing runway incursions", says...

Carriers participating in the Oneworld Alliance are preparing to add another airline to the 10 member group. American Airlines CFO Tom Horton earlier this week said the alliance is targeting the first half of 2008 to unveil its latest member. Horton notes 2007 was the “largest expansion” in the alliance’s history with Japan Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Malev becoming members. LAN Ecuador and LAN Argentina also joined the alliance. American’s CFO gave no indication of where Oneworld’s latest member might be based. Source: flightglobal.com's premium news site Air Transport Intelligence news

Investigators are recommending that pilots be trained more rigorously to fly with sole reference to standby instruments following a serious incident in which a British Airways Airbus A319 suffered an extensive loss of electrical power. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch has also advised BA to review its reporting procedures after the inquiry team only learned about the incident six days later, the jet having remained in service in the meantime. After a two-year investigation the AAIB has been unable to determine the reason for the power loss, which affected the jet’s left-hand electrical network, shortly after the aircraft departed London Heathrow for Budapest on 22 October 2005. But it suspects one o

Continental Airlines has received its first of 27 Boeing 737-900ERs, becoming the first airline in the Americas to operate this higher-capacity, longer-range...

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), which is responsible for Singapore Changi Airport, has chosen Thales to provide a new air traffic control (ATC) system. The CAAS says in a statement it has awarded Thales a contract worth more than S$300 million ($209 million) to provide a customised ATC system. It says the new long range radar and display system is designed to last beyond the next decade. Thales was awarded the contract “after a rigorous qualification process” and will also be providing technical and operational training to air traffic controllers “to transition smoothly to the new system”, it says, adding that Thales has established a regional customer support centre in Sing

Lockheed Martin plans to "back into" jet-borne flight tests of the short take-off and vertical landing F-35B Joint Strike Fighter ,...

Turkish Airlines has unveiled a new design for its tail livery, debuting the new look on a Boeing 737-800. The new livery retains Turkish Airlines’ familiar motif, but in white red background, rather than a red motif in a white circle. © Turkish Airlines A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 in the new livery THY general manager Temel Kotil says: "We are working on new image of THY. In recent years, THY has increased the fleet from 60 to 102. This year, THY will become a full member of Star Alliance. We want to enter this big family with a new design."

Parker Aerospace has been selected to supply the fuel and hydraulic systems for the Airbus A350 XWB. The US company estimates the contracts will generate more than $2 billion in revenues over the life of the programme. Several Parker divisions will collaborate to provide the complete fuel package, including inerting system, fuel measurement and management systems, mechanical equipment and fuel pumps. The company will also provide the hydraulic power generation and distribution system. &

Germany's ministry of defence has ordered four Bombardier Global 5000 super-large business jets for VIP transport and medical evacuation. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery to the MoD's special mission wing in 2011. Plans to order the aircraft were announced in November 2007, when Lufthansa Technik was selected as prime contractor for modernisation of the special mission wing. The four Global 5000s and two Airbus A319 Corporate Jetliners will replace the MoD's existing fleet of Bombardier Challenger 601s. The Global 5000 was selected to meet the MoD's requirement for a 12/13-passenger aircraft with intercontinental range and the ability to be

The 7.62mm-calibre weapon is officially labeled as an “interim all-quadrant defensive weapon”, but would be the first weapon system to be embedded within the internal structure of a V-22 airframe.