September 2008 Archives

Not totally of course - I'm not advocating the repeal of capitalism. But the sort of thing that has infuriated Tom Dalrymple, the chairman of Scottish airline flyglobespan, should be. What he's complaining about is bookmakers offering odds on a company's collapse.

The launch of The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi earlier in the year has markedly upped the standard of reporting in the Gulf region. Today there's a good story about the future of air traffic management in a part of the world destined for extraordinary traffic growth. If you're an airline it's a worrying one.

Let's take a look at that pic in the post below of Qantas' new A380 named after the great Australian aviatrix Nancy Bird-Walton.







So just how do you spell it. The Qantas/Airbus way? Or the way that 6,000 Google results would suggest?

I mean, this is a $200 million aircraft being flown by the lady's flag-carrier. It's not like they're going to get it wrong is it?

Ah, here's a nice PR rep from Qantas, let's ask her? "That's the way Nancy likes it. We wondered how long it would take you to ask us."

And in fairness, Qantas have tried other alternatives in the past.

So that's OK then....

In Toulouse today to see Qantas take delivery of its first A380. Technically that doesn't happen until tonight's moonlit ceremony (they hope) which fits in well with the assorted Australians' plans for getting back to their far-flung land. Far-flung from France anyway. But there's a big lead-up programme.

Meanwhile it's pretty grey here, but there are some bits of news around - and one fairly major bit.

Took a little longer than expected, but the FAA has finally come out with the airworthiness directive following the AAIB investigators' of the BA 777 crash at Heathrow. As far as I can see it follows the Boeing guidance which is already out.

The one extra bit is that it officially confirms that the FAA doesn't think Pratt & Whitney and General Electric-powered 777s are likely to be affected by the ice issue that is believed to have brought down BA038. So the AD covers only Rolls-Royce Trent-powered 777s.

I had a chance to talk to Boeing about what they're now recommending and why. Although Boeing are not saying so I understand that the various manufacturers suspect that the risk only applies to Trent-powered aircraft due to the design of the fuel/oil heating system which Pratt and GE don't have.

Boeing are investigating whether other Rolls-Royce-powered current and legacy models are at risk. Anecdotally I also understand that it's by no means certain that Trent-powered Airbus widebodies will be affected due to different fuel-tank designs. Anyway, below is what Boeing is telling operators.

Tucked away in today's interim report by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch on the BA Boeing 777 crash is the fact that Britain's beleaguered prime minister Gordon Brown was not responsible for making it happen.

I mention this because it is contrary to what you will read suggested in quite a few places on the web. It is pointed out that Brown was flying through Heathrow that day and it is claimed as a serious possibility that radio emissions from his motor entourage (a modestly British affair by the way) could have, well, I don't know, screwed up the engine controls or something. Don't ask me - wasn't my idea.

Anyhow, the AAIB tried frying the fuel and engine controls with bizarrely strong radio signals and failed. They also point out that the less robust nav and comms systems on the aircraft behaved normally throughout. So, with customary diplomacy, they conclude: "There is therefore no evidence to suggest that HIRF (high intensity radiated field) or EMI (electro-magnetic interference) played any part in this accident."

So basically it's just the economy he needs to worry about.

As happens once in a while, the investigators of the crash of BA038 at Heathrow back in January are rather coming to the conclusion that, despite the millions of comparable flights the industry has made, we don't know as much about a basic element of long-haul flight as we thought we did. The element in question being the potential for ice to form in fuel in-flight.

Irritated by the squirming, screeching brat in seat 22C? The FAA has just the thing for you. A scary story for restless babes. It's discreetly hidden in Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin NM--08-43 and it goes like this.

The New Republic magazine in the US has a thought-provoking article running entitled The End of Aviation. It's subtitled What will happen when America can't afford to fly? It's about America obviously, but most of the arguments are applicable elsewhere. A couple of years ago I would have considered them plausible, but now I'm more optimistic about aviation. Here's why...