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Aviation History
1974
1974 - 0609.PDF
FLIGHT Internationa/. IS April 1974 Details of the proposals are still being worked out but it seems likely that it will apply to all US citizens or "resident aliens" whether the airline flying them requires them to pay the $2 or not. Care will be taken, however, to ensure that the $2 will be collected by airlines in the United States and forwarded to the fund administrator. CSA EXPANSION WHILE it is not yet possible to confirm whether the Czechoslovakian flag-carrier, CSA, has ordered two Tu-144 SSTs (see Flight for April 11, page 447), it is known that the 11-62 fleet has been increased to seven and that the number of Tu-134s in service will shortly reach 11, an increase of two. It is also intended to place an order for an unspecified number of Tu-154s within the next five years. For domestic operations, CSA's subsidiary, Slovair, is to increase the number of L-410s in service to 12, to be supple mented by nine Yak-40s—in addition to the three or four due to be used for airmail services. In the longer term it is likely that the Yak-42 will replace the seven Il-18s now used on domestic and international services. Also in prospect are the 11-86 and the 11-76 freighter. BMA GOES OIL HUNTING THE latest airline to seek to benefit from the traffic generated by the oil-exploration activities in Scotland is British Midland Airways. In an application to the British Civil Aviation Authority which is likely to provoke strong reactions from the other carriers, the airline is seeking rights between Birmingham and/or Manchester and Aber deen, between Gatwick (which would be a new destination) and Aberdeen and/or Sumburgh and between Heathrow and Sumburgh. The airline is also asking for its route between East Midlands and Glasgow to be extended to Aberdeen. In addition, BMA is seeking rights on the route East Midlands and/or Birmingham to Copenhagen, pre viously operated by Alidair. Equipment would be Viscounts (of which the airline has 12) and Heralds (of which the airline has three). Last year BMA's scheduled services carried 509,500 passengers and generated over 122,295,500 revenue passenger-miles. The total number of passengers this year is expected to reach 597,000. JAPAN AND CHINA STILL TALKING THE Governments of China and Japan are continuing to discuss the possibility of opening services between the two countries. The problem centres on Japan Air Lines' services to Taiwan, which the Chinese wish to see discontinued, and the question of landing rights. Japan has offered China the use of Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka airports, while asking for rights into Peking, Shanghai and Kwangchou. In return, China has asked for rights into Tokyo and Osaka while rejecting Japan's use of Kwangchou. China also wants a single route beyond Tokyo while Japan wants dual routes into Europe via points in China. Also, Japan has proposed that Chinese aircraft make use of Narita International Airport, to the north-east of Tokyo. In the meantime, aircraft of Taiwan's China Air Lines would use Tokyo's Haneda International Airport. However, Narita will not be opened until Decem ber at least. China has advised the Japanese that it will not use the same airport as Taiwanese aircraft. Provided that a pact is agreed, services could begin in July or August, but they seem more likely to be delayed until next year. JAL stands to lose a considerable amount of revenue if it has to end its services to Taiwan as part of the Japan- China package agreement. The Taiwanese carrier China Air Lines has been told by its Government to prepare for the possible suspension of services. One possible solution may be the formation of a separate JAL subsidiary or the hand over of Taiwanese routes to All Nippon or Toa Domestic. • Airbus Industrie has held talks with Toa Domestic, JAL and All Nippon. M Henri Ziegler, Airbus Industrie chief executive, visited Tokyo last month to prepare the way for the visit of the A300 to Asia and Australia in June. 473 Court Line's TriStar "Halcyon Days" was the first of the Western World's civil wide-bodied transports to visit Russia. Lockheed is believed to have suggested that Aeroflot purchase 30 TriStars, although the Russians are known to be interested in building a Western wide-bodied type rather than purchasing complete aircraft from the Palmdale production line. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas have also made proposals to the Russians but any export licence has yet to be arranged. Boeing's recent interest in fitting RB.2I l-S24s to the 747 is seen as a possible way round any United States State Department embargo on the export of CF6 or JT9D technology. For details of Lockheed's 1973 annual report see World News, page 470 M Ziegler is believed to have offered financial terms com parable with those offered by American manufacturers and also discussed the possibility of a leasing arrangement. Toa is seen as the best prospect for A300 sales, as the other carriers are already committed to American wide- bodied transports. During the tour the A300 will visit Karachi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Bali (in Indonesia), Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney, Wellington, Hong Kong, Taipei, Seoul and Tokyo. SCOTTISH BLANK SPOTS? INITIAL local reaction to the British Civil Aviation Authority's recent report on air transport in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland has been generally favourable, writes Flight's Scottish correspondent. The report recom mends that the air services in the region should be sub sidised by public funds. The size and extent of any subsidies should be a matter for the Government, says the report, and not the CAA. Competitive tendering is favoured, with the choice of operator being reviewed every five years. Although progress in improving airfields in the region has been made, there is a strong body of opinion that the approach adopted may be one of "too little, too late." Equally, it is felt by many that more navigational aids ought already to have been installed. A notable omission in the report is consideration of the future of Dundee Airport, which is currently con sidering a £3-5 million expansion and upgrading programme which would include a paved 6,000ft runway. Traffic from Glasgow has now increased to the extent that it can support Loganair Trislander operations. Similarly, it is felt in some areas that the possibility of scheduled helicopter services—and the S-65 is the centre of much interest—could have been considered more fully. It is felt that any mergers with British Airways Scottish Division would be disastrous in view of the monopolistic situation which might result. The recent Loganair link-up with McAlpine might effectively preclude this. The introduction of the two HS.748s, which British Airways has asked for permission to order, is overdue. Some aircrews' opinion is that the aircraft are being specified with an over-elaborate avionics fit. There is general agreement that all air-navigation facilities should continue to be provided on the present basis. Operators feel that these should be directly subsidised—particularly in view of the increasing import ance of oil to the British economy.
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