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Aviation History
1979
1979 - 2756.PDF
246 Stick-pusher snag holds up Transmeridian Belfasts THE UK Civil Aviation Authority is insisting that Transmeridian Air Cargo's Belfasts are fitted with stick- pushers (Flight, July 7, page 6). If this ruling is not changed, or deferred, it will cost Transmeridian up to £500,000 and put back certification by 18 months. The airline has made a new submission to the CAA, pointing out that the Belfast already has independent stick-shaker and knocker systems which have full pre-flight test facilities. Transmeridian had offered to fit a voice-warning system (tied in with angle-of-attack sensors) which tells the pilot that his "speed is low ... is approaching the stall . . . has stalled." Apparently the combination of stick- shaker and aural warning was not considered sufficient. Transmeridian is now submitting a request for a dispensation to operate its Belfasts for a period of 18 months during which an extra aircrew member will be carried to "monitor the airspeed during critical phases of flight." During this period the fitting of stick- pushers would take place financed out of operating revenues. One of Transmeridian's three Belfasts, captured at Stansted last week by Flight's photographer Tom Hamill. The airline hopes that the CAA will relent over its stick-pusher requirement for this type, otherwise, certification could be delayed by up to 18 months. Transmeridian's Belfasts are an integral part of the proposed merger with IAS Cargo Airlines, which should be finalised by mid- September Slow progress on China routes A UK negotiating team has been in Peking for two months discussing a China-UK air services agreement. Both sides regard a bilateral agree ment as vital to the development of trade relations. There have been no external signs of progress over the last fortnight, and neither British Air ways nor the Department of Trade can give a predicted timescale for an agreement. The impression is simply that it is "not far away". BA has applied to serve Peking and possibly Canton via Hong Kong. In November last year Flight quoted the then chief executive, Ross Stainton, as saying it was possible that BA would eventually extend the Singa pore Concorde route to China. It appears from BA's recent statements that Stainton was thinking aloud about a possible further use for Concorde which is now no longer planned. • Northwest Orient Airlines has asked the US Civil Aeronautics Board to re-issue its certificate for services to mainland China. A US-China air- services agreement had existed since 1946 for three carriers (Northwest, Pan Am and TWA) but traffic rights were transferred in 1949 to Taiwan (Nationalist China), following the Communist take-over. Northwest wants renewal of the order which had given it authority to serve six Chinese cities, including Peking and Shanghai. Initial plans are to provide three non-stop flights a week, one out of Seattle and two others for which the departure points have not yet been decided. Pan Am, World Airways and Trans International Airlines have also filed applications through the CAB to operate routes to China out of several US airports. The US airlines, how ever, are in a similar position to that of British Airways. Talks between the US and China continue but it is not clear when agreement is likely to emerge, although a bilateral has high priority in current trade talks. FLIGHT International, 28 July 1979 US down turn in second half? TRAFFIC growth in the second half of this year will be six per cent com pared with 15 per cent in the first six months, according to forecasts by Dr George James, senior vice-president economics and finance of the United States Air Transport Association. James estimates that there will be an industry profit of between $500 million and $700 million this year. This will result in a profit margin of between two and two-and-a-half per cent, compared with 5-3 per cent in 1978. Average price of fuel will reach 54 cents this year, compared with 39 cents last year. The rise will put a further $1,700 million on the airlines' expenditures. Fuel costs this year will represent 24 per cent of trunk air lines' operating costs. In 1978 they represented 20 per cent, in 1974 17 per cent, and in 1972 12 per cent. Airlines are also having to meet substantial cost increases in other areas than fuel, James adds. Passen ger commission payments in the first quarter of this year were $250 million, compared with $211 million in the same period of 1978. Food costs were $185 million ($158 million) and reservation costs $37 million ($29 million). Industry break-even factor is rising quickly, says James. He esti mates that it will reach 60-5 per cent this year compared with 57-8 per cent in 1978. Lower cost for skid resistance PROBABLE savings of 24 per cent against the cost of traditional runway grooving have been claimed for newly researched grooving patterns. A one-year test programme has been carried out at the Naval Air Engineer ing Centre, Lakehurst, New Jersey by the Federal Aviation Administration's National Aviation Facilities Experi mental Centre (NAFEC). The original recommended pattern consisted of quarter-inch square grooves spaced one-and-a-quarter inches apart. NAFEC has found that the same size of groove at 3in spacing gives only a minor reduction in traction but an obvious reduction in the cost of preparing the surface. Braniff leaves lata traffic conferences BRANIFF International has decided to resign from the traffic conferences of the International Air Transport Association from September 30. In a notice to lata, the airline says: "The company must be free to cope with the rapidly changing regulatory en vironment on a responsive and com petitive basis."
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