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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 0003.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT BA confirms new fleet plans [, LONDON British Airways confirms that it has been talking to the ma jor airliner manufacturers about obtaining aircraft to re place its remaining Tridents in 1986 (see Flight last week, page 1794). But no decision on types or the kind of financing deals will be made before the middle of 1983. BA says its plans for ob taining Boeing 757s have not changed, but insists that it has always maintained the 757 does not meet all its short - and medium-haul require ments. So the UK flag carrier is considering the 737-300 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 Super 80 to take over in 1986 from its remaining Tridents which may be outlawed by new noise regulations. The number of aircraft under con sideration is 20. These discussions with the manufacturers have taken place during the annual presentations of their product lines to BA; and a BA spokes man tells Flight that, while re viewing Boeing's product range, BA talked about the 767ER (extended range) and the 747-300. There is little doubt that BA intends to make the two US manufacturers compete hard for the order. • British Airways remains under pressure from the UK Government to take over all the ground support costs for Concorde, but no decision has yet been reached on the matter. BA has said that it could stand the costs "subject to agreement being reached on several points". This probably means that the air line will submit to Govern ment pressure to buy up spares stocks and pay for fatigue testing from April 1983 instead of 1984, but that bargaining over prices and conditions has now begun in earnest. Fatigue testing to cover 15 years of Concorde service does not need to con tinue much beyond the end of 1983. Air France remains adamant that it intends to Delta takes delivery of the Boeing 767 its employees have bought for it by voluntarily forfeiting part of their annual pay rise keep its Concordes in service on the Paris-New York run, but it is still not clear what the French Government's atti tude is to continuing its sub sidy. It will be influenced by what the British do. If the French do abandon Concorde, then Aerospatiale-supplied parts for BA could become ex pensive: because although the French manufacturer is bound to continue its support for the aircraft, the bilateral agreements do not limit prices. Air France's Concor des, however, would have to go to BA, which would give the British airline a cheap supply of parts for a while. Ethiopian chooses 767ER ADDIS ABABA Ethiopian Airlines has be come the first African carrier to choose the Boeing 767 for its fleet. The airline is going to order two extended-range 767-200ERs for delivery in May and June 1984. The order will be worth more than $100 million to Boeing. Ethi opian also intends to take op tions on two more 767s. According to Boeing, Ethi opian's 767s will be capable of carrying full passenger pay- load plus six tons of cargo from Addis Ababa to Rome. Boeing says that airport elevation and temperature and in-flight winds on the route pose some of the most demanding operating condi tions in the world. The manufacturer claims that Ethiopian chose the 767ER for its ability to per form in these conditions, and for its operating efficiency. Ethiopian has been a Boeing customer since 1960, cur rently operating a 707, five 720Bs, and three 727-200s. The 767s will probably re place the 720s and the 707 in the long run. Ethiopian's order will take sales of the 767 to 177. The airline is the 19th customer for the type and the second—after Thai Inter national—to choose the 767ER. Ethiopian will an nounce its engine choice at a later date. Thai International and Ethiopian were the only two airlines to order the 767 dur ing 1982, and they have both chosen the ER version. The Airbus A310 has also had a lean sales year brightened only by VASP's large order for nine, Cyprus Airways' for two and three unannounced. More time for Wardair EDMONTON Wardair Canada has reached an agreement with its bankers to defer a total of C$29 million in long-term debt repayments until 1985. The Edmonton-based car rier has also arranged $22 mil lion of credit with its major bankers to meet its working capital needs until September 1983. The airline plans to sell two aircraft in 1983 as a part of its financial restructuring. Chairman Max Ward says "If we sell one or two aircraft next year and the economy begins to turn around in 1984, we will be in a good position to meet that demand with the A310s we have purchased for delivery in 1985". Ward says that short-term demand for leisure travel has fallen and he does not foresee any growth in demand next year. He says the airline's 1982 results will not show a profit because of price com petition, high interest rates, and foreign exchange losses. But, says Ward, "the new banking arrangements will help Wardair respond to the economic challenges of 1983", Embraer's lightweight Bandit SAO PAULO Embraer is currently engaged on a programme designed to reduce the empty weight of its twin-turboprop Bandeirante in the interests of fuel effi ciency. Some changes in manu facturing processes are envis aged, and some parts will be made from lighter materials. This will not compromise safety at all, says Embraer. For instance, the nuts and bolts used in the engine cowl ings will in future be made from a lighter alloy, reducing weight by 0.29kg a set. The avionics bay access doors will be made from composite materials instead of alumi nium, giving a weight saving of 2.5kg. A new type of floor carpet ing will cut another 16kg from the aircraft's fitted weight; and the engine cowlings will be made from titanium in stead of steel, saving another 24kg overall. In all, Embraer plans to in corporate some 60 weight- saving modifications to the Bandeirante during the course of the programme, and to reduce the type's basic empty weight by about 250kg. This should allow operators to carry three more pas sengers or the equivalent in extra cargo. Alternatively, their aircraft could carry extra fuel, allowing longer stages to be flown. Embraer hopes to complete the programme in time to in corporate all the mods in air craft number 491; more than 400 Bandeirantes have been delivered to date. FLIGHT International, 1 January 1982 3
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