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Aviation History
1983
1983 - 0004.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT A320 tries again PARIS The Airbus A320 has a new engine offer. Not the brand new one the airlines had sought, but the very latest derivative of General Electric/Snecma technology. General Electric and its French partner Snecma have unveiled plans for a new version of the CFM56 to power Airbus Industrie's 150-seat A320 by 1988. The 25,0001b-thrust engine, known as CFM56-4, is a derivative of the CFM56-2 used in the Boeing 737-300 and for re-engining the DC-8s and KC-135s of the US and French Air Forces, Snecma president Jacques Benichou says. Benichou says that an A320 fitted with a CFM56-4 will consume 19 per cent less fuel than a Boeing 727-200, which it is destined to replace at the end of this decade. Maintenance will be easy and cheap because the proposed engine will have only 10 per cent new parts compared with the CFM56-2 (see page 10). Airbus Industrie is launch ing a major A320 sales drive early in the new year, mainly in the USA, where Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and other American carriers have said they want to replace their old narrowbody aircraft with more efficient 150-seaters. The on-off-on-off A320 is said to be on again. But whether it is actually launched depends on winning sufficient orders. These must exceed 100 aircraft, and orders must come from several airlines. This time Airbus Industrie chairman Bernard Lathiere seems determined to get his new baby into service by 1988 at the latest. Design work on the $25-$30 million aircraft is virtually complete, though one year behind schedule. Negotiations among the Airbus partners on funding and work sharing are nearing completion. British Aerospace and France's Aerospatiale are expected to take 30 per cent each, Messerschmitt-Bolkow- Blohm of West Germany 20 per cent, Canada's de Havilland 20 per cent, Spain's Casa and Belgium's Belairbus the remaining 10 per cent. The $2,000 million pro gramme for the twin-engined mini-Airbus is planned for formal announcement at next summer's Paris International Air Show. Metal cutting, hope fully, may start soon after. The Airbus people regard their A320 entry as the right weapon for a second assault on the North American market. US aerospace sales fall WASHINGTON D.C. US aerospace industry sales will drop below the previous year's level in 1982 for the first time in more than a decade, reports Bob Burk- hardt. According to Karl G. Harr, Jr., president of the US Aero space Industries Association, preliminary industry figures show that the sales total for 1982 will be $63,300 million, down from $63,500 million in 1981. He said that the decline is due to a sharp decrease—more than 40 per cent in real terms—in sales of civil aircraft. This decline was "occasioned by the recession and the financial difficulties of the world's airlines". The industry in general will post substantial gains in mili tary and space sales, while non-aerospace sales will remain at approximately the 1981 level. "The plunge in civil aircraft sales, particularly of commer cial transports, had a marked effect on the industry's export sales, which will drop overall despite an all-time high level of military exports," said Harr. Total exports, at $15,200 million, are down $2,400 million from the 1981 figure. The US aerospace balance of trade is estimated at $10,700 million, also down $2,400 million. Harr said that this international trade per formance is "a complete reversal of its record-setting levels of exports and trade balance in every year since 1977". |lltlf§P% cs*,- r^^ tfrmitittriliiiiiilA'HftliHii if X ~*kji ^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^BBiilPiiSI' s L~***s****^)*,uj3iiW''^*"~' i^bi^M In December the fifth Airbus A310, a Pratt & Whitney-powered aircraft for Swissair, made its first flight at Toulouse. The A310 has now accumu lated over 900hr of test flying and lOOhr of demonstration flights Air Canada's transatlantics upgraded IN a major bid to increase its share of transatlantic traffic Air Canada is substantially upgrading its inflight services this year. From February 1, 1983, the airline is offering three "Intercontinental" classes- First, Executive, and Hospi tality (economy) class—on its Boeing 747 and Lockheed TriStar 500 fleet. Spearheading the new look is a completely restyled first class cabin offering pas sengers fully reclinable 61 in sleeperettes with bedding; and they are offered a seven- course hot meal. In the new executive class first class seats have been installed offering 39in of legroom and in the hospitality class Air Canada is offering complimentary services such as headphones, and drinks. The ten aircraft, which have been reconfigured at a total cost of $2 million, will provide the new service on all routes from London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Zurich with the exception of London/Prestwick-Gander and Prestwick-Toronto. These routes will feature executive and hospitality class only. Air Canada predicts increasing its share of the UK-Canada market by 5 per cent in the first year. It also expects to draw passengers away from some US airlines who may have flown to Canada or off-line US desti nations via a US gateway. Short hauls... Iran Air has introduced a weekly Boeing 747 service between Tehran and Dubai. The aircraft, which was recently on loan to Nigeria Airways, has been returned for the medium-range haul to this United Arab Emirates city. The service is one of the few widebodied flights oper ated from Tehran to an Arab state, and will go some way to solving the logistic problem the airline faced using its long-range fleet to operate inter-city shuttle services inside Iranian borders. US Air is to extend its route network to the West Coast during the spring of 1983, when it introduces non-stop schedules Pittsburgh-Los Angeles and Pittsburgh-San Francisco. California will be the 27th State to become part of US Air's network, which also includes the D.C. and two Canadian provinces. The airline set new records for revenue passenger miles flown and passengers boarded on scheduled services in Novem ber. A total 520,988,000 RPMs were flown in the eleventh month, topping its previous record set in 1979 by 18-5 per cent. A total of 1,271,705 passengers flew US Air in November, beating the 1979 record by 16 per cent. Air New Zealand is intro ducing weekly Boeing 737 schedules from Christchurch to Hobart, Tasmania, on January 8, 1983. The service will be ANZ's 18th inter national destination and its fifth route into Australia, others being Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth. FLIGHT International, 1 January 1983
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