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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 0886.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Brasilias to feed Western ST GEORGE Embraer has beaten off a strong challenge from Saab and de Havilland Canada to win an order for six Brasilias from US regional Sky West. The deal, which includes a further nine options, is worth about $85 million. The purchase is part of a major expansion planned by Sky West which becomes a feeder for Western Airlines' Los Angeles and Salt Lake City hubs on April 27. The carrier, the 11th largest in the USA, will be re-named Sky West/Western Express. Sky West operations direc tor Clen Brooks says that the 30-seat Brasilia was chosen over its two rivals because of a "very attractive financial package" and its edge in high altitude field performance and speed. The airline's choice could soon be put to the test. Wings West, with which Sky West competes in the south ern California market, is understood to be considering buying the 34-seat Saab SF.340. Sky West will receive the first Brasilia in September, with the remaining aircraft being delivered over the following 15 months. The tie-up with Western will be accompanied by further expansion in the airline's 30-strong Fairchild Metro fleet. Sky West has just ordered three more of the 19-seat type and Brooks says the Metros will be used as the primary feeder aircraft while the Brasilias concen trate on the thicker routes in southern California and Arizona. Pilot sparks international row BRUSSELS An extraordinary dispute between Air Zaire and a number of its Belgian ex- pilots culminated in an Air Zaire DC-8 being impounded at Ostend and Sabena cancel ling Kinshasa flights, reports Herman de Wulf. The pilots were laid off by Air Zaire as part of its "authenticite" drive aimed at replacing ex-patriot pilots with cheaper African crews. They are still claiming redun dancy payments. A Belgian court recently ruled in favour of ex-pilot Pierre Van Impe and ordered Air Zaire to pay damages. On April 4, after the airline had failed to do so, the court impounded its DC-8 lOmin after it landed from Kinshasa. The same sequence of events happened after a case brought by Vincent Gauthier in 1984. Then Zaire replied by seizing a Sabena DC-10 at Kinshasa. It was released only after Sabena had paid BFr7million ($150,000) and the Belgian Government had unchained Air Zaire's DC-8. This time Sabena pre empted any retaliatory action by cancelling all its flights to Kinshasa and flying directly to Johannesburg. Its services were still disrupted late last week. "It will probably quieten down again soon," said Sabena's manager in London. The Air Zaire freighter is apparently free to go after "somebody" paid off pilot Van Impe. It may have been the Belgian Government or another airline which is losing business from the dispute, says Sabena. It would not comment further. Meanwhile the Zaire News Agency has been putting out unofficial but inflammatory statements. Sabena's decision to avoid Kinshasa on Saturday showed Belgian "premeditation, it said, and was a clear case of "provocation". Brit Air takes its first ATR42 Brit Air, the French regional airline based at Morlaix, Brittany, put the first of two ATR42 commuter aircraft into service at the beginning of this month. The aircraft, in a 50-seat config uration, services the Brit Air route from Rennes to Lyons from Mondays to Fridays, and in the summer, the Morlaix-Cork (Ireland) route during weekends. It will also be operated, supple- mentarily, on the Lyons-Roissy-Charles de Gaulle route from Mondays to Fridays, and on the Lyons to Vienna, route on Air France's account. **<* 4»xm •'Tiifi n"H'"Sii ' i':''"jjW iiirt'''' » '<"'' MARKET PLACE Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration is close to buying two new Boeing 737-200s which will be leased to China Airlines to upgrade the carrier's domestic fleet. Delivery of both was origi nally planned for late 1987, but one is now likely to be handed over before the end of this year to replace the 737 which crashed into the Taiwan Strait in February. Taiwan's largest domestic carrier Far Eastern Air Transport has also an nounced plans to purchase at least one 737-200 during 1987 to add to its fleeet of seven. Kuwait Airways has taken delivery of the first of three Boeing 767-200ERs after what the manufacturer claims to be the longest flight by a commercial twinjet. The Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4- powered aircraft covered 7,893 statute miles from Seat tle to Kuwait in 14hr 12min. Gross take-off weight was 327,2571b. The 767-200ER has a standard full load range of 5,700 n.m. International Lease Fin ance Corporation (ILFC) has sold a one-year-old Boeing 737-300 for $24-75 million cash to Midland Montague Leasing in the UK. ILFC had leased the aircraft to UK charter operator Orion Airways. Austrian charter carrier Lauda Air has secured financing for the Boeing 737-300 it has on order. Barclays Bank and Die Erst Osterreichiescht Sparcasse Bank led syndicated ten-year multi currency facility for $18-1 million. Emirates, the UAE carrier, has received its first Boeing 727-200. From April 1 it is serving Dubai-Cairo and Dubai-Colombo routes. Emirates plans to add Dhaka to its network this month. ILFC has bought two McDonnell Douglas DC-10- 30s from Air New Zealand. It paid $60 million for the aircraft, including a spare engine and other parts. One will be sold to American Airlines and the other to SAS, both of which have flarge DC-10 fleets. 6 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 19 April 1986
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