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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 1322.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Berlin regional service to start WEST BERLIN A new operator called Berlin Regional UK, founded by former British Airways general manager Dick Twomey, is proposing to start regular flights from West Berlin to six European cities. It will provide the only non stop services to Copenhagen, Brussels, Geneva, Basle, Kiel, and Friedrichshafen using two BAe Jetstream 31s. The UK-registered airline needs approval from the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and then from the German-based air attaches of the three countries allowed to operate from West Berlin's Tegel Airport through the Berlin air corridors—the USA, UK, and France. The flag carriers of all three countries operate the Inter German Services (IGS), and there are other established carriers at Tegel like Dan-Air and Air Berlin, but none serves the same routes direct. "What we want to do is complement existing services, not compete with them," says Twomey. "We are aiming at a business market which wants to save time," he says. The Copenhagen route is the most exciting, he adds: Berlin Regional will cut nearly two hours off the existing route through Hamburg, and SAS is making encouraging noises. The Brussels service will be the only West Berlin link since Pan Am withdrew its service via Nuremberg. Regional traffic in West Germany is growing fast—37 per cent last year according to the Hanover Air Show organisers' figures. "My objec tive is to make sure that Berlin does not lag behind in this respect," Twomey comments. He estimates that the new airline will attract over 30,000 passengers in calendar 1987, based on 31 round trips a week and 2,800hr utilisation of each aircraft. With an average of ten passengers a flight, Twomey expects to break even in the third year. Service standards will be "between business and first class", with only 16 seats in the Jetstreams instead of the usual 19, hot meals, and all the other trimmings. Knock, Knock, who's there? CONNAUGHT Bad weather prevented many charter flights from landing at Ireland's newly inaugurated Knock Airport on May 30, but it did not spoil the mood of Minister Monsignor James Horan and his followers, who flocked in their thousands to share in this his personal triumph. Until now Knock, in the Connaught region of Western Ireland, has been famous solely for the Knock shrine where, in 1879, 20 villagers claimed to witness an appari tion of the Virgin Mary. Now the region has its own airport, built on the bogland of County Maho with a 8,200ft runway, ILS, and customs facilities. The director of the airport is Morris Buckby of British Airports International, which has been appointed by the Monsignor as airport consul tancy. BAI hopes that Knock Airport will attract some 100,000 passengers in the first year, mainly from VFR (visiting friends and rela tions) and pilgrim traffic from England. Knock Airport cost £14 million to build; £10 million was raised by the Government of Charles Haughey, and the remaining £4 million by the 76-year-old Monsignor him self when the new Govern ment of Garrett Fitzgerald stopped funding the project. Monsignor Horan hopes that the opening of the airport will serve as a catalyst to strengthen the economy of Connaught, which today has a 49 per cent unemployment rate. "Knock Airport will open up the west to tourism, indus trialisation and fisheries," he said. "Up until now an indus trialist from London would not set up a factory in Con naught because it would take him two days to come here and two days to return". Celtic Air, an airline set up by former Aer Lingus captain Darren Higgins specifically to undertake scheduled services out of Knock, was unable to meet the inauguration date. It had to wait so long for its licences to be processed by the Irish Government that it lost its option on a Fokker F.27. Now it hopes to start flights in the autumn from London, Stansted, Manchester, and Coventry. Two Jetstreams are scheduled for October delivery, but if Berlin gets off the ground earlier it will lease DHC makes record Dash 8 sale DOWNSVIEW De Havilland Canada has announced sales of 38 Dash 8 regional airliners, and options on an additional eight. Fifty- seater Dash 8-300s accounted for 14 of the firm orders. The orders came from three Canadian regional airlines— Air Ontario of London, Ont, Austin Airways of Timmins, Ont, and Time Air of Lethbridge, Alberta. Air Ontario's order was a record in its own right, being for 15 Dash 8-100s and five -300s with options on four of unspecified marque. The previous best for the Dash 8 was DHC's sale of ten to Seattle-based Horizon, who also took ten options. Austin will take delivery of five -100s and three -300s, and has placed options on two of the type. DHC does not require the marque to be specified in options. Time Air is to receive four -100s and six -300s, and has also optioned two. Delivery of all the -100s ordered by the three airlines will be completed during next year, and the Series 300 Dash 8s will be delivered starting immediately after certifica tion, which is scheduled for the second half of 1988. The 50-seater deliveries will be complete early in 1989. More sales of Dash 8-300s have been made, but at customer request DHC is not saying to whom or how many. Anyway, it seems that the Series 300 is now firmly off the ground and the Fokker 50 and ATR42 can no longer hope that the Dash 8 would remain a 36-seater. The high- density Series 300 can seat up to 56 passengers. So far a total of 32 Dash 8s have been delivered to customer airlines, and in addi tion to those aircraft the orders/options total is 112, making sales of 144 Dash 8s if all options are taken up. Flight asked DHC whether sales are coming in because of the Boeing takeover and the marketing power this brings. The DHC response is that the aircraft are selling on their money-earning capability. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 June 1986
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