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Aviation History
1986
1986 - 2569.PDF
Libyan A310 row continues HONG KONG The saga of the British Caledonian A310s that ended up in Libya has prompted a flurry of writs from Hong Kong brokerage firm Service Airlines, reports Phillip Bangsberg. "We are taking action to protect our name," says A. H. Griffin, one of the firm's two directors, after taking out a writ against the West German firm Cobra AW and its direc tor, Wolf Wohlmuth. Because the aircraft are fitted with General Electric engines and US electronics they are on a list of American products not allowed to be sold or transferred to Libya. Service Airlines bought the aircraft from BCal, but sold them at once to Cobra. When BCal discovered the identity of the end user it tried to delay the handover indefi nitely. But one of the A310s was released from Jordan and reached Libya last month (Flight, August 23), and the other followed from Dubai two weeks later. Griffin says that neither he nor his partner, Alexander Rumley, knew the ultimate destination of the aircraft. "We would have refused to get involved if we had known that", he says. "British Caledonian and ourselves really had the wool pulled over our eyes". "We merely acted as the broker in the middle. Occa sionally brokers are called in to front a sale. We sold them to Cobra right there in the same office, in BCal's pres ence. We didn't 'own' the airplanes for more than a micro-second," Griffin says. His partner, Service Air lines, Cobra, and Wohlmuth have all been sued by BCal on charges of breach of contract for violating a clause in the purchase contract forbidding resale to Libya. Both Griffin and Rumley are normally resi dent in Manila, and are not widely known in Hong Kong aviation circles. Other share holders are listed in official records as Elizabeth Cock- croft of Stourbridge, West Midlands, and Susan Griffin of Manila. Service, which is repre sented here by the account ancy firm Coopers and Lybrand, bought the aircraft (which were first advertised in Flight International) after being approached by Wohl muth, seeking A310s. "Our stock in trade is to know what is available." Griffin says. "We will strenuously resist the lawsuits against us", he adds. Neither his company nor BCal had any indication that Cobra would sell the aircraft to Libya, says Griffin. Cobra has provided BCal with a telex signed in the name of Frenchman Georges Masurel, which says that his charter company, Europe Aero Services, was the end user of the aircraft. Masurel has denied sending the telex, and says that someone must have forged it. BCal has Masurel under investigation under the auspices of the French court. Service was previously known as Westbury Invest ments, Tempair International Airlines, and Templewood Aviation International. The last is now in liquidation, according to Companies House records. The US Government mean while has taken no action against BCaL. Once the party which broke the embargo has been identified, the USA may start proceedings against it, although it is not clear what form these could take. • BCal resumed services to Tripoli after the US bombing, but has had to suspend them again because of the compli cations of the Airbus sale. MAS profits sink after float KUALA LUMPUR Pre-tax profits for Malaysian Airline System (MAS) fell by about a* fifth in the year to March 31 on revenues virtu ally unchanged from the previous year. The state-controlled car rier, which offered 30 per cent of its stock to the public last September, reported profits of Malaysian $108-8 million (US$42 million) against M$131-5 million a year earlier. Profits in 1985 were 38 per cent up on the 1984 result. Revenues in the current year were M$l-3 billion, less than I per cent higher than for 1985. A decline in traffic, sharper competition and increased expenditure are the main reasons for the fall, say airline executives. Fuel costs fell only mar ginally towards the end of the fiscal year, and that gain was almost wholly offset by the depreciation of the local cur rency against the US dollar. Foreign exchange losses are put at more than M$10 million. Passenger revenues drop ped just under 1 per cent to M$985 million, but cargo income rose 1 • 5 per cent to M$130 million. MAS says plans to spend some M$200 million over the next two years to replace its II Fokker F.27-500 aircraft will go ahead. AIR TRANSPORT FINANCE The European Investment Bank (EIB) put up a £30 million loan to Shorts for the development of the Fokker 100 wing, the bank revealed recently. The loan is for 12 years at 6 per cent interest. The Fokker 100, jointly produced by Shorts, Fokker, and MBB, is due to enter airline service in 1987. A $20 million loan has been guaranteed by the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) to help finance Kenya Airways' purchase of two Airbus A310-300s. Finance has been arranged by the Midland Bank. Australian Airlines (for merly TAA) has raised a complex $300 million facility made up of euronotes, promissory notes and letters of credit, to pay for its 12 new 737-300s. The 14-year financing, arranged by Macquarie Bank and Gold man Sachs, has been under written by a syndicate of 16 international banks led by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the National Australia Bank, and the State Bank of Victoria. The aircraft are being put up as security. Cathay Pacific has mandated Chase Bank in Frankfurt to arrange a DM250 million bond issue to help finance two 747-300s. The bonds will be guaranteed by the airline and issued by subsidiary Cathay Pacific Finance. MAS launched a Kuala Lumpur-Los Angles service in July with its new 747-300 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 27 September 1986 7
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