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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 0007.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT TGV may replace major air link BRUSSELS Belgian Transport Minister Herman De Croo says that when the 200 m.p.h. TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) rail link between Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam is operational there will be no need for air services between the three cities. De Croo says that railway stations are to be built at Charles de Gaulle, Zaventem, and Schiphol Airports, enabling air passengers to travel rapidly from one airport to another by train. He says there will no longer be any need for the air link to connect passengers with the long-haul flights of Air France, Sabena and KLM. The TGV link northwards is now under discussion, but the proposal is for its completion by 1993. The Brussels-Paris train journey will take between lhr 15min and lhr 30min, while the flight takes 50min. India sets aviation targets DELHI The Indian Government has lowered profit projections for Air India and Indian Airlines for the next financial year and is introducing various schemes to bolster air trans port revenue. Air India is expected to show a profit of Rs220 million ($17 million) for the year to March 31, 1987, and the Government forecasts Rs202 million next financial year. The flag carrier made a profit of Rs660 million in the 1985/86 financial year, but Rsl78 million of this came from written back deprecia tion on the 747 Kanishka lost over the Atlantic in 1985. aaHESr-f-1~^aaaaa.aa«iiiiiiS5- z=£^^ i*fNRSB^ — *—* -o.„„ ?*. 'Jim f* j£&relj(EHfe^MAiH. # 1 v€mk Air India's profit projections have been lowered for the next financial year Domestic carrier Indian Airlines is expected to show a profit of Rs632 million this year, the same as last, but the forecast for 1987/88 is only Rs50 million. Indian Airlines has 19 A320s on order and is talking about increasing this to 31 aircraft. It is still paying for the ten A300s it has received over the last few years. The carrier intends to put its fares up by 10 per cent from April to produce an extra Rs500 million in revenue, aviation minister Jagdish Tytler told the Indian parlia ment recently. The airline will not receive any additional Government funds, he said. The Government has also proposed a RslO levy a head on all domestic passengers to fund airport modernisation. Indian Airlines may take all or some of the A320s on lease, a departure from its past policy of buying aircraft. It has retained SBI Capital Market Group, the merchant banking subsidiary of the State Bank of India, as advisor for the acquisition. Air India for its part has signed an agreement with a consortium of eight Japanese banks for $80 million. This will partially finance the undrawn balance of $130 million from the export credit loan of $220 million which it negotiated last year to pay for six A310-300s, five of which have been delivered. It has signed a letter of intent to buy two 747-300s for delivery in 1988. The Indian Government last month finalised an agree ment with Canada which allows Air India access to Toronto, without a compul sory stop in Montreal, and to three points beyond Toronto. UK CAA in £46 million ATC update LONDON The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is receiving a £23 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help finance the updating of the nation's air traffic control facilities. The EIB is providing 50 per cent of the £46 million needed, with the remainder coming from the UK Govern ment's National Loan Fund. The EIB does not provide any more than 50 per cent of the financing for any project. The CAA has received an initial £5 million from the EIB, and the rest will be taken up in stages between now and December 1990. Each loan, treated separately for repay ment purposes, is to be taken up at the CAA's discretion, and will be repaid in instalments over a maximum of 12 years. The money will pay for a modernised approach control room at London Heathrow, new navigation beacons for en-route traffic, instrument landing systems at ten UK airports, and a new building at London Gatwick for co- locating the CAA's safety services. CAA chairman Christopher Tugendhat says that the money is required to meet the future expansion of the UK's air traffic. He says it is particularly relevant that the EIB is providing the loan because of the pivotal role the UK plays in handling Euro pean traffic. NEWS SCAN Ifapa, the International Foundation of Airline Passengers' Associations, is proposing a new fare type for business travellers. Business Passengers' Extra Options (Bpex) is substantially cheaper than standard busi ness or first-class fares, some 25 per cent less on most Euro pean routes, and would be available on a 72hr advance purchase basis, Ifapa suggests. Cancellation less than 72hr before the flight would carry a penalty of 50 per cent of the fare. Otherwise there would be no restrictions. "By offering passengers price incentives to plan ahead and stick to their schedule, Bpex actually helps airlines to reduce their costs and improve aircraft utilisa tion," Ifapa claims. Apex took five years to get through the industry, Ifapa admits. Scandinavian charter airline Scanair is the first European airline to have a Selective Bidding Systems (SBS) crew scheduling programme. It is intended to improve effi ciency and economy in crew scheduling. The deal was set up by Resource Management of Stockholm, the European agent for US-based SBS. From May 7, 1987, the bound aries of the London Termi nal Control Area (LTMA) and the airspace surrounding London/Stansted, Luton, and Southend Airports will be considerably extended. This major airspace reconfigur ation is being carried out to relieve the current traffic congestion within the North East LTMA, and to contain development at London Stan- sted and Luton Airports. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 4 April 1987
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