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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 1276.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Air Mauritius horizons broaden PORT LOUIS Two extended-range Boeing 767s have entered service with Air Mauritius, bringing new destinations in Europe and the Far East within non-stop reach of the Indian Ocean holiday island. The 767-200ERs replace two 707s previously used on long-distance routes and sup plement two leased 747SPs which fly non-stop to Paris, Rome, Munich, Geneva and Zurich, Durban, Bombay, and Singapore. With the introduction of the 767, Air Mauritius plans to add non-stop services to London, Hong Kong, possibly to Nagoya in Japan, and hope fully to Perth in Australia. The 203-seat aircraft will also be used on regional routes to the African mainland and the islands of Madagascar and Reunion. Together worth $122 mil lion, the two 767s represent perhaps the nation's largest foreign purchase to date, says Air Mauritius chairman Sir Harry Tirvengadum. To limit the national debt, therefore, the first aircraft is on a 12-year asset-based finance lease while the second is on an eight-year operating lease. Sir Harry hopes to convert the latter into a 12-year finance lease within the next two years. Finance for the deal was arranged by Spectrum Bank of the UK, leading a consortium of banks including Mitsubishi Trust, Credit Lyonnais, BNP, and Barclays. While major overhaul of the 767s will be performed by Britannia Airways in the UK, routine maintenance will take place in a new hangar at the island's airport. This has cost Rsl45 million (£6 million), partly financed by a long-term FFr35 million loan from France's Caisse Central de Co-operation Economique. Air Mauritius carried 316,000 passengers in 1987, 53 per cent of total traffic to and from the country. Two-thirds of incoming traffic is tourism, says Sir Harry, with 213,000 tourists visiting the island in 1987. This is planned to increase to 400,000 visitors a The advent of the long-range twin allows Air Mauritius a flexibility previously unavailable to such a carrier year over the next four to five years. At the same time, air cargo out of Mauritius, mainly tex tiles, is increasing "at a fan tastic rate", says Sir Harry. Typically the 767s will carry 5 tonnes of underfloor cargo. Air Mauritius operates one Twin Otter and one ATR42 on its busy inter-island routes, and plans to replace the Twin Otter with a second ATR-type commuter in the next two years. The airline also plans to buy a second JetRanger helicopter for airport-hotel shuttle services, tourist excursions, and seasonal crop-spraying. London City 146 delayed LONDON _ The British Aerospace 146 demonstration flights into London City Airport are to be rescheduled for a later date and will not take place on May 15 as originally planned (Flight, April 23, page 3). The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) asked Mowlem, the Stolport owners, to postpone the demonstration flights "to allow a wider measure of consultation", to which Mowlem agreed. The LDDC believed that the 146 flight would be in breach of the airport's planning consent, which only allows the opera tion of the de Havilland Dash 7. Mowlem believes that it is not against planning author ity to have a demonstration flight. "The purpose of the demon stration is to seek public support for the 146, and we feel it would be better to rearrange it when agreement has been reached," airport director John Douthwaite says. British Aerospace says that the flight will definitely go ahead, and airport staff are now targeting the end of June for the public demon stration day. lata plots radical new routes TOKYO South East Asia and the Pacific rim need more direct flights, according to Inter national Air Transport Association director-general Giinter Eser. Passenger jour ney times and airline costs would be subsequently reduced, he told Japan's Research Group for Air Transport Policy. "Route improvements have already been achieved over the southern part of the Bay of Bengal, saving millions of dollars," he said. Traffic congestion on routes out of Bangkok and Singapore over the northern part of the Bay of Bengal may soon be improved when new dis cussions are completed. Eser added that "shorter routes between Japan and Beijing over Korea could save several million dollars too, if this can be agreed". The opening of routes over the Soviet Union and China for flights to and from Europe is another development about to be discussed through lata. "Once achieved, this would change the whole pattern of air traffic in the region. Even flights from Australia and New Zealand would find it easier to go this way," Eser pointed out. • Iata's director - general believes that the growing development of air transport liberalisation in the European Community will inevitably affect the way other European countries' airlines do busi ness. Eser expects other west ern European nations outside the EC to adopt similarly liberal fares and capacity measures when the EC com pletes its market unification. GPA raises more equity SHANNON Ireland-based aircraft lessor GPA has raised $82 • 5 million in additional equity through the private placement of 330,000 shares. Six institu tions have become new share holders in the GPA Group. The share placement is the second phase of an equity enhancement plan following the $100 million raised in September 1987. GPA's share holding structure remains about one-third European, one-third North American, and one-third Japanese. The six new shareholding institu tions are Allied Irish Banks, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Irish Life Assurance, Pacificorp Credit, J. Rothschild Hold ings, and the Toronto Dominion Bank. GPA manages 110 aircraft, valued at more than $2 billion. It expects to report a substan tially increased profit for the year to March 31, 1988, compared with the $68 million reported last year. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 14 May 1988
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