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Aviation History
1991
1991 - 0014.PDF
OPERATIONS: AIR TRANSPORT All Nippon confirms 777 order All Nippon Airways (ANA) has ordered the new Boeing 777 widebody medium-range twinjet and the Airbus Industrie A340 long-range four-jet. ANA, always seen as a proba ble early 777 customer, has placed firm orders for 15 and options on ten. The airline is planning to introduce the air craft on its domestic routes in 1995 with high-density seating for about 400 passengers. • The Japanese carrier says en gines under consideration are the General Electric GE90-B3, Pratt & Whitney PW4073 and Rolls-Royce Trent 871. The airline has ordered five 236-seat three-class A340-300s (the larger of the two A340s on offer) and has placed options on another five, with first delivery in 1996. The CFM56-5-powered A340s are to be used on lower- density services from Japan non-stop to Europe and North America, where a 747's capacity would not be justified. Airbus says that the deal al lows ANA to switch to A340- 200s or any of the A330 range. The airline is the first Far East carrier to order the A340 and is about to take delivery of the first of 13 A320s. • All Nippon Airways was one of the airlines consulted by Boeing on the Ill's basic layout Route sharing cuts Qantas costs Qantas is to drop two Boeing 767 domestic ports, and will share capacity with Air New Zealand on Trans-Tasman and some USA routes, in a joint cost-cutting programme. Twice-weekly Qantas services to Asia and Europe from Townsville (Queensland) and to New Zealand from Hobart (Tas mania) will be discontinued fol lowing traffic declines on both of these routes. Annual losses of about AS3.3 million ($2.5 million) on Hobart as well as "several mil lion dollars" annually on Townsville services, prompted the Qantas move. Townsville-Auckland pas senger use dropped to around 30% and Singapore/Bangkok to 49%. Qantas is the only carrier servicing either port. While slashing loss-making routes, Qantas has increased services to Hong Kong, Japan and Bangkok and the two Townsville services will now operate from Cairns, 280km (150nm) to the north, where traffic has increased by 72% over the past three years due to growth in tourism. Qantas is negotiating with domestic airlines for connec tions to Townsville and Hobart. Coinciding with the Qantas announcement, Thai Interna tional announced it is to drop its Bangkok-Cairns services on 1 March — it is not known if the decisions are linked. The series of new joint agree ments between Qantas and Air New Zealand are designed to consolidate against US "mega- carriers", says Qantas chief ex ecutive John Ward. They in clude an increase in trans- Tasman code/capacity sharing, rationalisation of Boeing 747/ 767 engine overhauls, and closer commercial ties. Air New Zealand will also buy capacity on Qantas' Sydney- Los Angeles direct service, and Qantas will share Air New Zeal and's Melbourne-Auckland-Los Angeles operations. • Sinking schedule hits Kansai Japan's Kansai International Airport company has con firmed that the project is now 15 months late and will not be in operation before 1994. The man-made island in Osaka Bay, on which the airport is being built, is sinking. The company started work on the project in January 1987, and has completed nearly 70% of the land reclamation. The terminal site alone, however, is sinking at about 10cm a month. At ¥1.5 trillion ($1,145 mil lion), the first phase of Kansai's construction cost 50% more than the original estimate, and interest at 6% on a loan of ¥00 billion tots up another ¥120mil- lion a day — ¥42billion a year. The company had planned to make a profit in the fifth year of the airport's operation and pay dividends in the ninth. It is now seeking loans, principally from the Japanese Finance Ministry, to keep its head above water. P ILFC adds three new customers to portfolio International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) has won lease contracts from three new customers — THY Turkish Air lines, Mexicana and Cayman Airways —among new agree ments covering a total of 28 aircraft valued at $806 million. The business involves six new Airbus A320-200s, eight new Boeing 737-400s and a new 767-300ER, as well as used air craft, including nine Boeing 737-300s, a 737-200, a Mc Donnell Douglas MD-83 and two BAe One-Eleven 300s. ILFC owns 107 aircraft valued at $4,000 million. THY has contracted to lease six new 737-400s, one for de livery in May 1992, two in early 1994 and the remainder 12 months later. The contract runs for ten years. Mexicana is scheduled to re ceive two leased Airbus A320- 200s in November 1992 and April 1993, replacing 727s. The seven-year lease includes a spare 1AE V2500 engine. Cayman Air ways has taken a 12-year lease on a Boeing 737-400 for deliv ery in January 1992. Canadien Airlines Interna tional is leasing four A320-200s and two spare CFM56-5 en gines. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery between March 1992 and June 1993. Until the A320s arrive, Canadien has leased Boeing 737-200s. Four used Boeing 737-300s, delivered to Spain's Viva Air in November 1990, have been leased for four years. Chile's Ladeco Airlines has leased a Boeing 737-200 for five years, with delivery set for October 1991 and has taken delivery of two BAe One-Eleven 300s previ ously leased to Dan-Air Serv ices. Fiji-based Air Pacific is to lease a Boeing 767-300ER from September 1994. It will join a -200ER leased from ILFC joint- venture company Pacific Qcean Leasing. Two used Boeing 737-300s have been leased by America West for ten years. p FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2 - 8 January, 1991
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