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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 1587.PDF
— AIR TRANSPORT Italy seeks pseudo-radar allies BY KIERAN DALY AT LE BOURGET The Italian air-traffic serv ices agency is looking to its European counterparts, and to airlines, for assistance with au tomatic dependent surveillance (ADS) trials over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. ADS, which provides a pseudo-radar position of an air craft derived from its on-board navigation equipment and data- links to air traffic control (ATC) units, is needed to fill gaps in radar coverage in the area. The US airline industry may not be ready to pull out of its three-year financial tailspin. An indication of continued red ink comes from USAir, which predicts a net loss for its sec ond quarter. USAir has not had a profitable quarter for four years and the major US carrier is predicting a 1993 year-end net loss. "Based on results of opera tions for the months of April and May and a projection of June results, the company, which had expected to be prof itable for the second quarter, currently anticipates that it will sustain a net loss for the quar ter," the airline says. Contin ued quarterly losses lead USAir The US Department of Transportation has dis missed a complaint filed by American Airlines against French domestic carrier Air Inter earlier this year. The mat- NEWS IN BRIEF BOEING ORDERS Boeing says that three air lines have placed new orders for Boeing 767s: Gulf Air has ordered two -300ERs; EVA Airlines of Taiwan four -200s; and Japan Airlines three -300s. The technique was evolved primarily to address the lack of radar coverage in oceanic air space caused by the distances involved, but there is a prob lem in the Mediterranean as well, because of orographic obstructions. The Azienda Autonoma As- sistenza al Volo (AAAV) is using a Government-owned Cessna Citation for trials, which began at the end of 1992 and are in support of Eurocon- trol's European air-traffic- control (ATC) Harmonisation and Integration Programme. to expect a net loss for 1993. Seth Schofield, USAir Group's chairman, president and chief executive, says that, although 1993 results and the second quarter "...will be con siderably better than the 1992 results, revenue increases at USAir in the month of May have not been as strong as expected, due to sluggish eco nomic conditions". He says that USAir has taken steps to stimulate traffic and generate increased revenues, including implementation of reduced leisure fares in certain short-haul markets, and "...will be reviewing further measures to enhance revenues and re duce costs". • ter has been laid to rest after the two carriers concluded suc cessful negotiations. American Airlines alleged anti-competitive behaviour by Air Inter, which is an affiliate of Air France. The US carrier said that the French airline had prevented American from mar keting its flights in France and that Air Inter's failure to partic ipate in American's computer- reservation system, the SABRE, delayed immediate confirma tion of reservations. American said that this action undercut the SABRE's attractiveness to travel agents. • The equipment on the Cita tion is being used to send global positioning system (GPS)-derived ADS positions at 4s intervals to the Brindisi area control centre, where a Mara computer fuses the ADS posi tion with the conventional radar data when the aircraft is within radar coverage. The fused return, or the ADS posi tion alone if required, is dis played at an Alenia CDS 2000 console, which includes altitude and ground-speed read-outs. The aircraft is so far sending data only by direct VHF links, but eventually it will also be transmitted via satellite. An experimental prototype processing and display system is in use. The AAAV wants to build an operational prototype to perform more complex trials using the ADS system alone. It says: "To do that we need to have a larger number of aircraft. Alenia and the AAAV are trying to get other airlines and authorities and Eurocon- trol involved to get a real traffic situation using GPS." D McDonnell Douglas' recent sales drought has been broken with the announcement of new orders from Asia. China Eastern Airlines has ordered a sixth MD-11, which will be delivered in December, and Taiwan-based Far Eastern Air Transport has ordered two. MD-82s to add to the three MD-82s and a single MD-83 Sanctions force office closures BY ALAN GEORGE Flag-carrier Libyan Arab Air lines (LAA) is closing its network of offices in eastern Europe and plans to close most of its offices in western Europe, according to sources in Tripoli. The move results from the UN aviation embargo against Libya, imposed in April 1992 in an effort to persuade Libyan leader Col Gadaffi to hand over for trial two Libyans accused of planting the 1988 Lockerbie bomb. The UN Security Coun cil Resolution 748 required member states to "...prevent the operation of all LAA offices". Although its European of fices have been unable to oper ate, LAA has been maintaining them with a view to re-opening. Their closure, and the recall of staff, suggests that the airline believes that the sanctions will stay in place for a long time. LAA, using just three of its Boeing 727s, is operating three domestic flights daily between Tripoli and the two main towns of Benghazi, in the north east, and Sebha, in the south east.D whhich are already in service. The latest figures for MD-80 sales show 85 firm orders and 92 other commitments, while the MD-11 orderbook stands at 79 firm, with 113 options and commitments. A total of 89 MD-lls have been delivered. The MD-90 orderbook, meanwhile, remains at 77 firm and 102 other commitments. • USAir anticipates net losses for 1993 French/American squabble resolved Eastern promise comes to MDC as MD-11 sales deceive an uplift Asia quenches Douglas sales drought 30 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 23 - 29 June, 1993
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