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Aviation History
1996
1996 - 0624.PDF
UUNES Boeing rethinks its 777-100X BOEING IS REVISING its options for the proposed 777- 100X after admitting that interest in the extra-long-range market appears to be "dormant." The company is now studying a "short body 777-100X for all ranges," as a way of encouraging airlines to use the entire family of 777s and maximising the benefits of commonality. Boeing believes that, in its revised role, the short ened twin could be a viable Airbus A310 and A300-600R replace ment, as well as successor to earli er versions of its own 767. "The big issue we're trying to work on now is how much weight we can add to the empty weight without it being too great a penal ty," says the company. The weight penalty, estimated at "several thousand kilogrammes" would be in the form of a strengthened wing structure needed to allow the -100X to be used on a long-range 15,700km (8,500nm) mission. If the aircraft were to be assigned to medium or current inter-continental routes it would carry unnecessary structural weight, a disadvantage Boeing is seeking to minimise in its current studies. J Fokker bankrupt KEVIN O'TOOLE/LONDON ON 15 MARCH Fokker finally admitted defeat in its attempts to stave off bankruptcy, ending 77 years of aircraft manufacturing in the Netherlands when bids from AVIC of China and Samsung of South Korea failed to materialise. The collapse leaves question marks hanging over its backlog of more than 50 aircraft and the impact on residual values across the regional market. The main assembly plant at Schiphol is to be closed as aircraft production ceases, with the loss of around 4,700 jobs. A skeleton staff of 3 50 will be left at the plant to fin ish aircraft close to completion. Negotiations will take place in the next few days as to how many more aircraft will be delivered, but initial estimates suggested that the number is likely to be around 15. The closure potentially leaves around 15 airline customers with aircraft orders which will not now be fulfilled. At the latest count Fokker had more than 50 regional jets and a dozen turboprop orders still on its books. That includes at First Global Express nears completion CANADAIR IS CLOSE TO completing the first Bombardier Global Express long-range business jet following delivery of the horizontal stabiliser—the last major structural subassembly yet to be joined to the aircraft. The all-composite stabiliser is sup plied by Bombardier's Shorts subsidiary in Northern Ireland. least another 11 Fokker 70s for Alitalia's subsidiary Avianova stretch ing to late 1997. Fokker promis es that product support for the 1,130 Fokker air craft now in service will be maintained, however, through part of a new stand-alone com pany, to becalled Fokker Aviation. As well as spares and product support, the new com pany will include a slimmed down aerostructures business, handling third-party work. Around 950 jobs will be transferred with these func tions from the bankrupt business. Three other businesses which were not included in the original filing for bankruptcy protection., are also to come under the Fokker Aviation banner. These are the profitable Fokker Aircraft Sendees maintenance operation, the elec tronics systems venture Fokker Elmo and industrial products man ufacturer Fokker Special Products. Fokker Aviation will employ around 2,500 and hopes to reach a turnover of DF11 billion ($600 mil lion) over the next few years. Job losses will also be felt at UK aerospace company Shorts, which supplies wings for the Fokker re gional jet. The wing assembly line had direcdy employed around 660, with as many as another 800 jobs in support and manufacturing jobs. Shorts had originally declared that it would face a surplus of up to 1,460 jobs if the Fokker work was lost, but says that it has already pared that down to just over 1,000 through redeployment. The Belfast company says that it hopes the number of redundancies will slim down further through redeploy ment of workers on to pro grammes, such as Bombardier's Canadair Regional Jet. The importance of the Fokker work has been diminishing for Shorts, accounting for around $80 •aWffldiUlfeWiMI :I:M.W|(:.U,:|:!IM:.'IW-M Customer Number Alitalia Austrian Airlines British Midland Ethiopian Formosa Airlines KLM Cityhopper Malev/ILFC Merpati Nusantara Pelita Air Service Sempati Air 11 5 4 5 1 2 3 6 4 8 Royal Dutch Air Force 2 TAM Tyrolean Airways Vietnam Airlines Unannounced TOTAL 5 1 2 6 65 Type Fokker 70 Fokker 70 Fokker 70 Fokker 50 Fokker 100 Fokker 70 Fokker 70 Fokker100 Fokker 70 Fokker 70 Fokker 50 Fokker 50 Fokker 70 Fokker 70 Fokker 100 Delivery dates Apr 96 - Oct 97 Mar 96 - May 97 Apr 96 - Feb 97 May-Dec 96 Mar 96 Mar-June 96 Mar-June 96 Apr 96-Mar 97 Aug 96 - Sept 97 Mar-Dec 96 Unknown Pending Aug 96 May-Jun96 Unknown million of the group's overall $600 million sales. Hundreds of jobs are also des tined to go at Daimler-Benz Aero space (DASA), which carries out fuselage work on Fokker aircraft. DASA employs 1,200 workers in its DASAAirbus subsidiary exclusively on Fokker programmes, although 600 of these were already due to go in the German company's own pro gramme of cutbacks. All employees on Fokker pro grammes will for now be working reduced hours. A few will later be offered jobs in other parts of the company, says DASA. "We regret that it has come to this," says DASA. The German company acquired a 40% stake in Fokker in 1993 with plans to use it as the core of a new European regional-aircraft venture, but after three years of mounting losses finally refused any further financial support to the Dutch manufacturer in January. Despite the strategic withdrawal, DASA and debis, the Daimler-Benz finance arm, remain exposed to Fokker through the portfolio of 69 leased aircraft which they took over from the ailing manufacturer in a previous restructuring attempt. • SUMMARY BY AIRCRAFT TYPE Fokker 50 Fokker 70 Fokker100 TOTAL Source: Airciaims 12 40 13 65 168 900 358 1,426 4 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 March 1996
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