FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0010.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT GEwinsAsiana 747/767 order GENERAL ELECTRIC: has secured a consolation prize from Asiana Airlines in die shape of additional Boeing 747 and 767 engines, following its recent loss to Pratt & Whitney of a much larger powerplantdeal for the Boeing 777 and Airbus Industrie A3 30. The deal covers new CF6-80C2 engines for three more 747-400s and two 767-300s ordered by Asia na, along with up to 48 P& W-pow- ered 777s and A330s. The $175 million contract also includes en gines for three 747s and two 767s which Asiana has on option. The SoutJi Korean carrier's 747 and 767 engine order did not form part of its wider 777/A330 power- plant competition, and GE was assured of winning the smaller deal. Asiana operates, or has on order, 14 747s and 17 767s, all pow ered by CF6-80C2B l/2/4/6s. Despite selecting the rival PW4000 engine series for its new twinjets, Asiana is understood to have made provision to order CFMI CFM56s, should it opt to trade in its A3 30 options for A340s. It has ordered a total often A3 30- 300s and eight -200s and has options for five more of each. P& W, in die meantime, has con- finned that it has finalised a con tract covering engines for the 20 777-200/300s and 28 A330s on order or option with Asiana. The deal, worth an estimated $ 1 billion, includes PW4090s for the airline's ten 777-200IGWs and PW4098s for ten 777-300s, along with the PW4164for the A330-200 and the PW4168fortheA330-300. The widebody airframe order, however, has still not been official ly announced by the airline, in the absence of formal approval from Seoul. "We got approval from the Government to purchase 18 Airbus A321s, but the rest of the aircraft are on hold," says Asiana. I The South Korean Government has given Asiana the green light to sell 19.02% of its stock to Swiss Bank. Pacific Investment Capital, a Malaysian-based unit of the bank, will buy 13.32 million of 23.4 mil lion Asiana new shares. The move will help raise capital to fund the purchase of aircraft. • South Koreans are ready to sign up for A3XX risk-share JULIAN MOXON/PARIS AIRBUS INDUSTRIE hopes to conclude its first risk-shar ing agreement on the 500- to 800- seat A3XX later this month, with all four South Korean aerospace manufacturers taking a share of development and manufacture of the aircraft. The consortium's large-aircraft division senior vice-president, Jur- gen Thomas, says that a deal including Daewoo, Hyundai, Ko rean Air and Samsung Industries would give the combined enter prise "up to 10%" of the pro gramme. If it goes through, this would advance die business case for launching the A3XX. Efforts continue to tie up further risk-sharing agreements for the 40% of the programme being made available to non-consortium partners, and Thomas says that talks on a stake of up to 15% of the programme with a US manufac turer (thought to be either Nor throp Grumman or Lockheed Martin), are also at an "advanced stage". Saab Aircraft is expected to take a stake as well, bringing closer its involvement with the consor tium, along with existing Airbus contributors such as Belairbus and Alenia. Bombardier has also been involved in talks. Thomas expects an agreement with the Pratt & Whitney/ General Electric Engine Alliance, to offer the GP7000, soon. "We're confident we will have an MoU [memorandum of understanding] with them in January," he says. Meanwhile projections for the cost of developing the A3XX have risen to a maximum of $10 billion, says Thomas — a significant increase on the original figure of $8 billion. A meeting of 17 interested air lines on 5-6 December met with "very positive responses" to the planned design. "We're listening to them very carefully. They all like the concept," says the consortium. Proposals have already been made to three "key, elite, airlines" (which Thomas declines to name), subject to a launch commitment. The initial 555-seat A3XX-100 has been priced at $198 million, while the longer-range A3XX- lOORwill beoffered at $201.5 mil lion and the stretched, 656-seat, A3XX-200 at $223 million. Freighter and Combi versions will also be offered, "...but we haven't priced them yet", says Thomas. A launch by the end of 1998 is planned, "subject to a robust cus tomer base", says Thomas. While several airlines are asking for service entry of the A3 XX before 2003, Thomas, who admits that the timetable is "very ambi tious", is adamant that the date will not be moved, to ensure that tech nology programmes supporting the aircraft are fully matured. "Airlines expect a better than 99% reliability at service entry," he says. "Nobody wants to pay for 600 rooms in a hotel if the aircraft goes out of service". • Blue Dart aims to create more capacity BLUE DART Aviation is plan ning to increase capacity in the next few months, with the acquisi tion of additional aircraft and the introduction of more routes. The Indian express-package op erator, the country's FedEx global service partner, is evaluating bigger aircraft for its fledgling fleet, and considering additional routes. A subsidiary of one of India's largest express-package companies, Blue Dart Express, Blue Dart Aviation has been operating two Boeing 737-200 freighters for about six months, says chief operating offi cer Robert Bresnahan. The two 737s, converted from ex-Indian Airlines passenger air craft, fly about 6h/day to link Calcutta and Madras via Delhi, Bombay, and Bangalore. Blue Dart hopes to introduce an additional domestic service and start its first international operation. The company needs "one or possibly two" more 737-sized air craft, although demand for such machines may put them at a premi um. In that case, Bresnahan might consider bigger aircraft, such as the Airbus A300B4. Airbus is consid ering offering a conversion of Air India aircraft to cargo configura tion as part of a package to win a large order for medium-range air craft from Air India. Bresnahan is also looking at a Madras-Delhi-Madras operation, as well as a possible service from Bombay to Sharjah in die United Arab Emirates. • Spanish charter airline launches services with A320s BCM AIRLINES HAS BEGUN opera tions with an International Aero Engines V2500-powered Airbus A320 leased from Airworld of the UK. BCM, based in Palma de Majorca, is using the aircraft on services to European holiday destina tions, and plans to add a further two A320s early in 1997. 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 1 - 7 January 1997
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
