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Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0174.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT EMB-145 wins Portugalia verdict over CRJ ANDREW DOYLE/LONDON PORTUGALIA HAS selected the Embraer EMB-145 to operate on its expanding regional network from Portugal, following a two-way contest involving the Brazilian aircraft and the Bom bardier Canadair Regional Jet. The privately owned carrier says that it will shortly sign firm con tracts covering four EMB-145s, for delivery in May, June, October and November this year, and take two options for delivery in 1998. The 50-seat aircraft will be used on routes from Lisbon and Oporto to the Spanish destinations of Barcelona, Bilbao, Majorca Tenerife and Valencia, according to die airline's commercial director, Francisco Bordalo. Portugalia had earlier intended to replace its six leased Fokker 100s with Airbus A320s or Boeing 737- 700s, before looking for a regional aircraft (Flight International, 28 February - 5 March, 1996, PI4). "We thought that there was an opportunity in regional markets that would require a smaller air craft, and decided to go ahead quite fast," says Bordalo. The Fokker 100s will not now be replaced until their ten-year leases from GPA expire in 2000, Bordalo adds. Meanwhile, Portugalia plans to start services to Manchester, UK, from Lisbon and Oporto, from April, using the Fokker 100s. • **2£5T US P'cks states f or Iree-flight' teste GULF AIR is to dispose of six aircraft and and cease operat ing certain routes, as the airline attempts to turn round its heavy losses and reduce its debt moun tain. The announcement comes only a week after the four Gulf States which own the airline again failed to agree on terms for the injection of 100 Bah dinars ($260 million) of fresh cash. Gulf Air's debts are put at around $2 billion, largely because of its fleet acquisi tion spree which coincided with the traffic slump from the Gulf War. The airline will dispose of six of its 17-strong fleet of Boeing 767- 300ERs, and it will will also close some of its uneconomic routes, including those to New York, Durban/Johanesburgand Geneva. Gulf Air is planning gradually dis pose of the six 767s between February and July 1997, reducing its total fleet to 30 aircraft. The four partners have failed to reach agreement on new funding. At the last meeting on 8 January, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain are under stood to have offered to invest fresh capital in the carrier, but Qatar, which has so far declined to join in the funding, was not prepared to see a reduction in its stake. NEWS IN BRIEF • MANCHESTER APPROVAL The UK Government has granted Manchester Airport permission to construct a second runway. The new 3,050m (1,000ft) runway will open in early 2000. RAMON LOPEZ/WASHINGTON DC ATWO-YEAR "free-flight" test programme is set to begin in Alaska and Hawaii during 1999, following US Government ap proval of the so-called Ha-laska free-flight demonstration project. US vice-president Al Gore says that, beginning in 1999, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will conduct a two-year demonstration of "free-flight" ele ments in Alaska and Hawaii involv ing military, commercial-transport and general-aviation aircraft. Funding for the $250 million free-flight field test has yet to be established, but the FAA expects to pay for the necessary aircraft equipment. About 2,000 aircraft in both states will be involved in the evaluation. The two states were chosen bec ause of their controlled environ ment and affordable fleet size. The air-traffic-management system will allowpilots and airlines to set their own flight paths. Controllers would intervene only to prevent accidents. Meanwhile, Gore has also an nounced that the US Department of Defense will release a version of its Global Digital Terrain Ele vation Database for use in civil avi ation as part of the Clinton Administration's effort to reduce the number of controlled-flight- into-terrain (CFIT) accidents. The data will be incorporated into AlliedSignal Aerospace's recently certificated Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS). Gore has dubbed the DoD's action "a major breakthrough" towards controlling CFIT. "Combined with advanced naviga tion systems, this will provide pilots with die tools that they need to reduce, and maybe even elimi nate, these kinds of accidents in the future," he says. Access to the L'S military-pro duced digital terrain elevation database, which was created for cruise-missile targeting, is critical to widespread use of EGPWS. The system provides a detailed moving map of the terrain in the vicinity of an aircraft. Using the global-posi tioning system, the aircraft's posi tion can be correlated with the Pentagon's terrain data in real time, allowing the pilot to maintain proper altitude and terrain clear ance. The usual GPWS offers a 15sec alert, while the enhanced version provides a 1 min warning. The EGPWS has been ap proved for use on American Air lines Boeing 757s, and it plans to retrofit its entire fleet of 635 air craft by mid-1999. United is evalu ating the EGPWS on 20 of its Airbus A320s. Alaska Airlines will install it on 25 Boeing 737-400s. The US National Trans portation Safety Board urges the FAA to establish the need for the EGPWS, and if found effective, require all transport-category air craft to be equipped with it. Q Air Nelson swops Saab 340s for DBA aircraft AIR NEW ZEALAND SUB SIDIARY AIR NKLSON HAS begun a roll-over of its Saab 340 fleet, with the disposal of some of its existing aircraft and the acquisi tion of replacement aircraft from airlines in Europe. The Nelson, New Zealand- based regional has purchased two of Deutsche BAs Saab 340As, and took delivery of them during late 1996. Deutsche BA is disposing of its remaining turboprop fleet to Regional Airlines of France. The airline is also also acquiring two ex- Brit'Air Saab 340As on lease, which were traded to Bombardier as part of its Canadair Regionaljet purchase. The new acquisi tions are replacing six Saab 340As which Air Nelson has operated on lease from Scan dinavian carrier SAS for several years. These aircraft, which SAS acquired through its take-over of Swedair, are being returned over the next 12 Air Nelson exchanges new Saab 340 leases for old months or so, with one aircraft hav ing already been sent back. SAS is now seeking buyers for the aircraft. 8 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 January 1997
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