FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1997
1997 - 0177.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Japanese airlines finalise low-cost plans PAUL LEWIS/SINGAPORE JAPAN AIR SYSTEM (JAS) and Japan Airlines QAL) are plan ning to incorporate new low-cost subsidiary carriers shortly, in the face of growing domestic liberali sation and die entry of new com peting start-up airlines. JAS also announced that its new subsidiary operation, Harlequin Air, was to have been established on 20 January. The airline will have a capitalisation of ¥480 million ($4.15 million) and begin interna tional charter operations in December, followed by scheduled domestic services in January 1997. Harlequin will initially be equipped with a single McDonnell Douglas (MDC) DC-10-30 and operate up to 100 charter flights a year between 38secondary airports in Japan and South-East Asia and Australia. Tourist destinations will include Bangkok, Brisbane, Manila, Singapore and Sydney. The domestic operation will use MDC MD-8 Is leased from JAS to operate 15 daily flights from Fukuoka, in southern Japan, to six or seven secondary cities, including Kagoshima, Matsuyama, Miyazaki and Sapporo. The airline hopes to cut costs by 10-15% by supple menting JAS crew with locally recruited attendants from Fukuoka and foreign pilots. JAL, in the meantime, plans to incorporate its own domestic sub sidiary carrier in March. The yet- to-be named airline will have a capitalisation of ¥400 million and begin operating in the spring of 1998, equipped initially with three Boeing 737s. The airline's fleet could grow to 15-20 aircraft by 2005-10 and include widebody Boeing 767s, says JAL. Maintenance will be per formed by JAL and its 51 %-owned Okinawa-based subsidiary, Japan Transocean Airlines. It will operate on JAL's low-demand regional routes on a wet-lease basis, as well as develop its own network. Actual routes will depend on future air fares and the allocation of new slots at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. Like Harlequin, JAL plans to employ lower-cost contract cabin crew and foreign pilots to achieve savings of up to 20%. "We have to learn how to deal with domestic deregulation, increased competi tion and lower prices and more benefits to the consumer," notes JAL president Akira Kondo. • NTSB reveals Comair Brasilia crash dues STARBOARD ENGINE over-speed appears to have been the triggering factor for the 9 January Comair Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia (N265CA) crash in which all 26 passengers and three crew died, according to US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators. The twin-turboprop, which was operating a Delta Connection flight to Detroit-Metropolitan air port from Cincinnati, Ohio, seems to have stalled and gone out of con trol while level at 4,000ft (1,200m). This occurred while it was execut ing a left turn during its approach in snowy weather. The NTSB says that there are indications that the crew tried to shut down the starboard engine and operate the fire-extinguishing system, but that there are no signs so far either of an engine fire or of propeller-blade failure. According to the flight-data recorder (FDR), 38s before impact the aircraft continued a left turn when the autopilot was command ing a right turn. After autopilot dis connect, the FDR indicates, the stick-shaker stall-warning activat ed, and within 5 s the aircraft had stalled, pitched 50° nose-down and rolled 40° left. The time from the beginning of the sequence to impact was less than 40s. The NTSB says that crew exchanges on the cockpit-voice recorder have not yielded any clues. J Perm Airlines introduces Tu-204-100 PERM AIRLINES (PAL) has introduced a single PS-90-pow- ered Tupolev Tu-204-100 (RA-64017) which is being operated by Vnukovo Airlines, primarily on charters from Moscow to Tenerife, Canary Islands. It is understood that PAL's Tu-204 is leased from the engine maker Aviadvigatel/Perm Motors, which acquired the aircraft from the manufacturer Aviastar in exchange for PS-90 engines (Flight International, 18-31 December ,1996). ASA may increase CRJ commitment ATLANTIC SOUTHEAST Airlines (ASA) cites the even tual availability of a 70-seat deriva tive as one reason for selecting the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) to meet its 50-seat requirements, and Bombardier is hopeful that the air line will add to the existing 90-air- craft commitment. The Delta Connection carrier will place firm orders for 30 CRJs and take options on a further 60 (Flight International 15-21 Janu ary). While some of the later options could be converted to the 70-seat CRJ-X which is available from 2000, the airline intends that all 90 aircraft will be taken as the 50-seat version. Bombardier is therefore hopeful that any pur chases for 70-seat aircraft will mean additional orders. ASAs selection of the CRJ fol lowed a "very close" competition with the Embraer EMB-145. Bombardier says it was "extremely competitive" on cost of ownership versus the cheaper EMB-145. • NEWS IN BRIEF • VALUJET DISPOSES Valujet has sold three addi tional surplus aircraft, including its last remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-83, as part of a US Federal Aviation Administration order to reduce its fleet. The airline has also pre-paid the debt on a fourth aircraft, which it will sell. • S-C ADDS FREIGHTERS S-C Aviation Holdings has purchased two Airbus A300B4s from Air France subsidiary Air Charter for conversion to freighters by British Aerospace, under a programme headed by S-C Aviation Services. • ATLAS BUYS PAL 747-200 US all-cargo carrier Atlas Air has purchased a General Electric CF6-powered Boe ing 747-200B, now operated by Philippine Airlines on lease. The aircaft will be con verted into freighter config uration. • EMBRAER'S EXPRESSJET Continental Express' new 50-seat Embraer EMB-145s will initiate "Expressjet" ser vices from Cleveland on 1 March to Greensboro, Hartford, Milwaukee, St Louis and Minneapolis. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22 - 28 January 1997 11
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
