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Aviation History
1998
1998 - 2452.PDF
Mm TRANSPORT AIRPORTS ++ The Dutch Government is set to allow Amsterdam Schiphol Air port to exceed its 1998 noise quota, rather than close a runway. New calculation procedures are being suggested. Schiphol be lieves that the fifth runway will solve the problem from 2003. ++ The port authority of Antwerp, Belgium says that it is interested in participating in any privatisation of the Flemish regional govern- ment- owned Antwerp Airport. The port authority is also interested in de veloping the former military airfield at nearby Zoersel into a dedicated air freight airport. ++ London Luton Airport has selected a con sortium made up of Barclays Capital (65%), UK construction firm Bechtel (10%) and Airport Group International (25%) to carry out its ambitious growth plans. The consortium will operate the airport as a concession as London Luton Operations under a 30-year deal, although the airport will remain under local government control. Initial investment will be £110 mil lion ($180 million) covering build ing of a new terminal to take capacity from 4 million to 5-6 mil lion passengers a year. ++ The Italian Government is this month expected to approve a 400 billion lira ($225 million) investment package to improve the southern airports of Sardinia (Cagiiari- Elmas), Puglia (Bari-Palese) and Sicily (Catania-Fontanarossa). ++ Arinc and Orincon have teamed to market and install the Ground Safety Tracking and Reporting Sys tem (GSTARS) worldwide. GSTARS, which uses inductive loop technol ogy to detect aircraft, is being demonstrated at Long Beach Municipal Airport, California. Qatar steps up expansion with plans for new long-haul aircraft MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON QATAR AIRWAYS is acceler ating its fleet expansion, with discussions for the lease of up to six Airbus A330s as part of a plan to boost long-haul operations. The Doha-based airline recent ly concluded a deal to bolster its short-haul fleet with A3 20s, plac ing an order for up to 11 aircraft. Qatar is now focusing on its long- haul needs. Three 220-seat A300- 600Rs are leased from Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services for use on long-haul operations, but Qatar chief executive Akbar Al Baker says that the airline wants to capitalise on the growth in the region and needs larger aircraft. Al Baker says options are already in place with an unnamed leasing company for two new A3 3 0-2 00s in 1999. He is holding talks with International Lease Finance (ILFC) to lease two ex-Malaysia Airlines A330-300s later this year. Two of the Malaysian carrier's 12 Pratt & Whitney PW4000-pow- ered A330-300s are leased from ILFC. The first is to be returned to die lessor soon and the second is due back in early 1999. "We will decide on the ILFC deal this montJi and, if we go ahead, these will replace two of the three A300s," says Al Baker. The A330s would be taken on four to five year leases, savs Al Baker. "We are evaluating the A3 30 along with the [Boeing] 767-400, and aim to finalise an order for one of them next year," says Al Baker. "We will also take operating leases to ensure we can have aircraft immediately," he says. Al Baker adds that, if the A3 30 is selected, then die airline will oper ate a mix of-200s and -300s, which typically seat around 250 and 290 passengers respectively in a three- class layout. • Qatar has an urgent need for larger aircraft to replace its A300-600Rs Escalating European delays reach record level THE EUROPEAN Airlines Association (AEA) has declared 1998 a "black year" for delays, with the figures for June reaching similar levels to tJhose for the same montJi in 1989, the worst on record. Brussels, Belgium-based Euro- control says it has "no dispute" with the AEA statistics, which show that 29.1% of flights in June were delayed by more than 15min. "The system is coming close to satura tion," says tlie agency. "When this happens, delays begin to rise expo nentially." Eurocontrol notes, however, that delays are now spread more or less evenly among airlines, whereas in 1989 some suffered more severely than others. The organisation attributes this to the success of the central flow management unit, which regulates the flow of aircraft entering Euro pean airspace according to available capacity on a particular day. Air traffic has increased by around 45% since 1989. Eurocontrol points out that the figures show that the capacity of European airspace and airports to handle the growth was keeping pace until this year. The organisa tion admits that there are "physical limits" on air traffic control tech nology, despite recent advances, and blames a lack of willingness to hire more air traffic controllers. The AEA accuses national air traffic control service providers of "complacency" and failure to replace the "uncoordinated patch work of national systems". The association adds that while Eurocontrol's harmonisation ini tiatives have helped,".. .the figures demonstrate that they still have not delivered the goods". • Fight for control of Transaero heads for court dates in Moscow and Orel T HE FIGHT FOR control of Russian carrier Transaero has gone to court as founder Alexander Pleshakov seeks retribution for his recent ousting by Boris Berezovsky after a hostile take-over of the air line (Flight International, 26 August-1 September). Court action is being taken in Moscow and the southern Russian town of Orel, where the airline is registered. On 26 August, the arbi trary court in Orel made a ruling to freeze 12.38% of Transaero shares belonging to Berezovsky's invest ment firm, LogoVAZ, until the final decision is made. LogoVAZ has formed a pool of majority shareholders to take over the airline's management, but the recent Orel court ruling prohibits LogoVAZ from voting with its shares or selling them, putting Berezovsky's stake in question. LogoVAZ is accused of not pay ing in full for the Transaero shares, but Yuliy Dubov, LogoVAZ gener al director, denies any legal viola tions and claims that he has the necessary papers to confirm his company's ownership of the Transaero shares. A hearing in the Moscow arbi trary court for yet another package of disputed shares is scheduled for 16 September. • 16 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 September 1998
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