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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 0073.PDF
CIT Group gears up to place large Airbus/Boeing orders PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC THE CIT GROUP is set to announce an order for up to 50 Airbus and Boeing narrowbody and widebody aircraft, represent ing the US financing and leasing company's first major purchase of new passenger jets. CIT's planned order is under stood to include 25 Airbus A3 20s and five A330s, with options on a further five of the latter. The New Jersey-based company is also believed to be discussing an addi tional purchase of around 20 Boeing 73 7s. No decision has yet been taken on selection of an engine for either Airbus type. The CFM Inter national CFM56-5 and Internat ional Aero Engines V2500 are in contention for the A3 20 order, while the General Electric CF6- 80C2, Pratt & Whitney PW4000 and Rolls-Royce Trent 700 are competing to power the A330. An order announcement is expected in mid-February once the engine selection has been finalised. The company refuses to comment on any specific planned order or preferred jet type, but acknowl edges its interest in acquiring new Airbus and Boeing aircraft. "Given our history, business and infrastructure, there is arguably logic that would make sense to move into the new aircraft market. We do not envisage being an International Lease Finance or General Electric Capital, we're looking at maximising profits and see a demand from our customers for new aircraft," says CIT Aero space executive vice-president Jeff Knittel. CIT is the largest US player in the secondhand aircraft leasing market, with a portfolio of some 200 jets and turboprops of varying types, including Boeing 747s, 757s 767s, MD-1 Is and a smaller num ber ofA320s.Itis unclear forwhich carriers the new aircraft are intend ed, but CIT is believed to be in dis cussions with potential lessees. • Prosecutors drop Nagoya criminal proceedings JAPANESE public prosecutors have dropped efforts to indict China Airlines (CAL) and Airbus Industrie over an A3 00 crash at Nagoya, Japan, in 1994, which claimed 264 lives out of 272 on board, according to Airbus repre sentatives in Japan. Three damages suits filed against both the airline and the manufacturer by the victims' next of kin and survivors are likely to continue for up to five more years. Three groups of victims' fami lies are trying to claim $270 million in compensation for alleged airline negligence and aircraft design deficiencies. A fourth group has accepted compensation from CAL under the Warsaw Convention. Prosecutors at the Nagoya District Court have now conclud ed that the accident was caused by pilot error, when the cockpit crew tried to land the aircraft manually, unaware that the autopilot was set to go around. Charges were to be brought against six CAL officials, including the aircraft's deceased cockpit crew. CAL flight 140 from Taipei crashed on 26 April, 1994. The subsequent crash investigators' report, published in 1996, cited pilot error, but also accused the air line of poor training and queried the design of the aircraft's flight control system. The A300's crew failed to disen gage the autopilot's go-around mode, trying instead to override it manually by pushing the aircraft's nose down. The system compen sated by pulling the nose up until the aircraft stalled and crashed. Japanese investigators criticised the absence of any cockpit warning to indicate that the aircraft was flying in the wrong mode. The Taiwanese Civil Aeronautics Administration also claimed that Airbus failed to notify its customers that a software modification allow ing an override by pilot pressure on the stick had already been made available before the crash, as a result of earlier incidents. • Debonair takes first 737-300 DEBONAIR'S FLEET HAS BEEN expanded with the introduction of its first Boeing 737-300, on wet lease from AB Airlines. The 139-seater is being deployed on services from London Garwick to Barcelona, replacing smaller British Aerospace 146s. The airline is arming to add the 737 type to its certificate during 1999, to enable its own crews to fly the aircraft. Twelve BAe 146s are also operated and a second 737-300 could be introduced later this year to provide further capacity increases. P- Sonaifw "Mm*r& • AIRPORTS ++ The French minister of trans port has confirmed his intention to restrict flights from Paris' second airport, Orly, to those with a range of less than 5,000km (2,700nm). The move, which is expected to take effect in 2001, means that a few slots (2.5% of the total) will be released for extra domestic and European flights, but will also force at least two airlines, AOM and Corsair, to move their long-range services to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. ++ Toronto City Council has voted to lift the ban on jet operations at Toronto City Centre Airport, which is on an island in Lake Ontario adjacent to the city. The council has also agreed to replace the ageing ferry service with a bridge. ++ The planned privatisation of Rome's airport management company ADR is moving forward, with a 54.2% shareholding being offered for sale in block. Total privatisation will take place by mid 1999. ++ The Israeli Airports Authority (IAA) has recommended that Israel's second international airport should be located on an artificial island off the coast to allow opera tions without the restrictions imposed at Tel-Aviv Ben-Gurion Airport because of its location near the most populated areas in central Israel. The expansion of Ben-Gurion will allow it to handle 12 million passengers a yearwhen it is completed in late 2002, com pared with the 7 million who pass through its two terminals each year. ++ Barclays Capital, Chase Manhattan Bank and AMP Asset Management Australia have won a three-tranche A$1.3 billion ($823 million) Sydney Airport financing deal in competition with a rival group of four major Australian banks. The facility represents the Sydney Airport Corporation's (SACL) first major financing since its corporatisation by the federal government last July. The funds will be used to pay the federal govern ment for SACL's 99-year lease on the airport, payment for which is due on 1 February, as well as to pay for future capital expenditure and working capital requirements. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 January 1999 11
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