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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 1163.PDF
Am TRANSPORT Southwest gets more 737-300s PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC SOUTHWEST AIRLINES is looking to expand its Boeing 737-300 fleet with secondhand acquisitions. This follows its con version of more 73 7-700 options to firm orders. The extra capacity is needed for the airline's planned launch of 50 more US domestic services in the third quarter of this year. The Dallas-based low-fare operator has just taken delivery of two 737-300s bought from UK carrier easyjet Airline, to add to the 215 second-generation 737- 300/500s in service. "We're reviewing the used aircraft market for additional aircraft this year," says Southwest. The airline declines to reveal how many additional 737-300s it needs, but in line with past practice, says it plans to buy, rather than lease, the aircraft and intends to retain them in the long term. The aircraft are needed for more routes and frequencies scheduled for launch in June, July and August, The 50 new services include non-stop return routes from Albuquerque to Seattle and Tucson; Kansas to San Diego, Indianapolis, Manchester and Tampa Bay; Las Vegas to Southwest seeks additional 137-100s to launch new services Baltimore and Chicago; New- Orleans to Fort Worth; and Los Angeles and Providence to Houston. Southwest will also begin to fly on routes from Raleigh Durham to Baltimore, Chicago, Tampa Bay and Orlando from 6 June. Other additional services consist of extra frequencies into estab lished destinations. Tentative agreement has also been reached to convert six 737- 700 options to orders for delivery in late 2000-1. This is in addition to six recently exercised -700 options for accelerated delivery next year. Southwest's 737-700 orders total stands at 142 aircraft, with 62 remaining options. Southwest will have 57 Next Generation 737s in service by the end of this year, with 54 more due for delivery in 2000-1, 21 in 2002 and 10 aircraft in each of 2003 and 2004. As well as holding 13 options a year in 2003 and 2004 and 18 in 2005 and 2006, the carrier has rolling options on 46 aircraft between 2007 and 2009. • Rockwell Collins makes Boeing comeback on 767 BOEING HAS chosen Rock well Collins to provide the flightdeck liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for the 767-400ER. This is a significant victory for Collins in its battle to regain Boeing flight- deck display market share from Honeywell. "In a sense it is a comeback for us," says Steve Piller, vice-presi dent Boeing programmes at the company's Air Transport Systems Group. "It is a balancing of the competition at Boeing, and it puts us back in the game." The contract also represents the first use of a large Collins-made LCD on any Boeing aircraft, as well as the first commercial appli cation of an Ethernet-based local area network (LAN) for display system interconnections with flight-critical avionics. Collins also hopes that the 767- 400ER deal could be a bridge to future flightdeck work, particular ly on other proposed 757/767 derivatives. Boeing has already mooted the retrofit of the advanced flightdeck across new production 757/767s and is studying new derivatives incorporating recent advances made with the 757-300 and 767-400 programmes. The flightdeck will incorporate six 200 x 200mm LCDs driven by three display mission computers, and is designed to provide a "com mon flightdeck look and feel" with the 777 and Next Generation 737. The open system database archi tecture of the LAN will enable the flightdeck displays to handle high speed data transfers. Collins believes that the capaci ty will be required to handle future enhancements, such as live video, cockpit display of traffic informa tion, interactive cursor control devices, graphical flightplan edit ing and traffic alert and collision avoidance systems. The company delivered the first display units to Boeing for tests at the end of April, and it plans to deliver completed units to meet the current 767-400ER assembly schedule. This calls for roll-out in August, with the first flight around September. Certification and initial deliver ' to launch customer Delta Air Lines is expected in May next year. • Airbus'Japan sales drive pays off with Mitsubishi contract ANDRZEJ JEZIORSKI/TOKYO MITSUBISHI Heavy Indus tries has secured its first air frame components subcontract on an Airbus Industrie programme as the European manufacturer steps up its sales efforts in Japan. The contract, awarded to Mitsubishi via Airbus partner British Aerospace, covers produc tion of an A319/A320 wing root component, the shroud box. The Japanese company has set its sights on bigger contracts on the A340- 500/600 programme as well as pos sible involvement in the proposed 550/650-seatA3XX. The deal helps iMitsubishi estab lish a more stable flow of orders alongside the work it is doing for Boeing and Bombardier. Boeing remains stronger in the Japanese market, having delivered about 540 aircraft compared with the 73 shipped by Airbus. The European manufacturer is keen to win a greater market share in one of the biggest economies in the world. It is understood that Japanese officials have been hinting that industrial involvement is a pre requisite to winning more orders for aircraft. Industry sources confirm that Japanese companies are showing more enthusiasm for involvement in Airbus programmes, but they say that any A3 XX participation is likely to remain on a subcontract basis because most of the risk- sharing work packages have been distributed. The only other Japanese Airbus manufacturing contract is with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which produces A3 21 fuselage compo nents. Kawasaki has confirmed that it is also interested in A3XX work. Ryozo Tsutsui, Kawasaki execu tive vice-president, says that the company wants to "keep the dia logue going" with Airbus on possi ble A3XX participation. "How ever, it is difficult to participate in that project because of our ties with Boeing," he adds. Kawasaki also supplies compo nents for both the Boeing 767 and 777 programmes. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 May 1999 15
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