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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 1466.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT Korean Air incurs fresh penalties KOREAN AIR (KAL) has suf fered a new round of govern ment sanctions on its domestic operations following the release of findings from the investigation into the recent runway overrun of a KAL Boeing MD-83. The South Korean Government has forced KAL to cut frequencies on its Seoul-Pohang route from 3 5 weekly flights to 18 for six months. The government is also banning the carrier from increasing fre quencies on other domestic routes, or adding new routes, for one year. The penalty is expected to cost KAL 3 billion won ($2.5 million) in lost revenue, on top of the $30 mil lion lost through route cuts imposed last October. Findings from the investigation into the MD-83 overrun, at Pohangon 15 March, identify pilot error as the primary cause. Investigators say the pilot only engaged thrust reversers 27s after touchdown, instead of three to four seconds as would normally be expected. Weather conditions, includinga 20kt(35km/h) tail\vind and rain, also contributed. The Pohang crash was followed by an aborted landing of a KAL Airbus A300-600R in poor weath er on the island of Cheju, after touching down with one wheel off the runway. The airline then lost a Boeing AID-11 freighter shortly after take-off from Shanghai on 15 April. All three crew and at least five people on the ground were killed. This was KAL's fourth hull loss since August 1997. Air France has joined Delta Air Lines and Air Canada in suspend ing its codeshare and block space arrangements with KAL. • Transeuropean flies Tu-204 TRANSEUROPEAN AIRLINES intro duced on 15 May the first of three Tupolev Tu-204s it has on order, serving Barcelona from Moscow. The Moscow Sheremetyevo- based charter carrier, which operates two Tupolev Tu-154s and three Ilyushin Il-86s, will take delivery of its second and third Perm PS-90A-powered Tu-204s later this year for operation on services to Europe and South-East Asia. US Q400 order on horizon as targets are bettered GUY NORRIS/LOS ANGELES MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON BOMBARDIER AND US regional carrier Horizon Air are negotiating a deal for at least 2 0 Dash 8 Q400 turboprops. An order from Horizon would represent a critical breakthrough in the North American market for the Canadian manufacturer. Although not confirmed by either party, the negotiations are believed to be based on a modi fication of the agreement between Horizon and Bombardier over pur chase rights on up to 30 Dash 8 Q200/Q300s. The airline flies 39 Dash 8-100/200s and has ten Q200s on firm order. It also has an outstanding order for 25 70-seat Canadair Regional Jet $eries 700s, mostly to replace Horizon's 21 68- seatFokkerF28Mk4000s. Although the CRJ-700 offers the same capacity as the Q400, the turboprop could be used to grow business on routes where the jet service would not be cost-effective. The Q400's high cruise speed enables it to operate similar block times to those of small jets such as theF28andBAel46. Horizon marketing director Dan Russo says several aircraft have been examined, but that "we have not made any commitment yet". Russo admits that the pur chase of a larger turboprop can be reconciled with the planned addi tion of equally sized regional jets, as the turboprop "could be operat ed on routes that, at certain times of the day, could use an aircraft with more than 3 7 seats". Bombardier has announced options and orders for only 93 Q400s, virtually all from European operators. The biggest customer, $AS Commuter, has 17 on firm order. According to Thing Ngo, vice-president of marketing at Bombardier Regional Aircraft, the four Q400s involved in the flight test programme are completing the l,600h of testing. "Canadian approval should be received during June, with the USA following in July, and European certification by late summer/early autumn," he says. This will enable first deliver ies to take place to Taiwan's UNI Air and to S AS Commuter in about three to four months, he adds. Flight testinghas confirmed that the aircraft has met or bettered its original performance targets, says Ngo. "Target cruise speed is lOkt better [at 360kt], while maximum speed is up from Mach 0.7 to M0.73," he says. Climb perfor mance is also better, and cruise specific air range is 1.8% greater than the target. Production of the new model at Bombardier's plant in Downsview, Toronto, is moving to two units a month. A dozen aircraft are due for delivery this year, including eight to SAS, two to UNI Air and two to Austria's Tyrolean Airways. • Chinese aim to compensate for traffic slump with aircraft leases CHINESE AIRLINES are responding to overcapacity and a slump in domestic traffic by offering aircraft for lease to other carriers. China Southern Airlines, based in Guangzhou, is to wet-lease two of its Boeing 777-200s to Biman Airlines of Bangladesh for carrying passengers on the hadj, starting in July. Chengdu-based China Southwest Airlines has signed a wet lease deal with Royal Nepal Airlines on two Boeing 757-200s. The 757s will be rotated on renew able one-year leases, with a third aircraft to ensure that maintenance standards are met. Beijing's Air China, meanwhile, has placed three new Airbus A340- 300s and three Boeing 777-200s on the market for three-to-five year dry lease. The A340s were built in 1997 and have flown fewer than 4,000h each. The 777s - powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4077s - were built last year, and have fewer than 600 airframe hours. The carrier recently took deliv ery of a new 777-200ER, and has another six on order. In January, because of Chinese carriers' losses, the Civil Aviation Administration of China instruct ed airlines to reduce overcapacity by not renewing expiring aircraft leases, and selling other aircraft. It also banned new aircraft orders during this year. • 10 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 26 May- 1 June 1999
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