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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 1530.PDF
JetBlue looks to widen services PAUL LEWIS/ORLANDO JETBLUE Airways has topped up its Airbus A3 2 0 order by con verting seven more options. The start-up carrier aims to broaden services out of its New York Kennedy hub and beyond. The new deal increases JetBlue's A320 orderbook to 40 aircraft, including six being leased from International Lease Finance and two from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise. JetBlue has three International Aero Engines V2500-powered aircraft in service and another seven due for delivery before the end of the year. "We needed to firm up some more aircraft now to make sure we secured enough delivery positions. With every option we firm up, a JetBlue's A320 deliveries from nine purchase right is converted to an to 10 aircraft next year, and from option," says JetBlue chief execu tive David Neeleman. The new order will accelerate eight to 10 in 2002 with the rest coming in 2003. The deal leaves the carrier with 43 outstanding JetBlue is accelerating deliveries ofA320s as it prepares for expansion options and purchase rights for delivery in 2004 and beyond. JetBlue operates three north- south daily routes from Kennedy to Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa and will add Orlando in June. The airline also plans to launch east-west transcontinental night services and with its current allocated limit of 75 daily slots at Kennedy, is looking for new hubs. "I'm sure we'll go outside New York after the first three years. We have three or four cities we're look ing at as additional hubs. We'll make a decision in 2001-02," says Neeleman, who says the focus will still be on the US East Coast. JetBlue says it will be operating profitably by the second half of the year, with a full profit in 2 001. J Atlantic injects new life into old turboprops ATLANTIC AIRLINES has decided that the Lockheed Electra will form the basis of its ad hoc cargo charter business for at least the next 10 years, as it expands its fleet to nine aircraft. The UK cargo airline has acquired two aircraft from Fred Olsen Airtransport and is investing heavily to upgrade and extend the 15t payload turboprop's life. Atlantic Airlines, the commer cial arm of UK-based historic air craft specialist Air Atlantique, specialises in ad hoc charter cargo work using Douglas DC-3s, DC-6s and Electras. The acquisi tion of a jet freighter such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-8-70 is on the agenda for the longer term to help the airline expand its transatlantic operations. Atlantic's fleet of nine 39-41- year-old Electras represents a quarter of the worldwide opera tional fleet. Group managing director James Foden says that with its low fixed costs (examples typically trade for around $2 mil lion each), good payload and low noise levels, the Electra makes an ideal freighter for European and transatlantic ad hoc cargo flights. "From our point of view, it is the only show in town," says Fodden. "We are investing a huge amount in the fleet - $500,000 to upgrade each aircraft - and working on the Electra's ageing aircraft pro gramme for the UK CAA [Civil Aviation Authority]," he adds. This programme is expected to be in place by 2002. To meet new requirements, Atlantic is installing traffic alert and collision avoidance systems, Mode S transponders, and upgrad ed radios to 8.33kHz. It has already modified and re- certificated its Electras from three to two flightcrew operation and installed global positioning sys tems in two aircraft for transat lantic flights. One aircraft has been hard wired for propeller balancing diagnostics, to help Atlantic reduce wear and tear. A new generator and control system is being designed to ensure that the electrical systems to cope with the modern avionics, and to help improve reliability. • UK tests auto guidance system BERNARD FITZSIMONS/EDINBURGH THE UK NATIONAL Air Traffic Services (NATS) is working with avionics manufactur er Rockwell Collins to build on its recently demonstrated ability to provide accurate automatic guid ance to aircraft during all phases of flight using global navigation satel lite system (GNSS) positioning data. Early this month a BAC One- Eleven operated by the UK's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) demonstrated the capability in Scotland, following a series of validation flights at DERAs Boscombe Down airfield in February. They included area navigation (RNAV) operations as well as straight-in and curved approaches at glideslope angles of up to 7.5°. The GNSS guidance was used to fly the aircraft auto matically from take-off to final approach. The flight trials were intended to explore the potential of GNSS as a cost-effective enabler for RNAV, NATS Infrastructure Services senior systems engineer Steven Leighton said at the GNSS 2000 conference, which took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, earlier this month. RNAV capability provides greater flexibility in route plan ning, a reduction in air traffic con troller workload by reducing the need to provide radar vectors and more fuel-efficient routes for operators. The One-Eleven trials should also be useful for validating the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS), the first phase of Europe's GNSS programme which is due for implementation in 2003. The space-based augmentation (SBAS) demonstration platform consisted of a NovAtel Millennium global positioning system (GPS) receiver modified to receive signals generated by the EGNOS testbed at London Gatwick Airport and relayed via Inmarsat satellite. The SBAS platform outputs air craft position, SBAS glidescope and SBAS localiser guidance to die One-Eleven's experimental flight management system (EFMS). The EFMS outputs the glidescope to the autopilot and gives lateral RNAV guidance until the straight- in segment, when the autopilot is coupled direcdy to the SBAS plat form. Coupled go-around guid ance should be completed by the end of this year. J FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 16 - 22 May 2000 15
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