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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 1949.PDF
Airbus offers sweeteners as it woos Varig in A330 deal PAUL LEWIS/WASHINGTON DC MARIO FONSECA/RIO DE JANEIRO AIRBUS HAS made Varig an attractive offer on up to 24 A3 3 Os in an effort to breakBoeing's control of the carrier's fleet. The proposal comes at a critical time for the Brazilian airline as it renegoti ates deliveries and payments with the US manufacturer for up to 39 737,767 and 777 aircraft. Varig is expected to decide shortly on an Airbus sales proposal for 12 A3 3 Os and a similar number of options to replace its Boeing 767-200/300s. The A3 30s would be used on Varig's shorter international routes to North America that employ 767s, rather than to Europe. Lease contracts on some of die older 767s are due to expire and Varig wants to renegotiate lower leases on the remaining widebody jets, which one source describes as "murder ous" on account of the continued weakness of the Brazilian real against die US dollar. "We're in die market and our staff have paid a very useful visit to Airbus," Varig chief executive Oz- ires Silva recendy confirmed to Flight International. "Airbus is a serious player and it's our responsi bility to check what kind of aircraft this is and understand whedier or not it fits our network," he adds. Airbus, in addition to offering attractive financing, is understood to be discussing a local mainte nance venture widi Varig as an extra inducement. Boeing has much at stake widi Varig, not least die future of its aircraft ordered by Varig in 1998 but as yet undeliv ered in die wake of recent econom ic difficulties. These include six more767-300s,eight777-200s, 10 737-800s and 15 more 737-700s. A fresh foodiold at Varig would be important for Airbus, as, after success at die carrier with die sale of two A300B4s in 1981/82, it has had a barren spell. Since the dis posal of die two twinjets 10 years ago, Varig has operated a Boeing and McDonnell Douglas fleet. The deal may also open up Varig to Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney powerplant alternatives to General Electric which domi nates die carrier. Varig plans to use 777s to Europe starting widi two International Lease Finance air craft due for October delivery. • ISS robot arm faults put jinx on Shuttle missions CONTINUED PROBLEMS with the $600 million Canad- arm 2 Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) have delayed two Space Shuttle missions by at least a mondi and may result in a switch of these missions. STS 104/'Atlantis, carrying the $164 million US airlock module, has been put back to early July, while STS 105/Discovery, a logis tics and crew exchange mission, is now scheduled for August. The STS 105 may fly first and STS 104 will be pushed furdjer back. The seven-joint, twin-arm Canadarm 2 will be needed to install die Q airlock module (which allows access from the space station for EVA spacewalks) to the ISS, a job that cannot be done by the Shutde's remote manipulator system arm. An attempt to fix a back-up com puter or ana controller unit on the 17m- (56ft) ftuig Canadarm will be made by two I^S crew on 8 June. The arm controller routes commands from inside die The ISS Canadarm 2 has conlrolproblems and a failed shoulder joint US Destiny laboratory /nodule. The unit has two prime data pathways and a back-up over which the commands travel, but the back-up failed, stopping die move ment of some arm joints. The other arm's shoulder has a failed pitch joint. If the 8 June EVA goes well, Atlantis will be launched, followed by Discovery, which will repair the shoulder joint. If the EVA fails, Discovery will fix the Canadarm, Atlantis, following with die airlock module. To allow for more EVA training, STS 105 would fly in August, Atlantis in September. • Doubts grow over United-US deal as DoJ hesitates US AIRWAYS is reviewing its future options in the face of mounting scepticism, underscored by Moody's Investor Service down grading its rating of both airlines, that the long-awaited proposed merger with United Airlines will secure US Department of Justice (DoJ) approval. More than a year on from when United first proposed its $12.3 bil lion take-over plan, the deal appears no closer to regulatory approval. US Airways has since slipped further into the red, losing $171 million in the first quarter, while its share price has slumped to $24 per share compared to the $60 originally tabled by United. Moody's downgrading is due to US Airways' worsening operating performance and the financial stress a debt-financed take-over would impose on United. Moody's believes the merger would not be approved "under current terms". Despite US Airways' public claims to the contrary, it is under stood from airline sources that a fall-back plan is being formulated to restructure the carrier if the deal dies. This includes continued ratio nalisation of the airline's varied fleet of narrowbodies around Airbus A320/A321s, forging rela tionships with new partners in Europe and Asia, and opening ser vices to new international markets, such as Latin America. The carrier is retiring its final seven McDonnell Douglas DC-9s by year-end and accelerating the disposal of 31 Boeing MD-80s to next year. This leaves 40 Fokker 100s and 34Boeing757s, which are earmarked for sale to American Airlines if the merger is approved, with 43 737-200s and 139 -300/400s left to dispose of. Cost-cutting options include die sale of one of US Airways' three US hubs, with Charlotte regarded as the most attractive, and continuing with the sale of its three wholly-owned regional sub sidiaries, Allegheny, Piedmont and PSA, to Atlantic Coast Airlines, suggest sources. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5 - 11 June 2001 5
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