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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3750.PDF
BUSINESS AIRFRAME MANUFACTURING GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC Aircraft deliveries to stay flat, predicts Bombardier Manufacturer ends amphibious aircraft production and takes C$264 million Q400 charge Bombardier expects aircraft deliver ies to remain flat this year and next, despite a drop in business air craft sales. Reporting surprisingly strong third-quarter results, the Canadian company says it expects to deliver 370 aircraft this financial year - the same total as last year, and down from the previously forecast 420 - and a similar num ber next year. Meanwhile, Bombardier has sus pended production of the CL-415 amphibious aircraft until it receives enough orders to restart the line. The company has also taken a third-quarter charge of C$264 mil lion ($166 million) related to the non-recurring costs of the slow-sell ing Q400 regional turboprop. Aerospace sales increased slightly in the third quarter, to C$2.57 bil lion from C$2.55 billion last year, despite a drop in aircraft deliveries from 85 to 69. Most of the reduc tion was in business jet shipments, which fell to 24 aircraft. Income was down from C$285 million last year to C$240 million. In total Bombardier reported consolidated revenue up 30% at C$5 billion and income before charges up 12% at C$380 million. Chief executive Robert Brown blamed some of the aerospace delivery decline on disruptions after the 11 September terrorist attacks. As a consequence, the company expects to deliver 64 business jets in the fourth quarter, for a total of around 180 for the year ending 30 January - less than the figure for 2000. He does not expect a rebound before the second half of 2002. Brown says that no regional jet orders have been delayed or can celled, and deliveries continue "as quickly as the airlines can absorb them in their new circumstances". Although aircraft deliveries are set to remain flat next year, revenues will increase, since the larger CRJ700 regional jet will make up a greater proportion of shipments. Revenues are expected to increase next year as the CRJ700 is set to make up a greater proportion of shipments AIRLINE RESULTS ALEXANDER CAMPBELL / LONDON Go: no frills but plenty of thrills Low-cost carrier Go has revealed impressive interim results, a sharp contrast to the travails of its former parent British Airways. The no-frills carrier reported 2.1 million passengers, up41%; £128.2 million revenue ($181 mil lion), up 44%; and £16.9 million pre-tax profit, up 51 %, for the six months to 30 September compared with the same period last year. Go was sold by BA in a management buyout in June and is now owned by the venture capital group 3i. Releasing the results on 19 November, chief executive Barbara Cassani conf rmed the airline still planned to float in two to three years' time. BA suffered badly in the after math of 11 September, with passenger numbers falling and profits almost wiped out. Most flag carriers went the same way, but the UK low-cost airlines like Go, EasyJet and Ryanair have flourished in an increasingly hostile mar ket, taking on routes dropped by the flag carriers - Go recently expanded its London-Belfast service after BA with drew from the route. EasyJet's hub airport at Luton also profited from the rise in low-cost airline passenger numbers. TBI, which owns part of Luton, reported its operating profits rising 84% last week. Meanwhile BAA, which operates Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, largely used by the heavily troubled main stream airlines, reported falling passenger numbers and minimal profit increases in its interim results in October. Unlike other low-cost airlines, Go's yield rose slightly from 5.2p to 5.8p per revenue-passenger km. But, if it follows the pattern of other low-cost carriers, it will run into more com petition as it grows, and will be forced to cut fares further, squeezing its margins. The low-cost sector has thrived, partly on the back of fare cutting since the economic slow down and the war in Afghanistan, with most no- frills airlines reporting rises in passengers, revenues and profits. MERGER UTC combines auxiliary power businesses United Technologies (UTC) is to merge its two auxiliary power unit (APU) manufactur ing businesses. Hamilton Sundstrand in San Diego will take over management of APU programmes, but Pratt & Whitney Canada will continue to build the PW901 for the Boeing 747 and will develop and produce the PW980 for the Airbus A380 twin-deck superjumbo. "The customer interface and support will be run from San Diego, but there are no plans to move manufacturing at the moment," says Aerospace Power Systems division president Davis Hess. "Development of the A380 APU will continue in Canada." Hamilton Sundstrand, which produces APUs for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, will participate in develop ment of the PW980, Hess says, and may "possibly sup ply some externals and components" to P&WC. The San Diego operation "has a lot of expertise in design to cost", he says. The company sees a gap in its range between APUs for narrowbodies and those for large widebodies. "We plan to launch a programme in the future, possibly for the [Boeing] Sonic Cruiser," he says. Hamilton Sundstrand's new Aerospace Power Systems division, formed in April, has been selected to supply the air generation system for the A380 - its first contract with Airbus, worth an estimated $700 million over the pro gramme lifespan. Nord-Micro of Germany, also part of Hamilton Sundstrand, has already been picked to supply the A380's cabin pressure control system. Although several air lines have already ordered A380s, it will not enter service until 2006. 22 27 NOVEMBER - 3 DECEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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