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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3828.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT MAX KINGSLEY JONES / LONDON BAE forced into contractual corner Manufacturer may have to deliver ordered Avro RJXs to customers, despite cancellation of the programme BAE Systems may be forced to build Avro RJXs for launch cus tomer British European, despite its announcement last week that the programme has been terminated. The twist comes from a contrac tual wrangle with the UK regional, which was due to take delivery of its first of 12 firmly ordered RJXs next April. Druk Air of Bhutan holds two RJX orders, while British European also holds eight options. "We have not cancelled our order," says British European's man aging director Jim French. "BAE is contractually obliged to deliver the aircraft, and we are working on the basis the order is going ahead." The Honeywell AS977-powered RJXs were ordered to replace 17 BAe 146s. Nick Godwin, senior vice presi dent of marketing and communi cations at BAE's Aircraft Services Group confirms that it is obliged to deliver the firmly ordered aircraft for British European and Druk Air should they wish. "We are talking to them about how we might best meet their and our contractual obligations...we suspect they won't [go ahead with the orders]." French says the airline is study ing the concept of operating what would effectively be an orphaned fleet. The airline is in "no great hurry to make a decision", he says. Avro RJX demise signals end of line for UK jet production The cancellation of the Avro RJX marks the end of 52 years of continu ous jet airliner manufacture in the UK, which began with the de Havilland Comet in 1949.The RJX traces its origins back to the four- engined HS146, which was launched in 1973 as a jet replacement for regional turboprops. A year later, the world recession forced HS to can cel the programme, only for it to be revived as the BAe 146 in 1978.Since then the company has lost a fortune on the regional jetjncluding setting aside £1 billion for restructuring in 1992. An attempt to sell off part of the activity to Taiwan Aerospace failed, as did a tie-up with ATR. BAe has delivered 385 aircraft (219 146s and 166 RJs) and has four more RJs to complete. This total excludes RJX orders. At the time of launch, the RJX programme was expected to cost BAE Systems and its partner Honeywell around $100 million to develop. The RJX is set to be the last of a long line of British airliner designs to fly If forced to build the aircraft, BAE would want to complete the entire order over the next year or so, but British European's 12 firm orders are due over the next five years and French says the airline is not will ing to take accelerated delivery. The RJX flight-test programme has been underway since April, involving two aircraft, and the first production aircraft for British European is almost complete. Although testing was stopped after the programme termination was announced last week, it is believed to have resumed, pending the outcome of customer discussions. Godwin says the timing of the decision to end the programme came as result of the terrrorist attacks: "Post 11 September all new aircraft evaluations were delayed by six months. Also the idle fleet began growing," he says. The delay of the British Airways/Qantas com petition was significant, with BAE seen as a front-runner for part of the requirement. He adds that there were deals to be done, but "the pricing had gone down and the recourse had gone up". Honeywell says the shut down process for the AS977 programme "will proceed in an orderly fash ion", though it adds "we are obvi ously very disappointed with the decision". The engine is virtually through certification testing and Honeywell plans to continue work until "we reach the closest mile stone and stop that motor there". Closing RJ/RJX will make 1,000 workers redundant, mainly at its Woodford factory in Cheshire, UK with over 600 job cuts from other plants of BAE as it rationalises its aerostructures and aviation services divisions. Shutting the RJX, along with the other restructuring mea sures, will cost BAE £400 million ($570 million) - almost all of which will fall in the 2001 financial year. AIR TRANSPORT PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC Boeing delays 717 decision as A318 loses ground Boeing has postponed a decision on the future of its 717 production line as airline support for the rival Airbus A318 begins to weaken, which could force a delay to the programme. There are also indications of renewed Bombardier interest in the shelved BRJ-X, adding to the increasing state of flux in the 100-seat aircraft market. Several industry sources confirm there is growing reluctance to take delivery of the A318 on the current programme schedule as a result of the market downturn. This is understood to include launch customer international Lease Finance, which is due to take the first 107-seat airliner in just over a year, but is not believed to have placed any of the 30 aircraft on order. British Airways is also thought to want to reschedule the delivery of its 12 Pratt & Whitney PW6000-powered A318s, which had been due to start arriving in January 2003. America West has already said it was in talks over deferrals for an order, which includes 15 A318s. The order- book for the aircraft totals 136 aircraft. This raises the spectre of the CFM International CFM56-5 engine, which was selected by Air France for its 15 A318s, assum ing the lead position on the programme. Despite recent technical setbacks with the PW6000, P&W claims the engine remains on schedule for certification shortly to support the start of A318 flight testing. Airbus, which was unavailable for comment, is expected to delay rather than cancel the A318, particularly if Boeing reduces the competitive pressure by scrapping the 717. The US manu facturer had been scheduled to make a decision on 26 November, but this has been delayed. The beneficiaries from any decision to discontinue the Boeing 717 line will be the planned Embraer 190/195 and Fairchild Dornier 928JET, particularly in the wake of BAE Systems' cancellation of the RJX and the move by US major carriers to boost regional jet flying. Bombardier is also planning to renew con tacts with potential vendors for the BRJ-X, according to sources. 4 4-10 DECEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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