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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 0468.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT ORDERS MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON STANSTED Boeing/Airbus await huge Go order No-frills airline considers bucking the low-cost trend and opting for a mix of aircraft sizes as it plans major expansion Low fare airline Go is close to final ising a major fleet expansion deci sion which is likely to net a huge order for Airbus or Boeing. The air line is also mulling whether to buck the low-cost trend and order a mix of aircraft capacities rather than concentrating on a single size. The London Stansted-based car rier, which until last year was owned by British Airways, is rapidly expanding its fleet amid Europe's boom in no-frills airlines. It has already established a second hub at Bristol and is poised to launch services from a new base at East Midlands Airport. Go's Stansted neighbour Ryanair Iran Tu-154 hits mountains An Iranian domestic flight from Tehran to Khorrambad, a western provincial capital, crashed in mountains on 12 February during its descent to its destination airport. Operated by Iran Air sub sidiary Iran Air Tours, the Tupolev Tu-154M (EP-MBS), leased from Russia's Vnukovo Aircraft Repair factory, was reported to be carrying 117 people. All are believed to have died. The wreckage, according to local witnesses, is widely scattered on an inac cessible mountain "close to the airport". Iran Air Tours operates 15 leased Tu-154Ms. recently concluded a massive 100 aircraft deal with Boeing for 737- 800s, while rival Easyjet is in the final throes of its own fleet expan sion campaign, with Airbus and Boeing vying for a 75 aircraft order. Chief operating officer Ed Winter says that Go aims to expand at an annual compound rate of 30%, which will see its fleet grow from the mid-2002 tally of 27 Boeing 737-300s to around 80 aircraft in four years' time. "We have been in a lengthy eval uation of the Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies, and we've just fin ished the operating cost analysis," Winter says. "If we are to start tak- Air Adriatic, a Croatian charter airline, which is backed by Scan dinavian investors, is to begin op erations in April using a six- strong fleet of Boeing MD-82s and Fokker 50s. Croatia's air links were savaged during the Yugoslav civil war of the mid-1990s, leaving only a limited number of direct flights, mostly out of the capital Zagreb. Air Adriatic is aiming to plug this gap, while taking advantage of the limited charter service Zag reb-based Croatia Airlines is plan ning to provide this summer fol lowing the postponement of the delivery of Airbus A319s. ing aircraft from next spring then we will have to place an order by early summer." An order for up to 80 aircraft for delivery through to 2006 is envisaged, plus additional positions beyond that date. Although Go's present all-Boeing fleet suggests the US manufacturer could have the advantage, Winter stresses that he "doesn't see any reason why Airbus shouldn't be successful" in the campaign and says that the European manufac turer is working hard to achieve the cost per seat Go requires. While the evaluation of new aircraft has been running for several years, Winter says that the The airline, headquartered in Rijeka with a technical base at Pula airport, will focus on flights con necting Croatia with Central Eu rope, Israel, Russia, Scandinavia and the UK. In the Balkans, Air Adriatic plans to connect Pula or Rijeka in Croatia with Belgrade and Pristina in Serbia. It will use Fokker 50s for services to points along the Croatian coast line, from Istria in the north to Dubrovnik in the south, with pos sible stops at Zadar and Split. Air Adriatic will operate three MD-82s and three Fokker 50s this year, and plans to add three more MD-80s in 2003. fall in lease rates and values since 11 September has meant that the acquisition of used aircraft is also now being considered to under write its expansion. Studies of new aircraft have cen tred on the Airbus A319, equipped with four overwing exits to boost capacity to 150 passengers, and the similarly sized Boeing 737-700. However, Winter says that Go has identified some markets where a larger aircraft could be of benefit, and is evaluating whether to also order a bigger model - such as the 180/220 seat A320/A321 or 189/200 seat 737-800/9OOX. If the airline does split the sizes of its aircraft, it would constitute a marked departure from the general policy of low-cost airlines, such as Easyjet and Southwest, which only operate one size of aircraft. Even Ryanair, which has 737-200s and -800s in service, is planning to operate only the larger model in the longer term. Winter says Go is studying vari- $ ous ways of funding the airline's <£ expansion, including an initial 1 public offering towards the end of this year or early next. Air Adriatic was registered in 1997 in Rijeka by a group of former Croatia Airlines pilots, but has had several false starts. In January 2000, negotiations between the Croatian and Swiss governments over co-operation with Crossair failed. Then it placed an order for two Fairchild Dornier 328JETs only to cancel the order when the main in vestor pulled out. In August last year, it leased from Bulgarian Air Charters a 157- seat Tupolev Tu-154M, but re turned it after apparently failing to secure the necessary operating certificates. Although its current fleet consists entirely of Boeing 737-300s. Go is seriously evaluating the Airbus alternative ACCIDENTS START-UP IGOR SALINGER / BELGRADE Croatian charter airline ready to reconnect war-torn regional links 16 19-25 FEBRUARY 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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