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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 0797.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT IFE Garuda to be Global Aviation launch airline Garuda Indonesia has signed a letter of intent with Global Aviation to launch the company's new SkyMediaCenter 3000 in-flight entertainment (IFE) system around the middle of the year. Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) executive vice-president Hadinoto Soedigno claims that the system's features, price and availability make it the most attractive system on the market, and are the reasons why the air line chose not to go with an established vendor. Installation work should begin in the first and business classes on Garuda's Boeing 747-400s by the middle of the year. Work will begin later on installing the system across the Boeing 737 fleet, and it should eventually be installed on other aircraft types. AIRCRAFT DEVELOPMENT GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC Russian regional jet project moves into second phase Long-range capability is key factor to meeting reguirements of Boeing and partners Boeing and its partners Ilyushin and Sukhoi have begun a second phase of feasibility studies into the so-called Russian Regional Jet (RRJ). The first phase, launched in June last year, was completed in December, says Tom Pickering, Boeing's senior vice-president of international relations. The three companies are study ing a twinjet RRJ design with "fewer than 100 seats and very long range" to meet Russian requirements, but are also looking at the world market for such an air craft, says Pickering. Joint studies cover the design, certification requirements, market potential and possible funding sources of the aircraft, and are targeted to be completed around July, he says. Detailed plans regarding the pro ject were unveiled last August by Sukhoi, which confirmed that a three member family was envis aged - the 55-seat RRJ-55, the 75- seat RRJ-75 and 95-seat RRJ-95. Since then, the group has been drawing up a business develop ment plan for the project. Service entry is slated for 2005-6. If the RRJ programme goes ahead, Boeing would help with design, management and market ing, says Pickering. The regional jet study is one of several efforts being made to provide support to the Russian industry at the same time as the US company tries to sell aircraft to re-equip airlines such as Aeroflot. "The Russians are not yet producing suitable aircraft, so we are working to keep the industry alive," he says. Another study involves a supersonic business jet. The US manufacturer already has contracts with four Russian design bureaux under which almost 300 Moscow-based engi neers are working on parts for Boeing commercial aircraft using the CATIA computer-aided design system. This is set to increase to 450 engineers, Pickering says. Another 350 scientists at six Russian research institutes are working on Boeing-funded projects, he says. CARGO WOW: the new name for NCG Lufthansa Cargo, SAS Cargo and Singapore Airlines Cargo have renamed their alliance WOW, and unveiled a combined seamless service over all three networks. The relaunched alliance, for merly known as New Global Cargo (NGC), has plans to expand further. The partners are now searching for a fourth mem ber to fill "the blank areas on the map", says Lufthansa Cargo's executive board member Andreas Otto. According to Singapore Airlines Cargo president Hwang Teng Aun, the most obvious gap is in the transpacific market to North Asia. Although all three WOW members are in Star Alliance, the new member need not be, says Hwang, "although we would prefer it". As soon as current agree ments with contractors allow, the alliance plans to merge ground handling operations. EXPANSION MARY KIRBY / WASHINGTON DC Bullish Air Jamaica to add capacity Air Jamaica is putting back all of the capacity it slashed after last September's terrorist attacks in the USA, and looking to acquire aircraft to expand international services. The carrier cut capacity by 20% last year and says that it is now operating at higher capacity levels than before the terrorist attacks. It recently launched ser vices to Boston and Houston, and added frequencies to Curacao, and hopes to forge a partnership with Continental Airlines at its Houston hub. Air Jamaica is considering launching services to Dublin in 2003, followed by Frankfurt and then Milan and is looking to acquire a third Airbus A340 to add to the two it recently acquired from International Lease Finance (ILFC). The two A340s will be used to introduce new weekly services from Montego Bay and Kingston to Manchester as well as from Havana Air Jamaica will use its new A340s to start weekly Manchester flights to London Heathrow and to boost to daily the carrier's services linking Montego Bay and Heathrow. By 30 May, the carrier will be operat ing 11 weekly flights to the UK. The service additions fill the void left by British Airways when it exited Montego Bay in January. "We're looking into more air craft. We're looking to do a Manchester-Dublin routing," con firms vice-president of marketing Allan Chastenet. Air Jamaica also operates four Airbus A310s, eight A320s, three A321s and two Boeing MD-83s. The MD-83s will be returned to lessor Ansett Worldwide by April and replaced by two new A320s. The carrier is also trying to phase out its A310s, "which will require additional aircraft", says Chastenet. Services to Detroit, Denver and San Francisco may also be on the cards, but would require loosening of the US-Jamaica bilateral. Plans for a Montego Bay-Washington Dulles service have been put on hold until next February. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19-25 MARCH 2002 15
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