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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 1053.PDF
BUSINESS & GENERAL AVIATION FRACTIONAL OWNERSHIP GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC New venture undeterred by Avolar ShairForce seeks shared ownership success as United Airlines business jet subsidiary closes after three months The demise of United Airlines' ambitious venture into business jet fractional ownership has not deterred others from seeking to ent er the market. Even as United's par ent, UAL, announced closure of its Avolar subsidiary barely three months after it began flying cus tomers, a new entity, ShairForce, unveiled plans for a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) shared ownership scheme. UAL had been expected to close Avolar after ending its search for outside investment last month. Although the company said it was drawing up a new business plan, observers saw little prospect of the subsidiary being able to finance its $6 billion in aircraft commitments without extra investment beyond the $102 million from United (Flight International, 19-25 March). Chief executive Jack Creighton says United "explored every possi ble option that would have enabled UAL to benefit from its original investment...but none of them proved financially viable in ShairForce plans a shared-ownership scheme using BBJ2 the current airline operating envi ronment". Shutting down Avolar "is the most prudent move", he says. United's unions had opposed the financially struggling airline's venture into fractional ownership. United will incur a charge of between $45 million and $55 mil lion for shutting down Avolar and cancelling its $1.9 billion in firm orders for 46 Dassault and 36 Gulfstream business jets, deliveries of which were to begin this month. Dassault says the decision will not have a negative impact on the company "because the first aircraft to be delivered can be sold to other clients". The French manufacturer will not change its production plans for this year, "which means five clients in 2002 and another five in 2003 will have a shorter wait for their aircraft, those originally planned for delivery to Avolar". ShairForce, meanwhile, is a far more modest venture than Avolar. The New York-based company is still raising private investment, but plans to begin operations with a single BBJ2 based on the East Coast of the USA. Its ShairForce One scheme differs from others in that share owners are entitled to passen ger hours rather than aircraft hours, which the company claims makes it more affordable than tra ditional fractional programmes. A 1/16th share in the BBJ2 will entitle the owner to 2,400 passenger hours per year. ShairForce has concluded negoti ations for a 36-passenger BBJ2 with the Boeing-General Electric joint venture, but has yet to place an order. The company hopes to have the required financing in place in "a couple of weeks", when it will begin marketing shares, with oper ations planned to begin within six months. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRISTINA MACKENZIE UTILITY AIRCRAFT Raven returns to flight tests The first prototype of the Wolfsberg-Letov 257 Raven all-metal utility aircraft has resumed flight testing after sig nificant modifications. Alec Clark, chief designer of the aircraft, says that pilots had "experienced quite a bit of trou ble climbing through the cargo area to get to the cockpit" and so the aircraft has been redesigned with side cockpit doors. This has allowed the design ers to shorten the cockpit by 340mm (13.4in), increasing the useful length of the cargo hold to 4m (13ft). The Raven has been designed with the largest cargo door of any aircraft in its class, says Clark. The 257's door measures 1.5m x 1.5m, com pared to a BN Islander's width of 1.1m and a Cessna 208 Caravan at 1.2m. HELICOPTER CHARTERS Russian operator hopeful of major increase in United Nations contracts Russian helicopter charter operator Tyumen Avia Trans (TAT), based in Surgut, Western Siberia, has won United Nations contracts so far this year worth $31 million and hopes to exceed "considerably" last year's $35 million of UN business. TAT started flying for the UN in 1999 with a $4 million contract. In 2000 its UN activities had risen to $22 million and out of its 174-heli- copter fleet the company now operates three Mil Mi-26s, 11 Mi- 8MTVs and three Mi-8Ts in inter national troublespots including East Timor, Sierra Leone and Western Sahara. TAT acquired two Mi-26 heavy- lift helicopters in 1999 specifically for its Sierra Leone contract. The operator says that UN contracts allow it to maintain eight Mi-26s in working condition from a total fleet of 18, sustaining its status as the type's largest commercial operator. Last year TAT's helicopter fleet use increased by 52.5%, with four-fifths of contracts coming from energy companies including Gazprom, Sibneft and Surgutneftegaz. Meanwhile, the operator is also continuing to evaluate the Kazan Ansat light utility helicopter and the upgraded Mil Mi-2 to meet its medium helicopter requirements, although the Ansat is the favoured type (Flight International, 4-10 December 2001). General director Andrei Martiro- sov says it is discussing a deal for between five and 10 Ansats with Kazan Helicopters. Negotiations are thought to hinge on the issue of establishing a maintenance base for the type at TAT's Aircraft Repair Station 26 in Tyumen. TAT has dropped plans to acquire western regional turbo- props, such as the Bombardier Dash-8 and ATR 42, for its airline operations, due to its inability to persuade the Russian government to remove the high import taxes. But Martirosov says it would be happy to buy Eurocopter helicopters if the government abandons the taxes. Meanwhile, TAT is due to accept delivery of a Gulfstream IV-SP busi ness jet in August and operate it on behalf of the owner, an unnamed West Siberian energy company. It will be the first such aircraft to enter service in Russia. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 2-8 APRIL 2002 29
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