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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3085.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / BIRMINGHAM MyTravel Lite unveils fleet and hub expansion plans Birmingham's new low-fare operator eyes potential move to 16-Airbus A320 fleet UK low-fare start-up MyTravelLite is planning to expand its initial two- aircraft fleet, which could result in it operating up to 16 Airbus A320s. The airline, a spin-off from UK leisure group MyTravel, launched operations earlier this month from its Birmingham hub with two 180- seat A320s transferred from its char ter sister airline MyTravel Airways. Its initial network comprises five points in France, Northern Ireland, Spain and Switzerland, but it has so far announced modest plans for two aircraft to be added to its fleet for its summer 2003 schedule. "We are now looking at various scenarios which could see us expan ding to up to 16 aircraft, and I will present these to the [MyTravel] board next month," says MyTravel Lite managing director Tim Jeans. "These include a second operation in the UK," he adds. A timescale for the proposed expansion has not been revealed, but Jeans says it will not take place before next summer. The airline was created to address the market erosion by low-cost carri ers that its tour operator parent has been experiencing. It is believed that the next phase of expansion could include the creation of an off shore hub. MyTravel already has an airline operation in Scandinavia, which makes the region a potential location for any additional bases. Although it has its own flight operations manager, the low-fare division is structured as an arm of the charter airline with flight and cabin crew seconded for short peri ods. The second batch of two air craft due to arrive next year are being sourced from MyTravel's Scandinavian arm, and have been subject to lease extensions. Jeans says any additional aircraft will have to be sourced from outside MyTravel Group, but he does not envisage the need for a separate dedicated flight and cabin crew pool until the fleet has grown beyond 12 aircraft. • MyTravel Airways and FLS Aero space have launched their 50/50 engineering joint venture at Man chester Airport. The company, MyTravel Aircraft Engineering, will provide maintenance and technical services for the tour operator's fleet. MyTravel Lite's expansion could include the creation of an off-shore hub INCIDENT REPORTING DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON EU ministers reject safety initiative European airlines are concerned that a move towards improved inci dent reporting and safety data shar ing in the region may be thwarted by ministers because of differences in European Union (EU) member states' legal systems. Although the European Commission had recom mended - and parliament had app roved - protection for employees who file voluntary reports of minor incidents that may have gone unnoticed, the EU Council of Min isters has turned down the proposal. Director general of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) Mike Ambrose says "airlines must encourage their employees to report events" as the reports could high light system failures and prevent accidents. This, he says, should be applicable to everyone from ground crew to pilots. The European Parlia ment notes: "The objective of the reports is to prevent accidents and incidents and not to determine fault or responsibility." The difference among transport ministers has been between those whose law is based on the Napoleonic code that req uires innocence to be proven, and those whose law presumes inno cence until guilt is proven - with the latter in favour of the reporting system as originally proposed. Following the Transport Coun cil's rejection, the EC and Parlia ment have reframed the proposed law. Only those who file voluntary reports of events that have come to light by virtue of their reports would be protected, and instead of asking countries to modify their laws to give protection to voluntary repor ters, the proposal now asks them to agree to "refrain from instituting procedures" against them. It was never the intention that a report revealing gross negligence would protect the reporter. But charter air line organisation the International Air Carriers Association says: "The council will likely reject the amend ment on confidential reporting and this will lead to the conciliation pro cedure which will stall adoption for at least several months." SETBACK Air Paradise launch delayed by Bali bomb Indonesian start-up carrier Air Paradise International is delay ing its planned 27 October launch following the 12 October car bomb blast that struck Bali, killing almost 200 people and injuring around 300. The airline plans to serve Perth four times weekly and Melbourne thrice weekly from its Bali base using two ex- Singapore Airlines Airbus A310-300s. Services to Jakarta are also planned, while Seoul and Taipei will follow once the second aircraft is delivered. Air Paradise backer Kadek Wiranatha owns hotels, night clubs and taxi companies in Bali. Air Paradise insists Kadek remains committed, but general manager Barry Hess is unable to say when flights will start. Garuda Indonesia, Qantas and Singapore Airlines (SIA) last week laid on extra flights to Australia to fly tourists from the island after the attack. Garuda more than doubled the capacity of its scheduled services from Bali to Australia, while SIA added an extra daily flight. Qantas, the Royal Australian Air Force and Australia's Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) operated a complex joint airlift to evacuate victims of the Bali attack. By 14 October Qantas had carried over 1,500 people to Sydney on special flights with further operations scheduled to Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth, while the RAAF evac uated the wounded to Darwin. The RFDS diverted aircraft from regular aeromedical and ambu lance functions in northern Australia to shuttle seriously wounded victims. Australia-Bali flights were also used to transport medical work ers and security staff to Bali. Qantas last week warned domes tic and international customers it would have to reschedule other operations for further Bali flights. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 22-28 OCTOBER 2002 13
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