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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 0081.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT MANUFACTURING MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / PARIS & NICHOLAS IONIDES / SINGAPORE China is next A380 sales target Airbus confident two of the country's airlines will buy aircraft before 2008 and courts other carriers in the region Airbus expects two Chinese airlines to be among the next batch of A380 customers as it targets more Asian carriers for the ultra-large aircraft. Malaysia Airlines signed for six A380s earlier this month, taking total orders and commitments for the 560-seater to 103 aircraft from 10 customers. "Sales are way ahead of where we wanted to be at this stage of the programme," says Airbus vice-president customer affairs John Leahy. Reiterating an earlier forecast that he expects to add one A380 customer a year, Leahy says "it is likely we'll pick up another one during 2003". He adds: "We have two other major A380 campaigns ongoing in Asia," and he hints that Chinese carriers are involved. "Before the Beijing Olympics in 2008,1 expect two Chinese airlines will be operat ing the A380. They'll probably want them in service by 2007 so they'll have to place an order soon," he says. Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has been considering an order for the A380 for some time and said last year that a decision would probably be taken late in 2002 or early in 2003. Airline sources say a decision has been pushed back to an unspecified date, and an order is not considered imminent. Airbus is confident Cathay will eventually commit to the A380, either by initially leasing aircraft from International Lease Finance (ILFC) or by making a direct purchase from the manufacturer. In mainland China itself, most observers view Air China and China Southern Airlines as the most likely potential operators, and believe at least one will be operat ing the A380 before the Olympics. Air China is the only mainland Chinese operator of Boeing 747 passenger aircraft and as the only officially designated flag carrier, it is seen by Airbus as its best near- term prospect. aircraft purchases with its narrow- body replacement plans. Japan Airlines, which is also expected to open a major narrow- body replacement competition in the coming months, is also seen as a potential A380 operator, but it is a loyal Boeing customer and is regarded by Airbus as a longer-term prospect than ANA. Meanwhile, Leahy says he expects "one or both" of the major Japanese carriers to eventually acquire A380s. All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is planning a major narrowbody order this year, is being heavily courted by Airbus as a new A380 customer. The European manufacturer is trying to convince ANA to link widebody ACQUISITIONS Air China increases A319 order Air China is to raise its recent Airbus A319 order from eight to 12 aircraft, to allow it to replace its ageing BAe 146s. Industry sources in China say the airline has taken an internal decision to increase its firm deal to 12, for delivery between this year and 2006. Sources say the airline is awaiting final approval from the Chinese government to sign a firm contract with Airbus. Late last year the Chinese flag carrier ordered eight International Aero Engines V2500-powered A319s and took options on two more of the type. The deal replaced an earlier commitment by the airline for eight smaller Pratt & Whitney PW6000-powered A318s which was cancelled as a result of development prob lems with the new engine. Other than its four BAe 146-100s, Air China's short haul fleet is comprised entirely of Boeing 737s -19 -300s and 11 -800s. The airline's only in-service Airbus aircraft are three long range A340-300s. CERTIFICATION CASA threatens not to renew Papua New Guinea AOCs /\ir r*iug»rii Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has warned that the international air operator's certificates (AOC) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) flag carrier Air Niugini and four PNG charter operators may not be renewed beyond 31 January, which would affect vital connections between PNG and Cairns. The action follows the failure of the PNG civil aviation authority to provide audit data that proves compliance with its International Civil Aviation Organisation oversight obligations. Air Niugini's Boeing 767 operations to Auckland, Brisbane, Japan, Manila, Singapore and Sydney would be unaffected as the leased aircraft operates under Air New Zealand's AOC. ACTION DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON Pilots in safety protest Airline pilots, led by the European Cockpit Association (ECA), have planned an "action day" on 21 January for a public protest against the draft flight-time limitations (FTL) legislation being prepared for European Union transport minis ters at a council meeting scheduled for late March. Italian pilots, who fear local implementation of the proposals in advance of the council meeting, are set to strike for 4h, but in other countries' protests will take the form of a publicity campaign about the dangers of flightcrew fatigue, says the ECA. The ECA's weapon for the argu ment about the alleged dangers of the draft legislation is research car ried out by a pan-European group of scientists from universities and research organisations. Called the European Committee for Aircrew Scheduling and Safety (ECASS), the group feels some of the proposed duty periods are too long, but above all that there is inadequate "recov ery time" between duty periods, par ticularly upon return to base follow ing a trip schedule that has involved "multiple time-zone transitions". ECASS says: "Our main concern with the current document is not just with the points we have men tioned; it is that when taken together and applied in an environ ment of increasing competition, individual airlines may be encour aged, or compelled by business con siderations, to operate everywhere close to the defined limits. "In this case we would certainly consider it likely that this would lead to a decline in the safety of air line operations. We would therefore recommend that this document is redrafted to reflect the scientific position more closely." The ECA says it is hopeful that the legislation may be amended before EU Council approval. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 21-27 JANUARY 2003 11
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