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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2108.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT COMPETITION Sri Lanka eases rules Sri Lanka's three privately owned domestic airlines are seeking per mission from the country's civil aviation authority to operate inter national passenger charter flights, mainly to Indian destinations. Expo Aviation, LionAir and Serendib Express operate ser vices weekly between Colombo and Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka, and the move comes after the lift ing of restrictions following the ceasefire between Tamil rebels and the government. SriLankan Airlines, which is majority state-owned, with Emirates holding 43%, is the only carrier allowed to operate interna tionally. HMC Nimalsiri, director general of the authority, says it has had "informal discussions" with the national carrier on allow ing other airlines to compete, and says "there has not been any major objection [from SriLankan Airlines]". LionAir wants to fly to Amster dam, Athens, Melbourne, Puttarpathy in India and Sharjah, UAE. Serendib Express has asked to operate charter flights to Puttarpathy, while Expo Aviation wants permission for charter flights to Indian destinations. Many Sri Lankans visit India on pilgrimage, and scheduled flights are usually full of passen gers paying a premium for seats. SUPPORT MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / DUBLIN Bombardier efforts see 0400 reliability improve Positive feedback from operators helps high-speed turboprop shake off troubled image Bombardier is confident that it has cracked the reliability problems suf fered by its Dash 8 Q400 turboprop, and claims that the 78-seater is bec oming the most reliable member of the Q Series family. The aircraft exhibited poor relia bility when it first entered service with launch customer Scandinavian Commuter in early 2000, and prob lems continued with other cus tomers, such as long-time Dash 8 operator Tyrolean Airways - now Austrian Arrows. The latter became so frustrated that it publicly vented its anger in February (Flight Interna tional, 11-17 February). Speaking to Flight International at September's European Regions Air line Association in Dublin, Bombar dier Regional Aircraft president Steve Ridolfi said: "We have a technical steering committee of directors and vice-presidents of engineering from each operator, which meets quarterly and ensures we are covering all the issues. We get the operators to agree on what we should prioritise, and this has been very successful in elim inating problems." Ridolfi says the Q400 fleet is rec ording a schedule completion rate European Q400 operators will gain from relocation of the spares centre (SCR) of 99.5%. "This has gone up by two points from a low 18 months ago," he adds. The more mature Q300 model has an SCR of 99.7%. Bombardier says the Q400 fleet's technical despatch reliability (TDR) is 98.8%, up from a low of 94.6%. This compares to the Q300's TDR of 99.3. Each Q400 has undergone "sev eral hundred" modifications, incl uding structural modifications to engine pylons to address fatigue issues. Around 50 of the 70 Q400s in operation are based in Europe, and Bombardier is increasing the region's spares holding "significantly" by relocating the support centre from Paris to Frankfurt, which will also speed up distribution. Operators had blamed the manu facturer's slow response partly on confusion as to which supplier was responsible for the fix. "This was our first major risk-sharing programme. We have learned lessons about part nerships - understanding the delin eation of responsibility," says Ridolfi. Austrian Arrows says dispatch rel iability for its eight Q400s is now 99%. "Bombardier's response at the end of 2002 and into 2003 was very proficient," says Austrian Arrows managing director Johann Messner. "Reliability is not far from our Dash 8 300s." LEASING VLADIMIR KARN0Z0V / MOSCOW FLC clinches clutch of deals with local airlines Finance Leasing Company (FLC), Russia's second-largest aerospace lessor, has concluded several deals with CIS airlines for new-build air craft, including Antonov An-38s and Tupolev Tu-214s. Dalavia, the government-owned airline serving the Khabarovsk re gion, has clinched a long-expected deal with FLC for three more Tupolev Tu-214s. The new aircraft will be supplied by the KAPO plant in Kazan, Tatarstan, to supplement the airline's two similar aircraft. The Aviadvigatel PS-90-powered aircraft is a longer range version of the Tu-204-100 built by Aviastar, with a 7,000kg (15,4001b) increase in maximum take-off weight. The first will be delivered in December, with the remainder following next year. FLC has also signed a contract with engine manufacturer PMZ for AIRCRAFT ORDERS seven more PS-90AS due for deliv ery this year and next. Ukraine's Karpats International Airlines is acquiring three Antonov An-38-120 turboprops from FLC on a 10-year financial lease. The air craft will fly on domestic services and on flights to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Yugoslavia. The OMKB TVD-20-powered aircraft will be built by the Sukhoi-owned NAPO factory in Novosibirsk. New Tupolevs score success in domestic market VladivostokAvia is in negotiations for three Tupolev Tu-204- 300s - the short-fuselage version of the twinjet that began flight testing in August. The expected deal, revealed by Valery Savotchenko, executive director of the Aviastar plant, should be signed in October. It will be the second for the 160-seat model: Moscow-based Transaero has a firm order for four Tu-204- 300s for delivery by the end of 2005, plus six options. Other possible deals for new-build types include an order for 25 Tu-334s from Pulkovo Airlines, and the acquisition of whitetail Tu-154Ms by Sibir and Urals Airlines. Tu-334 builder RSK MiG is in talks with Polkovo, while Aviacor is trying to find homes for the last six Tu-154Ms, which are stored at its plant in Samara awaiting completion. 14 30 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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