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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2272.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT SHAREHOLDINGS ALEXANDER CAMPBELL / MUSCAT & MAX KINGSLEY-JONES / LONDON Ownership woes hit Middle East As Abu Dhabi sets up national carrier, region's governments are encouraged to surrender control of state-owned airlines national financial market," Giovanni Bisignani, secretary gen eral of the International Air Transport Association, told the Arab Air Carriers' Organisation (AACO) annual general meeting in Muscat, Oman last week. James Hogan, chief executive of Gulf Air, which is owned by the Middle Eastern governments are being encouraged to relinquish control of their state-owned carri ers and allow foreign investment as the Emirate of Abu Dhabi - a share holder in Gulf Air - launches its own national airline. "Airlines need the freedom to merge, acquire and go to the inter- STRATE6Y Gulf Air readies regional plan Gulf Air is implementing the next stage of its three-year recovery plan, with the issuing of a request for proposals to regional jet manufacturers. Speaking to Flight International sister online service Air Transport Intelligence at last week's Arab Air Carriers Organisation conference in Muscat, Oman, Gulf Air chief executive James Hogan said: "Later this month we will probably issue a formal request for proposals." The trinational airline's smallest aircraft is the Airbus A320, and the addi tion of regional jets is part of its drive to boost efficiency on short-haul routes and increase frequencies. Hogan aims to recommend a decision to the Gulf Air board next year. Gulf Air's next priority is to decide on a global alliance, which Hogan expects to announce by February. governments of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Oman, added that "consolidation is inevitable in the Middle Eastern industry". But Arab financial markets are not ready to invest in the region's airline industry, according to some. AACO secretary general Abdul Wah- ab Teffaha says that "governments are increasingly inclined towards privatisation, but Arab investors do not really go into large investments outside banking and real estate". Arab Civil Aviation Commission secretary general Abdul Jaboot al- Dawdy added: "No Arab investors are ready to invest in airlines." Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi has set up its own national carrier - Etihad (United) Airways - which is 100% owned by the government. Chief executive of the airline is Seif Al Mugheiry, who is chairman and chief executive of Abu Dhabi maintenance company GAMCO. Etihad will launch services in late November to Egypt, Lebanon, Paki stan and the Indian subcontinent, with two Airbus A330-200S leased from Brazilian carrier TAM. Four A330s will be added next year, when long-haul services could begin. Some observers expect the emer gence of the airline will cause prob lems for Gulf Air, as it could take over Abu Dhabi's route rights, as Qatar Airways did when that coun try was still a Gulf Air shareholder. Hogan dismisses speculation that Etihad's arrival could reduce Gulf Air's role to that of purely Bahrain's national carrier: "We'll have a simi lar relationship to the one we have with [partly state-owned] Oman Air." Although both carriers operate from Muscat, Hogan says they are not direct competitors as there is lit tle route overlap. PRODUCTION India studies Sukhoi Su-80 partnership with Russia India has approached Russia about setting up a joint produc tion programme for the Sukhoi Su-80 twin-boom turboprop with a final assembly line in India. Production of the 30-seat, General Electric CT7-9B-pow- ered Su-80 is allocated to the KnAAPO plant in Komsomolsk- on-Amur in Eastern Siberia. The Su-80 development prototype has so far made just 39 flights, with certification having been repeatedly postponed due to the lack of customers. Sukhoi says the Indian interest has prompted it to "speed up the flight test pro gramme". The project received a blow earlier this year when the Russian air force selected the competing llyushin 11-112V as its future lightweight tactical transport. DELIVERY Northern Air Cargo gets first converted ATR 42 US freight operator Northern Air Cargo has received the first large freight-door equipped ATR 42, following US Federal Aviation Administration certifi cation of the Aeronavali conversion late last month. The Alenia Aeronautica/ Finmeccanica company has already developed the cargo door modification for the larger ATR 72, which is certificated in Europe and in service with Swiss operator Farnair Europe. OPERATIONS Saab issues 2000 warning on Lugano changes Saab has warned that operators may have to decide if it is worth invest ing in a performance recertification programme for the Saab 2000 if it is to continue operating into Lugano airport, Switzerland. This follows the decision by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (OFAC) to steepen the final approach from 4.17° to 6.65° for "safety reasons". The approach will go live from November 2005, with an intermedi ate increase at the end of this month to 6°. OFAC says the app roach does not conform to interna tional safety standards, although Saab says the 2000 has been operat ing into Lugano for nine years with out incident. OFAC wants the 6.65° final because it reduces the angle of intermediate descent from 11.85° to 7.2°, which the authority says meets international safety norms. But it has rejected a flight profile put for ward by Saab for its 2000 that would give a 5.5° final approach. Lugano-based start-up Darwin Airlines, which plans to start flying 2000s this month, is working with Saab to find an alternative approach procedure acceptable to the OFAC. If unsuccessful, a recertification pro gramme will be required. 14 14-20 OCTOBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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