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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2852.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT DUBAI FIRST NEWS GUY NORRIS / SEATTLE Boeing boosts 777-300ER weight Longer range model set to be unveiled at the Dubai air show has greater MTOW than first production batch Boeing plans to offer a higher- gross-weight, longer-range variant of the 777-300ER from late 2004, based on additional margins dis covered during the latter stages of the flight-test programme. The latest variant, details of which are being revealed this week at the Dubai air show, will have a maximum take-off weight (MTOW) of 351,850kg (775,0001b) and a fuel volume-limited range of 14,250km (7,705nm). This gives it almost the same range as the 777-200ER and compares to the 340,500kg MTOW and 13,280km range originally con ceived for the aircraft. It is also significantly better than the improved 344,860kg and 13,900km range of the first produc tion batch to be delivered from April 2004 to the end of the year. These aircraft, offered with improved performance as a result of the initial findings of the fllght- Pratt & Whitney is considering adding an IAE V2500 overhaul line at its Singapore maintenance shop as capacity at its New Zealand site is poised to fill up following Qantas' expected selection of V2500s for its new Airbus A320 fleet. The V2500 is considered the favourite over the CFM Inter national CFM56 to power the 23 A320s Qantas ordered last week for its new low-fare carrier Jetstar. Qan tas, which has not yet disclosed its engine choice, is expected to out source A320 maintenance to Air New Zealand (ANZ) Engineering Services and V2500 maintenance to the Christchurch Engine Centre, an ANZ/P&W joint venture . "I think they'll go V2500 due to their maintenance tie with New Zealand," says P&W vice-president business development Edmund DiSanto. The Christchurch Engine Centre is building up a V2500 capability to support ANZ's 15 new A320s. P&W test programme, will be upgrade- able to the revised standard with minor changes to the nose leg tow bar forged fitting and main landing gear stabilisation brace fuse pins. The improvement is also obtained without any increases to the operating empty weight (OEW), says 777-200LR/300ER pro gramme manager Lars Andersen. Through design refinements the OEW has been decreased from the original 169,400kg target weight to around 168,700kg. "We've been looking at the loads data and iden tified only two parts of the aircraft we need to change. We've made it retrofittable because we want this capability by 2004, and also we do not want to hurt the residual value of the early aircraft," Andersen says. Take-off field length is expected to be 3,200m (10,500ft) against 3,080m for the April 2004 version, still an improvement over the 3,290m take-off length origi nally predicted for the -300ER. The company is studying how the improvements "might read across to the -200LR", he adds. This ultra-long-range variant is due to enter service in January 2006. Flight tests of the 777-300ER are meanwhile drawing to a close after 1,250 flight test hours have been accumulated from a total of around l,500h. The recent extended-range operations flights have seen the air craft operating into remote air fields, including the polar route diversion airport at Yakutsk in northern Russia. MAINTENANCE BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE P&W to make room for V2500 in Singapore During ETOPS trials, the 777-300ER operated into several remote diversion airfields, including Yakutsk in Russia H k roo for i Singapore believes soaring demand for IAE- powered A320 family aircraft in the Asia-Pacific will create enough maintenance demand for a second V2500 shop in the region. Eagle Services Asia, a joint ven ture company between P&W and Singapore Airlines Engineering Company, may maintain V2500s for Indian Airlines. Eagle may seek V25O0 maintenance business from three Singaporean companies - SilkAir, Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) and ValuAir. Silk Air operates 10 IAE-powered A319/A320s with six more on order, and parent SIA may order A320s for a new low-cost carrier under study. LOW-COST CARRIERS EMMA KELLY / PERTH Qantas aims for rock bottom Jetstar prices, but unions fear erosion of pay at parent company Qantas intends its new low-cost offshoot, Jetstar, to be the lowest cost operator in Australia, but the airline's plans are causing concern among unions that fear the move could see an erosion of pay and conditions at the parent carrier. Impulse Airlines will form the basis for Jetstar, with the new airline to launch domestic services from Melbourne in May, initially operating 14 Boeing 717s operated by Impulse under the QantasLink brand. A month later the first of 23 177-seat Airbus A320s ordered this month will be delivered. The airline will eventually move to an all-A320 fleet, with plans for a minimum of 23 of the type to be oper ated by mid-2005. The A320s will be operated by Impulse flightcrew, who are believed to have negotiated a deal to fly the A320s at the same rates and conditions employed on the smaller 717s. Impulse crew are already employed at lower rates than Qantas mainline crew under an agreement reached when Impulse was acquired by Qantas in 2001. Industry sources suggest the deal could undermine pay and condi tions across the Australian industry. Qantas plans to invest A$100 million ($74 million) to launch Jetstar to take on Virgin Blue. The airline will be modelled on European low-cost operators, with no seat allocation and internet-based bookings, with the route network to be revealed early next year. Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon is confident that Jetstar will not cannibalise its mainline domestic opera tions and to distinguish the two further, Qantas' mainline domestic carrier will become a two-class jet operation using just two types - Boeing 737s and 767s. 14 9-15 DECEMBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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