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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0373.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT REGIONALS ACA tastes independence as United deal ends Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) has seen its United Express designation terminated, clearing the way for the regional to set up its own low-cost operations under a new banner, Independence Air, writes David Field. The Independence business plan - low fares throughout the eastern USA, initially using 50- seat Bombardier CRJs and later Airbus A320 family aircraft - has drawn widespread attention and some scepticism, but the com pany is confident that the discount plan will work in the bar gain-hungry eastern part of the nation. Standard & Poor's analyst Betsy Snyder calls the Indepen dence plan risky, but will not rule out the possibility of success. The airline takes delivery of the first of 25 A319/A320s in September to add services to Florida, the US midwest and West Coast. Publicly traded ACA will retire its remaining BAE Systems J41 turboprops by mid year as part of the transition. The ending of the United Airlines feeder contract "clears a significant hurdle in the ongoing transition of ACA from a fee-per- departure carrier to a new identity", says the airline. "The Independence Air operation at Washington Dulles will be the largest low-fare hub in America." It will, however, face low-fares competition from Southwest Airlines' major operation at Baltimore/Washington, about 70km (45 miles) away. For United, the termination of the ACA relationship is another step towards emerging from bankruptcy court reorganisation later this year. United has also lined up new partners at Dulles to provide feed. United has rene gotiated its fee-per-departure pacts with other feeders at its other hubs, lowering its costs. It was United's demands for lower costs that led ACA to rebel and form its Independence concept. STRATEGY PINO MODOLA/GENOA Eurofly targets business-class market with A319CJ plan Charter airline bucks low-cost trend with transatlantic and domestic premium service Italian charter carrier Eurofly plans to launch all-business-class transat lantic flights next year using Airbus A319 Corporate Jetliners (A319CJ), as well as a domestic business shut tle with a reconfigured Boeing MD-80. Until last year, the airline was part of the Alitalia Group, but is now controlled by the Effe Luxembourg fund of the Profilo Bank, and has just become prof itable. It operates five A320s, two A330-200s and one MD-83 on European and long-haul flights. The company has ordered two 48-seat A319CJs, which it plans to introduce in the second quarter of next year on daily services from Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino airports to New York. A domestic shuttle service using a 60- seat MD-80 will be operated between Milan Linate and Rome once new executive air terminals are completed. The all-business-class plan has been unveiled by Eurofly managing director Augusto Angioletti, who says the new strategy is aimed at capturing the significant growth potential in all-business-class operations, when most airlines are targeting low-cost travellers. Eurofly is expanding its core business activities in leisure services by increasing its distribution to include the traditional sales of packages through tour operators and the new flight-only internet sales. Next year, it will add Brazil to its long-haul charter network. Current destinations include points in the Balearic Islands, the Caribbean, Greece, the Maldives, and airports on the Red Sea coast. PRODUCTION A380 parts hit the road The first major Airbus A380 fuse lage sections began their 240km (150 mile) road journey from Langon, south-west France, to the Toulouse final assembly line earlier this month. The compo nents pictured will become the static test airframe for ground trials at Toulouse. DESIGN ROB COPPINGER / LONDON Airbus probes effect on runways After completing a detailed study into the A380's effect on runways, Airbus says that the initial -800 pas senger model's pavement loading will be similar to that of the Boeing 777-300ER. The manufacturer has com pleted a six-year pavement experi mental programme (PEP), which WEIGHT PER WHEEL COMPARISON A380-800 A380-800F 747-400 777-300ER Note: includes Weight (kg) Wheels 26,500 20 28,100 20 23,300 16 26,600 12 main gear wheels only, supporting 95% of maximum take-off weight Source: Airbus studied the behaviour of flexible and rigid pavements under the weight of aircraft. Airbus has pre sented the results to the US Federal Aviation Administration. Airbus claims the A380's weight per wheel is similar to that of the 777-300ER and 3,200kg heavier than that of the 747-400 (see table). The level of impact that an air craft inflicts on a runway is rated with an Aircraft Classification Number (ACN), and A380 pro gramme senior infrastructure engi neer Cyril Fabre says that the tests showed that the A380's "ACN is very close to the 777-300ER and is comparable with other 777 models and the 747". The two-phase PEP started with flexible pavement tests between July 1998 and July 2000. The sec ond phase, between July 2001 and November 2003, covered rigid pavement tests. Two experimental runway sections were built for the tests at Airbus's Toulouse site, which used a test vehicle to investi gate various A380 landing gear configurations. Analysis of the rigid pavement test results should be completed by the end of the year, when Airbus hopes to prove again that the A380's main landing-gear configu ration, which comprises large bogies incorporating four (wing gear) and six (body gear) wheels, can keep pavement wear below the levels inflicted by a 777. 10 13-19 APRIL 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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