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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1637.PDF
AIR TRANSPORT FREIGHTER CONVERSIONS BRENDAN SOBIE / SINGAPORE Alaska Airlines demands a rethink on ICAS cargo plan Air Asia rejected as modification centre for Boeing 737-400s following audit Alaska Airlines is insisting Taiwan's Inter-Continental Aircraft Services (ICAS) changes the conversion cen tre it uses for its first batch of Boeing 737-400 cargo conversions. Alaska in July signed up as ICAS's launch customer with a $15 million, five-aircraft contract. ICAS was planning to have Taiwanese maintenance firm Air Asia serve as the initial conversion centre, but industry sources say Alaska has rejected this proposal after auditing Air Asia and prefers to have the air craft converted in the USA. Sources say ICAS last week met Alaska staff to convince the carrier to agree on China Airlines (CAL) as an alternative conversion centre. Air Asia and China Airlines are both ICAS owners and can perform the conversions at a lower cost than potential US firms. ICAS's other two owners, Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation and EVA Air mainte nance arm Evergreen Aviation Technologies, are not interested in serving as conversion centres. Work on the first aircraft is to begin early next year under the deal to convert four of Alaska Airlines' 737-400s into combis and one into a full freighter. Sources say ICAS also proposes using China's Taikoo (Xiamen) Aircraft Engineering as a conversion centre for mainland Chinese customers, including China Postal Airlines and Hainan Airlines. FedEx is also eval uating a bid by ICAS and other 737-300/400 conversion vendors. ICAS is partnered by B/E Aerospace subsidiary Flight Structures - which is helping ICAS secure a US supple mental type certificate - and Boeing, which will provide after- market engineering support. ^^^^^ H ] pP ^ ^-""°ii^ •— Hi South African Airways last week received the first of 11 Airbus A319s it is leasing from the Bank of Scotland REVIEW HILKA BIRNS / CAPE TOWN Doubts surround SAA Airbus deal Airbus denies South African media reports that South African Airways (SAA) has dropped plans to buy 15 Airbus A320-200s, due for delivery between 2008 and 2010. "We are in close contact with all of our customers - including SAA - and are always willing to discuss their changing requirements. However, SAA has not yet raised this specific issue with us so the sta tus of the 2002 order remains un changed," says Airbus. The manu facturer says SAA has already paid deposits for the aircraft. A delegation from the airline was last week due to meet Airbus officials in Toulouse to "discuss our requirements", says SAA. The air line refuses to comment on media reports based on a 27 August brief ing by SAA's state-controlled parent company Transnet. The reports quoted Transnet chief executive Maria Ramos as saying "the A320 order falls away and some of the others are being financed on a lease basis". Transnet declines to com ment further. In 2002, SAA said it planned to take most of its new A320 family aircraft on operating leases. Transnet's 2003-4 annual report, released last week, confirms this. All of SAA's A319s are to be taken on operating leases through the Bank of Scotland. SAA received the first of 11 A319s last week, with the second due on 6 September. Some of its A340-300E long-haul wide- bodies have been put on operating leases through other banks. Of the nine A340-600s ordered, three are from US-based leasing giant, ILFC. Largely as a result of currency speculation, SAA's combined losses for the past two years have swollen to R15 billion ($2.28 billion). The entire board of Transnet resigned 27 August following the group's financial results. Ramos said Transnet would offload SAA, viewed as non-core to its rail and harbour activities, but the South African government ruled out pri vatisation. Public enterprise minis ter Alec Erwin says SAA will remain a strategic national asset. • The South African government has confirmed the appointment of Khaya Ngqula as SAA's new chief executive from mid-October, replacing Andre Viljoen. PRIVATISATION Bulgaria in second bid for airline investment Bulgaria Air is to be privatised in two stages and a foreign airline is likely to be chosen to acquire a strategic holding in the state- owned carrier under plans drawn up by the Bulgarian gov ernment, writes Igor Salinger. The strategic partner will be selected on the basis of price, proposed investment pro gramme, reputation and experience. Consortia wishing to bid must be at least 51 % con trolled by an aviation company with more than €100 million ($123 million) of annual revenue during the past three years. Financial investors can bid if they manage over €200 million of assets. The proposed sale "will hope fully be approved by parliament by the end of September, says Yordan Mirchev, chair of the Bulgarian parliamentary trans port commission. The new plan aims to prevent a repeat of the disastrous attempt to privatise former flag carrier Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, which was declared bankrupt at the end of 2002 following its sale to the Israeli Zeevi group three years before for $150,000, says Mirchev. Bulgaria Air was established as the successor to Balkan in December 2002 and operates seven Boeing 737-300s and one 737-500 on scheduled and char ter services within Europe and to the Middle East. The airline reported an after-tax profit of 1.5 million levs ($940,000) in 2003. Meanwhile, European low- cost carriers are expected to enter the Bulgarian market next year. Hungary's low-cost airline Wizz Air may launch flights to Bulgaria and Romania after the two countries sign an "open skies" agreement. Sky Europe and Ryanair intend to serve Varna and Burgas on Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, says Bulgarian civil aviation administration head Kalin Barzov 14 7-13 SEPTEMBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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