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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 2564.PDF
HEADLINES AIR THANSPORT DAVID LEARMOUNT/ LONDON EASA slammed for slow take-off CAA chief says European agency is not delivering value The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is taking too long to become the effective organisation that the European Union's national aviation authorities (NAA) hoped it would be, says the UK Civil Aviation Authority chairman Sir Roy McNulty. Although EASA came into being in October 2003, McNulty says it has been unable to attract suffi cient technical experts to its staff, has not secured the funding it requires to do its job, and has failed to set up working agreements with the NAAs to employ their expertise on EASA tasks. Using a speech to the Institute of Economic Affairs last week in London to give the CAA's views on several European aviation agencies and programmes, McNulty said EASA "has the potential to be one of the biggest and most beneficial changes to civil aviation safety reg ulation in Europe for many years". But he says it will continue to "stutter along" unless the NAAs work to "get their act together". The lack of expert technical staff, while particularly acute at EASA, is a problem the NAAs also face, says McNulty, because they are losing many to industry. The EASA system theoretically works using a core of technical experts and administra tors at its Cologne, Germany base, while working with the NAAs to supplement its own expertise and carry out its work in their own regions. The trouble is, says McNulty, that the necessary agree ments for EASA to work with the NAAs do not yet exist, and the funding for EASA - and other EU devolved agencies - is supposed to be in place by January, but the prospects "do not look good". The UK CAA is happy in princi ple to carry out EASA work, says McNulty, "but not to subsidise it or have industry do so" via the CAA's own charges. Meanwhile, UK industry is complaining about EASA charges which are higher than the CAA's, McNulty says, adding: "And they [industry] told us we were expensive." McNulty's overall theme was the effectiveness and efficiency of Euro pean agencies in serving the "users", the airlines. He believes individual air navigation service providers are effective monopolies that had too little incentive to deliver value and he warns the air lines that environmental incentives are inevitable. The CAA, he says, "welcomes the polluter pays princi ple" set out by the UK government. BUSINESS HELEN MASSY-BERESFORD / LONDON USA pulls back from calling for WTO subsidies investigation The USA will hold off from seeking a World Trade Organisation (WTO) inves tigation into Airbus subsidies before the end of the year to allow new European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson time to "review the issues", a US trade official confirms. But the official says "no one should be in any doubt that we are resolved to press ahead with this case". The US government filed a complaint to the WTO in October over alleged European government aid for Airbus. The EU responded by filing a similar complaint over US support for Boeing. A 60-day consultation period following the complaints meant both parties could not push the investigation process on to the next stage - establishing a panel to review the case - before next week. US trade representative Robert Zoellick will meet Mandelson this week. The EU trade commission declines to comment on its next action, but says: "If the USA is pulling back from a rush to the WTO, commissioner Mandelson will be interested to hear from the US trade representative what they intend next." Briefing Boeing set to replace top salesman Bright DEPARTURE Boeing chief salesman Toby Bright is to be replaced as part of a shake-up of the company's sales force, the Wall Street Journal reported late last week. The newspaper, quoting "people familiar with the situation", said Bright has fallen victim to concerns over the company's series of losses to Airbus at low-cost carriers. An expected Airbus victory in the key Asian low-cost contest at Malaysia's Air Asia appears to have been the last straw, although there are also concerns about the failure to hit the initial target of 200 7E7 sales before the end of 2004. Boeing has repeatedly claimed Airbus's willingness to sell at unrealistically low prices has cost it the low-cost carriers' business. Alenia/Vought pick 7E7 base VENTURE The Alenia North AmericaA/ought Aircraft Industries joint venture created to support Boeing 7E7 work has been named Global Aeronautica and will be based at Charleston airport in South Carolina. Together Alenia and Vought are responsible for developing more than 60% of the 7E7's fuselage. Alenia will build certain fuselage sections in Italy and deliver them to the Global Aeronautica facility for integration in Charleston. Vought will provide the remaining two aft sections at a plant co-located with the Global Aeronautica integration facility at Charleston airport. Groundbreaking for the two facilities is planned for early 2005, with 7E7 production tentatively scheduled to begin early in 2006. Agusta lodges court appeal RULING Agusta is appealing a recent decision by an Italian court to cancel contracts worth €300 million ($390 million) between the manufacturer and the Italian government for the supply of helicopters to the military police, customs and forestry service. The case against Agusta was brought by MD Helicopters and Eurocopter, which argue the contracts were awarded directly to Agusta and not open to competitve tendering. Agusta refutes the claims, saying the contracts were awarded on the basis that the helicopters were being acquired as military products. Thales merger 'off the agenda': Camus CONSOLIDATION EADS co-chief executive Philippe Camus says a merger with Thales is "off the agenda" despite a report in French daily La Tribune quoting unnamed sources as saying the French government plans to renew its efforts to engineer such a tie-up early next year. The report says French EADS shareholder Lagardere will determine whether Camus is retained as co-chief executive, or replaced by Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard, and also says Thales' civil avionics businesses could be sold to Smiths Group of the UK as part of any merger deal. BMI wins first Heathrow long-haul rights AWARD UK Star Alliance carrier BMI has won its first long-haul route rights from London Heathrow airport with the award of four weekly frequencies to Mumbai, India, following a recent UK Civil Aviation Authority scarce capacity hearing. Virgin Atlantic was awarded 10 weekly Indian frequencies and incumbent BA an additional seven. Embraer wins 170 Asian breakthrough LEASE Start-up carrier Hong Kong Express Airways is to be the Asian launch operator of the Embraer 170 after agreeing a lease deal with GE Capital Aviation Services for four aircraft. Three of the 70-seat twinjets will be delivered in 2005 and the fourth in 2006. Massy-Beresford joins Flight International APPOINTMENT Helen Massy-Beresford has joined Flight International as its new London-based business reporter. A fluent French and Italian speaker, Massy-Beresford will be responsible for strengthening the magazine's business coverage, in particular of European manufacturers. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 7-13 DECEMBER 2004 9
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