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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 1573.PDF
BCal bidders line up LONDON ^^ZZ Another potential bidder for British Caledonian (BCal) has emerged in the Kumar brothers, who control United Air Travel Services. The company deals mainly in wholesale air tickets to the Indian subcontinent, but has retail outlets in London and Frankfurt. The offer has yet to materialise, but it raises the question of foreign control of BCal, which is a possibility since the UK Government referred British Airways' bid for BCal to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. The Kumar brothers control a UK-based holding company, Euro-United Finances, formerly United Finance, through which they might try to buy BCal. But they are Indian citizens, and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that it is obliged to advise the Secretary of State for Transport if it believes control of a UK air line is not with UK nationals. BCal's route licences would then have to be reviewed. Even with the proposed BA/BCal merger, BA would have to apply for variation of BCal's licences if it wanted to operate them under its own name. If it kept the BCal name there would be no change. The Kumar brothers are taking legal advice on a potential bid for BCal. "We do not want a situation where the horse has bolted—an airline with no routes," their spokesman says. He could not put a value on United Air Travel Services, other than saying the brothers were "people of substance". The turnover of one of the US offices before it closed rose from zero to $14 million in 15 months, he claims. The Kumars say they intend to make a bid on their own and then invite other airlines to join a consortium. They have approached several other airlines, both foreign and UK, and say that one is "more than interested" and another is considering their proposal. A bid from Harry Good man's International Leisure Group (ILG) is likely. BCal has made it clear that it is hostile to ILG's advances,.and backs the BA merger. BA says it will make another formal offer when the MMC study ends in early November. Some industry watchers are also expecting a bid for BCal from Michael Bishop, chair man of British Midland Airlines and the Airlines of Britain Group. Containerised cabin crew Airbus Industrie is planning already to meet cabin crew rest needs on its very-long-range A340s, which will enter service in 1992. Rather than use main deck space, it will offer the option of a lengthened LD6 container fitted as a below-deck cabin with five beds, a changing room, a refrigerator, and an entertainment system including a television display for each occupant. NEWS SCAN A British Airways Concorde suffered a five-tyre tyreburst on landing at New York JFK on August 11. None of the 93 passengers or crew was hurt, and emergency evacuation was not necessary. The burst tyres were all on main gear wheels, each main gear leg having a four-wheel bogey. A pair of engines ingested tyre rubber, and BA elected to change them "as aprecaution". BA says that the cause was the need to use standby hydraulics during this landing because of a "minor" fault in the main system, which left the crew with no anti-skid system for the brakes. France delayed a Boeing 707 of Belgian charter carrier Sobelair by 24hr early this month by denying it landing rights in Martinique, quoting a French charter travel rule which is illegal under European Community law. The 707 could not take off from Brussels Zaventem without destination clear ance, which France refused because more than 20 per cent of the passengers were French. London Gatwick became the world's second busiest international airport (London Heathrow still tops the league) in the year ending April 1987, overtaking New York JFK by 100,000 inter national passengers to reach a total handled of 15-86 million. The proposed privatisation of Brussels Zaventem Air port raises a major problem for the Belgian Government, because the airport is the only real profitmaker among all the interests belonging to the Regie des Voies Aeriennes— the Government body responsible for running Belgian air traffic control and the Government's airports. It would mean either closing down some airports and services, or subsidising them directly where Zaventem's profits used to do the job. Piedmont and USAir\con- tinue to report record monthly traffic figures with boring regularity. Piedmont's July figures (increase over July 1986 figures in brackets) were 2-24 million passengers AIRTRANSPORT boarded (8 per cent), revenue passenger miles 1 • 0 billion (10-2 per cent), load factor 63-9 per cent (1-35 points). The 14-5 million passengers carried during 1987's first seven months represents a 14 • 3 per cent increase. USAir July boardings were 2-26 million passengers (13-3 per cent), RPMs 1-2 billion (13-5 per cent), load factor 70 • 1 per cent (3-7 points), and the airline's seven-month pas senger total of 14-2 million represents a 16-6 per cent increase. Charles Stuart, chairman and CEO of UK independent regional airline Brymon Airways, has said that a time when the British Airways/ British Caledonian merger proposal is subject to study is a perfect time for route performance criteria to be set for domestic Heathrow and Gatwick routes. Any airline owning these in valuable "franchises", says Stuart, should have to adhere to price, quality, and return- on-investment criteria, or otherwise lose the route to an applicant which can meet them. America West, hubbed at Phoenix and Las Vegas and with services to international gateways New York and Washington, has just set up an office in London, England, selling itself as Arizona's dominant carrier and a good route to the west coast. Data Applications of Cirencester, UK, has been working with London Gatwick Airport's electronic systems section and has pro duced a low-cost micro computer-based (Amstrad) colour graphics generator for feeding information displays at check-in points, information desks, and departure and arrival infor mation points. Horizon Airlines has been certificated to use Bendix/ King's MLS 21 microwave landing system airborne receivers on the approach to Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho, which is the airport serving the Sun Valley ski resort. Horizon privately funded the MLS ground installation there to enable year-round approaches. MLS is necessary because the local terrain rules out ILS. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 29 August 1987
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