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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 0107.PDF
Sabena reduces network in attempt to stem huge losses HERMAN DE WULF/BRUSSELS SABENA IS TO MAKE further reductions in its route network as it seeks to stem record losses which it is estimated will reach a record Bfr7 billion ($163 million) in 2000. The Belgian flag carrier, in which Swissair parent SAirGroup has a 49.5 %interest, revealed some network restructuring in late 2000. It says flights to Johannesburg and New York Newark will cease this month - three months earlier than planned Flight International, 5-11 December, P9). The re-organisation will also see scheduled services to a number of European destinations terminated, some of which have only recently been introduced. Bergamo (Italy) will be dropped this month as will tourist destinations such as Palma de Majorca (Spain), Ajaccio (Corsica), Jersey (Channel Is lands), Funchal (Madeira), Porto Santa (Cap Verde Islands) and Sabena aircraft will take off to fewer destinations in an effort to cut costs Ljubljana (Slovenia). Although these routes traditionally have high load factors, Sabena says that they are losing money on them because the market insists that its scheduled fares are as low as charter ones. The network downsizing fol lows several years of expansion at Sabena with annual growth rates in excess of 15%, which some observers believe was too fast. The unions are becoming uneasy about the restructuring, with pilots and cabin crew particularly concerned about redundancies. Concerns are being fuelled by recent management changes which have seen several executives removed, including chief of flight operations Captain Jacques Drappier. He has been replaced by a retired air force Colonel, Jacques Waldeyer, who was previ ously in charge of Belgian Air Force operations. As such, he needs to sit civil avia tion exams to be qualified for his new role at Sabena. • Airbus drops A340-600 exit change proposals PRODUCTION Airbus A340-600s will after all incorporate a pair of Type III overwing emer gency exit hatches in addition to the design's standard eight Type A passenger doors. The move comes despite efforts by Airbus to obtain exemption from certification regulations. The consortium had hoped to eliminate the hatches required under European Joint Aviation Authorities and US Federal Aviation Administration rules, which specify a maximum distance of "60ft" (18m) between adjacent passenger exits. Without the hatches, doors two and three on the stretched A340 would be 74ft apart. The firstVA340-600 prototype has been rolled off the production line without the hatches but Airbus has until now refused to say whether subsequent production models would include the change. Airbus A340-500/600 product manager Alan Pardoe^ays though a "long-term debate is continuing" • over the exit requirements, "it is clear that all currently ordered and in-build -600s will have the [additional] exits". The prototype -600 will be retained by the manu facturer as a testbed and will not enter airline service. Airbus argues that not including the smaller overwing hatches would, in fact, improve safety as they could be liable to blockage during an emergency evacuation. Eliminating them would also save 500kg (1,1 OOlbs), provide room for an extra row of seats and reduce production costs by enabling the centre-fuselage design of the -600 and the shorter, longer-range -500 model to be standardised. JAA certification director Koos van der Spek says the agency is working towards certification of the A3 40-600 with the hatches included but adds: "If in future there is a rule change I would not be surprised if there was a proposal from Airbus." In 1999 the Association of Flight Attendants and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters strong ly urged the FAA to resist, on safety grounds, an approach by Airbus over the exit change pro posals. The two unions suggested that their members may even refuse to fly on the aircraft if the exits were not included. The "60ft" rule was introduced by the FAA and JAA after some European and Asian airlines decided to block off the overwing exits on their Boeing 747s to make room for more seats. • ROUTES ++ Northwest Airlink operator Express Airlines will begin flights between Memphis and Monterrey, Mexico, on 1 April, with twice daily weekday and daily weekend flights using Bombardier CRJ200s. ++ Israeli private airline Arkia plans to introduce charter flights to two long haul destinations in an attempt to compensate for a decline in incoming traffic from European destinations. It will begin flights to Bahia, Brazil, and in March to Puket, Thailand, with a technical stop using Boeing 757- 300s. Arkia also wants to operate charters to the USA but has not set an implementation date. ++ Northwest Airlines is to increase services to China, adding a third weekly Detroit-Shanghai Boeing 747-400 flight on 1 April. A third weekly US-Shanghai all-cargo flight will be added at the same time, using a 747-200 freighter. The US airline began codesharing on alliance partner Air China's domestic flights on 18 December. ++ United Parcel Service (UPS) is seeking a rapid clearance from the US Department of Transporta tion (DoT) to enable the US cargo carrier to start services on much- coveted routes to China on 1 April. From then, UPS will initiate six weekly round trip all-cargo flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Ontario, California and Newark, New Jersey, via Anchorage, Alaska. UPS says the Chinese Government must be formally notified by 17 January to process all the neces sary documents in time. ++ German charter airline Condor is expanding its European network for its 2001 summer schedules which begin at the end of March. New destinations include Burgas and Varga, Bulgaria; Chania, Crete; Lamezia Terme, Italy; and Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia. A weekly service to Fairbanks will also be introduced. ++ Delta Air Lines is suspending flights connecting New York LaGuardia Airport with Montreal; Knoxville, Tennessee; Portland, Maine; and Providence, Rhode Island. The move follows the recent introduction of a slot lottery at the congested airport. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 9 - 15 January 2001 13
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