Newsdesk – Commercial

Super 80 Super Saver:

Air California, or AirCal as it is better known, reports that tt is achieving an improvement of 19 per cent in fuel costs on a seat-mile basis with its DC-9-80s, compared with the Boeing 737-200. AirCal is so impressed with the Super 80 that it has recently signed orders for five more aircraft with options on a further six. All aircraft are to be operated in a 162-seat configuration. The comparison is interesting as Boeing has indicated that their new 737-300 will show per-seat mile fuel efficiency improvements, also in the order of 19 per cent, making the -300 virtually identical in seat mile fuel costs to MOC’s Super 80.

Don’t Mention It:

Though airlines don’t like to talk about it, fear of flying costs them dearly. A recent survey undertaken by Boeing revealed that in the US, $1 6 billion in potential revenue was forfeited last year due to people being chronically afraid of air travel. The survey indicated that one m six adults were afraid, that blacks were more afraid than whites, that women were more afraid than men and that more than 25 million adult Americans were not enthused with taking to the skies.

727RE Gets Closer:

The depressed state of the international airline industry, and particularly so the US domestic sector, Is certainly helping to launch the proposed Boeing 727-200RE program. Faced with the prospect of continuing operating deficits and the need to generate billions of dollars to finance a brand new generation of fuel-efficient jet airliners, US domestic carriers are pushing Boeing hard for a go-ahead on the project. There are over 1200 Series 200 727s in operation, more than 800 of which have less than 40,000 flight hours logged, indicating a possible retrofit market as high as 500 plus airframes. The candidate power plant is the Pratt & Whitney PW2037 of 37,000 lb thrust. However, this fit would give the RE some 74,000 lb of installed thrust as against a mere 46,000 lb for most standard aircraft. Pratts are believed to be considering a further downsize in the PW2000 family, while Rolls Royce is lobbying hard with their RJ500 which is now being aimed towards 28,000 lb thrust (maximum) and thus be ideally suited for the retrofit.

 Federal Express Roars Ahead:

Things might be pretty grim in the passenger market but one company that is laughing all the way to the bank is specialist parcel carrier Federal Express. Profit for the 80/81 financial year was a cool $US59m, up 50 per cent on the previous year. This was aided slightly by the sale of Boeing 737 freighters which were making way for the DC-10-10, the larger aircraft being necessary to cope with the increase In parcels uplifted. Total number of packages earned during the year rose by 20 per cent to in excess of 22 million, or an average of 87,000 a day. Federal Express Is currently studying the feasibility of employing a Concorde SST for trans Atlantic service, using a fleet of Falcon jets to service the European market.

 Progress in 100 Project:

Fokker and McDonnell Douglas have begun another round of visits to airlines for further presentations of the MDF 100 New Generation Airliner Proiect which they are jointly developing for the short-medium haul market.

The first presentations, covering all USA trunk operators and major European carriers, were completed in August In the current round the two manufacturers are visiting airlines in the Far East, and Australia. Both companies are encouraged by airline reaction to the initial design. A revised type specification now being circulated to airlines in preparation for further discussion provides for a twin-aisle cabin layout.

The new specification also provides for a T-tail instead of the low tail previously envisaged. This change has been made following in-depth trade-off studies which show that the T-tail offers a significant fuel saving.

Another change is the replacement of the original twin-wheel main landing gears by four-wheel bogies. The change ensures operation without limitation at all fields likely to be used by the MDF 100 and does so without penalty in fuel consumption.

Discussions regarding a suitable power unit have been taken a stage further with a formal request to engine manufacturers to submit proposals for an engine based on given parameters. The request prepared jointly by Fokker and McDonnell Douglas, specifies an engine providing 23,400 pounds of take-off thrust, specific fuel consumption characteristics more advanced than even the latest engines committed to production, and requires engine certification in late 1985 The request was sent to CFM International. Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce Japanese Aero Engines.

Fokker Delivers F-27 Aircraft to Garuda:

Garuda Indonesian Airlines has ordered from Fokker six F-27 Friendship Mark 500 aircraft to be delivered between January and May 1982. The turboprop aircraft, for 56 passengers, will be put into service on the domestic network of Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

This airline has operated the F-27 Friendship since 1973 and its F-27 fleet now totals eight aircraft.

Fokker to date has sold 732 F-27 Friendships to 158 users in 63 countries.

 Dash 7 Enters New Guinea Service:

Air Niugini took delivery of the first of three DHC Dash 7 STOL airliners on November 25. The carrier has another two aircraft on option. Air Niugini currently operates a fleet of F-27 and F-28 aircraft and will use the Dash 7 to augment Friendship services and replace smaller GA-type aircraft on many short-step STOL routes Talair, a large Twin Otter operator, is also said to be studying the feasibility of purchasing a DHC Transporter (civil version of the Buffalo) for Ok Tedi operations.

Airlines of Western Australia Look to the Future:

The recent announcement by Airlines of Western Australia (formerly MMA) that they will be reequipping their fleet with 75-seat F-28 Mk4000 airliners throws some 1nteresting’light on to this rapidly expanding airline. AWA if I may call it that, is riding the current Western Australian growth boom with traffic increases that are almost unique in modern airline balance sheets. During the early seventies, the airline phased out its F-27 operations m favour of the 60-seat F-28 Mk1000. Now the airline will go a stage further with the latest of the Fokker Fellowship marque upping capacity while inheriting the benefits of a matured and vastly improved aircraft. An interesting scenario is to consider the fate of AWA’s current Mk1000 F-28s. Air New South Wales could be a potential inheritor of two of these aircraft as could be Air Niugini who are currently appraising the F-28 and the BAe 146. In the long term, Airlines of Western Australia could find viability in ex-Ansett Boeing 737-200s. These aircraft will ultimately be replaced by the much improved 737-300 on primary Ansett Jet routes allowing the sale of the -200 to Ansett’s western subsidiary. Traffic growth in the West by this stage (1985/86) would be such that 737s would be required to serve the region. The only problem here is DoTA’s consistent head-in-the-sand attitude (by international standards) regarding such points as marginal step operations using the 737. It is worth noting that this aircraft has been operating off gravel runways since its inception back in the sixties and is certified for this form of operation in virtually every country except Australia. While Ansett battle out this point, in the long term TAA will be ever keener to enter the West, something they have been eager to achieve for more than a decade. No matter how you look at it Airlines of Western Australia certainly have a very bright future.

Federal Express Orders 15 Boeing 727-200 Freighters:

The Memphis-based air express company Federal Express has signed an agreement to purchase 15 new 727-200F aircraft from Boeing.

Delivery of the 727·200F will begin in July 1983 and continue on a one-a-month basis. These will be the first freighter versions of the -200 ever built. The company plans to integrate 10 of the aircraft into its fleet and lease five to other carriers. Federal Express presently operates or has under contract 38 smaller 727-100 freighters.

The new 727-200F will be fitted with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-17A engines of 16,000 lbs thrust each. They provide a 5 per cent increase in fuel efficiency over the JT9D-17 engines currently in use. The 727-200F has a maximum payload of 62,000 lbs, about 40 per cent more than 727-100. This sale brings 727 orders to 1815.

 New From Douglas:

McDonnell Douglas is certainly not going to sleep as a result of problems in the international airline industry. MDC have announced two new versions of the DC·10 and one of the DC-9. The new DC-10 will be called the Super 1 O and will feature winglets and either PW2037 or Rolls Royce RB. 211-535F4 engines, the Super 10 will be built around the short-fuselage Series 10 airframe. The Super 10 will have a range of 4400 nm with 277 passengers and is expected to be 19 per cent more fuel efficient than the current DC-10-30s. The other variant is called the Super 30 and is a stretched version of the current Senes 30 airframe allowing carriage of an additional 50 economy passengers. A 100-inch plug will be fitted just aft of the wing and a 120-inch plug will be fitted forward of the wing root. The Super 30 will feature the latest in avionics and will feature a 13 per cent improvement in fuel burn, the Super 30 will not be fitted with winglets as this would require an extensive re-design of the wing which is different to that of the smaller Series 10. The new twinjet will be designated the DC-9 Super 40 and will be a 120-passenger airframe with Super 80 JT8-218 or CFM-56 powerplants. The new variant will utilise the Super 80 wing and front fuselage, plus a cockpit with the aft cabin of the Series 30. MDC claims that the fuel burn improvement with the CFM-56 is in the region of 20 per cent as compared to the DC-9 Series 30 and 50.

Major Improvements for Boeing 737s:

Significant improvements to Boeing’s new twinjet derivative, the 737-300, have given the aircraft better fuel “mileage”, higher cruise altitude, slower landing approach speeds and increased commonality with other new generation jets.

Many of the improvements will be added to Boeing’s currently-produced 737-200 within two years. The -300 version will debut about one year after that.

Fuel burn decrease of as much as 15,000 gallons (156,775 litres) per aircraft each year on 600-mile flights compared to the original -300 design will be possible because of lighter weight.

The weight savings totalling 975 pounds (442. 2 kg) came from two major changes – a new standard interior of lighter-weight “crushed core” material and an increased use of other composites for moveable flight surfaces.

With the optional takeoff weight of 135,000 pounds (61,236 kg) the 737-300 now has the long-range capability needed for the charter market, matching that of the present 737-200.

The higher cruise altitude and lower landing approach speed, both desirable operational features, are made possible by a 4 per cent deeper leading edge slat. This is a moveable “glove” over the leading edge of the wing which gives increased lift when extended.

Fellowship Meets Severe Turbulence:

An NLM Dutch regional Fokker F-28- 4000 lost a wing in severe turbulence on October 6. Post-crash investigation revealed that the aircraft was subjected to a 6g vertical acceleration while encountering an electrical storm near Rotterdam This is basically double what an airliner is normally expected to withstand and is one of the worst cases of turbulence yet recorded.

 Anyone for Coffee?

The US Federal Aviation Agency recently advertised 15000 positions available as ATC assistants to assist in the aftermath of the PATCO strike. Annual income on offer is a mere $US15,193 which did not deter more than 4000 furloughed airline pilots from rushing the FAA positions. Wonder what the local reaction would be to such an offer?