Newsdesk – Commercial

Meanwhile, GAA have come up with a number of sound suggestions as a result of their recent study tour of Californian airports. GAA are pressing for the introduction of US standards for wake turbulence separation, adoption of US standards for visual separation and the reduction in size of the Sydney control zone and that KSA be given first priority in the introduction of computerised radar facilities. At present this most important addition is being installed on what appears to be an alphabetical basis with Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin heading the list- more about this in part two of our special ATC feature, Life In The Tower.

The Last 727:

Boeing has announced that the last 727 will be a 727F, the final aircraft in a fifteen-aircraft order for specialised freighters placed by Federal Express. This will be airframe number 1832 and will be delivered to the carrier late in 1983; it will eclipse a production history of twenty-one years and a hard-to-beat record as the free world’s most ordered jetliner.

In the Navy:

Ansett has disposed, via a US broker, of its last four DC-9-30s to the US Naval Reserve where the aircraft will replace aged Douglas C-54 aircraft. The entire operation was handled by Corsair, a firm specialising In marketing aircraft traded in on new Boeing Jetliners Corsair earlier had sold eight of Ansett’s DC-9s to Chicago-based Midway Airlines.

Airbus A320 Launch Soon:

Chances of the 150-seat Airbus A320 being launched during the course of 1983 are virtually odds on. The Paris Air Show would be a classical atmosphere in which to launch the first of the new 150-seaters, particularly with host carrier, France opening the run with its long intended order for fifty aircraft. In this eventuality, Airbus will go for a modified version of the CFM56-2 which currently delivers 24,000 lb thrust. General feeling is that the project has been stalled long enough through lack of a suitable powerplant amidst the question of whether to launch with a current technology engine such as the CFM56 or to wait for the RJ500. While the latter engine will offer fuel economies in the region of 10% better than the CFM56, the RJ500 will also be around 15% more expensive to purchase and maintain thereby obviating much of the potential savings in the newer technology powerplant. Airbus are keen to get the A320 into airline livery by 1987 and they can only do this by opting now for the CRM56 and offering the RJ500 as an alternative when it becomes commercially available later this decade. The CFM56 is acquiring quite a good track record with massive engine orders coming up on several major programmes including the DC-8 series 70 re-engining project, the Boeing 737-300 and the USAF KC-135R.

Trans World Takes Advantage of Generous DC-9 Super 80 Deal:

The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 Super 80 has scored another big order thanks in part to a revolutionary scheme worked out between the carrier and MDC. Following hot on the heels of the 20-unit order for American Airlines which was arranged under the same financing deal, the TWA order is for 15 aircraft which will replace Boeing 727-200 which TWA currently operates on a wet lease basis. Both the TWA and American deals are remarkable in that MDC still owns the aircraft. MDC in effect lease the carriers the aircraft, and the airlines can, it is deemed, return the aircraft under certain circumstances if the need should arise. It is believed that MDC also has an arrangement with both carriers on a profit-sharing basis. The Super 80 is saving carriers such as AirCal and PSA between 20% and 30% on fuel costs alone as against the older Boeing 727-200s they replaced, so TWA and American look to be on a winners.

Big Sale for Fokker:

Fokker has won a massive endorsement for the long-established F-28 Fellowship with an order by Garuda Indonesian Airlines for 20 Mk 4000 aircraft. The 85-seat Mk 4000s will replace earlier Mk 1000 F-28s which are currently in the Garuda fleet. Garuda is the world’s largest operator of F-28 jets with more than three dozen examples in its inventory. Closer to home, Airlines of Western Australia take delivery of their second F-28 Mk 4000 this December, while East West Airlines will place its first Mk 4000 into operation next March

ATR 42 Order Book Grows:

Order book for the Aeritalia/Aerospatiale ATR 42 has reached 34 following the recent order by Air Caledonia for two aircraft. Operating from Noumea, Air Caledonia will operate its aircraft in the 46-seat configuration with the first example entering service in May 1986.

Enter the Sherpa:

Readers of our Shorts 360 Update in the September edition of this magazine will remember our reference to a possible future derivative of the 330/360 airframe for the dedicated troop or cargo role. Shorts were one jump ahead of us and at Farnborough launched just such a version of the 330 named appropriately the Sherpa. The Sherpa will have a rear loading ramp which will allow stowage of items up to 29 feet in length. The forward freight door is retained and a rollarised floor aids cargo loading Sherpa will cruise at altitudes of around 10,000 ft over speeds ranging from 160 kts to 190 kts. Maximum takeoff weight will be 22,900 lb with an effective 7500 lb payload. It will carry, typically, 4500 lb of cargo over 750 nm with reserves, or nearly 900 nm without reserves. Sherpa can also carry three LD3-sized containers and will be available from early 1983 In the longer term could provide an interesting RAAF Caribou replacement if ever such a follow-on requirement should eventuate.

Challenger 601 Certificated:

The Canadair Challenger 601, utilising the benefits of higher thrust GE CF34 turbofans, has been certificated by the US FAA following a 150-hour flight test programme encompassing 80 flights The winglets fitted as standard to all model 601s are also to be retrofitted to the AFL-502-powered model 600sand will now become a standard feature on all Challengers.

Stretched Dash 7:

De Havilland Canada is considering an 18.5 ft stretch for their Dash 7 airliner. The new model designated Series 300, would seat between 70 and 78 passengers, would cruise at 255 kts at 16,000 ft and would exhibit the same STOL capabilities as the standard SO-passenger aircraft. Power would be supplied by an advanced version of the present 1120 shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-50 engines which would offer 1500 shp at sea level conditions. DHC foresaw a reduction in direct operating costs of around 22% compared with the standard Dash 7 over a typical 150 nm sector. Much research work has already been completed on the project and DHC will plan to launch the model 300 as soon as economic circumstances permit.

Domestic Business Class a Winner:

TAA have introduced quite a few service improvements in the past five months to win back their defecting passengers from Ansett. Probably the most innovative of these would be the addition of a Business Class section to their A300s effective from early October You can only successfully do this on a wide body of course, and as Ansett will now not be receiving their first 767 mid-1983 TAA will be working hard to win back as much of the high-yield business market as possible. You don’t have to talk to too many businessmen these days to meet people who only ever flew First Class now sitting awkwardly ‘down the back’. The reason is more than the mere necessity to save dollars in these frugal times. Many companies are now very sensitive to the more visual perks accorded higher echelon management and when people are being retrenched left right and centre it makes more sense to send that executive Business Class rather than at the relatively expensive First Class fare. There is certainly a lot happening in the Australian airline industry, now all that is needed is more passengers!

New From Rolls:

Rolls Royce have designated their new Dart replacement the RBS17. This will be a turboprop in the 3500 to 5000 shp range and would be a candidate engine for Fokker’s F-27 replacement and an eventual second engine option on BAe’s 748ATP. Rolls Royce will also use the RB517 core as the basis for the development of a turbofan engine in the 6000 lb thrust class which will be aimed at the larger corporate type aircraft.

TAA, IPEC Team on Air Cargo:

With the ongoing reduction in TAA Fokker F-27 services south of Brisbane, TAA has signed an agreement with IPEC for the airlifting of heavy and palletised cargo to Tasmania and throughout the Eastern States. TAA are now utilising a substantial share of the freight capacity on IPEC’s new DC-9-33 jet freighter and the existing IPEC Argosy propjet fleet which since October has been servicing the major East Coast ports

Used Aircraft Inventory Grows:

It is now estimated that more than 550 aircraft, or nearly 10% of the free world’s airline fleet is for sale. Of this total, some 300 are DC-8 or 707 aircraft which are likely to be only of value as scrap from 1984 onward. As at October, a Lockheed survey indicated that there were 122 wide-body aircraft for sale, the majority of which were available for less than half their new aircraft replacement value. The Boeing 727-200 has also become available in large numbers following the demise of Braniff. However, the report found that the 727-200 had now entered a demand phase at its current price of between six and eight million dollars which was only a third or a quarter the cost of a new A310 Airbus or Boeing 767/757. It is believed that Ansell will commence disposing of a number of its 727 fleet once the larger 767 enters service in mfd-1983. First to go will be the specially tanked 727LRs which were introduced to Ansett service in 1981 to provide non-stop capability on the Sydney/ Perth route.

Pan AM SP Back on the Pacific:

PanAm has re-introduced their 747SP services from Sydney and Melbourne to Los Angeles. The non-stop sector is fourteen and a half hours in length and connects in LAX with a non-stop service to London, total flight time being similar to that of the faster Kangaroo Route schedules.

IATA Goes in Batting for Its Clients:

IATA is making a concerted effort to lobby governments worldwide in an effort to commence restructuring the international airline industry. In recent years pressures have come to bear upon carriers worldwide over which they have little or no control. IATA members in 1981 lost a total of $1660 million while estimates for 1982 see this increasing to at least $1900 million. Fuel costs and government-enacted user charges now amount to more than 40% of an airline’s overheads while the interest rate burden for 1982 will exceed $1600 million as against only $600 million in 1979, the beginning of the airline recession. IATA is hoping to be able to persuade governments (remember that most governments own at least one airline) to relax climb, cruise and landing procedures and reduce the amount of ever-growing red tape associated with airline/ government relationships. By reviewing these phases of operations, removing some operating restrictions, particularly in Europe, and improving the use of ATC procedures IATA estimate a saving of between $1500 million and $2000 million, enough to arrest the chronic economic decay of the world’s airline community. There is a lot of scope here in Australia for cost-savings, particularly where the DofA is involved. AUSTRALIAN AVIATION will be examining this subject in detail through 1983.

Qantas Cargo Expands:

Qantas recently opened the first stage of $24 million Sydney international cargo centre. The new centre, situated near the International Terminal, covers an area of 10,000 square metres, the equivalent to about forty tennis courts The special front parking apron currently can handle two 747s while extensions to this area will eventually double parking capacity. Customer airlines that will benefit from the new terminal will include SIA, Garuda, Air India, Air New Zealand, Air Pacific, Continental, MAS, PAL and SAA. Qantas only last year completed an all-new freight facility at Perth Airport and is now in the process of building a similar facility at Tullamarine. With roughly 100 return international services each week, Qantas carries almost 40% of Australia’s inbound and outbound a,r freight. A total of about 500 people work full-time in Qantas Cargo throughout the world.

International Traffic Growth Reduced:

World airline traffic increased by only 2.2% during 1981 as compared with an average of 10% per annum through the nineteen seventies. IATA estimates that with costs exceeding the growth in yield, the one billion dollar loss by IATA members in 1981 will see this figure doubled for 1982 despite a mild resurgence by most carriers midway through the year. Domestic load factors increased from 63.2% to 63.5% while international services grew from 62.9% to 64.1%, both figures being well down on our local averages.

Airbus Dominates Widebody Sales With 70% of Market:

Airbus Industrie has secured more than 70 per cent of all widebody sales so far this year.

For the year ending December 1981 Airbus had accounted for more than 50 per cent of all widebody sales, including the long-haul Boeing 747, which is not a direct competitor of Airbus.

For the first three quarters of this year, Airbus have added a further four airlines to the customer list and sold 19 aircraft. This represents slightly more than 70 per cent of all widebody aircraft sold since the beginning of the year.

An airbus representative said while other manufacturers had been suffering declining markets with cancellations of orders, Airbus was actually increasing its rate of production from the present 4.5 aircraft per month to eight per month by 1984.

2000th McDonnell Douglas Airliner Delivered:

McDonnell Douglas Corporation has delivered its 2000th jet transport, a DC-10 built for United Airlines. The delivery of the 2000th jet transport came 24 years after the first flight of the DC-8 jetliner in 1958. The DC-8 began commercial service the following year.

The 2000th Douglas jetliner also is the first new aircraft built for use in the US Air Force’s Civil Reserve air fleet. The DC-10CF, a convertible freighter model capable of being changed from passenger to cargo operations, can be used by the Air Force to carry military supplies during a national emergency.

The DC jet fleet has carried more than 2.5 billion passengers – equivalent to more than half the population of the earth – and has travelled a total distance of more than 22 billion miles. The DC-8 is one of the most rugged aircraft ever built; one DC-8 has logged more than 80,000 hours of block times. The DC-8 fleet has compiled more than 23 million flight hours for nearly 200 operators. A total of 556 DC-8s were produced before production ended in 1972.

Only one DC-9 has been voluntarily retired from airline service, and that one was purchased by Douglas for testing of long-term reliability. Now being produced in its sixth version, the Super 80, the DC-9 has accounted for more than 1060 of the 2000 jet transports delivered.

The more than 370DC-10 aircraft have flown more than 7 million hours, and are flown by more than 47 operators around the world.

Twenty Super 80s for American Airlines:

American Airlines will add 20 Super 80 twin-jets from McDonnell Douglas Corporation to its Jetliner fleet.

The 142-passenger aircraft will be used on America’s short-and-medium range routes throughout North America beginning mid-1983. They will be equipped with Pratt & WhitneyJT8D-217A engines, each generating 20,000 pounds of thrust.

The first three aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in May of 1983, with deliveries continuing through December.

Boeing Reports Nine Months 1982 Sales, Earnings:

Boeing has reported sales of $US6541 million and net earnings of $US201 million for the first nine months of 1982. Comparable figures for the first nine months of 1981 were sales of $US7406 million and net earnings of $US377 million.

Sales for the third quarter of 1982 were $US2057 million with net earnings of $US69 million, compared with 1981 third-quarter sales of $US2215 million and net earnings of $US93 million, or $US0.96 per share.

Boeing Chairman, Mr T. A. Wilson, said that lower earnings in the third quarter and for the nine-month period ended September 30 were attributable primarily to significantly reduced commercial jet transport deliveries; a continued high level of research, developmental and engineering expenses related to the 737-300, 757 and 767 programmes; and lower interest income.

Continued substantial improvement in sales and earnings on US Government programmes partially offset the declines being experienced on commercial programmes. He said profitability in the airline industry continued to be adversely affected by the soft economy, excessive competition with the resultant highly discounted fare structure, and relatively high interest rates and operating costs. These factors, coupled with the uncertainty as to continued US Export-Import Bank funding constraints and the elimination, with certain limited exceptions, of the ‘safe harbour’ leasing provisions, had caused a substantial reduction in the level of airline orders for new jet transports.

The combination of these economic and political factors has also caused airlines to defer deliveries or cancel aircraft already on order. Orders for 16 jet transports were announced during the third quarter, bringing total orders for the nine-month period to 49. This compares with orders for 163 jetliners for the same period of 1981. •

Go-Ahead for Civil Version of EH101 Helicopter:

The British and Italian Governments have agreed to work together towards the go-ahead to develop a new, long-range, large-capacity helicopter in a collaborative programme.

The aircraft will be a civil version of the EH101, a three-engine helicopter with a 700 mile-plus (1130 km-plus) range now being developed in a military version by Westland Helicopters of the UK and the Italian Helicopter manufacturer, Agusta. The new aircraft will be the first civil design to incorporate all recent technological advances in design, materials and manufacturing techniques in a helicopter that will see service into the 21st century.

A major feature of the EH101 will be the capability to ‘design in’ characteristics necessary for particular roles such as offshore rig work in remote areas like the northwest shelf of Australia or heavy lift operations in hot and high conditions. The aircraft will bring together all the technological advances achieved over the last 20 years in one flexible package.

With a maximum projected take-off weight of 31,000 lbs the civil EH101 will carry 30 passengers. Powered by three General Electric T-700ICT7 engines, the EH101 will have a normal cruise speed of 150 knots. Flight testing of the aircraft will begin in 1986 and deliveries to customers start in 1989.

Aircraft Surveillance Contract for $16.5 M:

Two contracts totalling $16.5 million over a three-year period have been let to two general aviation companies for civil coastal surveillance on Australia’s north coast.

The Government’s coastal surveillance is coordinated by the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Construction’s Australian Coastal Surveillance Centre in Canberra.

Surveillance is carried out on behalf of a number of Federal Government authorities, including the Department of Health (Quarantine) which has authorised funds for these two contracts.

The contracts have been awarded to Skywest Airlines Ply Ltd of Perth for about $5.1 million and to H. C. Sleigh Aviation Ltd of Melbourne for about $11.4 million. Final contract amounts will depend on total aircraft usage.

Skywest will service the West Australian sectors of the littoral (close inshore) surveillance operation and H. C. Sleigh will service the North Queensland sectors. These represent about two-thirds of the total littoral surveillance tasks currently carried out under contract using chartered civil aircraft.

Milestone in Fokker-GAF Association:

August saw the 100th outer flap set for Fokker’s F28 aircraft come off the production line at the government aircraft factories GAF Melbourne. The association between GAF and Fokker goes back to 1974 when GAF won the contract for off-set work following the purchase by the Department of Transport of three F28s