TAA Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Pt Ill

TAA Management, pilots and engineering staff were very keen about the Caravelle and were very enthusiastic about the proposed purchase. John Ryland was to tell John Watkins on several occasions that the decision to block the Caravelle was the most bitter disappointment of his life. He had never imagined that it would be refused and he had been looking forward very much to getting the Caravelle into TAA service.

From the Government’s point of view, as this was the time that the Two Airline Policy was corning into effect and unless both operators could be induced to introduce jet airliners at the same time, that sort of technological quantum leap would put one airline at a great disadvantage in comparison with the other. Ansett was not prepared to switch to the Caravelle from Electras and TAA did not want the Electra over the Caravelle. The Government then decided that if anybody was to get any aircraft in that category it would have to be the Lockheed Electra. John Watkins commented on the eventual outcome, “The Electra was a good aeroplane with certain qualifications. I don’t know if you can really say an aeroplane is a good aeroplane if you have to send it back to the manufacturer twice to have its wings rebuilt. But the Electra with these fixes carried on as a good aeroplane and since then Electras have done a lot of good work and so have Caravelles”.

After the Electra, came the jet era for TAA. First the Boeing 727, to be followed by the Douglas DC-9, the Airbus Industrie A300 and the new Boeing 737-300. There is no doubt that these modern aircraft have raised the reliability, productivity and comfort level to a standard not previously imagined by TAA founders. Although the larger aircraft had dominant passenger-carrying roles with TAA during its history, many other smaller aircraft were employed extensively throughout their routes. A varied assortment of aircraft joined the fleet to be used in particular areas or in specialised roles. Amongst these were Lodestars, Dragons, Bristol Freighters, a lone Catalina, Beech Queen Airs and Twin Otters. They all played a valuable part in maintaining services in what was and still is, a widely varied network.

When Australian Aviation visited TAA recently, it sought the views of Frank McMullen, TAA’s Engineering Director and some of the other senior engineering management on the airline’s equipment outlook, present and future. McMullen and three other senior personnel, Keith Kenworthy- Manager, of maintenance and overhaul; Doug Gillies – Manager, of maintenance and services and John Carmond – Manager; of technical services were unanimous in their optimistic view of the future and felt that TAA’s problems of the early 1980s were well and truly behind them.

Frank McMullen acknowledged that there had been problems at the time of the introduction of the A300, but stressed that none of them were the fault of the aircraft. Normally an airline has about a 2½ to 3-year lead time from the time of placing an order for new aircraft, until they eventually enter service. This gives an adequate period to prepare all the maintenance, training and many other items which require attention. With the A300, TAA had only 20 months to gear up for an aircraft that was much larger than any other it had operated. Much of the support equipment it had was too small and a significant amount of handling equipment had to be obtained. Apart from these demands which were overcome by the airline, other problems loomed up which were not so easily solved. Of these Frank McMullen said, “Two things spoilt the A300, the timing of their introduction and the fact that Ansett did not follow with a similar type. None of the experts predicted the drop in passenger traffic which occurred in mid-1981. Ansett was better placed to exploit the situation with the greater number of smaller aircraft that they had to give them better timetable flexibility. The public were used to a high level of frequency and TAA could not deliver. Our A300s then had a 269 passenger capacity and were only obtaining load factors ih the 50% region. Even when we reduced the seating to 230 we were still faced with load factors in the low 60s. We are now obtaining I0ad factors over 70% which is a much better state of affairs”.

TAA has nothing but praise for the reliability of the A300 fleet. It has the highest despatch reliability of any airliner in Australia and TAA’s despatch reliability result has never fallen below the worldwide average for the type. The General Electric CF6 has proven so reliable that in five years of service no engine change has been required outside of Melbourne. The four A300s in TAA service are adequate for their needs and there are no plans for the immediate return of the fifth aircraft which is currently on lease to Air Niugini. The A300 fleet is currently averaging 2800 flying per aircraft per year.

When the downturn in passenger traffic was at its worst, TAA found that their A300s were carrying Boeing 727 loads but at greatly increased trip costs. This prompted TAA to consider alternative equipment to replace the A300s. This is where the Boeing 757 came into their thinking. Frank McMullen said that many industry observers had misread TM’s interest in the Boeing 757 and thought that TAA viewed it as a competitor to the A320. This was not the case and TAA saw the Boeing 757 as an aircraft which could carry loads which were being encountered in the A300s and which would replace the A300s. The Boeing 757 has a good capacity and could carry 175 passengers in a comfortable three class configuration. The A31o with a 219 seat layout was also considered as a replacement for the A300 but the high capital cost, high interest rates and unfavourable exchange rate fluctuations were dissuading factors, although it would have operating costs.

In general, TM feels that the outlook for the A300s is improving and will improve further if the annual utilisation can be lifted and load factors edged up. If traffic cortinued to improve, some of the original seating could be restored, but would not go above 250 seats because an extra galley and business class seats had now been installed.

Eventually when A320 sales are over the peak and a stretched A320 of say 172 seats is introduced around 1993, it could be easily introduced by TAA because of its commonality with the earlier A320. Such an aircraft would be an attractive prospect to replace the A300. There seems no likelihood of the A300 being replaced prior to then, as fuel costs seem to have plateaued and currently constitute 20% of the direct operating cost. A much bigger hurdle for TM like so many other airlines, is the high capital cost of new equipment, although as Frank McMullen pointed out, Boeing recognise this and are keeping the cost down on the Boeing 757.

The remainder of TAA’s jet airliner fleet consists of 9 DC-9-30s fitted with 92 seats and 12 727-276s in a 144 seat configuration. Frank McMullen said that because the 9 DC-9s are inadequate to cope with frequency demands, a fleet mix of 9 727s and 12 DC-9s would be better. However, TAA tried to buy some DC-9s to add to the fleet but could not find any. The annual utilisation rate for the DC-9s is 2800 hours and for the 727s 3300 hours. The current retirement plan is to retain a small number of DC-9s into 1990 and as for the 727s, some will be kept much later than the A320 introduction date as there are many relatively new 727s in the TM fleet and their comparatively low capital cost would outweigh operational considerations.

Apart from the jet fleet, TM currently has three Fokker F27 Friendships and will also have its three new British Aerospace Jetstream 31s in service by the time this is read. The Jetstream is much better suited to the regional traffic in the area than the present equipment. It seems probable that if further turboprop capacity is required by TAA in the future, it will be met by aircraft in the Jetstream’s size and not larger types such as the ATR42 or British Aerospace ATP. In the small jet airliner category TAA does not have a present need for an aircraft such as the Fokker 100 or British Aerospace BAe 146. The delivery of the Boeing 737-300 fleet has been met with much enthusiasm and pride by the TAA engineering section as TAA has worked closely with Boeing on improvements which were first incorporated in the TAA aircraft. When TAA first approached Boeing about the 737, Boeing wanted to retain the conventional cockpit instrumentation as they felt it would blend in better for other operators with existing 737-200s for standardisation purposes. TM wanted Boeing to go the other way and incorporate CRT instrumentation. During February 1985, TM personnel visited Boeing and discussed improvements to the instrument display and navigational facilities, which was a condition of a TAA purchase. When these changes were decided on, TAA became the launch customer for this improved version which has CRTs supplied by Rockwell Collins. The first TAA 737- 300 was in fact the flight test aircraft for a CRT version which incorporates an airspeed indicator in one of the displays in addition to the conventional instrument. On the CRT display, the ASI shows as a moving vertical strip against a fixed pointer. This aircraft will also include a wind shear guidance and alerting system and dual alternative navigational systems.

If the time interval to introduce the A300 was short, then the 14 months that elapsed between ordering the 737s and the delivery of the first aircraft has imposed even greater demands on TAA. Fortunately, TAA has a large and advanced narrow body aircraft hangar at Tullamarine next to the dedicated A300 hangar, well able to cope with the influx of new aircraft. Over 100 engineering staff have visited Seattle for periods from one to six weeks and flight crew have also been undergoing training there pending the delivery of a new flight simulator last October. Amongst the major spares backing to support the 12 aircraft fleet will be five complete engines plus another three to be retained in modular form. Although the Boeing 737-300 is certificated to carry up to 149 passengers TAA will have their aircraft configured to carry 112 passengers (an in-depth technical analysis of the 737-300 was given in our September 1986 edition). TM will have a dedicated first class section with four rows of seats for a total of 16 seats. Business and economy classes will have similar seats which will be cosmetically different in the two areas, with a 35″ pitch in business and 33″ pitch in economy.

Further down the track, TAA will be receiving their nine Airbus Industrie A320s currently on order for delivery between April 1989 and June 1990. Planning is well underway although at a less frantic pace than those of the A300 and 737 programmes. TAA has opted for the IAE V2500 engine in preference to the CFM56-5 which has been selected by Ansett. Both airlines have ordered the version with a:72 tonne takeoff weight. Although TAA will be receiving their first aircraft seven months after Ansett’s initial delivery, they feel the wait is worth it because of the V2500’s lower fuel bµi’n. The A320 is expected to be certified March 1988 with first deliveries taking place the same month. The 72-tonne takeoff option will be available some months later when powered by the CFM56-5, while deliveries of the IAE V2500-powered counterpart will commence in March 1989.

As one would expect, the engineering side of TAA employs much of the airline’s resources. About 1900 personnel are involved in this aspect of TAA operations Australia-wide, involving an expenditure of $74m in the 1984-85 financial year. The value of engineering support infrastructure is approximately $50m. Of the engineering staff located in Melbourne, about two-thirds · are based at Tullamarine with one third at Essendon. Maintenance of the A300/727 fleet is carried out on a phased maintenance basis with an A check every 75/100 hours, B check 250/400 hours, C check 1800/3000 hours and D check 15,000/ 20,000 hours. The checks are carried out at a variety of bases depending on the check and type of aircraft involved. TAA is also keen to foster apprentice training. Of the engineering workforce, 25-30% are ex-TAA apprentices and 150 apprentices are currently under training. Apart from attending to its own fleet, TAA also has other customers. It provides engineering support and hangar facilities for Air Queensland ATR42s, operational engineering support and engine and airframe maintenance for IPEC and it also services the LM 2500 engines fitted in the Navy’s FFG frigates. Maintenance performed for other customers brought in $5m of revenue in the last financial year. The well-equipped TAA engineering division is keen to do more work for outside operators to better utilise its resources.

In 1986 Trans Australia Airlines was renamed Australian . .Airlines. During the 40 years that have elapsed since that early morning DC-3 flight on 9 September 1946 much has happened to TAA. It has progressed from an infant airline to emerging as one of the most respected operators in the world. This did not come easily or by accident. came about through the inventiveness, planning and hard work of thousands of dedicated Australians. To TAA I am sure we all say happy anniversary and to Australian Airlines, good luck and best wishes for the next 40 years.