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The immediate studies will be aimed at assessing the technical and environmental feasibility of such an aircraft as well as its commercial viability. Areas of investigation will include analysis of the potential world market, technical definition of the aircraft and its powerplant plus issues related to the environment. Teams set up for this purpose within each of the manufacturers, following on from the work already carried out by BAe on the Advanced Supersonic Transport (AST) and by Aerospatiale on the ATSF project (Avion de Transport Supersonique Futur), will be strengthened following the signing of the agreement.

There is a possiblity that Airbus will be made responsible for the marketing and support of the new aircraft, which is slated to be operational by 2003, though a definitive decision is not expected on this aspect of the project for some time yet.

Across the Atlantic, Boeing is still investigating the long term viability of an SST and is looking for partners that may wish to join it in such a project. Whilst Japan is a high profile candidate, along with a consortium of US manufacturers, the possibility of the US, Europe and Japan teaming together to develop and build a single SST has considerable support on both sides of the Atlantic.

Ansett Cools on International Aspirations:

Speaking at a major conference on deregulation at the Sydney Hilton during mid May, Ansett joint Managing Director, Sir Peter Abeles, stated that his airline was now not interested in international operations providing Qantas or other international carriers were not allowed access to the Australian domestic market

Sir Peter did though support the concept of freeing up trans-Tasman air travel to the point where passport and customs requirements between the two countries were dropped, resulting in a true domestic airline environment. If either Air New Zealand or Qantas were however allowed Australian domestic rights, then Ansett would naturally have to pursue international rights as a balance. Transtasman rights for Ansett would be a considerable benefit as it would allow the airline to link up its Australian and New Zealand operations. Ansett New Zealand though is presently losing something in the region of $3m a month and transpacific yield is traditionally amongst the lowest in the world, making the benefits of an Ansett international operation somewhat nebulous.

At the conference, Sir Peter also called upon the government, via the FAC, to support deregulation by providing sufficient infrastructure in the form of building common user terminal facilities for the proposed new entrants. Sir Peter also stated that Ansett would be willing to assist in financing and advising on the development of such terminals and possibly operating them on behalf of the new entrants if it was of assistance to them.

Discussion with representatives of the new entrants though, indicated that this was hardly a desirable course of action and that ultimately they would be liable for building their own facilities at Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. As expected, the FAC is not ready to invest large sums of money in new terminals for airlines which by and large presently exist in name only.

 Wrong Number:

Readers wishing to purchase a Hoyts Polygram aviation video by phone from the Hawker Pacific Skyshop chain are advised that the correct number given in their advert (p. 52) is (008) 023 446.

Ansett Nsw Likely to Take On Many Bypass Routes Come Deregulation:

Ansett NSW is likely to take on many new bypass routes on behalf of its parent, Ansett Airlines, with the commencement of deregulation.

As East-West begins to accept its new BAe 146-300s from this September, Ansett NSW will also begin to take over EWA’s F28-3000 and -4000 aircraft to replace its own smaller-1000 models. Under the rules of the Trade Practices Act, the F28s will be purchased by Ansett NSW at their current market value rather than their depreciated book value to ensure that they cannot be used with predatory pricing as their intent.

Primary aim of the move though is to enable the Ansett regional to begin to serve a number of ports that currently do not enjoy point to point non stop jet services. An example of this would be Canberra where virtually everybody has to transit either Sydney or Melbourne to fly to another city. This increa ses congestion into Sydney, raises fares, wastes fuel and a significant amount of time for the consumer.

As an example, Canberra could then have direct jet links with such ports as Adelaide, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and even Hobart. Conversely, Adelaide could have increased non stop frequency to southern Queensland and vice versa whilst many Sydney originating services to northern Queensland would not have to transit Brisbane.

The ability to bypass the increasing ATC mess that is Sydney and to a lesser extent Melbourne, might just be one of the smartest things to happen to the Australian travelling public this decade.

Mamba Gains Developmental CofA:

The Melbourne Aircraft Corporation’s Mamba light aircraft has won a CAA developmental Certificate of Airworthiness which will allow it to be demonstrated to approved persons.

The move will enable MAC to better demonstrate the Mamba to a wide range of potential buyers. First to fly the two seat aircraft were expected to be the WA Dept of Conservation and Land Management which is evaluating the Mamba as a possible replacement for their Piper Cubs. MAC also list interest from the Government of Ecuador and Colombia.

Anz 747-400 Crewing Dispute Resolved:

After more than two years of uncertainty, Air New Zealand’s pilots have finally decided to crew the 747-400s that the airline has on order.

Linchpin to the affirmative decision was the offer by management of individual contracts with the pilots which give them a better deal than they had before. The move also neatly spells the death knell of the once omnipotent pilots union which had long been against such a move. ANZ’s first 747-400 has been operating with Cathay Pacific since its delivery late last year and is not expected to return to TE till either late this year or early next year. ANZ’s second-400 is due for delivery late this year with the third of type due in

1992.

ANZ’s chief executive, Mr Jim Scott, recently told AA that the airline had no real interest in obtaining domestic rights within Australia. Scott believed that the potential profitability of establishing such an operation was doubtful given Ansett’s poor performance in New Zealand where it looked as if it would never make an operating profit due to the massive sunk costs that the airline had to make to be able to compete with an incumbent operator.

Scott also believed that ANZ and Qantas should team their marketing objectives to sell the region as a combined bloc rather than their own individual destinations. He stated that the Asians had done this for years with great results and that it was time Australasia was sold as a single package with Qantas and Air New Zealand having greater access to each other’s markets to streamline their overall ability to attract inbound tourism. At present ANZ cannot fly passengers to Asia from Australia whilst a formal South Pacific airline trading bloc would also strengthen these airlines position when it came to negotiating bilateral rights, etc. With the onwards march of CER, Mr Scott stated that there was no reason why such a move should not occur for the benefit of all concerned.

Rr Launch Tay Re-Engining Program:

Rolls-Royce have signed a contract with United Parcel Services valued at up to SUS600m for the re-engining of up to 80 of their 727-100 package freighters.

The order from UPS effectively launches the RR Tay in the potentially massive re-engining market as presently there exists. over 3,000 jet aircraft that do not comply with ICAO Stage 3 noise requirements. Engine type specified for the UPS 727-100 conversion is the Tay 650 which will reduce the area over which noise levels reach 85 decibels by nearly 75% during full power takeoff. Other benefits include a 12% decrease in fuel burn and greater engine reliability with reduced maintenance costs. The first UPS Tay 727 is expected to fly in 1991 with an entry to service the following year. A Tay powered BAC 111 is expected to fly later this year and the engine is also on offer as a candidate for a possible DC-9 re-engining program.

Compass Takeoff Delayed?:

Bryan Grey’s Compass Airlines, one of the proposed new post-deregulation Australian domestic carriers, appears to have struck problems which may delay it starting services on schedule.

The five Airbus A300-600R airliners which it planned to use have reportedly been offered for sale or lease by their owners, Polaris Aircraft Leasing, following Compass’ failure to meet a deadline for raising equity to launch the new airline. Continuing delays in releasing the new entrant’s share prospectus have not helped matters though this was to have been effected by late May.

Despite this, Mr Grey has indicated his airline will be up and running by Christmas this year using aircraft leased from British carrier Monarch. The intention was always to start operations with the Monarch aircraft as the first Polaris A300 was not scheduled to be delivered until March 1991 (refer p. 30). In the meantime Compass is intending a public float of 100 million $0. 50 shares to raise the necessary money and is pressing ahead. Recent developments have included the establishment of a deal with Budget Rent A Car. Mr Grey is confident the five Polaris A300s will end up in the Compass fleet.

 Greater Homebuilt Autonomy:

In a significant move, the Australian CAA has handed over much of its regulatory powers and authority pertaining to amateur built aircraft to the Amateur Built Aircraft Division of the Sports Aircraft Association of Australia.

The new situation allows the SAAA to undertake a number of airworthiness functions which could previously only be performed by the CAA. These include stage. inspections, approvals to build, the issue of Certificates of Airworthiness (except for first of type aircraft) and the issuing of permits to fly.

 Qantas Route Changes:

Qantas will restructure some of its routes later this year with the emphasis on axing unprofitable services and strengthening its position in South East Asia.

In September and October the airline will cease flying to Amsterdam, Athens, Bombay and Bahrain but will add South Korea and Taiwan to its network, the latter through a new subsidiary carrier, Australia Asia Air-lines (refer p61). In addition, extra flights to Japan, Thailand and the USA are planned. After six consecutive years of profit (of which the last three were records), Qantas is expected to announce an operating loss this year.

 Yates Report Adopted:

The recommendations of the Yates Report into first of type certification of aircraft in Australia have been adopted and should be implemented by July this year.

As covered in detail in last month’s Australian Aviation (refer p. 45), the report by Mr Ron Yates, a former Qantas Chief Executive, basically recommended the discarding of Australia’s unique first of type certification requirements which added considerably to the cost and time of introducing a new type to Australian skies. This despite the fact a particular type had already been certified by the appropriate international authorities.

This significant decision is well overdue but welcome nevertheless. As an example of the potential costs involved under the present system, Australian and Ansett had to spend more than $3. 7m on the Boeing 737-300 to meet Australian requirements even though the type was already certified by the US Federal Aviation Authority and the European Joint Aviation Authority. In another case, it cost Beech distributor Hawker Pacific $1. 3m and considerable time to certify the widely used overseas Beech 1900C commuter turboprop and sales were lost as a result. In the rare event of a new type coming to Australia which is not certified by the appropriate international authorities, it will of course be subject to the current system.

A further expression of the general streamlining of procedures in Australia was demonstrated recently when Qantas was given approval to issue Certificates of Airworthiness for its own aircraft providing they are of a similar type and model to one already approved. The new system applies to both existing aircraft and those the airline wishes to import in the future. A CofA is required before any aircraft can enter service in Australia.

 Fewer Delays:

An experimental air traffic flow management trial conducted on Easter Thursday this year in which airlines agreed to spread out their schedules resulted in considerably reduced delays at Australia’s busiest airport, Sydney.

On that day, scheduled airlines suffered arrival delays totalling just under 20 hours compared to an estimated 50 hours plus had normal scheduling been adhered to. Depar ture delays were similar but would have been as high as 76 hours without the adjustment to schedules. Notable improvements were also reported in Melbourne and Brisbane while all operators involved reported more passengers moved than on the same day last year. As a result, it is expected that the Civil Aviation Authority will recommend the revised system be introduced on a permanent basis, particularly since the airlines have agreed to consider what are termed ‘non cluster spreads’. They and the CAA are scheduled to hold further discussions on this important matter this month.

AA Comment: Ansett and Australian claim that it will be difficult for them to move from schedules which they claim are customer orientated, le governed by the marketing rather than the operations departments. The airlines claim that passengers want schedules which are on the hour and half hour, though from our experience this is nonsense if no flight actually departs at that time due to incessant delays caused by the chronic overloading of resources at peak times at KSA. After all you cannot have six or seven. aircraft all scheduled to depart at 8. 00am when runway capacity can only accommodate one or two of these at best.

Considering that traffic delays at Sydney are costing the industry over $40m annually in wasted fuel and resources and that delays at Sydney ultimately filter through the entire route network as inbound connectors are delayed, then it is time that both Ansett and Australian began to take a more realistic attitude towards this problem. After all, a passenger on the 8. 30 flight that is still idling at the holding point at 8. 55 would be better off having been on say, an 8. 40 that departed within a few minutes of that time. The pas sengers aren’t stupid and it’s time that the airlines began to realise this and scheduled flights which they can realistically expect to operate with a minimum of delay for all concerned.

Another Tiger First:

The first ever single pilot flight from England to Australia by Tiger Moth ended before a massive crowd of 8,000 people in Perth’s Langley Park on May 13.

Brian Edwards and his weary Tiger Moth, Matilda, landed after the eventful 24,000km flight which saw the two depart RAF Binbrook in March. As well as flying into the record books the flight raised a much appreciated $40,000 for Legacy.

 World Airlines Achieve Profitable Year in 1989:

Preliminary ICAO estimates reveal that the world’s ICAO member state airlines achieved an operating profit of 4. 7% during 1989 compared with 6. 1% the previous year.

Operating revenues of ICAO member airlines (excluding Aeroflot) stood at $US182bn representing a 10% increase over 1988. Tonne kilometre performance increased by around 4% from 82. 5c (US) in 1988 to 86. 00 in 1989. Operating expenses were estimated at $US174bn, an 11. 5% increase over 1988. Operating expenses per tonne kilometre rose by about 6% to 81. 7c compared with 77. 4c in 1988. Fuel prices, which rose by as much as 35% during 1989, are largely responsible for the increased operating expenses and reduced profitability though at presstime these had fortunately eased worldwide allowing for a potentially better 1990.