Airline Affairs

Wide body non Chapter 3 aircraft, or any non Chapter 3 aircraft fitted with high bypass engines, will be permitted to operate after the 25th anniversary of the date of issue of its first CofA but will not be permitted to operate after 31 March 2002. This affects many early series 747, DC-10 and L1011 aircraft.

The sector of the legislation that affects local aspirants though is the clause that prohibits the importation of such aircraft after January 1 this year. A number of operators were looking to import 727 aircraft duel largely to their very low acquisition cost. The Government foresaw this and decided to avoid the influx of older Stage 2 aircraft by instituting a blanket ban on their import, though it is proposed that historic aircraft, and aircraft of special interest, will be exempt from the provisions of the phase out pro- gram. Stage 2 jets currently on the Australian register include one 707, 17 727s, 19F28s, 16 747s, 2 DC-9s and nine corporate jets.

AA COMMENT: One hates to be cynical but you would have to be blind not to see that this, in one fell stroke, eliminates any new competitor who was wishing to import even relatively young advanced series 727-200 aircraft. This of course helps the existing mainline operators, buoys the potential share price of Australian and ensures that any new operator must either buy brand new jets or invest extra in a Valsan type conversion on the 727.

The new rules would also prohibit the importation of any additional Fokker F28 jets, something that could ultimately lead the ATI group to the disposing of their F28 fleet earlier than intended though they can at least operate the aircraft unmodified till 2002. The move would also stop TNT intro-ducing any additional 707 freighters if it should win the long awaited licence to become Australia’s second designated international freight operator. TNT would thus have to look at suitable Stage 3 aircraft, though in reality would be unlikely to pursue the issue under prevailing economic conditions.

Holiday Period a Boon for Domestic Travelers:

Australian domestic travellers were swamped by special offers from airlines during the summer holiday period.

In the immediate post Christmas period Ansett launched its first department store style promotion, offering up to 61% off seats on some routes, Melbourne/Hobart being the most heavily discounted. Eastwest and Australian were quick to match the offers. while new entrant Compass reacted by offering a $99 one way Sydney/Melbourne special, the cheapest fare on this important route, and one that had not been as profitable for the airline as its other routes. The spe- cials were spurred not only by the increased competition of deregulation, but by the need to counter the softening economy and falling passenger numbers. Some routes, such as Sydney/Melbourne were also suffering from over capacity brought about by the commencement of Compass services.

With highly discounted fares on offer the real winners were travellers themselves, many of whom could not previously afford to travel by air, hence the above average number flying to Perth from the east coast. Air travel prices were such that on the Sydney! Brisbane route, for instance, it cost only about $20 more to fly economy rather than take the traditionally much cheaper (and always much longer) train journey. It also proved cheaper for a single traveller to fly between the two cities than drive, while bus companies and NSW State Rail reacted with specials to counter those of airlines. RESPONSE TO

 “Overwhelming Qantas Birthday Discounts:

Qantas achieved 47,000 seat sales as part of its 70th birthday special offer of 30% across the board discounts.

Between the launch of the special fares on November 16 and the end of the offer on

November 26, over 43,000 economy class and 3,000 business class seats were booked, as well as 658 first class seats, although it was not immediately known how many of these tickets were for travel at the special rate. What was known is that in response to the special offer sales for that period of the year were more than doubled, proving that the initiative was successful for both Qantas and travellers able to take advantage of the cheaper fares, which were for travel only during the traditionally softer, post Christmas months of February and March and had to be paid for within two weeks from November 16.

Though the move was a successful maketing and PR exercise from Qantas’s point of view, the airline has been criticised from several quarters. Competing airlines, forced to follow Qantas’s lead, were critical of the airline provoking a price war during a difficult period of high fuel bills and a soft travel market. Travel agents also complained of receiving no warning of the special offer, many agencies being inundated with customers wishing to not only take advantage of the Qantas offer but also those of competing airlines.

Meanwhile, travel agents have also criticised Qantas’s introduction of its latest. round of fare increases. The increases, following so soon after the special offer, were announced shortly before Christmas, giving agencies little time to inform customers in the hectic holiday period.

Lufthansa Makes Productivity Breakthrough:

To help thwart the effects of rising costs, Lufthansa manage- ment and the airline’s two main employee unions have signed a contract to improve productivity to keep the airline on track.

Under the deal, employees effectively have to work more for less money, though union members are assured that their work (and possibly their jobs) will not be “farmed out” to non Lufthansa companies. Pilots will fly six hours more per month and have fewer days off, while overtime will start at a higher time level. As a result, Lufthansa will be able to operate an 27 more aircraft without having to employ more flight crew, saving DM68m ($A46m) over the next year, rising to DM100m (SA67m) in three years time.

The deal was perfectly timed for Lufthansa, in the face of rising costs in fuel, wages and charges and the increased competition from US carriers flying into Germany. The airline will also be well able to use the additional flight crew capacity with the growth of its new Berlin hub and the expansion of its domestic route structure into eastern Germany.

 Traffic Growth Bounces Back Courtesy of Deregulation:

While domestic growth in almost every country overseas is either flat or in decline, Australia bucked the trend during the December 1990 quarter largely thanks to deregulation.

DTC figures indicate a growth of 5. 6% for the December quarter over the September quarter, a considerable achievement considering the worsening state of the economy. Furthermore, Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK) grew by 5% compared with the previous highest December quarter, that of 1988 when Expo and the Bicentennial was at its peak. The 1990 December quarter is also the second strongest quarter in history beaten only by the September 1988 period.

The increase is good news for the domestic tourism industry and shows first hand just how effective deregulation has been in getting more people out of cars and coaches and into airline seats. For the first time ever the average Australian now has the opportunity to consider aviation as an affordable form of transport.

 Qantas Sells 747-200s:

Qantas has sold its nine remaining P&W powered 747-238Bs to three different US leasing companies.

Potomac Aircraft Leasing bought five of the aircraft, Electra Aviation and Concord Asset Management two each. The seven aircraft sold to Potomac and Electra will all be leased by United Airlines for use on its Pacific routes, while the two aircraft sold late last year to Aeronautics Leasing have been leased to Virgin Atlantic for eight year terms. so inevitably several of the Qantas aircraft will again be visiting these shores. The first of the nine aircraft departed in February, and most others will follow this year, except VH-EBP which will remain with Qantas until March 1992. Qantas’s two leased 747-200s will be operated until August 1993, when they will be returned to Intercredit.

Pan Am Declares Bankruptcy, UK Routes up for Grabs:

After a long, protracted struggle with debtors and a possible takeover bid, PanAm has successfully filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to allow for a major restructuring of the airline. As part of the legal manoeuvring of the Chapter 11 move, PanAm will receive a $US150m “debtor in possession” loan from United and Bankers Trust, allowing it to continue operations while awaiting word on whether it can sell its transatlantic rights to London Heathrow. Though such a deal has the approval of US authorities, British approval was needed, and filing for bankruptcy is seen as one way to convey to British authorities the urgency of receiving approval for the sale of its transatlantic rights to United Airlines. For approval to be granted, a British clause which allows only the two US airlines which flew into London Heathrow prior to 1976 (PanAm and TWA) to do so, must be waived.

American Airlines, meanwhile, is also pushing for its purchase of TWA’s London transatlantic routes to be approved. These would cover rights to fly between London Heathrow and JFK New York, Newark, Boston, LA and Philadelphia, and London Gatwick to Washington International and St Louis. Like the PanAm sale, the $445m American Airlines deal needs British approval, which it is likely to receive if PanAm’s sale is approved.

 Compass in Strong Market Position:

The wide range of marketing initiatives introduced by Compass Airlines has enabled it to take a large slice of the travel market since it commenced operations.

According to Bryan Grey, Compass CEO, Dept of Transport data reveals that during the airline’s first five weeks its two A300s carried 11. 5% of total passenger traffic on the four routes that Compass currently fly. In the week ending January 5, Compass went as far as capturing 38% of Sydney/Perth air travellers and 28% of Melbourne/Perth traffic. The airline’s share of the total passenger market lifted from 2. 6% in its first week to 6. 2% for the week ending 5 January, not too far off the 8% figure it aims to achieve annually.

The Sydney/Melbourne route, however, remained disappointing for the airline with low load factors, though on other routes Compass load factors during its first month were very satisfying. Aided by the traditionally strong holiday period, the airline reports: a 95% load factor on the Brisbane/ Sydney route for the week ended 28 December, well over double the first week of operations when the airline suffered enormous phone problems which lost it substantial bookings. Compass had a 98% load factor

on the Melbourne/Sydney route during the same period for a total all routes average load factor of 74%.

This strong performance has been spurred on by Compass’s marketing campaign, with initiatives to attract not only passengers but also travel agents. As well as offering a 9% commission to travel agents (as against 5% from Ansett and Australian) Compass is now offering free tickets to travel agents as part of its successful incentive scheme. For every ten Compass tickets a travel agent sells at full fare, one free ticket is issued, effectively giving the agent a 19% booking commission. Other incentives for travellers include fares 20-50% lower than standard Ansett of Australian fares, a guaranteed vacant seat next to any business traveller paying full fare, a free child’s ticket for families and the very successful last minute clearance fares. This allows passengers to book a flight within 24 hours of departure. though with the high load factors bookings cannot be guaranteed.

 Vft Would Ease Airport Pressure:

According to the latest evaluation of the Very Fast Train (VFT), the proposed $7bn rail project would both ease capacity problems at Sydney Airport and delay the need to build Badgerys Creek.

The evaluation concludes that the 350kmh VFT would capture about 50% of the passenger air traffic between Melbourne and Sydney, whilst also replacing Sydney/Can- berra airline services. The rail line would cater for 30 VFTs running each way between Sydney and Melbourne daily. The resulting cuts in airline traffic between Sydney, Can- berra and Melbourne would dramatically ease congestion at Sydney and Tullamarine, thereby saving the airline industry up to $18m in operating costs caused by airport delays (though of course robbing them of revenue from the affected services).

If the VFT project gains official government approval in the coming months, consortium members believe the train could be operational on Sydney/Canberra and Sydney/Melbourne by 2000. This is significant given that Sydney Airport is expected to reach its capacity limit in 1996 (though a third runway will extend this to 2010). The VFT would dramatically ease this congestion, delaying the capacity limit, and effectively delaying the need for Badgerys Creek to be operational, though by how long is not clear.

 Anz Installs Heart Machine:

Air New Zealand has installed cardiac defibrillators onboard its two 747-400s, for use during onboard medical emergencies.

The Heartstart 3000 defibrillators are the size of portable computers, weighing just 4kg and providing emergency aid in the event of cardiac arrests. According to Dr Sandy Dawson of the ANZ medical unit, the Heartstart 3000 “significantly improves a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. It’s part of a comprehensive system which is designed to deliver the best possible care to any passenger who happens to become ill while flying”.

Passengers? Perhaps it might also come in handy for airline management, greying hair and skyrocketing blood pressures being a sure sign of ill health. Just a thought.

Northwest, Hawaiian Sign Cooperative Pact:

Northwest Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have signed a cooperative pact which includes Northwest acquiring a 25% stake in Hawaiian and taking over its Hawaii/Australia route.

Northwest will pay Hawaiian $US20m as part of the deal, including SUS7m as a secured loan, subject to govemment approval and conditions. The major part of the deal involves the two airlines cooperating in the areas of marketing and operations to produce new revenue, cut costs and improve operational efficiency on Pacific region services. Joint activities will include the purchase of fuel and parts, maintenance, revenue accounting, marketing, advertising. Frequent flier programs, cargo interchange and coordinated flight schedules, provided savings will accrue to both airlines.

According to Northwest President and CEO, Mr John Dasburg, the agreement fulfills Northwest’s aims to strengthen its position in the lucrative Hawaiian market and enter the Australian market. Hawaiian pulled out of its Australian route late last year as the result of falling yield and ongoing technical problems. Northwest will also wet lease two widebody aircraft to Hawaiian to allow it to operate seven flights per week from Honolulu to Fukuoka, Japan.

Call for Nsw Deregulation:

Mr Don Kendell, Managing Director of Kendell Airlines, has called on the NSW govemment “to fully deregulate intrastate air services and bring the undeniable benefits of competition, or threat of competition, to the State’s air travellers”.

Mr Kendell said that there was now conclusive proof “that NSW intrastate passengers are paying up to 30% more for air travel on regulated monopoly routes than those on deregulated or competitive routes in other states”. Data (current 28/11/90) was quoted which sums up the situation, bearing in mind that the new Sydney Airport peak hour charges are not taken into account. To fly Melbourne/Merimbula, a distance of 451km, passengers pay $148 on either Hazelton or Kendell in what is a deregulated competitive route; to fly Sydney/Merimbula, a lesser distance of 350km but over a NSW

regulated monopoly route, the fare is a higher $165. To fly Syd/Albury, a distance just 2km greater than Melbourne/Merimbula but in a NSW regulated competitive environment, a ticket costs $169, or $21 for the additional 2km. To fly Syd/Orange, 198km over a NSW regulated monopoly route is $111 by Hazelton; Adelaide/Whyalla, 229km deregulated competitive, is $97 with Kendell.

No doubt the list goes on and on. Not only are country passengers hard hit by the peak hour charges and a failing economy, they suffer higher prices which interstate deregulation clearly shows prevails when there is a lack of airline competition.

 Lauda Gains New Rights, More Flights:

Lauda Air has gained new rights to Australia and has begun a new Vienna/ London service, giving it more versatility in marketing to the traveling Australian public. Lauda have been granted one extra weekly flight for its niche market Australia/ Austria services, with the right to fly to both Melbourne and Sydney. Fifth freedom rights. to Bangkok have also been granted, allowing the airline to fly passengers between Australia and Thailand, instead of just Australia/ Vienna. For Europe bound passengers, Lauda’s new Vienna/London Gatwick service will also be of advantage. The service is being operated six times per week under an arrangement with Air Europe, using 737-300s. The airline has also common rated London and Vienna, so ticket costs are the same for either destination. For business travelers, at bonus free stopover at either Vienna or London is also on offer, which all combines to make Lauda an even more attractive option for flying to Europe.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s national carrier, EgyptAir, will commence services to Australia from another niche market, Egypt, during October. The services will be the first direct Australia/Egypt flights since Qantas pulled out of its Egyptian services during the early 1970s. EgyptAir will fly Cairo/Singa- pore/Sydney twice weekly, using 767s.

 Continental Again Files for Bankruptcy:

Continental Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection during December, the second time in eight years.

Continental, struggling to pay high fuel bills and attempting to renegotiate payment of its massive debts, was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to keep creditors at bay. Higher than expected 1990 fuel prices added $US231m to Continental’s fuel bill for the year and threatened the air- line’s ability to pay debts. Financial pressure increased in November when American Airlines sparked off a half price fare war while talks with Delta about the sale of Continental’s southern transpacific route collapsed, leaving the airline with no choice but to file for protection.

Soon after this was granted, Continental was able to sell its Seattle/Tokyo route to American Airlines for $US150m, $US140m of which will be paid well before the route is scheduled to be transferred-subject to official approval – in December 1991. The route sale and bankruptcy protection effectively give Continental ‘breathing space’ to recover from its present financial crisis.

Meanwhile, plans are underway to improve the airline’s image with travellers and increase profitability. Under former chairman Frank Lorenzo, who used Chapter 11 protection in 1983 to void labour contracts and lay off staff, the airline became known as a low cost, low service carrier. This perception remains, particularly in the business sector, and is said to cost Continental S$US500m in lost revenues per year (10% of its annual revenues). Plans therefore involve the refitting of all 430 Continental and affiliated airlines’ aircraft with new interiors and the introduction of a new livery. Inflight services will be improved, and the airline – the fifth largest US carrier-will strive to become known as a low cost, high service airline to increase its market share and profitability.

 Controversial Lismore Licence Fuels Airport Fight:

A Sydney RPT licence with Lismore in north easter NSW has been announced by the State Government which has done nothing more than fuel a bitter and parochial fight over air services to the region spanning a half century.

The NSW transport minister, Bruce Baird, granted the licence to Ansett Express, which already has licences for Ballina and Casino, which are a mere 30km east and west of Lismore. Lismore City Council, under considerable fire from local resident and ratepayer groups, went ahead with strength-ening its RWY 15/33 to accommodate Dash 8 aircraft for a new service which it claimed would start, relying on a verbal assurance by minister Baird that a licence would be granted to Eastern Australia Airlines.

Minister Baird went on public record on a number of occasions saying Lismore would be considered for a licence if its airport was capable of taking larger aircraft, and after considerable candle burning behind closed doors the local council decided to go ahead with the upgrading to the tune of just under $1m. Eastern was also very confident in obtaining the licence, which would have brought competition for Ansett Express.

To place the unique and complicated north coast situation in perspective, Casino airport was the sole destination for 19 Ansett flights a week until about four years ago when Ballina Council on the coast built its own aerodrome. This led to Ansett Express slowly moving schedules across to Ballina, and now Casino only receives six direct services with Sydney, and shares seven midday services which are triangulated on a Sydney/ Ballina/Casino/Sydney basis.

Under the new arrangement, with Lismore now being a player in the three airport tussle, these midday fights will now be triangulated with Lismore and Ballina (some five minutes flying time apart) and Casino will miss out. This understandably has Casino Council very concerned about the viability of its airport, which is reliant on Ansett Express landing charges to maintain the facility without having to burden ratepayers.

The decision initially upset Lismore City Council, which based its upgrading on the strength that loan repayments could be recouped from at least 13 Dash 8 services to Sydney a week. Lismore was also hoping to have direct morning and evening services to satisfy mainly the business community’s link to Sydney, with figures indicating that almost 60% of north coast air travellers in fact come from in and around Lismore, the region’s largest town. However, now that the dust from the decision has settled, Lismore Council has gratefully accepted its midday triangulated service, claiming it can only lead to bigger and better things for its airport.

To complicate matters, the Northern Rivers Region Organisation of Councils, representing the collective of all 14 shires on the northern NSW coast, has claimed that the brawling over the airport situation will ultimately lead to services being pulled out of the region, seeing Coolangatta airport on the Gold Coast becoming the major hub. This is a particularly relevant threat now that deregulation is here with affordable mainline jet fares and with Compass due to begin Coolangatta services during the course of this issue. The fear is that Sydney bound passengers will simply drive north and save considerable time and money by flying via Coolangatta rather than taking relatively expensive propjet services from regional airfields.

While there’s been shock over the decision to grant the Lismore Licence, fragmenting direct Sydney services with three airports within a stone’s throw of each other, the battle’s far from over as the Lismore licence situation will again be reviewed in 1992 when Casino’s Sydney licence is reviewed by the NSW Air Transport Council

Eastern planning and services manager, Andy Anderson, says while his company is extremely surprised by the NSW Government decision, Eastern will be in there. “boots and all” to retain the rights to Lismore. Ansett Express manager, Jon Hutchinson, is quite open about the fact that Casino was used as a pawn in the company’s eleventh hour lobbying to the Air Transport Council to block Eastern’s move into the region.

Ansett said if Eastern was successful it would completely pull out of Casino and move shop to Ballina, and that competition would seriously threaten morning and evening Fokker F28 services to the north coast. From a correspondent’s viewpoint, the northern NSW air debate will keep many a journalist in a story or two over the next few years, if not decades.

However, one of the most striking scenarios briefly touched is that the north coast region is right behind aviation. Perhaps this will be realised someday by an industry which is being increasingly shunned, tormented and abused by the residents of city metropolitan areas. (Halden Boyd).

Australian,  Anz Strengthen Alliance:

Australian Airlines and Air New Zealand have formalised a marketing alliance aimed at strengthening their respective positions in the South Pacific travel market.

The signed Memorandum of Understanding, which is a formal worldwide agreement, strengthens a long and productive marketing relationship which began in 1968 when ANZ became Australian’s (ex TAA) general sales agent for New Zealand. As well as having reciprocal rights for members of Australian’s Flight Deck Club and Air New Zealand’s Club Pacific, the new agreement aims to have the two airlines increase revenue and market shares and develop closer cooperation on marketing and operational matters.

Among options being considered are new or improved joint products, including special air fares in the southwest Pacific region. The two airlines are also considering measures including coordinating schedules to provide better Australian/ANZ flight connections at Australian airports. About 15% of Australian’s passengers presently connect with or from international fights. With agreements like that with ANZ, it is expected that this figure may rise to 25% within five years.

Australian Aims for More Tourists:

Australian Airlines is expanding its strategic overseas marketing network with the aim of attracting more international tourists to the airline.

The latest Australian offices to open overseas are in Osaka and Jakarta, adding to the list of 12 similar offices worldwide and the nine general sales representatives and numerous general sales agents. The opening of the latest overseas offices is a strategic part of Australian’s plan to increase the current value of inbound tourists from 10% of revenue to 20-25% within the next five years. This is to take full advantage of the predicted growth of tourism from 2. 2m foreign visitors to Australia this year to between 5 and 7. 5m visitors annually by the year 2000.

Being particularly targeted are Asian. nations, countries like Taiwan, Korea and Thailand being expected to become very important new sources of tourist revenue, as well as northern Europe. Traditionally lucrative income sources, such as Japan, New Zealand, UK and North America will also remain important. Routes are being expanded to better cater for inbound tourist demands, an example being the introduction of scheduled services to Yulara, near Ayers Rock, in March. Other new ports will be Broome, Karratha and Port Hedland in WA, offering a mix of business and leisure traffic. Australian will continue to rely on alliances with major carriers to provide valuable passenger oncarriage, there being very little likelihood that Australian will ever be able to By its own international services.

 Eastern Ceases Flying:

Eastern Airlines, the ninth largest US carrier, has ceased all operations and all assets are to be liquidated.

The carrier is the biggest casualty of the deregulated US airline industry, owing $US1. 4bn and employing 18,000 people when it finally ceased trading. The airline is in effect another victim of previous CEO Frank Lorenzo, who tried to exploit deregulation by offering rock bottom fares to buy market share. However, he did so at the expense of what had been quite good labour relations, so the airline was soon hit by strikes which sent debts even higher.

Eastern had long been struggling with excessive debt, a drop in passenger numbers with the softening US economy and the Gulf crisis induced fuel surge. Negotiations with the US Bankruptcy Court for more funds failed and the airline was forced to cease all operations.

United Expands Pacific Services:

United Airlines is to expand its Australian services with new flights into Brisbane and Melbourne, commencing in August.

The new services are part of a significant expansion of the airline in the Pacific market. the airline having experienced a 32% growth in business in the region during 1990. The new Brisbane service will essentially be an extension of the existing LA/Sydney route, and the Melbourne service the extension of the LA/Auckland route. The airline will fly LAX/Sydney/Brisbane and LA/Auckland/ Melbourne three times per week each.

Meanwhile, United has also announced that it will soon be introducing its first non-stop USA/China service, flying San Francisco/Shanghai three times per week. The route was previously operated via Tokyo.

Taiwan/Australia Air Link Nearing:

The ongoing saga of establishing a direct non stop air link between Taipei and Sydney continues with a hoped for commencement of services this May.

The situation is a virtual diplomatic minefield in that Australia cannot Sy direct Qantas services into Taiwan without raising the ire of the Peoples Republic of China. Thus Qantas has formed a subsidiary carrier, Australia Asia Airlines to fly the route whilst China Airlines is forming a similar operation to be named Sky Rider Airlines. This carrier would be a partnership between China Airlines and the China Trust, one of Taiwan’s largest banking groups and would fly Airbus A300-600R widgets leased from China Airlines.

Australia Asia will operate a Boeing 767-300ER; the aircraft actually was delivered to Qantas last December in anticipation of an early commencement of services. AAA plan to launch with two services a week utilising a three class configuration backed up by an 11 tonne underfloor freight capacity.

A direct air link between the two nations is long overdue, particularly so since Taiwan is a far more important trading partner to Australia than is the PRC. In 1989/90, trade between Australia and Taipei was worth $3. 8bn, our sixth biggest trading partner, whilst that with the PRC was a mere $1. 1bn.

The problem though is that Qantas still has rights into Beijing, as does Air China (ex CAAC) into Australia and Beijing will not recognise any country that also uses its designated international flag carrier to serve Tai- wan. JAL overcame this problem years ago with the formation of Japan Asia, an airline that essentially was the model for the Qantas and China Airlines clones.

The worry though is that even when service vices begin, if the Beijing government decides to strongly object to the direct air link then our own Federal Government may well abandon the route if it means losing val- uable wool or wheat sales to the PRC. A face saving way out of this churlish situation might well be for Qantas to buy blocks of seats on the Sky Rider services and operate the route in a de facto manner. Qantas currently serves numerous secondary ports in this way including Vancouver and Vienna via Canadian and Lauda.

Pratt & Whitney, Nordam Suc- Cessfully Complete Series of Tests in 737-200 Noise Reduction Effort:

The Pratt & Whitney/Nordam pro- gram to quieten Boeing 737-200 aircraft to FAA Stage 3 noise levels has reached a major milestone in its design verification phase.

Acoustical and performance data from model and full-scale ground tests recently met or exceeded all test predictions, confirming the success of a noise reduction kit design for the JT8D engine powered twinjet. The kit design consists of respaced inlet guide vanes in the fan section, Pratt & Whitney’s advanced technology internal exhaust mixer and Nordam’s fixed geometry ejector suppressor and modified thrust reverser.

Increasing the space between the engine’s inlet guide vanes also reduces vane wake impacting the fan blades, significantly reducing high-pitched fan noise. The internal exhaust mixer combines fan and core exhaust air. The ejector suppressor further reduces the speed of the exhaust air and together with the mixer greatly reduces low frequency jet noise.

Sabena World Abandoned:

British Airways, KLM and Sabena have mutually agreed not to proceed with the planned joint venture Sabena World Airlines (SWA).

Under original plans BA was to acquire a 20% stake in the airline for $85m, KLM a similar 20% and Sabena would hold the remaining 60%. SWA was linked with a major redevelopment of Brussels Zaventem Airport to provide a hub linking 75 European cities, SWA being planned to take full advantage of this situation as a kind of mega European carrier. However, “practical difficulties” meant that the three airlines could not continue with their plans, so SWA has effectively been abandoned.

Us FAA to Ground Drink Drivers:

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is adopting new powers to combat the incidence of alcohol affected flying.

Under the new FAA rules, applicants for a pilots’ medical certificate will have to consent to having their US National Driver Register records released to the FAA. Those with a high incidence of drink driving may have their licences denied, suspended or revoked if two or more drink driving charges are recorded in a three year period. All pilots will also be required to notify the FAA of alcohol or drug related convictions within 60 days “or face administrative action. ” The new FAA rules are just a part of the Administration’s attempts to stamp out drug and alcohol abuse in the aviation industry. Already having appeared in court and been found guilty is the crew of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 727 which was arrested in March for flying a scheduled service while intoxicated, having spent much of the night prior to their flight drinking. Further court actions or administrative action can only be expected by pilots not flying by the strict alcohol and drug laws now being imposed in the United States.

Meanwhile, the CAA in Australia has also expressed an interest in random drug and alcohol testing for employees in key areas of the industry. Cases of drug or alcohol abuse have been brought to the CAA’s notice, though at last report investigations were still proceeding. It was stressed that no reports of alcohol or drug abuse amongst airline flight crews had been received.

 Franco-German Co-operation:

Air France and Lufthansa have joined forces, signing an extensive co-operation deal which covers joint aircraft purchases, pilot training, terminal lounge sharing, catering and maintenance, the latter through increasing co-operation within the existing Atlas Group.

Joint use of the Amadeus CRS booking system will be increased while the airlines will also look at the exploration of new routes. Air France and Lufthansa though will remain competitors, and keep their separate identities, and the deal does not preclude either of them from establishing similar agreements with other airlines. Both have recently been talking to American Airlines about the same sort of arrangements.

Interested in Aviation Medicine?:

The Uni of NSW is gauging interest in a postgraduate course in aviation medicine.

For the past six years the UNSW School of Community Medicine has run an elective program in aviation medicine for undergraduate students, with a marked degree of success. The program was extended in 1988 with seminars held in conjunction with the Centre for Continuing Medical Education and the Aviation Medicine Society of Australia and New Zealand for general practitioners. These were-fully subscribed.

In response to this interest a Master in Aviation Medicine degree has been proposed. The course would be available on a part-time and/or distance learning basis over a period of four to six academic sessions, each lasting 14 weeks. The degree may also be awarded following a research thesis. Initially, the target population will be doctors involved in aviation medicine either as CAA DMES or in the aeromedical/casevac role, as well as doctors with an ongoing interest in aviation. It is hoped that the course will also be available to fight nurses and administrators of ambulance services, and ultimately (at another level) aircrew.

Interested persons should contact Dr Graeme Maclan on (02) 603 2977 bh, (02) 603 8738 ah, Fax (02) 790 5036.