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News/Anz Talk Again
NewsLtd and Air New Zealand have reopened talks regarding the sale of News’ 50% stake in Ansett Australia. The original talks ended last July (refer p20 9/95 AA) after a price could not be agreed upon, but according to News chairman and chief executive Ken Cowley: “I’m going to continue hard to get some sort of a link between Air New Zealand and Ansett…. we’re not worried about our investment…. but we do need to reduce our exposure over the next five years and I hope we’ll be able to do that”. This indicates that News now wants to dispose of only part of its interest in Ansett rather than the full 50% shareholding which was the subject of earlier talks with ANZ. Of interest is the fact that ANZ’s last offer before the previous talks broke down was to become a one-third shareholder in Ansett, but this was rejected by both News and the airline’s other owner, TNT.
Cathay Flight Training To Australia
Cathay Pacific Airways has announced plans to move its flight training facilities from Hong Kong to Australia and the UK, the greater portion coming to this part of the world. The move is expected to be completed in mid 1988 although at this stage the exact location is still to be announced. The main reasons for Cathay’s decision to move out of Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport are the lack of long term opportunities there (it will close after the new airport at Chek Lap Kok becomes operational) and the fact that by 2002, some 50% of Cathay’s cockpit crew will be living overseas, especially in Australia and the UK. Although Cathay will be investing some $A500m in facilities at Chek Lap Kok, it’s interesting that the airline has chosen to locate some of its major operations away from Hong Kong in the wake of the colony’s handover to China in 1997. Cathay has a growing interest in Australia with the recent opening of a $250m computer data processing facility in Sydney and through HAECO is already a substantial shareholder in the Avalon based ASTAAS heavy maintenance facility. The airline is also developing a crew base in the Brisbane region. By the time the new training facility is established in Australia, Cathay will have seven full flight simulators to train cockpit crew on the Boeing 747-200/300/400, 777 and Airbus A330/A340. It is possible the simulators could be made available for other airlines, Ansett immediately coming to mind as an operator of the 747-300.
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Egyptair To Australia
Egyptair will begin direct flights between Cairo and Sydney via Singapore in early November. Two flights per week will be operated from Sydney with an elapsed time of 19 hours between the two ports which includes a fuel stop at Singapore. Egyptair is promoting the flights as the fastest and most direct service to Cairo and possibly the whole region. More importantly, the service will remove the need for passengers to fly via other points or change aircraft en route. Australia becomes Egyptair’s 70th destination. The state owned carrier (which was established in 1932) already flies to numerous points in Europe, the Middle East, West Africa, India, South Africa, Japan, South East Asia, Los Angeles and New York as well as operating an extensive domestic network. Its fleet comprises Airbus A300s and A320s plus Boeing 737s, 747s and 767s and the carrier has recently ordered A340s and 777s. The Australian market will be serviced with Boeing 767-300ERs.
Airlines Check Propellers
Operators of regional turborops equipped with certain Hamilton Standard propellers are inspecting these propellers following the crash of an Atlantic Southeast Airlines Embraer Brasilia in the USA last August as a result of blade failure. The US FAA immediately ordered the removal and inspection of all 14RF-9 blades (the subject of a previous Airworthiness Directive for Brasilias) plus the removal and inspection of all 14RF and 14SF blades which had been inspected and repaired under another AD. This effected several hundred blades on various types such as the ATR 42/72, CN-235, Dash 8 and Saab 340. The FAA has subsequently ordered that all blades be inspected at specified intervals by ultrasonic means unless they had been shot peened to decrease the chance of fatigue failure. This effects 6000 to 7000 blades in the USA. The Brasilia crash was caused by a fatigue failure in a propeller blade while an Inter-Canadian ATR 42 and two other Brasilias have also suffered inflight blade failures, although none of these resulted in an accident. Australian Aviation
Laurie Can’t Win
While we firmly believe that the Minister for Transport, Laurie Brereton, has a lot to answer for over the current Sydney Airport noise debacle and other issues, we almost (repeat, almost!) felt sorry for him when we came across this gem. It just goes to show how difficult people can be. Mr Brereton was reportedly talking to a group who oppose Sydney’s forthcoming second airport at Badgery’s Creek. Mr Brereton was explaining that designated flightpaths would be developed to minimise noise, with night flights taking off towards Warragamba Dam and not over houses. The opponents weren’t happy with that either, saying that diverting flights over Warragamba Dam would foul Sydney’s water supply! You can’t win with some people….
Sydney Airport Tollway Link
A new extension to Sydney’s M5 tollway will be built in time for the 2000 Olympics, including a 4km tunnel linking Beverly Hills with Sydney Airport. The $560m tollway will provide a direct road link between Sydney Airport and the new Sydney West Airport at Badgery’s Creek and will connect the M5 at Beverly Hills with General Holmes Drive near the airport with a tunnel going underneath homes. Including the tunnel section, the new road will add 12.4km to the tollway and enable motorists to drive from beyond Campbelltown to Southern Cross Drive on a four lane motorway. Meanwhile, an additional 10km section of the Western Sydney Orbital — part of the upgraded road link to Sydney West Airport — will also be built with construction starting in 1998. There will be no toll on this road.
Astaas Upturn
The short term fortunes of ASTA Aircraft Services (ASTAAS) have improved following the injection into the aircraft maintenance organisation of $6m by the Federal Government and the arrival at Avalon this month of a British Airways Boeing 747 for a major overhaul. The money was provided to keep ASTAAS afloat until the 747 arrived and the company is confident it will be able to carry on as the expected general upturn in the world aviation service industry arrives. ASTAAS’ 450 strong workforce has been kept mainly intact during the recent tough times, some being temporarily assigned to Ansett in Melbourne and others attending courses or taking available leave. A further 80-100 could be used on Department of Defence jobs in Sydney and Brisbane.
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