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Airbus Reorganisation On Way?

Airbus Industrie is looking at the possibility of reorganising itself into an independent company by 1999, a move considered necessary in order for the European consortium to remain competitive with Boeing. Airbus’ supervisory board has said it is expecting a binding agreement by the end of the year to make the manufacturer a stand alone company. The consortium’s present structure means higher costs, sometimes duplicated research and lengthy decision making procedures. There are considerable organisational obstacles to overcome — such as which assets of the four member companies will go to the new concern — and the complications caused by the French Government’s plan to combine Aerospatiale and the privately owned Dassault. These plans were first mooted last year and despite initial negative reactions — especially from Dassault — such a step is looking more likely as time goes on.

Aircruiser To Fly Again

New Victorian based aviation company, Millicer Aircraft Industries, has announced it is developing an updated version of the four seat Victa Aircruiser, a single prototype of which was flown in July 1966. Called the M9-200 Shrike, the aircraft will have numerous detail changes over the original but will retain its major features including unmatched aerodynamic efficiency. Changes planned include replacing the original 210hp (156kW) Continental IO-360 six cylinder engine with a 200hp (149kW) Lycoming IO-360-A four cylinder and incorporating new brakes, wheels, propeller, control surfaces and a redesigned instrument panel. Millicer Aircraft is named after the designer of the Aircruiser and its two seat predecessor, the Airtourer, Dr Henry Millicer. Dr Millicer is being retained as a consultant and the team includes former Victa designer Bob Dengate. An important part of the Shrike project is the establishment of a joint venture company with a Chinese organisation to export the aircraft to that part of the world. Market surveys indicate that by the turn of century about 800 aircraft will be required in Australia alone to meet new needs and to partially replace the existing ageing general aviation fleet. The company plans to start building the Shrike next year. Victa’s aviation division closed down in late 1966 after losing a battle to win tariff protection against dumped imports. It had built 170 Airtourers and the single Aircruiser in the meantime with many of the smaller aircraft exported. The manufacturing rights of both aircraft were sold to New Zealand’s AESL in January 1967, which returned the Airtourer to production and developed the Aircruiser into the CT-4 Airtrainer military basic trainer. Dr Millicer subsequently bought back the Aircruiser design and manufacturing rights which have now been acquired by Millicer Aircraft, along with the Australian Type Certificate.

Skywest Aviation Sold

The Ansett Group has sold its Perth based general aviation subsidiary Skywest Aviation to the Paspaley Pearling Group of Darwin. The deal covers most of Skywest’s assets (the Cairns base has been sold separately) for an undisclosed price. For its money, Paspaley gets a fleet of about 35 light to medium turbine aircraft which are used on a wide variety of government and resource industry contracts and mining support operations in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The purchase includes Skywest’s bases in Broome, Darwin, Perth, Port Hedland and Sydney. Skywest will be renamed and will operate closely with Queensland’s Jetcraft Aviation, already associated with the Paspaley Group. WA regional operator Skywest Airlines is a separate identity and this has been retained by Ansett, as has the Adelaide Flight Centre, used for passenger handling and engineering by Ansett affiliate Kendell Airlines.

Kiwi On Australian Domestic Routes?

Trans Tasman charter operator Kiwi International says it will begin operating on some Australian domestic routes if the Australian and New Zealand Governments are able to agree on a single trans Tasman aviation market by the end of the year. The airline plans to offer six flights per week between Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth offering discount fares to budget travellers within Australia.

Ansett Wins Weipa Contract

Ansett has been awarded a five year contract by the Queensland Government to provide air services between Cairns and Weipa. The contract was won over Qantas, which reportedly bid 20% higher than Ansett. BAe 146-200s will be used to service the route which is expected to generate about $25m revenue over the period of the contract.