Oppdatert: 25.03.2010 16:02

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Norwegian vil ta i bruk hangaren (tidligere tungt vedlikehold) til gamle gode Braathens på Sola i løpet av sommeren.
En god del modifiseringer vil bli gjort før den er klar.
Alle ansatte på Sola kommer egentlig fra denne hangaren, så sirkelen er sluttet. Braathens ånden vil leve videre…

 

Ufaglært arbeidskraft rundt flyene:

Forbyr bruk av usikret flytrapp
GARDERMOEN: Arbeidstilsynet forbyr bruk av innfelt flytrapp etter at en kvinne falt fra øverste avsats to og en halv meter over bakken.

Det var 1. januar en kvinnelig ansatt i renholdsfirmaet Sodexho Trafikkservice NUF fikk et ublidt møte med bakken i forbindelse med arbeid på et Norwegian-fly på Gardermoen. Til alt hell gikk det meget bra, ifølge arbeidsgiveren slapp hun unna med et brukket håndledd.

Arbeidstilsynet ser imidlertid alvorlig på saken. På grunn av overhengende fare for arbeidstakernes liv og helse har Sodexho og Norwegian fått pålegg om stans i alt arbeid med slike flytrapper.
Utrygg plattform

Den aktuelle trappa er av den typen som flyene har med seg under flygingene. I pålegget beskrives toppen av trappa under lukking av flydøra som en arbeidsplattform som ikke er sikret med rekkverk. Plattformen er rundt to og en halv meter over bakkenivå, og det er omkring 75 centimeter inn til flykroppen, hvilket ikke er i henhold til forskriftene.

– Patentet på disse flytrappene er slik at rekkverket må påmonteres av folk på bakken. Man kan spørre seg om det alltid blir gjort i forbindelse med arbeid på flyene. Den aktuelle ulykken etterforskes videre av både politiet og oss, men mye tyder på at rekkverket ikke var på plass da kvinnen falt ned, sier seniorinspektør Arne Helge Mikkelborg i Arbeidstilsynet.
Første gang

Informasjonsdirektør Anne Grete Ellingsen i Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA sier at denne type trapp i alle år er brukt av flere flyselskap.

– Trappa skyves ut fra flyet, og så går crewet ned og seter på rekkverket. Etter hva jeg vet var kvinnen på vei inn i flyet for å gjøre renhold da det skjedde et uhell og hun falt ned. Vi vil selvsagt sterkt beklage at dette skjedde, sier Ellingsen.

Hun understreker at det er første gang Norwegian opplever et slikt uhell, og saken er til intern vurdering i flyselskapet.
Må sikres

Arbeidstilsynet skriver at før stansingsvedtaket oppheves må arbeidsplattformen sikres med rekkverk eller det må treffes andre vernetiltak. Brudd på stansingsvedtaket kan føre til politianmeldelse. Arbeidet kan først gjenopptas når Arbeidstilsynet har opphevet vedtaket.

– Norwegian kan ikke bli behandlet på annen måte enn andre flyselskap som brukes det samme trappesystemet. Vi ser fram til en dialog med Arbeidstilsynet for å løse saken på en god måte, sier Ellingsen.

Sissel Rogstad i Sodexho Trafikkservice ønsker foreløpig ikke å kommentere saken.

Kilde: http://www.rb.no/lokale_nyheter/article1898599.ece

Vi har hørt at...

• 17 fagarbeidere på tungt vedlikehold har "fått sertifikater i posten..." Dette går det ubekreftede rykter om at er utstedt uten begrensninger og basert på level 2 kurs uten muntlig eksaminasjon og målrettet praksis. I tillegg har de jobbet på et snevert område av flyet, men får nå fulle rettigheter på både MD80, MD90 og B737NG. De får nå "CRS"-rettigheter, men avlønnes som fagarbeidere...
• SAS Braathens jobber muligens med å få godkjennelse til å ha ufaglærte i cockpit. Hvis du opplever uregelmessigheter i.f.m. denne driftsmodellen i ditt selskap, så oppfordres du til å benytte eksisterende avviksrapporteringssystem!!!!

For the performance of line maintenance on the C130 Hercules Direct has a requirement for several mechanics. The contract will be starting as soon as possible, depending on your availability, and is if up to the end of February.
During this period you will be based in Europe. Required is that you are current on the C130 and that you have worked on the aircraft for at least 3 years. We offer our engineers a package that includes:
*Good monthly salary
*A minimum of 40 hours per week guaranteed
*The client will arrange and pay for the accommodation as also for the flights at start and end of the contract
* Good secondary work conditions I kindly request you to advise me as soon as possible whether you are seriously interested in this position. If so, then please forward me the following details:
*Updated resume
*Copy of your JAR66 license
*Copy of your passport
*Copy of your basic training on the C130 With best regards, DIRECT MAINTENANCE BV Ester Arets
Office Assistant Tel.: +31 - 45 - 573 2208
Fax.: +31 - 45 - 573 2201
E-mail: EArets@DirectMaintenance.nl *** Visit our website on www.directpersonnel.com ***

Concerns B757 cargo door switch Outside FWD cargo compartment.



This switch has on several occasions on B 757 aircraft malfunctioned due to icing of the switch. When the switch has been pressed and released this has resulted in the door continuing to close. The last time this happened an Engineer was trapped between the door opening and the door, and was unfortunately killed. The work was performed from luggage conveyorbelt which is not the best possible way to close the compartment, although many companies are using this unorthodox method.

Pay serious consideration how to safely perform given tasks and work orders!



Please pass this information on to others so that they also are aware of this problem, in order that more incidents and possible accidents/deaths can be avoided.



Thank you for your cooperation.



Fred Bruggeman

AEI Secretary General

RED:
Bakgrunnen for denne er at en flytekniker i Finnair omkom fredag 30/9. Han var alene på jobben, og krokene hektet seg i kraven i det døra lukket. Siden bryterne var frosset fast, fortsatte bevegelsen etter at han slapp dem - og han ble klemt ihjel.

Som et sørgelig bikapittel til denne hendelsen må det nevnes at Finnair valgte å vaske området, og sende flyet videre på rute. Som det sto i en pressemelding: "...en flytekniker omkom, men det ble ikke skade på flyet..."
 

Crew confusion found in Athens plane crash.

The crew members of a Cypriot Helios Airways airliner that crashed Aug. 14 near Athens became confused by a series of alarms as the plane climbed, failing to recognize that the cabin was not pressurizing until they grew mentally disoriented because of lack of oxygen and passed out, according to several people connected with the investigation.
Complicating the cockpit confusion, neither the German pilot nor the young, inexperienced Cypriot co-pilot could speak the same language fluently, and each had difficulty understanding how the other spoke English, the worldwide language of air traffic control.

A total of 121 people were killed in the crash after the plane climbed and flew on autopilot, circling near Athens as it was programmed to do until one engine stopped running because of a lack of fuel. The sudden imbalance of power, with only one engine operating, caused the autopilot to disengage and the plane to begin its final descent.

The Greek authorities have made cryptic statements hinting at oxygen problems but have so far not announced the full findings of investigators.

The people interviewed for this article agreed to do so on condition that they not be identified because none are official spokesmen for the investigation and because of political sensitivities arising from a Cypriot plane crashing in Greece.

Investigators pieced together the story of the crash from numerous sources. In the wreckage, they found the first solid clues - the pressurization valve and an air outflow valve set incorrectly. Air traffic control tapes provided information on the confusion in the cockpit.

The plane had a sophisticated new flight data recorder that provided a wealth of information. There were maintenance records from the night before, and investigators interviewed the mechanics who worked on the plane.

Among other things, the investigators determined that the pilot was not in his seat because he was up trying to solve a problem that turned out to be not the greatest threat facing him.

The plane that crashed, a Boeing 737-300, underwent maintenance the night before. The maintenance crew apparently left a pressurization controller rotary knob out of place, according to the officials connected to the investigation, and the crew did not catch the mistake during preflight checks the next day. This meant that the plane could not pressurize.

At 10,000 feet, or 3,000 meters, as designed, an alarm went off to warn the crew that the plane would not pressurize. However, the crew members mistakenly thought that the alarm horn was a warning to tell them that their controls were not set properly for takeoff, the officials said.

The same horn is used for both conditions, although it will sound for takeoff configuration only while the plane is still on the ground.

The crew continued the climb on autopilot. At 14,000 feet, oxygen masks deployed as designed and a master caution light illuminated in the cockpit. Another alarm sounded at about the same time on an unrelated matter, warning that there was insufficient cooling air in the compartment housing avionics equipment.

The radio tapes showed that this created tremendous confusion in the cockpit. Normally an aircraft cabin is held at 8,000 feet pressure, so the crew at over 14,000 feet would already be experiencing some disorientation because of a lack of oxygen.

During this time, the German captain and the Cypriot co-pilot discovered they had no common language and that their English, while good enough for normal air traffic control purposes, was not good enough for complicated technical conversation in fixing the problem.

The crew members called the maintenance base in Cyprus and were told that the circuit breaker to turn off the loud new alarm was in a cabinet behind the captain. The captain got up from his seat to look for the circuit breaker, apparently ignoring the confused co-pilot.

As the plane continued to climb on autopilot, the air grew so thin that the crew became seriously impaired. The captain passed out first on the floor of the cockpit, followed by the co-pilot, who remained in his seat, according to the officials.

The autopilot did as it was programmed to do, flying the plane at 34,000 feet to Athens and entering a holding pattern. It remained in a long circling pattern, shadowed by Greek military jets, until fuel ran low and one engine quit.

Boeing, the maker of the plane, is-sued a notice shortly after the crash to airlines that it would revise flight crew training manuals to stress to crews that they must understand how the various warning systems work and what to do about them.

The notice stresses that the takeoff configuration warning horn will not sound under any circumstances after the plane has left the ground.

The same horn will then be used only for a cabin altitude warning. The company notice said there had been other instances of confusion over the horn by pilots.

"Confusion between the cabin altitude warning horn and the takeoff configuration warning horn can be re-solved if the crew remembers that the takeoff configuration warning horn is only armed when the airplane is on the ground," the notice said. "If this horn is activated in flight, it indicates that the cabin altitude has reached 10,000 feet."

Kilde: http://www.airdisaster.com/news/0905/08/news.shtml
 

Vi mangler en tekniker på OSL. er det noen som vet om en som vil jobbe for oss?
Avionikk/elektro kunnskaper og praksis på 737 er en fordel men ikke et must"



Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA

Erik Nordby

Vedlikeholdssjef
e-post: erik.nordby@norwegian.no
Tel: 67 59 30 32
Faks: 67 59 30 31
Mobil: 90 82 13 19
Postadresse: postboks 115,
Besøksadresse oksenøyveien 10A
1330 Fornebu

 

Det er ledig teknikerstilling i Dublin. Utlysningen finner du her.

Søknadsfrist er 10. feb. 05

Arild

SAS Wants Majority in its Baltic Carriers

The three Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are not generally considered part of Scandinavia. But don’t tell that to SAS Group or Finnair  -- they’re both busy integrating the three new European Union members into their networks through their proxy carriers. And according to a report this week by the STT news agency, SAS Group already says it wants to take a bigger stake in its Baltic proxies, AirBaltic and Estonian Air, as part of its long-term strategy.

In statements attributed to Jorgen Lindegaard, the president and CEO of SAS Group, it was revealed that the Scandinavian air group wants to increase its 49 percent in Estonian and 47.2 percent in AirBaltic to majority holdings. Lindegaard reportedly said SAS has options for acquiring majority shares in the two airlines and intends to use them eventually.

SAS Group is by far the strongest group in the Baltics. Already a partner in Latvia’s Air Baltic, in September 2003 the Norwegian, Swedish and Danish multinational airline group purchased its 49 percent stake in Estonian Air from Denmark’s Maersk Air. But Estonian Air already was a SAS codeshare partner since 1999.

Although founded in the early 1990s by their national governments, both Estonian Air and AirBaltic were quick to implement important structural reforms in advance of European Union entry. Anticipating low-fare competition on the horizon, in 2003 the carriers upsized their complementary fleets to favor the Boeing 737-500 over the Fokker 50 turboprops they had used, for a greater proportion of their flights.

Last year, the carriers also began to simplify and lower their fare structures in order to be more cost competitive. As a result, traffic on the carriers’ routes to Western Europe increased and the airlines moved to expand capacity to the region, diverting their focus from intra-regional routes and routes to Russia. During 2003 AirBaltic opened up new routes to four destinations – Amsterdam, Brussels, Hamburg and Minsk (in Belarus). It plans to add Oslo, Dublin and London this year. Estonian added flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, Oslo and Paris and added frequencies to Hamburg. This year, it already has added three flights to its London route. Despite their expansions, both AirBaltic and Estonian Air were profitable in 2003.

SAS Group has not ignored the Lithuanian market. While refraining from participating in the privatization of state-owned Lithuanian Airlines, or its struggling turboprop subsidiary, Air Lithuania, SAS Group partner AirBaltic announced March 30 that it will commence operations from a base at the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Taking advantage of Lithuanian’s hesitation to grow, AirBaltic will operate nonstop from Vilnius to Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, Cologne and Dublin beginning June 1, with Helsinki, Oslo, Vienna and Warsaw online by the end of the summer.

As is done with AirBaltic in Riga and Estonian Air in Tallinn, Air Baltic’s Vilnius flights will also carry Scandinavian Airlines’ SK code – ensuring Scandinavian routings from the Baltics throughout its global network.

Finnair also has participated in the intra-regional mingling through its Estonian subsidiary, Aero Airlines. Although relatively modest in size, with just two ATR-72s in its fleet, Finnair plans to expand the carrier, which currently operates a shuttle service across the Gulf of Finland between Tallinn and Helsinki. Already the airline has begun operating Finnish domestic flights under Finnair’s AY code, with more expansion planned for Finland and in the intra-Baltics market. It is expected that Aero Airlines will operate four ATR-72s by the summer, and all of Finnair’s remaining aircraft of the type within the next three years.

Tri-national flag carrier's operations to be autonomous by start of 2004 winter schedule Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is set to finalise details of its fleet division plan this month, which will see aircraft types concentrated at each of its three bases in an attempt to reduce costs. By its 2004 winter schedule, the tri-national flag carrier's airline operations in Denmark, Norway and Sweden will be autonomous, with each new business unit responsible for future route development, as part of a wider SAS Group decentralisation and cost- cutting programme. SAS would also like to dispose of its recently delivered fleet of eight Airbus A321s, as they are "now too big for the Stockholm-Oslo route for which they were bought", says SAS chief operating officer Sören Belin. With new competition on the route reducing SAS's traffic, Belin says the A321 fleet would be sold "if we could get a good price for all eight".
The carrier is divesting power for short-haul operations to its bases in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm Arlanda. The majority of the airline's short-haul fleet will be based at its Copenhagen hub, with 65 aircraft including 29 Boeing MD-80/90s; while eight A321s, 10 MD-80s and 35 Next Generation 737 types will be based in Arlanda. Meanwhile, Oslo will acquire the remaining 25 737NGs. The airline is looking for ways of creating economies of scale with the existing fleet "as we don't have the money to overhaul the fleet", says Sören Belin, SAS executive vice-president and chief operating officer. SAS is also studying plans to integrate the operations of the Oslo base with those of its Norwegian subsidiary Braathens, which operates 737 Classics and 737NGs - 19 737-400/500s and eight -800s.
SAS has not yet formalised its plans, and the revamp is unlikely to be formally unveiled before the second quarter. Any rebranding is unlikely as Braathens enjoys a good reputation in Norway, says Belin, but he is "not convinced that SAS should nurture both brands". He adds that "we've been told that it is no big deal to have a single pilot pool for the two 737 families, with additional type rating". SAS's Norwegian division also operates seven Fokker 50s.
Under the new plan, only two of the airline's long-haul Airbus A330/A340 family will be based in Arlanda; the remaining eight will be at Copenhagen.
These aircraft replaced SAS's five Boeing 767-300ERs, which were withdrawn in October last year and are being returned to lessors or sold.

 Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has struck a deal with pilots' unions to enable it to fly its Boeing 737-600 fleet under regional jet operating rules until the carrier acquires sub-100-seat jets. As part of its review of future profitability, SAS has identified a requirement for 10 regional jets to be used on thinner point-to-point routes, but has had to withdraw from a joint Star Alliance acquisition due to lack of financing options, it says. In the interim, the airline has secured a "tentative agreement" with pilots to operate part of its fleet of 30 111-seat 737-600s, which will be redesignated as regional jets in flightcrew scope clauses. Sören Belin, SAS executive vice-president and chief operating officer, describes the new deal as being "two-tiered", with an unspecified deadline by which time regional jets need to enter service. The airline is finalising which routes would qualify under the agreement and Belin says a similar agreement with cabin crew is being negotiated.
SAS has also considered placing any future regional jets into the SAS Commuter portfolio, although this option is now unlikely, says Belin.

EasyJet Looks to Eastern Europe

In addition to a new German base at Dortmund, announced last week, British low-fare carrier EasyJet last week announced three new routes, including flights to three new European Union capitals as the EU expands in May.

EasyJet already has one of the biggest presences in Eastern Europe among West European carriers (see inset), and the second-most capacity overall out of the Czech Republic after CSA.  The latest routes, which will include May 1 flights to new member states Hungary and Slovenia for the first time, are:

• London Stansted to Basel, Switzerland and Ljubljana International, Slovenia
• London Luton to Budapest International
• London Gatwick to Naples, Italy; Ibiza, Spain Faro, Portugal and Prague, Czech Republic

Dette må jeg bare ha med. Årets bilde? Klikk på det for å få en større versjon.

Video kommer.....

European Maintenance Providers Rethink The Way They Do Business

Staying Ahead Of Outsourcing and Consolidation Trends In Commercial Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul

A struggling airline industry, ongoing pressure on profits and intensifying competition are transforming the EUR 8.5 billion European commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market. The resultant trends toward outsourcing and industry consolidation are expected to force market participants to redefine their competitive strategies.

Several major, low-cost and regional carriers are today outsourcing their maintenance work. As airline maintenance units strive for third-party work due to compulsions of overcapacity, aggressive competition is expected to result for some of the newly generated outsourced businesses. Even as the contest between airline maintenance units and independent MRO companies heats up, the entry of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) is expected to further aggravate competitive pressures.

"Maintenance providers are being challenged to fulfill flexible short-term contracts and long-term total service packages to grasp the benefit of the general tendency towards outsourcing," says Frost & Sullivan Aerospace & Defense Manager Manuel Magalhaes.

"In particular, MRO providers who are able to provide total service packages or develop the capability to offer such packages should be able to gain maintenance contracts from the booming low-cost carriers sector," he adds.

Passenger-to-freighter conversion is also poised to drive the European commercial MRO market. Spurred by lower costs of acquisition and conversion, passenger-to-freighter business is set to expand. With profit margins typically higher than in established segments such as airframe maintenance, conversions are set to be an attractive segment.

The shift towards further use of IT-based integrated information, process management and logistics systems is also anticipated to boost the overall capability and general reliability of MRO services. This, together with macro factors such as a strengthening economic environment and the growth of air traffic is expected to positively impact commercial MRO volumes and revenues. By 2012, the overall market is forecast to generate EUR 11.5 billion.

As the market expands, competition among the trio of commercial aviation MRO operators -- airline operators, independent service providers and OEMs -- is set to intensify. Airline maintenance companies currently account for nearly 60 percent of market share, followed by independent maintenance companies and OEMs.

Mergers and consolidations are likely to continue as a result of increasing competition and pressure on profits margins. "MRO business models of diversification include increasing horizontal integration through globalization and greater vertical integration through adding services at all levels of the supply chain," comments Magalhaes.

While mergers and acquisitions are anticipated to help market participants broaden capabilities and offer a total services solution package, joint ventures are anticipated to provide cost savings and risk sharing in terms of economies of scale, new market shares and regional presence.

"The process of consolidation will continue until a leaner, more efficient MRO operation structure emerges. It is clear that airlines, MRO providers, OEMs and suppliers will cooperate more closely and, over time, OEMs will play a more important role," remarks Magalhaes.

Resource limitations are expected to restrict the number of companies that can adapt to these changing dynamics. In the meantime, MRO providers must design and implement internal strategies to accommodate external change. High performance in crucial areas such as turn-around time and quality, flexibility and technical capability in offering total service solutions as well as reduced costs to benefit both MRO providers and the airlines will be central to such strategic initiatives.

FMI: www.aerospace.frost.com

Japan Air System Making MD-80 Engine Inspections

Japan Air System (JAS), a member of the JAL Group, announced today that it is inspecting the engines of MD-81s and MD-87s in its fleet after cracks were discovered in the engines of two of its planes.

The checks of the Pratt and Whitney JT8D-217 series engines will take a few days, grounding planes and forcing the cancellation of about 120 JAS domestic flights today -- About a third of its schedule.  Future flight cancellations will be decided later today.

After experiencing engine problems in an aircraft on Jan. 6 in Fukuoka, and in Kagoshima in a similar aircraft on Jan. 7, JAS had the engines involved inspected by Pratt & Whitney at its technical center in Christchurch, New Zealand. This inspections found damage in the stator sections of the high-pressure compressors in the engines of both aircraft

JAS currently has 25 of the types in service, 17 MD-81s and eight MD-87s, dispersed at eight airports throughout Japan.

Dramatic Photos Of Rumored No-Hydraulics Landing...

Although no one in officialdom has publicly confirmed it, the landing of a DHL Airbus at Baghdad Airport after being hit by at least one surface-to-air missile last Nov. 22 has been rumored as one of last year's most incredible feats of aviation. Extensive damage to the aircraft's left wing may have rendered the aircraft's three hydraulics systems useless, leaving the pilots with only differential engine thrust to control the aircraft. DHL has not publicly elaborated on the attack and the resulting heroism of the pilots (which stands, regardless of the true extent of damage). For those with a flair for the dramatic, AVweb has obtained a PowerPoint presentation of the incident that includes photos of the landing, the damage, and text that may give some insight into the specific nature of the damage. The A300 had just left Baghdad on a mail flight when it was almost certainly hit by at least one missile, widely suspected to be a shoulder-fired ground-to-air device. The incident fueled pre-existing concerns about the vulnerability of airliners to such attacks and perhaps helped quench any potential desires to initiate commercial service into Baghdad.

Trykk her for å laste ned Powerpoint presentasjonen.

Huge Job Cuts Expected at British Airways

The Observer reported this weekend that thousands of jobs are to be cut by British Airways amid growing fears about the company's finances. The paper is reporting an unsubstantiated figure of 5,000 jobs to be cut.

According to the report, the indebted airline is expected to announce the job cuts, along with additional cost-cutting measures, in a bid to return to profitability.  An announcement is expected in January.

A British Airways spokesman reportedly refused to comment on speculation that the job losses could be as high as 5,000. However, another source told the Observer that the 5,000 figure is credible.

"It might be higher, it might be lower ... It's not an outlandish estimate,' he reportedly said.

Two years ago British Airways announced a cost-cutting initiative that included 13,000 job reductions. Since then, revenue has dropped by an additional £1.9 billion. 

While employee numbers fell by 7.7 percent from the first half of 2002 to the first half of 2003, employee costs rose by 0.6 percent, and employee cost as a proportion of total operating costs rose by 5.4 percent from 27.8 to 29.3 percent (see chart). Last month the company also revealed a £1 billion shortfall in its pension plan, which will cost another £133 million a year to put right.

SAS och Lufthansa vill konkurrera med Iberia

Det finns planer på att Lufthansa och SAS-group kommer att använda SAS dotterbolag Spanair för att skapa ett nätverk av förbindelser mellan Europa och Sydamerika. Syftet är att ta upp konkurrensen med spanska Iberia som nu dominerar trafiken på Sydatlanten. SAS-gruppens VD Jörgen Lindegaard säger till Europa Press att: -Vi studerar, tillsammans med våra partners i STAR-alliansen, olika vägar att skapa ett nätverk av förbindelser med Sydamerika.


På den Sydamerikanska marknaden har STAR-alliansen brasilianska VARIG som partner. Bolaget har under året brottats med finansiella problem och en sammanslagning med likaså brasilianska konkurrenten TAM har diskuterats.

Planer finns alltså att använda Spanair - som SAS äger till 94,9% - som plattform för trafik på den lukrativa marknaden Spanien - Sydamerika. Spanair har idag inget lämpligt flygplan för ändamålet. Den största flygplantypen är Airbus A321 som används på destinationer i Västafrika och Kanarieöarna. SAS lämnar inga detaljer kring detta problem men säger att studien är på ett tidigt stadium och att Spanair kan komma att spela en mycket viktig roll i ett kommande flygnät på den aktuella marknaden.
 

Boeing 777-300ER Increases Performance Capability

The Boeing 777-300ER's (Extended Range) performance during flight testing has led the company to decide to offer the airplane with higher range and payload capabilities than originally planned.

The enhanced capability for the newest 777 family member will be available for newly-delivered airplanes and as a retrofit option starting in the fourth quarter of 2004. The enhanced airplane’s maximum takeoff weight will be 775,000 pounds, or 351,534 kilograms, up from 759,600 pounds, or 344,549 kilograms. Its design range will be 7,705 nautical miles compared to 7,525 nautical miles.

“The airplane’s performance during flight testing has been nothing short of outstanding,” said Lars Andersen, program manager for Boeing 777 Longer Range airplane programs. “This new capability will add value to the 777-300ER and for our customers.”

During flight testing the airplane’s raked wing tips, a new feature on the 777-300ER, has produced 1.5 percent better fuel consumption than expected. Takeoff field length improved by 1,000 feet (305 meters), because of two other new features – semi-levered landing gear and the tail strike protection (TSP) system, as well as brake performance.

 

Emirates and Lufthansa Technik Explore Cooperation
Emirates Airline and Lufthansa Technik have agreed to explore the possibilities of greater co-operation in the field of technical services.

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in Dubai during the 8th International Aerospace Exhibition by Tim Clark, president Emirates Airline, and August W. Henningsen, chairman of the executive board, Lufthansa Technik AG.

The agreement will evaluate the feasibility of a joint venture for spare pooling support, for the benefit of both companies in terms of cost reduction and investment savings.

The project initially will use the Airbus A340-500 and A340-600 aircraft to review the joint venture proposal. Future projects to review the application of the joint venture for other types of aircraft are also possible.

Emirates is the first commercial airliner to operate the A340-500 aircraft and has placed firm orders for 20 of the new A340-600s.

Representatives from both Emirates and Lufthansa Technik will shortly establish a team to carry out the review of the joint venture proposal.
 

Walloon Government Asks Belgium to Lobby E.U. on Ryanair's Behalf -- Report

Dow Jones reported yesterday that Belgium's regional Walloon government has asked Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt to intervene on Ryanair's behalf with European Commission in its investigation over alleged illegal subsidies provided by Charleroi airport to the carrier.

According to the report, in a letter sent to Verhofstadt earlier this month and seen by Dow Jones Newswires, Walloon Minister-President Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe asks the prime minister "to do what is necessary so that Belgium takes a clear stance toward the E.U. Commission and encourages it to make a just and balanced decision."

Van Cauwenberghe also reportedly criticized SN Brussels Airlines for sending a letter to the E.U. Commission denouncing the deal between Ryanair and Charleroi.

"I find this totally unacceptable especially since Wallonia invested €15 million to help start up the company," he reportedly said

Nordic Airlink storsatsar Arlanda-Oslo !


Det ser ut att bli en gigantisk luftbro mellan de skandinaviska huvudstäderna till vintern. Finnairs nyförvärvade flygbolag, svenska Nordic Airlink, satsar nu stort på intraskandinavisk trafik. Det blir hela 16 dagliga avgångar (8 t&r) med MD80 mellan Arlanda och Oslo/Gardermoen. Kapaciteten ökar därmed med 2500 dagliga platser från den 27 oktober.
Redan på måndag utökas kapaciteten med cirka 600 stolar per dag. Det är det norska lågkostnadsbolaget Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) startar redan på måndag den första september tung trafik Gardermoen - Oslo med två turer om dagen och priser från dryga 300SEK enkel resa. Bolaget togs på sängen av den hårdnande konkurrensen mellan huvudstäderna. -De sista dagarna har det bokat på bra, säger NAS linjeansvarige Stig Willassen till @irmail.

SAS har cirka 26 enkelturer mellan Arlanda och Oslo. Därtill kommer Ryaniar med en daglig tur Skavsta - Oslo/Torp dit även Wideroe flyger från Arlanda. Mellan Stockholms och Oslo-området blir det alltså cirka 50 dagliga avgångar. Frågan är hur länge det håller i sig?

I ett pressmeddelande från Nordic Airlink skall bolaget att: Vi skall utvecklas till det ledande lågkostnadsbolaget i Norden och ska möta prismedvetna resenärers behov av att resa billigt och effektivt. Detta är den tydliga avsikten med Finnairs köp av majoriteten av Nordic Airlink.

Som första nyhet lanseras alltså nu den 27 oktober Arlanda - Oslo. Linjen kommer att ha sexton turer, dvs. åtta tur och returflyg varje vardag samt två till tre avgångar på lördagar och söndagar.

- Vi är övertygade om att det finns en stor efterfrågan på flygstolar till bra priser mellan Stockholm och Oslo, både från näringslivet och turistnäringen. Med våra MD-80 som tar drygt 160 passagerare kommer vi att erbjuda över 2 500 platser om dagen på attraktiva tider, säger Gunnar Ohlsson, VD för Nordic Airlink.

Under hösten kommer fler nyheter att presenteras av Nordic Airlink som ett led i utvecklingen tillsammans med Finnair.

Enligt uppgift är även Arlanda - Köpenhamn något som bolaget tittar på. Där har Finnair tidigare opererat i samarbete med Maersk, men man drog sig ur efter en kort tid.

Kilde: www.flytorget.se

Ledelsen….

 En mann i en varmluftsballong innså at han hadde rotet seg bort. Han reduserte høyden og så en kvinne nede på marken. Han gikk enda lavere og ropte til kvinnen:

"Unnskyld, kan du hjelpe meg? Jeg har en avtalt et møte med en venn for en time siden, men jeg vet ikke hvor jeg befinner meg."

Kvinnen nede på bakken svarte: "Du befinner deg i en varmluftsballong ca, 30 fot over havet på 55° 41'47" nordlig bredde og 10° 12' 47" vestlig lengde."

 "Du må være tekniker." sa mannen.

"Det er jeg," svarte kvinnen, "men hvordan visste du det?" "Tja," sa mannen. "alt du har sagt er teknisk korrekt, men jeg har ikke anelse om hva jeg skal bruke opplysningene til og faktum er at jeg fremdeles ikke vet hvor jeg er. Det eneste jeg har fått ut av din hjelp er at jeg har blitt enda mer forsinket."

 Kvinnen på bakken svarte: "Du må sitte i ledelsen"

"Det gjør jeg," svarte ballongskipperen, "men hvordan kunne du vite det?"

"Det er enkelt. Du  vet ikke hvor du er eller hvor du skal. Du har kommet deg opp ved hjelp av en masse varm luft. Du har inngått en avtale som du ikke er i stand til å holde og forventer at mennesker under deg skal løse problemet ditt. Faktum er at du befinner deg i samme situasjon som du gjorde føre du traff meg, men nå er det plutselig min feil!"

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Hører at Servisair legger med i Sverige. Det betyr at 500 arbeidsplasser går tapt. Det regnes med at SGS overtar.

SR111: FAA ignores TSB safety recommendations
Toronto Star -- Thousands of airplanes are still flying around the globe with the same deadly faults that led to the crash of a Swissair jet off the Nova Scotia coast more than four years ago. That was the disturbing subtext of a final report into the crash delivered yesterday by the Transportation Safety Board. The document shows aviation authorities have failed to follow several key recommendations about preventing and stopping fires in the sky. "The fire on board Swissair Flight 111 was a wake-up call for the aviation industry," said chief investigator Vic Gerden. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration ordered the kind of game system used on Swissair removed from every aircraft flown in the United States. It also ordered airlines to remove the kind of highly flammable insulation used on the Swissair plane. Now, only about 700 planes flying in the U.S. still have the insulation, and none in Canada. But other important recommendations have been ignored, or delayed. The Federal Aviation Administration has flatly rejected a Transportation Safety Board recommendation that new, tougher flammability standards be set for all materials used in airplanes.

Hvem sa "Spare seg til fant"????

Boeing sparker ytterligere 5.000
Den amerikanske flyprodusenten Boeing sliter med tomme ordrebøker. Ytterligere 5.000 arbeidere sparkes i løpet av neste år.
Oppsigelsene kommer i tillegg til de 30.000 andre Boeing-ansatte som har mistet jobben siden terrorangrepene mot USA 11. september 2001. Terrorangrepene, og konsekvensene det har fått for folks reiselyst, har fått verdens flyselskaper til å kansellere kjøp av 500 Boeing-fly, og produksjonen av modeller som 757 og 767 er nå nede i ett fly per måned.
Boeing leverte i fjor 527 fly til sine kunder, regner i år med å kunne levere 380 og frykter at salget kan falle til 285 neste år.

Widerøe inn på ruten KRS-CPH
På Representantskapsmøtet i pilotforeningen til Widerøe, ble det opplyst at Widerøe skulle starte opp å fly KRS-CPH og retur. Ni nye piloter skulle ansettes, hvorav fire fra SAS Commuter. Mærsk flyr i dag fire frekvenser daglig denne strekningen med en miks av B737 og CRJ.

Tips til selvangivelsen (for noen) 
En del av oss flyteknikere er nødt til å bruke fly når vi pendler til og fra vår arbeidsplass. I noen tilfeller betaler arbeidsgiver for billettene, i andre tilfeller må arbeidstageren betale billettene selv. For de sistnevnte kan en dom i Bergen tingsrett nylig være av interesse.  Bergen tingsrett har i dom av 18. september slått fast at flypersonell med lang reisevei, har rett til fradrag på Selvangivelsen etter sjablonreglene for reise til og fra hjem-arbeidsplass (Arbeidsreise). Dette uansett om man kjører egen bil eller reiser på ID-billetter. Fradraget er for tiden på NOK 1,40 pr. kilometer.