Aircraft News - Europe

AirGuide Business, Sept 1, 2008

Sep 1, 2008

The study's conclusions on EU airport emissions are based on an analysis of four aircraft type/route type scenarios: Jetstream 41 to domestic destinations, A320 to domestic destinations, A320 to EU destinations and 747-400 to international destinations. Overall, charges for domestic operations with small aircraft increased on average by more than 9% while domestic operations with narrowbody jets rose 5%. Charges for narrowbody jets operated to EU destinations grew by more than 3% and charges for international operations with a Boeing 747-400 were 3.6% more expensive than in 2007. The most expensive airports for each type of operation respectively were LHR, AMS, LHR and Paris Charles de Gaulle. For more information about the report, contact chris.haynes@rdcaviation.com. Aug 25, 2008

Airbus

An Airbus deal to Syria would involve the possible lease and purchase of a total of 54 aircraft between now and 2028 and help from Airbus to restructure Syria's flag carrier Syrianair, according to the sources. Contacted again on Friday, two sources repeated their version. US sanctions, imposed on Syria in 2004 for its support for anti-American groups, are seen as a major obstacle to any Airbus sale to Syria. A way around the sanctions could be if a limited number of aircraft were to be purchased by another airline or operator outside Syria, and then leased to a Syrian company, an industry executive said on Thursday. Aug 29, 2008

Airbus

Another source said the cooperation agreement would amount to little if no legal way could be found to conform to the sanctions, with French officials assuring the United States that Airbus had no intention of breaking them. Airbus with Northtrop Grumman are competing for a USD$35 billion Pentagon tanker refueling deal and is anxious not to cause further political waves over the deal in a US election year. France started re-engaging Damascus in recent months after the Syrian government embarked on indirect peace talks with Israel and a protracted political crisis eased in Lebanon. Aug 29, 2008

RDC Aviation

European airport charges up 4% in 2008. Published charges among Europe's 50 busiest airports by passenger volume have increased an average of almost 4% since 2007, with the biggest growth occurring at London Heathrow and Gatwick, according to RDC Aviation's Airport Charges Monitor. London Heathrow has seen an increase of 40%-50% depending upon aircraft size, as the airport "tries to use the charging structure to encourage the use of larger aircraft." For example, the report found that the landing fee for a Jetstream 41 turboprop is the same as that for a Boeing 747-400. "It therefore remains relatively cheap to land a large aircraft at Heathrow," which has one of "the lowest landing charges among the top 50 airports," RDC said. Across all the EU airports, passenger charges are climbing at a faster rate than aircraft-related charges. This is attributable in part to rising security costs and implementation of the EU directive on passengers with reduced mobility, RDC said. Emissions charges also are becoming more widespread. Aug 25, 2008

Ryanair, Boeing

Ryanair yesterday dismissed reports that the oxygen masks onboard one of its Boeing 737-800s malfunctioned late Monday night when the aircraft suffered a sudden inflight depressurization on its way from Bristol to Girona and diverted to Limoges. "Ryanair's engineers have inspected the aircraft overnight and have confirmed that the oxygen masks which deployed were working properly," the LCC said, adding it would not comment further while the investigation into the incident is ongoing. All 168 passengers aboard FR9336 disembarked safely at Limoges, the airline said, and 16 passengers were transferred at their request to a local hospital complaining of ear pain. The -800 is five years old and was last serviced on July 24. Aug 27, 2008

Ryanair, Boeing

Ryanair Plane Loses Pressure, 16 Taken To Hospital. Sixteen people were taken to hospital when a Ryanair flight from Britain to Spain made an unscheduled landing at Limoges Airport in France after a loss of cabin pressure, the airline said on Tuesday. Flight FR9336, which left Bristol for Barcelona late on Monday with 168 passengers on board, "experienced an in-flight depressurisation incident which caused the oxygen masks on board to deploy," the airline said. The 16 people taken to hospital had been complaining of earache, it said. British explorer Pen Hadow, who was aboard the plane, told Sky Television the incident "was traumatic for many involved." Hadow, who in 2003 became the first person to reach the North Pole unaided from Canada, said the oxygen masks did not seem to work. Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary dismissed Hadow's complaints. "Passengers sometimes misunderstand... they expect a surge of oxygen when in actual fact there is a steady stream of oxygen," he said. The oxygen masks were working and the correct procedures were followed. As soon as the captain got the plane down to 8,000 ft he did make the appropriate announcement that they were going to divert to Limoges for safety reasons. Aug 26, 2008