[simpits-chat] Fwd: Fw: Flight Safety Information (05JAN03-005) (fwd)

[Gene Buckle]

>Flight Safety Information (05JAN03-005)
>_________________________________
>
>*Plane overruns landing at Kushiro airport
>*Snow Blankets Paris, Disrupting Flights
>*United Airlines to Lay Off Nearly 1,700
>*United could shift to smaller jets
>*Taiwan airline gets historic China air rights
>*Lufthansa plane diverted after bomb threat
>*Lufthansa to Cut 1st-Class on Two Routes
>*Security scare onboard Qantas airplane forces evacuation
>*Today in History
>***********************************************
>
>Plane overruns landing at Kushiro airport, nobody injured
>
>KUSHIRO, Japan, Jan. 4 (Kyodo) - A Hokkaido Air System SAAB340 with seven
>people aboard overshot the runway after landing and became stranded in snow
>at Kushiro airport Saturday morning, airport officials said. No injuries
>were reported.
>
>The 36-seat airplane landed at around 10:10 a.m., traveled down the runway
>for about 150 meters but then went beyond it by about 20 meters, they said.
>
>Snow was falling at the time of the accident and the range of visibility
>was
>200-300 meters, they said.
>
>The runway was closed in the wake of the accident and will reopen after
>removal of the plane, they said.
>
>The Kushiro Meteorological Observatory was issuing a warning against heavy
>snow and high waves in the Kushiro region around the time of the accident.
>*******************
>
>Snow Blankets Paris, Disrupting Flights
>
>PARIS (AP) - An unusual heavy snow blanketed Paris on Saturday, delaying
>flights, disrupting traffic and dusting the French capital's famous
>landmarks and slate roofs with a winter white.
>
>The four-hour snowfall produced about 3 inches that covered cars and
>sidewalks. The usually crowded Champs-Elysees was unusually quiet but
>beautiful, lined by snow-covered trees.
>
>Flights in and out of Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport were suspended for
>about an hour, and the other major airport, Orly, was operating at reduced
>capacity, airport authorities said.
>
>Flights to Charles de Gaulle were directed to airports outside the Paris
>region and flights out were delayed by up to three hours, authorities said.
>
>Road traffic also was disrupted and stuck trucks and cars blocked the A4
>highway into Paris, according to the National Center for Traffic
>Information.
>
>The traffic agency described the snowfall as ``remarkable'' for the Paris
>region, where heavy snows are unusual, and warned motorists that the wintry
>conditions could ``turn roads into real ice rinks.''
>*****************
>
>United Airlines to Lay Off Nearly 1,700
>
>CHICAGO (AP) - United Airlines announced Friday that it is laying off
>nearly
>1,700 white-collar and ticketing employees, or about 2 percent of its work
>force, and shutting down all of its U.S. ticket offices as part of efforts
>to slash costs in bankruptcy.
>
>The furloughs, to take effect this month, will help United meet the strict
>requirements of its Chapter 11 financing, the airline said.
>
>United, which filed for federal bankruptcy protection Dec. 9, also said it
>decided to close down its remaining 32 city ticket offices based on
>research
>showing that more customers are buying tickets online or calling United's
>reservation number.
>
>The bulk of the latest layoffs involve nearly 1,500 management and salaried
>employees whose non-union jobs will be cut by Jan. 19 as part of United's
>organizational redesign, the Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based airline said.
>
>``These changes are part of the process of creating a new business that is
>competitive, customer-focused and sustainable,'' said Sara Fields, senior
>vice president.
>
>The ticket office closings, effective Jan. 28, will result in the loss of
>an
>additional 188 jobs. Those employees are represented by the Machinists'
>union.
>
>United spokesman Jeff Green put the total number of jobs being cut at about
>1,700.
>
>United has until Feb. 15 to cut costs or it could lose the remainder of the
>$1.5 billion in interim financing a group of banks extended the carrier to
>allow it to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
>
>The carrier says it must reduce wages by $2.4 billion a year through 2008.
>
>Shares in United parent company UAL Corp. fell 7 cents to close at $1.30 on
>the New York Stock Exchange.
>
>On the Net:
>
>http://www.united.com
>*****************
>
>United could shift to smaller jets
>
>Paper reports deals for Bombardier 50-seat airliners
>
>SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- United Airlines might shift to smaller jetliners
>as a scale-down strategy, the Rocky Mountain News reported Saturday.
>
>Based on interviews and court filings, the Denver paper said bankrupt
>United, run by UAL Corp. (UAL: news, chart), has lined up the purchase or
>lease of several hundred CRJ-200 model planes built by Canada-based
>Bombardier.
>
>Via agreements with regional airlines in its United Express network, the
>paper said, United could be using up to 425 of the slim, 50-seat jets
>within
>a few years.
>
>The article said SkyWest has orders for 55 jets and options for 84;
>privately held Air Wisconsin has orders for 29 and options on 85; and
>Atlantic Coast (ACAI: news, chart) has orders for 47 and an unknown number
>of options to buy. All those planes plus an existing 125 would add up to a
>fleet of 425.
>
>United, the nation's second-biggest airline, presently has a fleet of 540
>full-size jets, according to Hoover's. Quoting Merrill Lynch analyst
>Michael
>Linenberg, the Denver paper said United has 557 full-size jets, with an
>agreement with pilots to lop that to 496.
>
>As part of its recovery from bankruptcy, United has said it will be cutting
>operations and just Friday added to its reduction with at least 1,500 new
>job cuts. See full story.
>
>The Rocky Mountain News article said that United's pilots have long opposed
>allowing smaller, regional jets to cut into operations but now may be
>willing to accept the change as a price for keeping the airline going, as
>well as feeding passengers into regular routes.
>
>Besides the regional carriers, United has an agreement with bankrupt US
>Airways  for sharing passengers and flight numbers.
>
>The Denver article said Atlantic Coast has asked the bankruptcy judge
>overseeing United's case to order it to honor its contract, otherwise the
>smaller carrier could be on the hook for $940 million.
>
>SkyWest spokesman Phil Gee told the paper that his airline might shift the
>smaller jets to routes it flies for Delta Air Lines (DAL: news, chart) if
>its United accord collapses.
>
>Irregardless of using smaller jets, United apparently is playing hardball
>with the regional airlines. The article says the carriers have been asked
>to
>cut their fees by $60 million and that United has sought bids from three
>other carriers to provide regional service.
>*****************
>
>Taiwan airline gets historic China air rights
>
>TAIPEI, Jan 4 (Reuters) - A Taiwanese airline revealed a breakthrough in
>transport connections with China on Saturday, saying it had been granted
>rights to fly charter services to the mainland during the Lunar New Year
>holidays.
>
>Taiwan's approval of the limited and temporary services offered "a new
>opportunity for resumption of bilateral talks" after a three-year freeze,
>local newspapers on Saturday quoted Chen Ming-tong, spokesman for the
>Taiwanese cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council, as saying.
>
>Far Eastern Air Transport Corp's planned charter flights to Shanghai look
>set to be the first Taiwanese air services to land in China since 1949,
>when
>the island split from the mainland in a civil war.
>
>China has long advocated direct air services with Taiwan but the island has
>maintained a ban on direct trade, transport and postal links since the
>split, even as the two sides have become economically intertwined over the
>past 20 years.
>
>Analysts said Far Eastern's service rights were at least a good first step
>towards permitting those three types of connections, the so-called three
>links.
>
>"This could be a prelude to establishment of direct three links between the
>two sides," said Philip Yang, who teaches political science at National
>Taiwan University.
>
>Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian called on Wednesday for closer cooperation
>with China, focusing on economic ties. His statement inspired expectations
>that his government would permit direct trade and travel with the mainland
>this year.
>
>Taipei and Beijing have not been on official speaking terms since 1999,
>when
>then Taiwan president Lee Teng-hui enraged Beijing by redefining their
>relationship as "special state to state" ties.
>
>Booming business ties between Taiwan and China have created strong air
>traffic across the strait separating them.
>
>But Taiwan's ban on direct links forces passengers to land first in Hong
>Kong or Macau. They must use an airline from those territories or switch
>between Taiwanese and Chinese carriers at the stopover.
>
>STOPOVERS
>
>Far Eastern's charter services will also have to land in Hong Kong or Macau
>but will then fly into China, rather than return immediately to the island.
>
>Beijing has called for the Lunar New Year services to fly without
>stopovers,
>and Taiwanese investors have also been clamouring for direct links with the
>mainland to save time and cost. The Taiwanese government has resisted those
>calls on grounds of national security.
>
>Far Eastern, one of six Taiwanese carriers that have applied to operate the
>Lunar New Year charter services, will fly six of the flights to and from
>Shanghai, the airline said in a statement.
>
>Other Taiwanese carriers applying for the charter flights, include China
>Airlines Ltd, EVA Airways, UNI Airways, Mandarin Airlines and TransAsia
>Airways.
>
>Up to one million Taiwanese live and work in China and an estimated 300,000
>return to the island for family reunions during the week-long Lunar New
>Year
>holidays, which begin on February 1.
>
>Beijing views self-governing Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be
>brought into its fold, by force if necessary.
>
>Despite simmering tensions, Taiwan businessmen have invested up to US$100
>billion in China since relations improved in the late 1980s, lured by the
>vast Chinese market, cheap land and labour, and a common language and
>culture.
>*****************
>
>Lufthansa plane diverted after bomb threat
>
>CHICAGO - A Lufthansa Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Mexico
>City
>made an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport on Saturday after
>officials received a bomb threat.
>
>The Boeing 747-400 airplane had 392 passengers and 19 crew members on board
>when it landed around 4:20 p.m., Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman
>Monique Bond said. "This is standard operating procedure. There were no
>injuries, the aircraft landed safely," Bond said. "The aircraft is going to
>be searched. This happens." The passengers were expected to spend the night
>in Chicago and resume their flight Sunday morning, Lufthansa spokesman Tom
>Tripp said. Authorities were inspecting the plane for any explosives, Bond
>said. She said no one was hurt in the incident.
>*****************
>
>Lufthansa to Cut 1st-Class on Two Routes
>
>FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Lufthansa said Friday it would eliminate first
>class on two routes from its Frankfurt hub to the United States, citing
>lagging demand and saying more reductions in first-class seats were on the
>way.
>
>The German airline will carry only business and economy class on its
>Frankfurt-Boston and Frankfurt-Philadelphia routes starting Monday, said
>spokeswoman Sandra Kraft.
>
>``So far there is a decision only on two routes, but some others will
>follow
>during the year,'' Kraft said. ``These are routes on which first-class
>demand has been very low - routes on which there has been more tourist
>demand.''
>
>Lufthansa cut capacity to match demand during the slowdown in airline
>traffic blamed on the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States and a
>slower world economy.
>
>Last year, Lufthansa eliminated economy class on its Duesseldorf-Newark
>flights because such seats were going unsold, and now serves the route with
>a 48-seat, all-business class Boeing Business Jet - a modified 737.
>
>Capacity cuts helped the airline post a profit of 344 million euros ($354
>million) for the January-September period, up from 65 million euros for the
>same period last year.
>*****************
>
>Security scare onboard Qantas airplane forces evacuation of passengers at
>Sydney Airport
>
>SYDNEY, Australia - A security scare forced passengers to evacuate a Qantas
>airplane before takeoff at Sydney International Airport, delaying it for
>several hours while police searched the aircraft, officials said Friday.
>
>Channel Ten television reported that a note had been found in a toilet at
>the airport threatening to blow up an aircraft. State and federal police
>and
>security specialists boarded Qantas flight QF5, bound for Singapore and
>Frankfurt, about 9 p.m. (1000 GMT) Thursday after airport officials raised
>the alarm, Australian Federal Police spokesman Steve Simpson said. Simpson
>would not say what prompted the security scare. The flight had already been
>delayed about three hours due to a technical fault with the aircraft, a
>Qantas spokesman said on condition of anonymity. When that problem was
>fixed, the flight's 386 passengers boarded only to be immediately evacuated
>because of the security issue, he added. "A search of the plane and luggage
>... found nothing onboard," Simpson said. The search delayed the flight by
>another four hours. The flight eventually took off around 1:15 a.m. Friday
>(1415 GMT Thursday), Qantas said.
>*******************
>
>Today in History:
>
>Date of Accident: 05 January 2001
>Airline: Air Gemini Cargo
>Aircraft: Boeing 727-46F
>Location: Dundo, Angola
>Registration: S9-BAI
>Previous Registrations: JA8327, N746EV, PP-ITL
>Fatalities: 0:10 + 1
>MSN: 20078
>Line Number: 686
>Engine Manufacturer: Pratt & Whitney
>Engine Model: JT8D-9A
>Year of Delivery: 1969
>Accident Description: The aircraft developed engine problems on takeoff and
>crashed during an emergency landing attempt, killing a man who had stopped
>to relieve himself close to runway. The aircraft was written off as a
>result
>of the accident.
>