[simpits-chat] Fwd: Fw: Flight Safety Information (08JAN03-010) (fwd)

[Gene Buckle]

>
>*Air Nippon plane makes emergency landing after crack in window
>*Emirates Explains Afghan Plane Diversion
>*S.Korea Asiana buys jet fuel to hedge oil risks
>*Land ministry aims to double air traffic using satellite
>*Cathay Pacific to Buy 6 Jets from Airbus for Cargo Unit
>**********************************************
>
>Air Nippon plane makes emergency landing after crack in window
>
>TOKYO, Jan. 8 (Kyodo) - An Air Nippon plane flying from Tokyo's Haneda
>airport to Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, made an emergency landing
Wednesday
>morning about one hour after takeoff because of a surface crack in a
cockpit
>window, the transport ministry said.
>
>No one was hurt on the Boeing 737-500, carrying 92 crew and passengers,
>according to the ministry's Tokyo airport office.
>
>Flight 551 left on schedule at 6:25 a.m. and reported the crack about 15
>minutes into the flight. It returned to Haneda just past 7:30 a.m.
>
>The crack, on the right window near the co-pilot's seat, only occurred
on
>the outer surface of the window and did not affect cabin pressure, the
>ministry said.
>
>The pilots did not hear any unusual sound when it happened, according to
Air
>Nippon, a unit of All Nippon Airways mainly serving domestic routes.
>
>The passengers were transferred to another aircraft and left Haneda at
8:34
>a.m.
>*****************
>
>Emirates Explains Afghan Plane Diversion
>
>DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A third Afghan airliner was diverted
to
>the United Arab Emirates because of fears it could be a target of
>terrorists, the official Emirates news agency said Wednesday.
>
>All three planes were diverted on Tuesday, the WAM news agency said. The
>first two were reported by the Afghan Embassy later the same day.
>
>Another two Afghan planes were searched Tuesday after they made
scheduled
>stops in the Emirates, the news agency reported.
>
>The three planes diverted belonged to Ariana Airlines and were flying
>pilgrims to Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, when their pilots were ordered to land
at
>the Al-Minhad air base, 18 miles southeast of Dubai.
>
>``The planes were searched after information received by the concerned
>authorities from friendly sides that an Ariana plane carrying pilgrims
to
>Mecca could be subject to a hijacking or a terror act,'' the news agency
>quoted the deputy head of the UAE air force, Brig. Mohammed Suwaidan, as
>saying.
>
>The other two planes were searched after landing at Dubai International
>Airport and Sharjah International Airport, north of Dubai, Suwaidan
said.
>
>No threat was discovered in the searches, but the authorities found
objects
>such as knives, razors and small gas cylinders for cooking. Many
pilgrims
>take such implements when they travel to Mecca.
>
>No arrests were made. The five aircraft refueled and resumed their
flights.
>
>On Tuesday, the Afghan Embassy in the Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi, and
>Ariana's station manager said two planes had been diverted to a military
air
>base in the Emirates after a bomb scare.
>*****************
>
>S.Korea Asiana buys jet fuel to hedge oil risks
>
>SEOUL, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Asiana Airlines Inc, South Korea's
second-largest
>carrier, said on Wednesday it had bought 900,000 barrels of jet fuel
from
>the country's top oil refiner SK Corp to hedge oil price risks.
>
>Rising global oil prices, which have been hovering near two-year highs
in
>the past weeks and fuelled by a prolonged strike in Venezuela and the
threat
>of war looming in Iraq, was the reason behind the purchase, the airline
said
>in a statement.
>
>A rise of $1 a barrel in global oil prices adds 830 million won
($702,800)
>to Asiana's monthly costs, it said.
>
>Asiana bought the term jet fuel for its use from January through March
this
>year at a price range between $28.60 per barrel and $35.78 per barrel,
>hedging volatile global oil price fluctuations, it said.
>
>"The reason the term was set at just three months was because we judged
that
>a war in Iraq will not last long even if it breaks out," Asiana said.
>
>The purchase accounts for about 40 percent of the carrier's annual jet
fuel
>needs, it said.
>
>Asiana saved 9.2 billion won ($7.79 million) of fuel costs last year by
>buying 1.5 million barrels of jet fuel from SK Corp at an average price
of
>$22 a barrel, it said.
>
>SK Corp produces about two million barrels of jet fuel every month,
about
>half of which is consumed domestically and the rest is sold overseas, an
SK
>Corp official told Reuters.
>
>South Korean production of jet fuel stood at slightly over 10 million
>barrels during January-March period in the past two years and roughly
half
>of the output is sold locally, according to official data.
>
>Asiana shares ended flat at 2,010 on Wednesday, while the Kosdaq
market's
>benchmark index (.KQ11) closed 1.01 percent higher.
>*****************
>
>Land ministry aims to double air traffic using satellite
>
>TOKYO, Jan. 8 (Kyodo) - The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and
Transport
>plans to reduce the minimum flight distance by more than half between
>commercial aircraft flying over the busy northern Pacific between Japan
and
>the American east coast.
>
>The measure, expected in 2004 with the introduction of a satellite-based
>global positioning system, would cut the minimum distance two aircraft
are
>required to maintain from each other from the current 220 kilometers to
>about 90 km.
>
>The new aircraft flight control system, based on the Multifunctional
>Transport Satellite (MTSAT) the transport ministry plans to launch this
>summer, will enable air controllers to double the volume of traffic over
>northern Pacific, ministry officials said.
>
>It would create more room in the flight routes and reduce delays in
>departures and arrivals, the officials said.
>
>Under the existing aircraft flight control system, air traffic
controllers
>locate airplanes by radio as the airspace above the Pacific cannot be
>reached by radar. The MTSAT can automatically send data on aircraft
>locations through global positioning equipment installed on aircraft.
>
>The new system may also improve aircraft energy efficiency, transport
>ministry officials said.
>
>Pilots of passenger planes flying over northern Pacific typically want
to
>operate at optimum energy-efficient altitudes by tapping the jet
current.
>However, under current flight regulations, 35% of the planes are barred
from
>flying at their desired altitudes.
>
>The transport ministry also hopes the new flight control system would
reduce
>communications glitches inherent in radio communications, which can be
>hampered by distance and weather conditions.
>
>Digitally transmitted information from the MTSAT would provide accurate
>communications with clear audio and text data, ministry officials said.
>*****************
>
>Cathay Pacific to Buy 6 Jets from Airbus for Cargo Unit
>
>HONG KONG -- Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., Hong Kong's leading carrier,
said
>Wednesday it planned to buy six new Airbus A300-600F aircraft to be used
by
>its Air Hong Kong cargo unit.
>
>The six wide-body aircraft are scheduled for delivery between the second
>half of 2004 and the first quarter of 2005.
>
>Air Hong Kong also has options on four more of the same type of aircraft
>"for possible delivery at a later date."
>
>Cathay didn't disclose the value of the order, but reports have
speculated
>it to be worth about US$300 million. Airbus's clinching the deal comes
after
>the European manufacturer outbid rival U.S. aerospace giant Boeing Co.
>
>Cathay said it hasn't yet decided on the engine that will be used to
power
>the aircraft. Two power plants are available for this aircraft type, one
>produced by General Electric Co. and the other by Pratt & Whitney,
Cathay
>said.
>
>The six-aircraft order is part of Air Hong Kong's expansion of its Asian
>freighter network, following a deal Cathay signed with express courier
DHL
>Worldwide Express Inc. in October.
>
>"This is a great step forward in Air Hong Kong's development and its
>partnership with DHL," Air Hong Kong Chairman Tony Tyler said. "This
very
>significant fleet expansion demonstrates Air Hong Kong's commitment to
>enhancing Hong Kong's position as Asia's leading air cargo hub, and to
>strengthening the scope and quality of service that we already provide
DHL."
>
>In October, DHL acquired a 30% stake in Air Hong Kong, which agreed to
buy a
>fleet of midrange, wide-body aircraft to operate and enhance DHL's
network
>in the region from Hong Kong's international Chek Lap Kok Airport.
>
>Under the accord, Air Hong Kong, the territory's only all-cargo air
carrier,
>would buy aircraft to service the portion of DHL's network covering
major
>Asia- Pacific cities. At the time, the cargo carrier said it had
tentative
>plans to buy five freighter aircraft by 2004, and had a budget of US$300
>million, while at least another four would be bought for an added US$100
>million by 2010.
>
>A month after the deal was signed, Air Hong Kong applied for rights to
fly
>to 15 Asian cities, with analysts expecting approval in February.
>
>Cathay Pacific is 45.85% owned by Swire Pacific Ltd. and 25.5% by red
chip
>CITIC Pacific Ltd.
>