Contrails

New address

2009-10-29T07:05:00.001Z

Please note that as of October 01 2010 "Contrails" has moved to a new address at Wordpress.

http://aerspace.wordpress.com

Nothing else has changed though - it's the same content. !

Aer Lingus needs to look at merger - Willie Walsh

2009-10-21T23:55:00.001+01:00

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways feels that Aer Lingus may need to surrender it's independence in order to secure it's future. Mr. Walsh was speaking yesterday at the Jim Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick. Given the way that the Irish economy has performed in recent times and given the way that the carrier has suffered in recent times he said that".. you could now make an argument that it's future as an indepenedent carrier is not that secure and maybe Aer Lingus does need to look at a relationship with some other carrier".
He added however that the current legacy ownership structure will make it difficult to attract new investors. "With Ryanair a significant shareholder at 30% and the Irish government with 25%, ESOT (Employee Share Ownership Trust) with 15% I struggle to see how anyone would invest or want to invest with that sort of structure".
On the subject of a Ryanair takeover of Aer Lingus, Mr. Walsh said that he had always found it difficult to understand why Ryanair would want to takeover Aer Lingus. He wouldn't say that a merger was impossible but it would be difficult given the competition implications. "If you look at the theory of competition, the consumer couldn't win with the two firms being merged. That competition would disappear."

Ryanair welcomes BAA decision

2009-10-21T23:29:00.000+01:00

Ryanair was quick to respond to today's news that the BAA had reached an agreement to sell London's Gatwick Airport for £1.5bn. Reacting to the news the airline tempered it's enthusiasm by saying that it recognized the sale of Gatwick as the first step in the breakup of the BAA monopoly, urging the full recommendations of the UK Competition Commission be implemented whereby Stansted and a Scottish Airport would also be sold.
The carrier also called for the breakup of the DAA (Dublin Airport authority) which owns and manages Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports, forecasting that Dublin will lose 2m passengers this year with Cork and Shannon losing a combined 1m. Against this backdrop, Ryanair will grow by 9m passengers this year. "Even Aer Lingus is growing traffic in the current recession, while the DAA monopoly is losing millions of passengers and thousands of jobs", it added.

EI-REH in clipping incident at Manchester

2009-10-21T23:18:00.001+01:00

Today's Aer Arann flight REA515, operated by ATR72 registered EI-REH from Galway to Manchester damaged a propeller when the aircraft impacted a mirror guidance system at the terminal. The aircraft carrying 32 passengers and 4 crew was taxiing onto it's parking stand when the incident occurred. The airline issued a statement stating that "The incident involved Flight RE 515 from Galway. At about 11.45am, the propeller on the aircraft made contact with a docking guidance mirror while parking on a stand.

"Damage was caused to the propeller which was rotating slowly at the time. As a precaution, the airport fire service attended the incident. There were 32 passengers and four crew members on board. There were no injuries and all passengers left the aircraft normally."

A replacement aircraft, ATR72 EI-REO with engineers and customer service staff was sent from Dublin. It operated flight REA 516 which arrived in Galway just after 20:00 utc.

Ryanair discusses it's future at Shannon

2009-10-21T23:17:00.000+01:00

It is five years since Ryanair signed it's current base agreement with Shannon Airport. Under the terms of the agreement which runs out in April 2010 the airline has invested $400m in based aircraft and grown it's passenger numbers at the airport from 300,000 in 2004 to 1.9m in 2008.
Ryanair has said that since the Irish Government introduced it's €10 travel tax on April 1st last passenger number have declined at Shannon. Last winter the airline based 6 aircraft at the airport, reducing that strength to four during summer 2009 and proposes just three based frames this coming winter.
Ryanair has on numerous occasions in the past four years stated that it's Shannon operation has lost money in each of the five years of the current agreement.
In spite of these losses, Ryanair has written to the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) confirming that if the government drops the travel tax by February 1st next and if the SAA extends the airline's cost base for a further five years then Ryanair will "commit to delivering more than 1.2m passengers annually, on up to four based aircraft".
If both conditions are not met, Ryanair has promised to reduce it's base strength to one aircraft operating the London and some UK provincial routes and delivering just 300,000 passengers.
Shannon faces into the coming winter with a bleak future and a large drop in revenue on the horizon. Delta Airlines and US Airways terminated their transatlantic services in recent weeks. Cityjet is terminating it's Paris route this weekend and Aer Lingus is as good as terminating it's transatlantic services from next spring. On top of that the €20m preclearance facility is rapidly turning into a white elephant - Aer Lingus has refused to use it and USCBP won't increase the manning levels to give 24-7 operations since the passenger numbers aren't there to justify it. With a handling fee of just €10.50 per passenger cleared, a significant throughput is required to make the facility pay for itself.

Ryanair to cut Kerry - Stansted capacity

2009-10-21T23:03:00.000+01:00

Kerry Airport has found that it too is not immune from the Ryanair sword. The carrier has announced that it is cutting it's Kerry - Stansted service from 14 per week to 4, blaming the decision on a combination of the Irish government's €10 travel tax and the high airport costs at Stansted. In contrast though frequency on Kerry - Luton is being increased from four flight to seven flights per weekFrom October 25 there will be one flight a day between Kerry and Luton and one flight between Kerry and Stansted on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Passengers planning on early departures to London are restricted to Fridays and Sundays: the only days with flights to London before 10am.

Hawker Beechcraft receive world speed record for Shannon flight

2009-10-20T23:51:00.004+01:00

N126ZZ overnighted at Shannon after it's record breaking flight and departed for Geneva the next morning.

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation was honored at the NBAA Convention today for a world speed record established in May of this year. At a ceremony at the HBC display at Orlando Executive Airport, National Aeronautics Association officials presented the pilots of the aircraft with certificates commemorating the flight. The Hawker 4000 Horizon aircraft, registered N126ZZ (msn RC-10) to Meir Aviation established it's record on a flight from Farmingdale, New York to Shannon on May 8 of this year. The 4,929 km sector was covered in a time of 5 hrs 17 minutes. The HBC crew consisted of Vice President of Flight Operations Bob Blouin and Senior Demonstration Captain Mark Danin. Their average speed over the route was 932.83 kph at an altitude of 41,000 feet. The NAA approved the record in the category Class C-1.I (35,274 lbs.-44,092 lbs.) Group III (jet), and forwarded it to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) in Switzerland where it was certified as a world record. N126ZZ was en route to EBACE in Geneva when the record was set. The visit to Shannon was the first visit of a Horizon to Shannon.

NASA Gulfstream 3 N803NA makes Shannon fuel stop

2009-10-20T22:00:00.000+01:00

N803NA on finals to R24 at lunchtime today

NASA's Gulfstream 3 registered N803NA made a fuel stop at Shannon this lunchtime en route Moscow - Gander. The aircraft is msn 309 and is operated by the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force in California. Built in 1980 the aircraft was originally delivered to NASA as N1NA. In September 2006 it became N2NA which visited Shannon on May 12 2007. In March of this year another identity change took place when the current registration was assumed.

Ryanair's plan to help Scottish tourism

2009-10-20T15:16:00.003+01:00

Ryanair announced today that it had made a proposal to Scotland's Finance Minister John Swinney whereby it would help the country achieve it's targeted growth in tourist numbers of 50% between now and 2015. Citing the precedent of a route development support program which operated from 2002 to 2007 Ryanair says that it will grow passenger numbers and reverse the downward trend in passengers arising from the £10 APD passenger tax. In the first 8 months of this year passenger numbers at Scotland's airports fell by 6.3% YoY to 15m whilst in the same time frame those at Ryanair grew 12% to 43m. In the event of the route support program being implemented Ryanair has pledged to add an additional 1.5m passengers per annum which would have the knock on effect of creating 1,500 jobs. The APD tax is due to increase to £11 on November 1st next.

G-OBMP diverts to Shannon after birdstrike at Knock

2009-10-19T23:50:00.001+01:00

Today's flight BMI 3902, callsign BMI92A routing Knock to Manchester diverted to Shannon this afternoon after the aircraft suffered a birdstrike on takeoff from Knock. The flight operated by B737-300 registered G-OBMP landed safely in Shannon at 14:51 utc.
A relief aircraft G-TOYM positioned to Shannon as BMI 9411. The passengers finally got to resume their journey when TOYM departed Shannon for Manchester at 20:11 utc.

Profit doubles at Aergo Capital to over $10m

2009-10-19T23:33:00.000+01:00

The "Irish Times" reports that year end after tax profit at Aergo Capital more than doubled to $10.7m for the year ended December 2008. The company was founded in 1999 by Denis O'Brien who owns 85% of the company along with chief executive Fred Browne who holds the balance. The exceptional 2008 performance is in spite of Aergo taking a charge of $15m when Alitalia returned 25 MD82 aircraft after the carrier was placed in administration. Aergo also took a hit of $18m following it's successful acquisition of South African operator Safair.
At present, the Aergo Capital fleet consists of 90 aircraft placed with 25 operators worldwide including KLM, DHL, South African Airways and the UN. At the end of 2008 the fleet had a book value of $344m. Although the company is Dublin based for tax purposes it's operational bases are South Africa and Chile. Last week it opened a third base with three aircraft in Nairobi.

New terminal opened at Ireland West Knock

2009-10-19T15:08:00.000+01:00

On Friday last, October 16, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey officially opened a terminal extension at Ireland West Airport in Knock, Co. Mayo. The 3,000 sq. m extension will be known as the "Kennedy Terminal" in honor of Joe Kennedy, former Chairman and Honorary President of the Board of Directors. In total a capital investment program of €11.5m has been implemented in the past year, covering the new terminal, a CAT II ILS and a fully automated real time arrivals and departures information system. Commenting on the opening, the current Chairman, Liam Scollan said "Government support for infrastructure here has been of enormous benefit. We can now say now that this airport has arrived as a truly international, low cost, reliable airport with even more ease and speed of passage for passengers wishing to use us from all over Ireland.”
Ireland West Knock Airport will handle in the region of 600,000 passengers this year which is little changed from last year's figure - a remarkable performance when other airports are showing double digit YoY declines.

Dempsey says Aer Lingus can't survive without cuts

2009-10-19T14:33:00.000+01:00

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, speaking on RTE Radio 1's Sunday news program "This Week", said yesterday that unless Aer Lingus achieves it's target savings of €100m "we will not be talking about Aer Lingus in a few years time". Mr. Dempsey said that the choice facing the airline "was stark" at this time with no choice open to it. He urged the company and the unions to sit down and discuss the savings package. When asked if he supported the cost cutting proposals, Minister Dempsey said that he supported the fact that the need for change must be recognised - a sound political answer.

UK CAA September Passenger Numbers

2009-10-18T21:34:00.000+01:00

The UK CAA has published traffic figures for September 2009.

Dublin-London

Dublin's Gatwick traffic which is split between Ryanair and Aer Lingus showed a 6% YoY growth at 90,203. Heathrow and Stansted both showed negative trends with LHR down 14% again this month to 127,947 passengers and Stansted (a Ryanair preserve) down 18% to 62,813. Luton was down 2% YoY at 27,931. Once again no surprises with the trend following previous months with Gatwick and Luton remaining relatively unscathed at the expense of Stansted and Heathrow. The higher cost airports are suffering at the expense of the lower cost which certainly seems to back up the Ryanair contention that the Irish government's travel tax is hitting tourist numbers.

Cork-London

At Cork, Gatwick traffic was down 5% to 9,258. Heathrow was down 2% to 43,168 while Stansted, a Ryanair route was down 3% to 24,207. Cork's traffic decline has certainly slowed considerably to single digit compared to the mid teen double digit elsewhere.

Shannon-London

Shannon has fared similar to Dublin and Cork with Gatwick down 11% YoY for the month at 14,996 and Stansted again down 18% YoY, to 21,633, explainable by one less return flight per day on the route.

On the Heathrow - Shannon route the total for the month was 10,996 down in the region of 4,000 over the August figure for the same frequency.

Belfast-London

On the Belfast City - Heathrow route, BMI will be well pleased with it's September performance. Not only did it manage to buck the seasonal trend which sees numbers drop from August to September but it also managed a 5% YoY growth on the route with 44,173 passengers.

Over at Aldergrove, Aer Lingus has seen it's slide on the - Heathrow route continue with a 13% YoY decline with almost 4,500 less passengers over August using the service.

BMI 1-0 Aer Lingus once again.

On the Belfast City - London Gatwick route, operated by FlyBe, passenger figures are up 24% YoY at 18,357 which represents a higher growth figure than August but less passengers using the route Month on Month. EasyJet's Belfast International - Gatwick route suffered again this month with a 10% YoY fall in numbers to 24,135.

FlyBe 1-0 easyJet.

A40-BG delivered to Oman Air via Shannon

2009-10-18T20:45:00.000+01:00

A40-BG on finals to R24 in autumn sunshine.

Oman Air has taken delivery of it's latest B737-8FZ. The aircraft registered A40-BG is msn 29664 and arrived in Shannon from Boeing field via Gander yesterday morning. A40-BG departed Shannon at 04:50 this morning for the final leg of it's delivery flight to Muscat with hex code 70C0A9. Sister ship A40-BF was also delivered through Shannon last weekend.

VQ-BEQ departs Shannon on delivery to Vladivostok Avia

2009-10-16T23:48:00.000+01:00

Former Aer Lingus A330 EI-JFK departed Shannon on delivery to Vladivostok Avia tonight. Now registered VQ-BEQ the aircraft was towed on stand this afternoon in preparation for it's departure. The aircraft is the second A330 to be transferred to the Russian carrier on lease hand back from Aer Lingus. VQ-BEQ left Shannon as VLK 1777 with hex code 424951 at 22:13 utc.

N297MD finally makes it to Shannon

2009-10-16T23:34:00.002+01:00

N297MD on Taxiway 7 shows the challenges presented to the modern aircraft photographer !

B737-752 msn 34297 finally arrived in Shannon yesterday evening from Howard Air Force base in Panama. The aircraft is a 2005 build machine which was delivered by GECAS to Aero Mexico as EI-DMX before taking up marks XA-MAY last year. In mid July of this year it was placed on the US register. The aircraft was due to be ferried Howard - Bermuda - Shannon last weekend but on the sector from Bermuda to Shannon on Sunday last the aircraft developed a technical problem and diverted to Halifax NS. The aircraft is currently in basic Aero Mexico colors with the rudder remaining the only untouched element (due to balance) in the original colors. N297MD is due to go to Turkish operator Andolu Jet once it is transferred to that country's register.

VP-BAJ fuel stops at Shannon

2009-10-16T23:06:00.001+01:00

VP-BAJ seen exiting R06 at 'Charlie' this morning

It is so long now since B727 aircraft were used on regular airline service in Europe that the aircraft have now achieved "Classic" status. This morning B727-30/RE registered VP-BAJ (msn 18936) arrived from Southend on a transatlantic fuel stop. Whilst it only went on the Bermudan register in May of last year this aircraft is no stranger to Shannon. Back in the 1980's the aircraft was a regular visitor as N5073L when it was registered to United Technologies with whom it also served as N16764 and N33UT. Prior to taking Bermudan marks the aircraft was registered N67JR and N18HH (Hilton Hotels). Whilst it may sport a 21st century BBJ color scheme it's just a 'scrape' for those old enough to remember !

New airport board structures

2009-10-16T21:16:00.004+01:00

In response to questions from Fine Gael's deputy leader and Spokesman on Finance Richard Bruton and the party's Deputy Spokesman on Foreign Affairs and Clare TD (MP) Pat Breen., the Minister or Transport Noel Dempsey issued a written response on Tuesday last relating to the make up of the sub board structures of the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority).
In the past the management of the three state airports was the preserve of airport operator Aer Rianta. The current administration decided to give autonomous control to each of the airports but the decision was subsequently reversed. Both Cork and Shannon airports have fought long and hard for their independence but that day is further away than it ever was.
The original plan to split Aer Rianta was made in 2004 but the decision on whether or not to implement the plan has been deferred until 2011. The irony is that each of the airports is managed by it's own Airport Authority which are subservient to the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) which maintains overall control of the state airports.
Minister Dempsey announced on Tuesday of this week that he had agreed revised board structures with each of the airports. Under the agreement the Chairmen of the SAA (Shannon) and CAA (Cork) will become members of the DAA board and senior executives of the DAA will be appointed to the boards of the SAA and CAA. Hang on ! Didn't we have this before when it was called Aer Rianta ?
The new structure of the DAA will consist of :

1 Chairman
1 CEO
1 SAA Chairman
1 CAA Chairman
5 members
4 worker directors

All of which looks like too many chiefs...

The SAA and CAA structure will consist of :
1 Chair
6 members including a DAA executive
2 worker directors

Private Sky takes delivery of EI-EEZ

2009-10-16T20:26:00.001+01:00

EI-EEZ pictured outside the Signature hangar at Shannon this afternoon prior to it's departure.

Private Sky has taken delivery of it's latest and largest to date aircraft. Bombardier CRJ 200 registered EI-EEZ was delivered to the company's Shannon base yesterday morning. Guessing from the colors used in the aircraft's cheatline it is a fair assumption that it will be operated from the company's Moscow base. EI-EEZ is msn 8085 and was ferried Montreal - Keflavik - Shannon. The aircraft departed Shannon tonight using what will be it's fixed callsign "Highflyer 85A" (HYR 85A) routing Shannon - ROTEV. Hex code for EI-EEZ is 4CA7DE.

M-OODY visits Shannon

2009-10-13T23:55:00.001+01:00

M-OODY on finals to R24 at Shannon this morning after a transatlantic crossing

The Manx register probably offers more opportunities than any other for word play on the aircraft registration. Today Shannon had a visit from Citation Jet CJ3 M-OODY. Registered to Future Aviation Services the aircraft carries Dighton International titling on the engine cowls. M-OODY (msn 525B-0238) was registered as Manx in December of last year.

British Airways adds second LCY-JFK with G-EUNB

2009-10-13T23:40:00.002+01:00

British Airways inaugurated the second daily London City - Shannon - New York service today with the addition of flight BAW 003. Today's service was operated by the second A318 to be delivered, G-EUNB.

Bodies of Air Corps Pilots recovered from crash site

2009-10-13T22:09:00.002+01:00

The bodies of the two Air Corps pilots killed in yesterday's crash in Connemara on the Galway / Mayo border have been removed from the crash site and taken to Galway University Hospital for post mortem examination. The two men have been named as Capt. Derek Furniss aged 32 from Dublin and Cadet David Jevens aged 22 from Co. Wexford. Capt. Furniss joined the Defence Forces in 1994 and had been a pilot instructor since 1999. He had accumulated over 3,000 hours and was the Chief Instructor on the PC-9 aircraft. Cadet Jevens was due for commissioning later this year and had accumulated 160 hours on type.
The crash site which is in a remote hilly area, 2km from the nearest road was sealed off this morning since the aircraft was fitted with ejector seats which had to be made safe before the investigation could begin. Th flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the site. The Air Corps hope to remove the airframe (reported as serial 265) from the crash site tomorrow and transport it by road to the Air Accident Investigation Unit's facility at Gormanstown where the forensic examination will take place.
A team from the Pilatus company in Switzerland arrived in Galway today to assist in the investigation. The team arrived on PC-12 registered HB-FOT operating flight PCH121 which landed at Carnmore at lunchtime today.
The Irish Aviation Authority has implemented a TRA (Temporary Restricted Area) around the crash site, radius six nautical miles, surface to 5,000ft until 19:00 hrs utc on October 16.

Ryanair to give away 1.1m seats after Panorama program

2009-10-13T21:42:00.001+01:00

Before the BBC aired last night's Panorama edition titled "Why hate Ryanair?", the carrier vowed to give away 100,000 free seats for every false claim made in the "hatchet job investigation". As Ryanair put it "These free seats will allow hard pressed BBC licence payers to escape from Panorama’s false claims, shoddy reporting and cover ups."
Today Ryanair honored the commitment by releasing 1.1m free seats on the basis of eleven false or misleading claims which it says that the BBC aired on the program, including the last claim :

" 11. Panorama claimed that “O’Leary is a bully” – this is clearly false when the whole world knows that O’Leary is a kind and gentle, caring and thoughtful, sensitive and saintly human being widely beloved by all Ryanair’s 6,500 people and its 66m passengers."

It must be said that none of the claims made in the program against the airline were particularly malicious in intent, for the most part concentrating on the consumer side of the experience. It was not so much a 'hatchet job' as being mugged by a teddy bear - the program didn't even cut Michael O'Leary's opportunistic commercial for Ryanair when he was doorstopped by reporter Vivian White leaving the airline's recent AGM. All in it was yet another publicity coup for the carrier. Had Ryanair spent any money on it it would have been well spent !

Montenegro Airlines 4O-AOB visits dublin

2009-10-13T21:09:00.003+01:00

4O-AOB on finals to R28 at Dublin today in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly

A most welcome visitor to Dublin today was Montenegro Airlines Embraer E195LR registered 4O-AOB. The aircraft operated flight MGX 7230 from Titograd to the Irish capital bringing the Montenegran soccer team for tomorrow's world cup qualifier. 4O-AOB was delivered to Montenegro Airlines in May of this year and is msn 19000283.

Fears for crew as IAC Pilatus PC-9 crashes

2009-10-12T23:47:00.004+01:00

Fears were growing tonight for the safety of the two occupants of an Irish Air Corps Pilatus PC-9 aircraft which crashed in hilly terrain on the Galway / Mayo border. The aircraft was one of three aircraft which departed Baldonnel this evening with the intention of landing at Galway's Carnmore airport to refuel before resuming their training flights. Shortly after 17.00 utc an eyewitness called ATC at Shannon to report an aircraft had flown low overhead, followed almost immediately by a loud bang. A crash site was subsequently discovered by emergency services in the Crumlin East area of Co. Galway. The two remaining aircraft from the training mission, serials 261 and 266 recovered to Galway Carnmore airport just after 17.30 utc. Investigation teams from the Air corps and the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Dept. of Transport are due to visit the site at first light.

Challenger TC-CMK visits Shannon

2009-10-12T23:40:00.001+01:00

Pictured on finals to R24 at lunchtime today - Setair's TC-CMK

Istanbul based Setair visited Shannon today with it's latest acquisition, Bombardier Challenger 605 registered TC-CMK. The aircraft is msn 5767 and was registered as Turkish on August 18 last.

Ryanair tackle 'Panormama' head on

2009-10-12T19:53:00.003+01:00

"It's more like Bananarama than Panorma", so said Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary this evening, referring to the BBC's flagship current affairs program in advance of tonight's edition titled "Why hate Ryanair ?". O'Leary was speaking on RTE Radio One's "Drivetime" program which featured an item about the ongoing spat between the airline and the BBC. The "Bananarama" comment was made in relation to what Michael O'Leary ascertains is going to be a hatchet job by the broadcaster which he says can drag up little more than two untrue statements in relation to the airline's costings and it's past dealings with Airbus. As further proof of the hatchet job, O'Leary went on to add that the program makers had refused to agree to his request for either a live interview or to broadcast an unedited interview.
The "Panorama" reporter Vivian White was also interviewed on the "Drivetime" program. He stated that the BBC could not agree to an unedited interview being shown as part of the program as this would have constituted the broadcaster ceding editorial control to Ryanair, something which it was not prepared to do. Mr. White said that he would be happy to have the program judged by what it contains, adding that he had no complaint about the way that Ryanair had dealt with the BBC.
As the discussion progressed the listener was left wondering if it all wasn't just a case of the battle of the brands with both parties stirring it up for all it was worth.
The last laugh may well be Ryanair's - for a company which doesn't differentiate between good and bad publicity, tonight's program is 30 minutes of free TV advertising funded by the British TV licence payer and shown on the commercial free BBC !

Hilary Clinton arrives in Dublin aboard 99-0004

2009-10-12T19:15:00.000+01:00

Hilary Cinton arrived in Dublin Sunday afternoon for an official visit to Dublin and Belfast, her first since becoming US Secretary of State. Her party arrived in Dublin on board C-32 serial 99-0004, seen in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly. During her brief stop in Dublin she met with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen and Dan Rooney US Ambassador to Ireland and owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers before some photo calls in Dublin city centre. The Clinton party arrived in Belfast late Sunday night.

EI-JFK becomes VQ-BEQ

2009-10-12T18:51:00.000+01:00

On Tuesday last, October 6, Aer Lingus A330-301 EI-JFK (msn 086) arrived back in Shannon from Bordeaux in the full colors of Vladivostok Avia. This evening the aircraft emerged from the Aer Lingus Airbus hangar wearing registration VQ-BEQ.

Will 5N-VNH be seen again ?

2009-10-09T22:00:00.000+01:00

Although it arrived in Shannon for painting almost two weeks ago on September 26, Embraer ERJ 190 registered 5N-VNH has yet to depart the Lufthansa Aircraft Paint hangar. 5N-VNH was the third aircraft from the Virgin Nigeria fleet to be handled at LAPS as part of the airline's re branding into Nigerian Eagle Airlines, an airline which came into being when Virgin Atlantic decided to sever it's ties with the part owned subsidiary bearing it's name.
Nigerian Eagle was established on September 18 last with Virgin Atlantic retaining a 49% shareholding. The launch of the new airline hasn't been greeted with a universal voice of approval in Nigeria. Some saw Virgin Atlantic's role lending an air of respectability to an industry sullied by the corruption that plagued Nigeria Airways. Those same people now see Nigerian Eagle as a backward step in the development of a national carrier.
At the press briefing to unveil the new airline, the company's MD, Capt Dapo Olumide said that "We are painting the aircraft one by one. It is a gradual change; we will go from airport to airport and from region to region. It will take time and money, but I cannot tell you how much the entire re-branding will cost."
"We are realigning our regional route network and flying only commercially viable routes because we are not an NGO and our aim is to make money for our shareholders. However, our five-year flying plan also includes international routes to the United States of America and Europe, but for now we are concentrating on our domestic and regional operations," he explained. In relation to how the company would source working capital and service it's current debt portfolio, Olumide said "We have an investment package on the way right now and we are going to have private placement in the next six weeks. We are talking to other potential investors outside the country and the chief financial offer has just come back from a trip where he has had discussions with another country, not another airline."
This week however, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has bizarrely filed a petition at the Federal High Court in Lagos urging it to change the name of Virgin Nigeria to Nigeria Eagle Airlines Limited. GTB had previously sought the winding up of the company over it's inability to service a loan of $9.2m. In the petition lodged with the High Court, GTB alleges that the airline changed it's name without the knowledge of the bank.
Although the painting of 5N-VNH was completed over a week ago the aircraft made it's first trip into daylight this morning in the colors of Nigerian Eagle when it was briefly towed out of the LAPS hangar to facilitate the towing inside of B737 OK-GCE. With the B737 inside the ERJ190 quickly followed it. The final fate of 'VNH may well rest with a court decision in Lagos.

OK-GCE arrives in Shannon for paint

2009-10-09T21:08:00.001+01:00

OK-GCE on finals to R24 on it's arrival from Ostrava

This morning Shannon received it's first aircraft from the fleet of failed Slovak low cost carrier Sky Europe. The aircraft is a GECAS owned B737-76N registered OK-GCE, the former OM-NGC, msn 32696. Shortly after landing the aircraft was hangared with Lufthansa Shannon Aircraft Paint. Hex code for OK-GCE is 49D132. Pictured above OK-GCE is seen in the copyright pictures by Malcolm Nason landing in a monsoon which wouldn't have been out of place anywhere in Asia.

Shannon to lose daily NY connectivity

2009-10-09T20:48:00.000+01:00

Further details on Aer Lingus plans for Shannon have come to light following last night's meeting in Shannon where the airline's chief executive Chrostoph Mueller addressed employees. The direct Shannon - New York service will be terminated from early next year. Instead, a three times weekly Shannon - Dublin - New York service will be operated crewed by Dublin based staff. The remainaing 34 cabin crew in Shannon will be used to operate the three times daily Shannon - Heathrow service.
Opposition party Fine Gael were quick to respond to the announcement. The party's DeputySpokesman on Foreign Affiars and local TD (MP), Pat Breen said that “The airline is effectively wiping out its trans-Atlantic base at the airport with three quarters of cabin crew set to lose their jobs. Once again Shannon staff are being scapegoated by Aer Lingus.
“I understand that bookings for the Shannon/New York service to the end of March 2010 are ahead of bookings on their Dublin/JFK service. This calls into question the decision by Aer Lingus to reduce its Shannon operations."
“Reducing the New York service to a thrice-weekly flight out of Dublin Airport will have serious consequences for the business and tourism sectors in the mid west. Daily connectivity to the US is essential to retain the region’s competitiveness,” added Mr Breen.

BA to go twice daily on LCY-JFK

2009-10-09T15:55:00.000+01:00

With it's second A318 aircraft having been delivered to British Airways the carrier is increasing frequency on the LCY-SNN-JFK-LCY route to twice daily from Tuesday next October 13. BAW 003 will depart London's docklands at 16:00, arriving in JFK at 20:25. The return, BAW 004 departs JFK at 21:50, arriving in London City at 10:25, all times local.

Sky Handling Partner to lay off 26 at Shannon

2009-10-08T21:46:00.000+01:00

Sky Handling Partner which employs 350 at Shannon and Dublin airports announced today that it was making 26 of it's Shannon staff redundant. The announcement is further bad news for the town in a week when Aer Lingus announced 102 redundancies, Technotree announced 80 and GE money announced 50 job losses.

Ryanair protester strikes again !

2009-10-08T21:37:00.000+01:00

John Foley has proven beyond doubt that there's nothing like a father's love for his daughter. Back in July he interrupted the final day's play in the first test match between England and Australia in protest over Ryanair's treatment of his daughter. Foley claimed that she had paid for her training at the airline only to have her contract terminated almost immediately afterward. Today John Foley, complete with a protest banner climbed onto the roof of the Ryanair training center at Bishop Stortford near Stansted Airport. With the assistance of the fire service he voluntarily ended his protest just after noon and was arrested for 'numerous offences'. Before beginning his rooftop ascent Foley had called the 'Observer' newspaper to announce "They are training the children to terminate them and it's got to stop".

Aer Lingus seeking 102 Shannon redundancies

2009-10-08T21:22:00.000+01:00

Following yesterday's announcement on the cost improvement plan to secure the airline's future, Aer Lingus held briefing meetings with staff at both Cork and Shannon today. At the Shannon meeting attended by the airline's chief executive Christoph Mueller and corporate affairs director Enda Corneille staff were told that the company is seeking 102 redundancies out of 130 cabin crew based at the mid west airport. Staff were also told at the meeting that the company's long haul product is where the problem lies. Speaking to RTE news after the meeting Enda Corneille said that if the cost improvement program didn't deliver there was a very real threat to the company's long haul services from both Shannon and Dublin.
In further fallout from yesterday's announcement, Ryanair chief executive called on the government to explain why it had refused Ryanair's last offer which would have doubled the size of the Aer Lingus fleet and added 1,000 jobs.

IAA issues September traffic figures

2009-10-08T20:51:00.000+01:00

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today issued it's traffic statistics for the month of September. The majority of the IAA's revenue is generated on the North Atlantic rather than terminal traffic at the three state airports. The IAA points out in it's monthly summary that this source of revenue has been hit disproportionately by the current economic woes with mainland European traffic suffering to a lesser extent.
For the month of September, overflights totaled 24,841down 8.2% on the same month last year. North Atlantic HF communications at 33,863 were down 8.7% YoY. Whilst the general downturn in the airline business will have contributed to the September drop it should be noted that for significant periods during the month the North Atlantic Track System didn't incorporate Irish airspace due to weather patterns.
At Dublin Airport, commercial traffic movements totaled 14,288 representing a YoY drop of 18.5%. At Cork the figure was 2,228 down 28.6% YoY whilst at Shannon the total for the month was 2,467 down 13.3%.

Aer Lingus traffic figures for September

2009-10-07T21:36:00.000+01:00

Aer Lingus today released it's traffic figures for the month of September.
Passenger numbers for the month were 960,00 which represents a 4.1% YoY growth. Short haul passengers were 874,000, up 7.4% YoY on September 2008. Long haul services carried just 86,000 a 20.4% YoY decrease.
Network load factor grew 2.5% YoY to 77.5% while capacity shrank 7.6%. Short haul load factor was 80.8%, up 1% YoY, capacity growing 7.7%. On long haul, load factor was 71.6%, up 2.7% YoY with capacity reducing 26.9%.

Aer Lingus announces cost reduction plan

2009-10-07T21:11:00.000+01:00

Aer Lingus today bit the bullet it has long found distasteful and announced a significant cost reduction plan designed to ensure the airline's survival. The plan is comprised of two elements.
The first element is designed to deliver savings in non fuel operating costs of €97m by the end of 2011 and tackle legacy work practices to allow the airline compete against "a peer group with significantly lower operating costs". The figure comprises staff related savings of €74m and non staff savings of €23m. Operations staff are the main target of this element with pay and staff numbers in support areas suffering to a lesser extent.
The second element of the plan is designed to deliver revenue growth, improved customer service through business process improvements. The company intends to distance itself from it's traditional dependency on the Irish consumer through the use of an Airline Operating Certificate (AOC) in the UK from it's Gatwick base where costs are 40% lower than Dublin.

The company says that although staff costs have reduced in recent years the underlying trend shows current costs to be "significantly out of line with peers". As a result the company is introducing banded pay cuts to all employees earning in excess of €35,000 per annum.
Reductions in flight schedules and changes in work practices are expected to yield a surplus of 489 flight crew and support staff, this figure being in addition to approximately 100 staff who have been informed that they will be let go by year end. The company hopes that the redundancies will be voluntary but hasn't ruled out compulsory layoffs to make the numbers. In addition, if the rate of delivery of cost improvement fails to meet the projected milestones, the airline has committed to additional headcount reductions "to ensure the continued viability of Aer Lingus". The black hole in the company's pension fund is also being addressed with a new defined contribution scheme being introduced.

The second element of the plan involves overhauling the company's IT infrastructure. Improved productivity will reduce head office headcount by 40% by the end of 2011. In total, 238 head office staff will be made redundant, made up of 51 in element one and 187 in element two.

Aer Lingus says that it will now enter a six week consultation period with it's employees, unions and pension fund trustees which it hopes to conclude by November 18. The union response has been somewhat predictable. SIPTU has said that it will not accept pay cuts for it's members and will take whatever steps are necessary to protect it's members. IMPACT which represents cabin crew described the cuts as punitive.

EI-JFK returns to Shannon in Vladivostok Avia colors

2009-10-06T22:06:00.000+01:00

Airbus A330-301 registered EI-JFK returned to Shannon tonight from Bordeaux as EIN 2507, arriving at approximately 20:25 utc. The aircraft has been painted in Vladivostok Avia colors in preparation for delivery following lease handback from Aer Lingus. It operated it's last revenue service for Aer Lingus on August 12 last, routing JFK-SNN. Two days later it was ferried to Chateauxroux in France. Like sister ship EI-EWR, 'JFK will be going on the Bermudan register on delivery to Vladivostok.

G-SAAW on medical diversion to Shannon

2009-10-06T21:56:00.000+01:00

B737-8Q8 registered G-SAAW starts it's take off roll on Shannon's R24 this morning.

October is not yet a week old but so far this month Shannon has had three medical diversions. This morning's flyglobespan flight GSM 661 routing Glasgow International to Tenerife Sur was the latest aircraft to divert, arriving at 08:42 utc. The flight, pictured above, departed Shannon again at 10:06 utc using flight number GSM 661A.

CAR and IAA regulatory functions to be amalgamated

2009-10-06T18:12:00.000+01:00

The Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has announced that the functions of the Commission for Aviation Regulation and the regulatory functions of the Irish Aviation Authority are to be amalgamated with the new National Transport Authority which is be established shortly. The NTA will come into being once the Public Transport Regulation Bill is signed into law. The Irish Aviation Authority will in future concentrate it's activities on the provision of Air Traffic Control services. It would appear that the Air Accident Investigation Unit of the Dept. of Transport will be unaffected by the establishment of the NTA.

DAA's Collier number 3 in state pay ranks

2009-10-05T21:33:00.000+01:00

The Sunday Independent newspaper has listed the top earning CEOs of the state monopolies which run the country. In third place behind the ESB (Electricity Supply Board) and The HSE (Health Service Executive) comes the DAA's (Dublin Airport Authority) Declan Collier who has been heavily criticized for the heavy remuneration package which he enjoys. According to the Sunday Independent, Mr. Collier's basic salary €348,000 per year or €29,000 per month. When all the bonuses, pension entitlements and perks are added in, Mr. Collier's total benefits reach €638,000 per year paid for by the Irish taxpayer, a figure which is almost double that of US President Barack Obama's salary. Speaking to the Sunday Independent, Ryanair chief executive described Collier as 'a mere waste of space'. He said: "Collier is nothing more than a waste of space, who gets rewarded with almost €700,000 a year. The DAA has been bankrupted by the abortive second terminal that nobody wants. He is overseeing the demise of Dublin Airport and, what's worse, Lenihan ( Minister for Finance) appoints him to the board of AIB (Allied Irish Banks) as a public interest director. Totally ludicrous, but unfortunately utterly predictable for this useless Government."

N347AN / AAL 41 in medical diversion

2009-10-05T20:16:00.003+01:00

N347AN on finals to Shannon's R24 this afternoon.

This afternoon's American Airlines flight AAL41 from Paris Charles deGaulle to Chicago O'Hare diverted into Shannon with a sick passenger. The flight was west of Shannon but turned back to land on R24 at 14:56 utc. One unit of the Shannon Airport Fire and Rescue service was on hand to monitor brake temperatures as the aircraft, B767-323ER N347AN taxied to stand 37 where it was met by a doctor and ambulance. The aircraft departed Shannon again at 17:08 utc. Today's diversion was the second AAL in less than a week, the company's flight AAL132 having diverted into Shannon on Friday morning last.

Aer Lingus punctuality statistics for Septmber

2009-10-05T18:39:00.000+01:00

Aer Lingus has published it's punctuality statistics for September. For the month 89% of flights departed on time with 99% departing within 60 minutes of scheduled. The figures represent the company's best performance in over four years.

Is the BBC preparing to air Ryanair Hatchet Job ?

2009-10-05T18:33:00.000+01:00

The BBC's Panorama program is preparing to air a program entitled 'Why Hate Ryanair?' on Monday next October 12. On Friday last Ryanair took the opportunity at a press conference in London to release ongoing correspondence between the airline and the BBC. At the end of August the Panorama team requested an interview with Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary as part of the program content, a request which was initially refused by Ryanair as it felt that it would only contribute to the controversy stirred up by minority interest groups being facilitated by the broadcaster. Following this refusal the BBC requested permission to attend the Ryanair AGM on September 24 last, a request which was also refused by Ryanair's Stephen McNamara who said that the company had 'no intention of facilitating yet another BBC hatchet job'.
By September 23 the 'Times' newspaper had gotten wind of the story and the fact that the BBC had sent someone along to a recent Airbus press conference with the sole intention of getting Airbus chief Operating Officer John Leahy to make disparaging remarks about Michael O'Leary and Ryanair walking away from a potential deal in 2001. The 'Times' article caused a 'volte face' at Ryanair who informed the BBC that Michael O'Leary would agree to appear on the program provided that the interview was broadcast live or broadcast in an un-cut prerecorded state.
The next day, September 24 the BBC team flew to Dublin to meet with Michael O'Leary but refused to Ryanair's request for a live or uncensored interview. It would appear that the meeting ended with Michael O'Leary feeling the need to clarify facts in relation to two points raised by the BBC - the Airbus deal and Ryanair's charges.
O'Leary said in his letter that the facts of the matter do not back up the BBC claim that he 'shook hands' on a deal with Airbus on January 11 2002 and then walked away. A fax received from Airbus offering better terms on January 21 confirmed that no deal had taken place on the earlier date. In relation to 'hidden fees', O'Leary's letter to the BBC points out that the airline has no hidden charges with passengers able to decline any services that they do not wish to avail of.
Not missing a beat, Michael O'Leary summed up his letter to the Panorama team by berating them for their travel policy - "Finally, as an organisation funded by licence payers, shame on you for travelling to Dublin today with British Midland and wasting yet more licence fee income, when you could have flown on Ryanair from Gatwick, Stansted or Luton, at a fraction of the high fares charged by British Midland and with fewer delays or no lost bags either."
Panorama wrote to Ryanair on September 25 confirming that it would not in principle agree to the airline's request for either a live or un edited interview with Michael O'Leary. Following a further number of contacts between both parties the BBC stated that it would clearly state in the program that Ryanair did not close a deal with Airbus that they "understood clearly that Ryanair insist they do not have any hidden charges. We do not intend to to make false claims about Ryanair but to describe and attempt to analyse it's remarkable success, and to see whether some commonly made criticisms leveled at it stand up or not, which is why our working title is "Why hate Ryanair?" ".
The BBC website has a teaser for the program at Panorama but the clip is 'Not available in your area' when viewed from Ireland.

Ryanair's September traffic figures

2009-10-05T17:17:00.000+01:00

Ryanair today issued it's traffic figures for September 2009. The airline carried a total of 6.12m passengers for the month which represents a 17% YoY increase over September 2008 when 5.23m were carried. Load Factor grew 1% YoY for the month to 85%. For the rolling 12 months to the end of September the airline has carried 63.3m passengers which represents a load factor of 82%.

N774AN diverts into Shannon

2009-10-02T17:10:00.000+01:00

This morning's American Airlines flight AAL 142 routing from New York JFK to London Heathrow diverted into Shannon. The flight operated by B777-223 registered N774AN departed Shannon for Heathrow at 08:12 utc.

STP Airways S9-DBY in Euro Atlantic colors

2009-10-01T22:24:00.000+01:00

S9-DBY in the newly applied colors of Euro Atlantic Airways outside the Shannon Aerospace hangars today.

Hangar 6 at Shannon Aerospace is normally occupied by a B767 of one operator or another with Martinair being one of the main customers. With the recent hand back of a number of the Dutch operator's aircraft it was obvious that some new aircraft would appear to fill the slot. STP Airways of Sao Tome and Principe recently sent two nose to tail aircraft to SA for attention. The first was S9-DBW (msn 25411) which arrived on September 6 to be followed by S9-DBY (msn 26208) one week later. Both arrived in anonymous white but this morning S9-DBY appeared outside the hangar in the full colors of part owner Portuguese operator Euro Atlantic Airways.

Cattle airlift from Shannon to Albania

2009-10-01T21:11:00.000+01:00

The Wexford branch of Irish Charity Bothar, meaning road are organising an airlift of 70 in calf livestock from Shannon to Albania on October 15 next. Over the past 15 years, the Wexford branch of Bothar has sent a total of 1,500 cattle to needy communities around the world. Earlier this year in February, the Tipperary branch of Bothar shipped 210 cattle in three shipments to Kosovo. Transport for that airlift was provided by Air Charter Express of Ghana using Dc8 aircraft.

Ryanair cancel Osijek service due to 70% load factor

2009-10-01T20:57:00.000+01:00

A report in Croatia's Glas Slavonije sheds some interesting light on Ryanair's business model. The airline has decided after 5 1/2 months of operation on the Osijek - Hahn route to end the service for the winter since load factors were only 70%, a figure which would please most legacy carriers. As of September 27, a total of 10,000 passengers had traveled on the route. Osijek Airport and Ryanair signed a 5 year mutual cooperation agreement prior to the service commening on May 6 this year, an agreement which allows both parties freedom to review their mutual decisions.

IAA introduces on line flight plan filing

2009-10-01T20:24:00.000+01:00

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today introduced an on line flight plan filing service. In order to file a plan, pilots must first register their details with the IAA. The relevant web page is On-Line Plan

5Y-KQP arrives in Shannon for maintenance

2009-09-30T19:26:00.001+01:00

5Y-KQP pictured at the Shannon Aerospace hangar this morning

A late night arrival last at Shannon last night was Kenya Airways B767-38E registered 5Y-KQP. The aircraft arrived from Aalborg in Denmark at 23.45 utc and parked up at the Shannon Aerospace hangars. Kenya Airways has been an occasional customer at SA in recent years with both B767 and B737 aircraft being worked on.

Passing Moment (Part 5) N580UP delivered to UPS

2009-09-30T19:17:00.001+01:00

N580UP operating delivery flight UPS 9131 this morning passes overhead Barefield Co. Clare at FL430.

Westbound aircraft transiting Irish airspace while the eastbound North Atlantic flow is still in progress tend to cause curiosity levels to rise. Such was the case this morning when a 4 engined wide body was noted approaching overhead Barefield, Co. Clare heading in the direction of DOGAL. Curiosity levels rose further when it turned out that the aircraft, a B747 was at FL430, rather high for normal commercial operations. Investigation identified the aircraft as B747-428F registered N580UP operating flight UPS 9131 routing Luxembourg - Bangor - Roswell. N580UP is the first of four B747-400F aircraft which UPS are acquiring from Cargolux and up to yesterday was registered LX-ICV to the Luxembourg based freight carrier.

JetBird raises €5m for launch

2009-09-29T21:51:00.001+01:00

With the September start date for air taxi operations in Germany rapidly disappearing, the Sunday Times reports that JetBird has recently raised €5m from investors to pave the way for the company's startup. It is not clear who the investors are but the transaction was completed through a Cypriot based company. JetBird was founded by Domhnall Slattery who's company Claret Capital has retrenched in recent months due to a number of unsuccessful investments. In an interview with the Irish Times several weeks ago, Slattery said that the start up of JetBird was absolutely critical for his own personal reputation. In July the company was forecasting four Embraer Phenom deliveries during September with a total of ten aircraft based in Germany by year end. These figures have been revised downward to four aircraft by year end. Although JetBird has had a booking 'simulator' running on it's website since earlier this summer the system is still not accepting 'real' bookings.

G-EUNA inaugurates BAW 1 from LCY to JFK

2009-09-29T20:31:00.001+01:00

Flight BAW 001, operated by G-EUNA on finals to Shannon's R24 this lunchtime

It is six years since the 'Speedbird 1' call sign was retired with the last Concorde operations, but today it was brought back to life when British Airway's new premium only London City to JFK service took to the air. Flight BAW 1 departed London's dockland at 11.50 utc and just over one hour later it touched down on Shannon's R24 at 12.54 utc. Taxiing to it's stand the flight was greeted by the Shannon Airport Fire & Rescue Service who provided the traditional water cannon salute.
British Airways Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh predicted that the service will be profitable within it's first year of operation and was among the passengers on the first flight commanded by Capt. Dave Thomas.

G-EUNA receives the water cannon on the Shannon ramp, copyright picture by Malcolm Nason

The new service is to be operated by two specially configured A318-112 aircraft, the first of which registered G-EUNA was delivered to the airline on August 28 last. In the interim the aircraft has been used for crew training purposes at London City Airport. The eventual pilot pool strength will reach sixty pilots once the second aircraft is delivered. Until the second aircraft is delivered the flight schedule will operate on a daily return basis, except Saturday when LCY Airport is closed. From mid October the schedule increases to two return flights per day, except Saturday. Flight BAW 1 departs LCY at 12.50 with BAW 2 departing JFK at 6.30 pm. Flight BAW 3 will depart LCY at 4.00 pm with the return departing JFK at 9.50 pm, all times local. Since the aircraft have been equipped as the 'airborne office' the service is being targeted at the frequent City business traveler who needs to be constantly contactable.

The A318 aircraft are configured with 32 lie flat seats

The short runway length at LCY prevents the A318 from uploading the full fuel load required to make LCY-JFK in one leg. As a result the flight has to make a fuel stop at Shannon on the westbound leg only. Whilst laying over at Shannon for the 45 minute stop the passengers clear full US Immigration, Customs and Border Protection so that they land in the US as domestic passengers, thus avoiding the lengthy queues in JFK.
The Shannon stopover is also being used by BA to 'slip' a crew. The airline's flight crew are based at London's Gatwick Airport where their working day begins. To avoid the possibility of a crew being out of hours by the time they reach JFK due to en route delays at LCY or SNN the airline is 'slipping' a crew at Shannon.
In June, Lufthansa Technik subsidiary Shannon Aerospace announced that it would be providing line maintenance for the BA service at Shannon.

AAIU report into crash of EI-SBM

2009-09-28T20:46:00.000+01:00

The Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) of the Department of Transport has published it's report into the crash of Agusta A109E registered EI-SBM at Dunshaughlin Co. Meath on March 20 2008. On the date of the crash, the pilot of the helicopter and sole occupant was en route from Celtic Heliport in Knocksedan Co. Dublin to Weston Aerodrome Co. Kildare. En route he advised Dublin ATC that he was approaching Dunshaughlin. Shortly afterwards he again called ATC advising that he had a problem, immediately reported that he would have to make an emergency landing and called 'Mayday'. The helicopter landed in boggy ground and rolled onto it's left side. Due to the complete inaccessibility of the crash site the Dublin based Irish coastguard helicopter was used to airlift the pilot to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co. Louth. The pilot suffered severe back injuries in the crash.
As part of the investigation the pilot was interviewed twice by the AAIU team. In his interviews the pilot recalled that he was flying on autopilot at an altitude of 800ft and at a speed of 120 kts. Winds were gusting from the SW at 30-35 kts with 6-8 km visibility. Approaching Dunshaughlin he heard a loud bang from the rear of the helicopter at which point the nose pitched up and yawed violently to the right. He immediately disengaged the auto pilot (AP) and applied full left pedal to counteract the yaw but this had no effect. The pilot believed that he had lost tail rotor control so he lowered the collective to see if it would counteract the yaw, an action which would also drop the airspeed. As the helicopter drifted towards Dunshaughlin the pilot applied power in an attempt to get the craft clear of the built up area. Once clear he entered into an autorotation, shut down both engines and lowered the undercarriage. He recalled that the helicopter was spinning at such a rate that the centrifugal force pushed him back into his seat as he attempted to reach the undercarriage lever. As the radio altimeter reached 50ft the pilot attempted to flare the craft. The next thing he remembers is lying on the ground 3 to 4m from the helicopter, looking at it lying on its side, unaware of the circumstances of the impact or how he got out.
The initial AAIU investigation at the crash site found some cleaning cloth material entangled on the long tail rotor drive shaft between the first and second bearing. It also found that the drive shaft was completely severed forward of the second bearing, thus cutting off drive to the tail rotor gearbox. In researching the maintenance history of EI-SBM the investigation team found that the helicopter which was normally kept at Weston Aerodrome was ferried to Celtic Helicopters at Knocksedan Heliport on February 4 2008 for it's annual 300 hr maintenance check. This check was completed on March 5 2008, on which date two post maintenance test flights were performed prior to it's ferry back to Weston where normal operations commenced the next day. Over the next twelve days, a total of sixty flights were made, all which were flown by the pilot. During this time the helicopter was hangared at Weston where there is no maintenance facility available to the operator. On March 20 the pilot flew to Knocksedan to have new engine fire bottles fitted as these had not been available when the earlier check was carried out, loan bottles having been fitted. A tail rotor crack inspection was also carried out in compliance with an Airworthiness Directive.
The Agusta flight manual requires that the tail drive shaft bearings be inspected each day under the heading of 'First Flight of the Day'. This requires opening of the fairing that covers the tail long drive shaft. The pilot confirmed to the investigation team that he had carried out his check on March 18 and March 19 but did not find any cloth material.
In examing the failed drive shaft the investigating team concluded that the shaft had failed as a result of metal fatigue arising from the eccentric loading caused by the cleaning cloth which had become entangled in the drive shaft. Although several possibilities are mooted, the team were unable to determine when and by whom the cleaning cloth was left in the area of the drive shaft.
In relation to the experience of the pilot when the sudden failure occurred the AAIU noted that the pilot had completed his type training two years before a simulator was available in Europe. This meant that his training for certain types of emergencies could only be carried out on a real helicopter thus restricting the type of emergencies which could be practiced.

This final report carries two safety recommendations :
The European Aviation Safety Agency should strongly encourage all helicopter pilots to undergo simulator training, where available on their Initial Type Rating course and thereafter, to undertake emergency training when training for it's revalidation.
That the Irish Aviation Authority issue a Notice to maintenance organisations in relation to the control of tools and materials used during maintenance in accordance with the requirements of JAR 145.

EU Transport Chief accused of conflict of interest

2009-09-28T19:35:00.001+01:00

EU Transport Commisioner Antonio Tajanai has been accused of a conflict of interest as a result of spending six hours aboard a Ryanair aircraft in the company of the airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary. The whistle stop tour took place last week, routing Dublin - Knock - Kerry - Dublin. At each stop on the trip, O'Leary and Commissioner Tajani held a press conference in support of a 'Yes' vote in this week's referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. O'Leary was his usual frank self during the trip, at one point mentioning that the Ryanair - Aer Lingus merger was the only airline deal turned down by the Commission on competition grounds in the past thirty years.
Although Ryanair and the EU Commission make strange bedfellows, the Commission were quick to point out that no discussions took place between O'Leary and the Commissioner on their longstanding (hostile) relationship nor was there any lobbying by Ryanair in relation to the Aer Lingus takeover. According to a Commission spokesperson, any mention of Aer Lingus was in front of the press, adding that the Commissioner regularly meets with airline heads. Corporate Europe Observatory, a Brussels based lobbying watchdog remains unimpressed however saying that the there was considerable conflict of interest for Commissioner Tajani by allowing himself to be hosted by an airline that continues to have disputes with the EU Commission. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Michael Kelly, Ryanair B737 EI-EFP is seen in dublin on Friday last with it's pro Lisbon 'Ryanair says Yes to Europe' billboard titles.

Aer Arann announce Munster Rugby sponsorship

2009-09-28T19:01:00.000+01:00

Aer Arann have teamed with Munster Rugby to be the Official Airline to the Munster Rugby team under a brand new sponsorship deal. Commenting on the official announcement Aer Arann Corporate Affairs Director Andrew Kelly said “We are proud to become the official airline of Munster Rugby. We have a strong presence in Munster with bases in Cork and Waterford and we see this as a natural development of what is already a strong relationship with the team and Munster fans. We look forward to welcoming both Munster Rugby and the Red Army on board many of our flights in the future”.

Aer Lingus and CBP

2009-09-28T18:33:00.003+01:00

The refusal of Aer Lingus to use the US Customs and Border Protection facility for full clearance of US bound flights was the subject of a recent question in Dail Eireann (Parliamant) by Fine Gael TD for Clare and Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Pat Breen.
In response to the question, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey, TD, said given the very significant investment in the Shannon facility he hoped that as many airlines as possible would avail of the service. The Minister said that he "understood that Aer Lingus would face severe logistical difficulties in US airports in a situation where their ex-Shannon flights would be pre cleared and their ex-Dublin flights would not. Pre clearance will not be available at Dublin Airport until Terminal Two is operational in 2010. Accordingly I understand that the airline has taken a decision to postpone using pre clearance for their US bound flights until the service is available in both Dublin and Shannon." The Minister added that the responsibility for marketing the USCBP service at Shannon rests with the Shannon Airport Authority.
The fact that duty free sales are prohibited on pre-cleared aircraft will no doubt have played a role in the Aer Lingus decision.

Ryanair call on government to 'axe the tax'

2009-09-28T18:32:00.002+01:00

Ryanair today called on the Irish Government to axe the passenger travel tax of €10 imposed on passengers travelling out of the country. The call came in response to the DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) announcement earlier in the month that Dublin Airport's August passenger numbers fell by 15% YoY, a drop of 364,000. Ryanair believes that the decline in passenger numbers at Dublin is as a direct result of the €10 travel tax and "high / increasing passenger charges at the Govt owned DAA monopoly".
In a recent question in Dail Eireann (Parliament), Clare Fine Gael TD, Pat Breen asked the Minister for Finance , Brian Lenihan if he planned to review the €10 travel tax in light of the recent losses at Aer Lingus. In his response to Deputy Breen, the Minister in defending the imposition of the tax stated that Ireland was not alone in applying a tax on air travel, citing the UK, France, Australia and New Zealand adding that the Irish rate compared favorably with other countries. Minister Lenihan also stated that the travel tax constituted a part of a larger purchasing decision (for passengers) and that the tax "shouldn't have much of an effect on tourist numbers". He further rejected the theory that the tax is impacting on passenger numbers, contending that the woes of the airline industry are as a result of "weak world economic activity".
Minister Lenihan summed up by saying that "We currently face significant financial challenges and the air travel tax is an important revenue raising measure. I tried to be as fair as possible in looking at areas for additional tax revenues. It is also worth noting that fuel used by commercial airlines is completely exempt from tax, so it's a sector that already has considerable preferential treatment. I have no plans to review the air travel tax."

O'Leary rules out third Aer Lingus bid

2009-09-27T23:11:00.002+01:00

The Ryanair AGM was held on Thursday last, September 24. At the meeting the airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary ruled out a possible third bid for Aer Lingus. He did moderate his comments however by stating that Aer Lingus would eventually run out of cash forcing it to turn to it's shareholders to raise equity. "We would be happy to invest but only if it becomes a low cost carrier", said O'Leary.
The airline has cut it's full year passenger forecast from 67m to 66m, largely accounted for by capacity cuts at it's Stansted and Dublin bases. In spite of this drop and a 20% drop in average air fare the airline expects profit to double year on year from last year's €105m to somewhere between €200m and €300m for fiscal 2009. In a break with tradition the airline may dip into it's €2.5bn cash pile to pay a one off cash dividend or a share buy back scheme. The bulk of the company's cash will be retained however as the 'next big order' has yet to be finalized with either Airbus or Boeing.
At the meeting Michael O'Leary indicated that Ryanair's long haul plans are still some way off - long haul aircraft positions are still firm and haven't suffered the same damage that short haul orders have endured during the current recession.

Kalitta Air's N713CK diverts to Shannon

2009-09-27T22:00:00.002+01:00

Today's Kalitta Air flight number CKS 328 routing Brussels to Newark diverted into Shannon with a technical problem. The flight operated by B747-2B4B registered N713CK (msn 21099) landed safely on R24 at 14:12 utc having dumped fuel on it's descent into Shannon. After a five and a half hour delay the flight departed for Newark again at 19:48 utc.

Austrian Air Force C130 8T-CC at Dublin

2009-09-25T23:12:00.003+01:00

In recent years non commercial traffic at Dublin airport was not encouraged due to ground congestion and the pressures of operating a one runway system. Military traffic tended to use Baldonnel to the extent that such visits at the capital were certainly out of the ordinary. In the past twelve months the downturn in commercial traffic and enhanced terminal capacity at Dublin will have made it easier for non commercial traffic to get a landing slot at Dublin. The Austrian Air force was one such visitor this week. Yesterday Lockheed C-130 Hercules 8T-CC paid a visit to Dublin, returning this morning again for a second visit. 8T-CC is a model C-130K initially having served with the RAF as XV292. It was delivered to the Austrian Air Force in August 2003. Seen above in the copyright pictures by Michael Kelly, 8T-CC is seen at top on departure from Dublin on Thursday and at bottom taxiing for departure this morning Friday.

SX-OAO and SX-OAN delivered to Olympic Air

2009-09-25T22:01:00.002+01:00

At 00:01 on Tuesday next, September 29, Olympic Airlines will be liquidated and it's operations will be transferred to Olympic Air, thus ending 35 years of state ownership of Greece's national airline. In March of this year the Greek government announced that it had reached an agreement to sell the flight operations and technical support of Olympic Airlines to the Marfin Investment Group. The announcement was the culmination of the Greek government's attempts over a ten year period to return the company to private ownership. In recent months the new Olympic fleet has been assembled in various locations throughout Europe in preparation for next week's launch. Two of the aircraft in the new fleet SX-OAO and SX-OAN were sourced from Privatair's German subsidiary and prepared by Shannon Aerospace for their new operations. A third aircraft SX-OAJ was sourced from Airbus after Mexicana backed out of an aircraft order. All three aircraft were painted in Shannon, OAJ at the Lufthansa paint hangar and OAO and OAN at Shannon Aerospace.
Over the past two days a total of 8 aircraft - six A319 from Southend, Norwich and Shannon and two A320 from Berlin have been delivered to Athens in preparation for next week's launch. It was originally intended that SX-OAOA and SX-OAN would depart Shannon on Thursday but SX-OAN developed a snag and was delivered today, Friday.
Seen above in the copyright pictures by Constantinos Mark Zervos (Athens Airport Blog) are at top, A319 SX-OAN on arrival from Shannon today and at bottom the line up on taxiway 'B' at Athens, LGAV, of SX-OAO, OAG, OAH, OAF and OAR, SX-OAO having been delivered from Shannon on Thursday.

9A-CRO on Shannon fuel stop

2009-09-25T21:15:00.000+01:00

With the UN General Assembly meeting over in New York it is time for the various national representatives to return home. This morning the Government of Croatia's Challenger 604 registered 9A-CRO stopped in Shannon on it's way home. The aircraft, msn 5322 was built in 1996 and has been in use by the Croatian government since August 1997. Pictured above, 9A-CRO taxis for departure off Shannon's R24.

5N-VNE in Nigerian Eagle colors

2009-09-25T21:08:00.000+01:00

The second Virgin Nigeria B737 to undergo the transformation to Nigerian Eagle Airlines was delivered out of Shannon this afternoon. The aircraft,registered 5N-VNE, msn 29340 and former easyJet machine G-EZYP was rebranded at Lufthansa's Shannon paint facility, having arrived last Saturday morning.
Speaking at last Friday's press launch of the rebranded airline, the company's chief executive officer Capt. Dapo Olumide said that the airline has great potential in spite of the challenges facing the global aviation industry. He said that the adoption of the new brand name will give the management team the impetus to retain it's established culture of excellence. The airline is 51% owned by Nigerian institutional investors and 49% by Virgin Atlantic.
Pictured above, 5N-VNE taxis for departure to Palma on the first leg of it's trek home.

VP-CBB at Shannon

2009-09-22T18:00:00.000+01:00

Cayman registered BBJ2 VP-CBB arrived in Shannon from Paris late last night for some 'splash and dash' attention at Air Atlanta. The aircraft, msn 32806 is 2001 vintage and owned by AS Bugshan and Brothers, a Saudi company delaing in heavy plant and equipment. Pictured above, VP-CBB is seen on push back for it's departure to Jeddah

Cable & Wirless, Lufthansa Technik win Ryanair contracts

2009-09-22T17:13:00.001+01:00

Ryanair has awarded a 5 year contract worth €15m to Cable & Wireless for management of the airline's IT and communications network across 180 airports in 26 countries. As part of the deal C&W will provide an 'always on' infrastructure for management of Ryanair's European telecoms network including airports, bases, data centers and headquarters. The deal also covers the customer side interface from booking through to check in with the airline's touch screen check in kiosks being connected via the system.
Ryanair's head of IT, Eric Neville commented that “Ryanair benefits from commercial flexibility across the entire solution, providing us the capacity to grow our passenger numbers to 67 million in 2010. We’ve worked with Cable & Wireless for a number of years now, and it has consistently delivered the excellent service we require. Its innovation, expertise and ability to service our network enabled the company to win this new contract."

In Belgium, Lufthansa Technik is to add a line maintenance station at Charleroi to support a new contract with Ryanair. Under the terms of the deal, LHT will cater for up to eight B737-800 aircraft including call out, night stop services and defect rectification.

Ryanair to reintroduce smoking !

2009-09-22T00:40:00.000+01:00

Ryanair's latest wacky idea is backy ! The airline announced today that it would be selling 'Similar Smokeless Cigarettes' on it's flights to help those passengers who just can't handle the stress of a short smoke free flight. The cigarettes which look and feel like a real cigarette do not have to be lit but deliver nicotine by inhalation. According to the airline ' "Similar Smokeless Cigarettes" contain no toxins or chemicals and are harmless to the user and to those around them.' which would seem to indicate that they don't contain nicotine either !

Aer Lingus chief pulls no punches in assesment

2009-09-22T00:21:00.000+01:00

New Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller has warned the next wave of rationalization at the airline will be more like "an amputation than plastic surgery" and that long haul service between Ireland and the US, especillay those from Shannon are under pressure. In H1 of this year, the airline's transatlantic operations accounted for €60m of the €93m loss. Mueller said that whilst he appreciated that the Ireland - US routes were of 'national importance he said that his airline is not a charity, believing that the Shannon - US routes have survived only due to political pressure from the Irish government.

On taking up his position at Aer Lingus Mueller stated that he thought the chances of survival of the airline were little better than 50-50. The airline's survival plan is due to be outlined during the second half of October once the Lisbon Treaty vote is out of the way so as to avoid complications for the government.

The 'Irish Independent' reports that the airline is set on a collision course with unions over the deficit in it's employee pension fund. The Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme which covers employees in Aer Lingus, SR Technics and the Dublin Airport Authority has developed a shortfall of €700m of which Aer Lingus accounts for half. Aer Lingus contends that it is not obliged to bridge the gap, a statement which has prompted unions to predict industrial action before Christmas.

N246AY diverts to Shannon

2009-09-20T22:26:00.001+01:00

Today's US Airways flight AWE 711 routing Zurich to Philadelphia diverted to Shannon with a technical snag. The flight was operated by B767-201 registered N246AY which departed Zurich at 08.45 utc this morning. At 13.27 utc the aircraft landed at Shannon where it remained overnight. It was due to depart Shannon for Philadelphia again at 09.00 utc on Monday as AWE 9012.

Airbus A318 VQ-BDD visits Shannon

2009-09-20T20:35:00.004+01:00

The annual UN September meeting in New York is usually guaranteed to produce a few 'big iron' biz jets and support aircraft and this year is no exception. Friday and Saturday last produced visits by Russian Air Force Il76 aircraft RA-76718 and RA-76719 while today, Sunday saw the visit of A318-112 Elite registered VQ-BDD of the Jordanian Government. The aircraft routed London Heathrow - Shannon - New York as RJA 003 on Sunday morning. The aircraft which was delivered on July 24 last is msn 3751 and is seen above on finals to R24.

AerCap and Genesis to merge in $1.75bn deal

2009-09-20T08:28:00.001+01:00

The managements of Dutch aircraft leasing company AerCap Holdings and Westpark, Shannon based Genesis Leasing Ltd announced on Friday that the two companies would merge in an all share for share transaction. Under the terms of the deal valued at $1.75bn, Genesis will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AerCap which will continue to be led by CEO Klaus Heinemann and CFO Keith Helming. The new company will retain the AerCap name. Three Genesis directors will be nominated for election ot the Board of the new company at an EGM to be held following completion of the deal.
The chief executive of Genesis is John McMahon who began his career at Aer Lingus before moving to GPA. In 1995 he joined Daimler as part of the team that established Debis AirFinance which later became AerCap.
AerCap's CEO Heinemann commented that "Following this transaction, AerCap will become the leading independent franchise within the global aircraft leasing sector, with 116 airline customers in 50 countries and a lease portfolio currently valued at $6 billion, with another 83 aircraft on order or under purchase contract."
As part of the agreement, GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), which has acted as servicer for Genesis’ portfolio, will continue to provide most asset management services for the Genesis fleet in the near term. GECAS has, however, agreed to AerCap's request for an early termination of the former's services.
Additionally, AerCap has signed a letter of intent to purchase 13 aircraft from GECAS. The purchase of two aircraft is expected to occur by the end of September 2009 with the purchase of the balance expected to take place subject to the merger taking place. The combined company will have a total fleet of 358 commercial aircraft and 83 engines that are either owned, on order, under contract or managed. Average fleet age is 6.6 years.

UK CAA August Passenger Numbers

2009-09-15T23:27:00.000+01:00

The UK CAA has published traffic figures for August 2009.

Dublin-London

Dublin's Gatwick traffic which is split between Ryanair and Aer Lingus showed a 1% YoY growth at 103,285. Heathrow and Stansted both showed negative trends with LHR down 14% to 134,274 passengers and Stansted (a Ryanair preserve) down 20% to 74,269. Luton was up 1% YoY at 33,359. These passenger numbers replicate the pattern seen in June and July with LHR and STN showing significant declines compared to modest growth at LGW and LTN.

Cork-London

At Cork, Gatwick traffic was down 2% to 10,386. Heathrow was down 8% to 47,950 while Stansted, a Ryanair route was down 1% to 29,196. As with July's figures the rate at which YoY passenger numbers had been falling would appear to be slowing in August.

Shannon-London

Shannon has fared similar to Dublin and Cork with Gatwick static YoY for the month at 19,868 and Stansted down 18% YoY, to 29,762, explainable by one less return flight per day on the route. Again the July pattern was replicated at Shannon during August with similar YoY changes.

On the reinstated Heathrow - Shannon route, a total of 14,837 passengers were carried for the month of August, differing from July's figure by just 100 passengers, both months having the same number calender days.

Belfast-London

In Belfast the BMI / Aer Lingus battle took a sudden change in direction this month. On the BMI Belfast City - Heathrow route numbers again grew this month although at a smaller rate than in July - 5% YoY to 43,653. Over at Aldergrove on the Aer Lingus - Heathrow route numbers fell 9% YoY to 27,300, an almost identical figure to July. Again, August replicated the July trend.

BMI 1-0 Aer Lingus.

On the Belfast City - London Gatwick route, operated by FlyBe, passenger figures are up 20% YoY at 19,321 whilst the Belfast International - Gatwick route served by easyJet is down 7% YoY to 29,540.

FlyBe 1-0 easyJet.

Ryanair takes 'Yes' campaign to YouTube

2009-09-15T19:09:00.000+01:00

Ryanair announced today that it was launching it's vote 'Yes' campaign for the Lisbon Treaty on YouTube. On October 2 next, Irish voters will be voting to approve the Lisbon Treaty and in an effort to target the transient voters and younger more media savvy voters, Ryanair has taken it's campaign onto YouTube. As is to be expected, the airline's chief executive Michael O'Leary pulls no punches when admonishing the opponents of the treaty and the current Irish establishment. Those expecting an announcement that MOL will continue in politics at some point in the future will be disappointed - he firmly quashes any such expectations !

Ryanair announce two Italian bases - nr 35 and 36

2009-09-15T18:44:00.000+01:00

From January 2010 Ryanair will base two new aircraft at Bari in Italy, adding nine new routes to the seven existing routes operating from the Italian city. In February the airline will base one aircraft at Brindisi and add four new routes to the existing five. Passenger numbers are expected to grow to 1.2m and 650,000 respectively as a result of the expansion.
The routes and frequencies are as follows :

Bari to	Begin	Freq (pw)
Brussels (Charleroi)	Jan	4
Cagliari	Feb	2
Dusseldorf (Weeze)	Feb	3
Genoa	Jan	3
Karlsruhe (Baden)	Jan	2
Paris (Beauvais)	Jan	4
Trapani	Feb	4
Treviso	Jan	6
Valencia	Feb	3

Brindisi to	Begin	Freq (pw)
Barcelona (Girona)	Feb	2
Eindhoven	Feb	2
Trapani	Feb	3
Treviso	Feb	4

STP 767's swapped

2009-09-14T23:04:00.000+01:00

STP Airways swapped maintenance aircraft over at Shannon Aerospace last night. B767 S9-DBW at Shannon Aerospace was swapped with S9-DBY which arrived from Paris on a Euro Atlantic flight number MMZ 673P. Any hope of some color disappeared as 'DBY is also anonymous white.

VT-AIP rolled out in Deccan 360 colors

2009-09-14T21:19:00.000+01:00

Airbus A310 registered VT-AIP has been rolled out of the Lufthansa paint hangar in Shannon in the colors of Indian carrier Deccan 360. The aircraft arrived in Shannon on Friday September 4 last from Dresden using Airbus flight number AIB 697. The aircraft is due to return to Dresden from Shannon prior delivery to India.

Mayor of Shannon calls on Delta to reconsider

2009-09-14T20:52:00.000+01:00

The Mayor of Shannon, Sean McLoughlin has called on management at Delta Airlines to reconsider their decision to end the 13 year old link between Shannon and New York. Mayor McLaughlin said “The airline claimed that low yield factors had determined their decision to end the service. However, the service carried 30,000 passengers last winter alone. Furthermore, the number of persons using the service has dramatically increased in recent weeks. One flight this weekend, for example, was operating at full capacity. Much of these increases can be attributed to the introduction of pre-clearance facilities at Shannon and the airline’s decision to lower its fares.”

“Aer Lingus’s announcement that it will not be utilising the US pre-clearance facilities until mid-2010 at the earliest, along with the imminent withdrawal of Delta’s long standing service and ongoing doubts over the future of Aer Lingus’s Shannon to New York service have completely undermined efforts at Shannon Airport to develop new business. The opportunities presented to airlines by the presence of the pre-clearance facilities are numerous but appear to be having little impact on business growth at the airport at present”, commented the Mayor.

Aer Lingus commits to business class

2009-09-14T20:40:00.000+01:00

A report in today's Irish Examiner says that Aer Lingus is close to finalizing a review of it's business class product which will see the airline offering it's passengers "a competitive offering which will reflect the changing business class travel demand" reflected by the current economic climate.
As part of the review the airline has fitted sleeper seats to the A330 fleet and increased seat pitch by 10% to 57 inches.

IAA publish August Traffic figures

2009-09-14T20:22:00.000+01:00

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has published the traffic statistics for August 2009. The yera to date downward trend continued for August.
En route overflights were down 11.5% YoY at 26,256.
North Atlantic HF communications were down 8.6% YoY
Commercial air traffic movements at Dublin were down 17.7% YoY while total terminal movements were down 17.2% YoY to 16,019.
Commercial air traffic movements at Cork were down 27.6% YoY while total terminal movements were down 20.9% YoY to 4,403.
At Shannon commercial air traffic movements were down 15.5% YoY while total terminal movements were down 17.6% to 3,036.

Year to date the high money earners for the IAA, en route and HF are down 8.4% and 8% respectively.
Whilst difficult to quantify, the impact of weather patterns has certainly affected the position of the North Atlantic Track System relative to Irish air space this summer with extended periods when the traffic flow was well north or well south of Irish airspace.

EI-EFS & EI-EFT delivered to Ryanair

2009-09-12T21:44:00.002+01:00

Boeing 737 number 201 and 202 were delivered to Ryanair today. EI-EFS is msn 37542 and hex code 4CA7A9, pictured at top. EI-EFT is msn 37543 and hex code 4CA7AA pictured at bottom. Both copyright pictures of the aircraft arriving on their delivery flights by Michael Kelly.

KD Avia's EI-DTY arrives in Shannon

2009-09-12T16:07:00.001+01:00

On Septmber 4 last it was announced that KD Avia was having it's AOC revoked as of September 14. On September 8 the airline declared bankruptcy and ceased flying. The fleet of 15 aircraft were dispersed around Europe as they were returned to the lessors.
Kaliningrad Avia was formed after the Second World War in October 1945, based in the Russian city of Kaliningrad. It took until 2004 before interntaional operations commenced at which time the airline's fleet consisted of Tu134 and Tu154 aircraft. In May 2005 the company changed it's name to KD Avia, the same year it began the westernisation of it's fleet.
Earlier this year the airline fell victim to the worldwide credit crunch. After failing to meet debt repayment schedules the airline's shares were transferred to a St. Petersburg based bank. Later the regional government decided to invest 4m rubles ($128m) in the company in return for a 55% shareholding in KD Avia and it's terminal at Khrabrovo Airport. The rescue came too late however as the company declared itself bankrupt on September 8 with debts of 12m rubles ($387m). Staff hadn't been paid since April, so dire was the company's predicament. In 2008 the company carried over 1.2m passengers but during the first half of 2009 passenger numbers fell by 35%.
The majority of the aircraft in the KD Avia fleet have been moved to Paris de Gaulle or Lasham in Hampshire. Yesterday evening, B737-3M8 registered EI-DTY arrived in Shannon having flown Kaliningrad - Paris de Gaulle. The aircraft is msn 25017 and is the former G-IGOV from British Airway's failed attempt at low cost - Go.
Pictured above EI-DTY is seen under tow to the Air Atlanta Aero Engineering hangar at lunchtime today.

Passing Moment (Part 4) A7-MAB

2009-09-12T14:42:00.002+01:00

An interesting aircraft overhead this morning was Qatar Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster. The aircraft registered A7-MAB is unusual in that it is a civil registered C-17 and has been painted in the grey and maroon colors used on Qatar Airways aircraft. The word 'QATAR' is clearly visible on the underside of the aircraft which passed over Barefield Co. Clare at 11.30 utc this morning. The aircraft, operating flight number QAF 02 was on it's delivery flight from Longbeach via Charleston to Ramstein.

5N-VNF arrives in Shannon for rebranding

2009-09-11T23:50:00.000+01:00

In August 2008 a row broke out between Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Nigeria when the latter's domestic flights were moved to a different terminal at Lagos airport. The row grew to the point where Virgin Atlantic eventually decided to dissociate itself from the African subsidiary and sell it's 49% shareholding.
In January of this year the Nigerian carrier announced that it was terminating it's Lagos - London Gatwick route and two weeks ago it announced that it had singed a Technical Service Agreement with Ethiopian Airlines, severing the last remaining ties with it's former UK parent.
The managing director of Virgin Nigeria, Capt. Dapo Olumide announced last week that the rebranding of the airline is in top gear and would be completed by year end. The rebranding would be total with the airline's name, logo and corporate identity being changed.
The first move in implementing the new aircraft color scheme occurred today when the carrier's B737-33V registered 5N-VNF arrived in Shannon for painting at Lufthansa Aircraft Paint Shannon. The aircraft is msn 29341 and is the former easyJet machine G-EZYR. Pictured above 5N-VNF is seen on taxiway D2 at Shannon following it's arrival from Lagos via Palma.

CityJet announce termination of Shannon - Paris route

2009-09-11T21:19:00.001+01:00

It was almost inevitable when Aer Lingus announced that it it was reinstating the Shannon - Heathrow route that CityJet's days were numbered on the Shannon - Paris route. And today the inevitable happened when the Air France subsidiary announced that as and from October 24 it was terminating it's Shannon - Paris route.
CityJet were seen as the white knight who stepped in when Aer Lingus moved it's Shannon - Heathrow slots to Belfast. The business community on the western seaboard from Kerry to Mayo had lost the vital connectivity to a major European hub that it had enjoyed for 60 years with Aer Lingus.
The business community grasped the life line with fervor and supported the route which was operated by Air France subsidiary Regional as CityJet did not have sufficient aircraft to allocate the necessary frames to the Shannon route. Anecdotal evidence showed that load factors were high on the Embraer 145 aircraft.
It had always been the intention that the larger RJ85 aircraft would be used on the route which would also allow an earlier departure from Shannon by basing an aircraft at the Irish airport.
As the Irish economy dipped into recession the pressure to generate profit on the route grew, exacerbated by the eventual allocation of RJ85 aircraft to the route. When Aer Lingus announced it's U turn on the Heathrow slot any bad will towards Aer Lingus rapidly receded when 'business as usual' was re-established.
CityJet to be fair have taken the view that they would have settled for a break even on the Paris route but load factors in recent times would appear to be well wide of the mark, languishing in the low to mid forties. Chief Executive of CityJet Geoffrey O'Byrne White said that "Unfortunately, the continuing economic downturn, which has hit the Mid West particularly hard in recent months, has led to a steep decline in the route's performance, and we cannot foresee passenger numbers and revenues reaching a break-even level."

EC-JRP stops in Shannon on return ferry

2009-09-10T23:51:00.000+01:00

Swiftair's ATR72 registered EC-JRP stopped off in Shannon this evening on a return ferry from wet lease in the Caribbean. The aircraft, msn 446 had been on lease to Maya Island Air in whose colors the aircraft was painted when it visited today routing KEF-SNN-MAD.

F-OHJX arrives in Shannon

2009-09-10T23:50:00.001+01:00

Airbus A319 registered F-OHJX to the former Saudi Arabian operator Kayala arrived in Shannon overnight from Dubai. The aircraft is one of three A319 operated by the National Air Services subsidiary which was declared bankrupt on April 1 last. Sister ship F-OHJY arrived in Shannon on August 16 last and would appear to be destined for short term storage since the engines have been taped up in recent days.

M-PRVT visits Shannon

2009-09-10T23:49:00.000+01:00

It doesn't get more Private than this ! Manx registered Citation 750 registered M-PRVT dropped into Shannon on a fuel stop this morning. The aircraft msn 750-0291 is registered to Belize registered company Unifox Holdings. Pictured above, M-PRVT in a decidedly anonymous white color scheme taxis in on 'Charlie' complete with a very Russian sounding pilot.

DAA issue tender for T2 facilities management

2009-09-10T23:47:00.000+01:00

The Dublin Airport Authority has issued requests for tender for the facilities management of T2 which is to be handed over to DAA next spring. The contract which is covered by a Government Procurement Contract covers security screening, maintenance, cleaning and passenger operations services at the new terminal. The tender process is being managed on behalf of the DAA by Goodbody Corporate Finance. The deadline for bids from interested parties is September 28 next.

Passing Moment (Part 3) VT-ALF's Indian Summer

2009-09-10T23:45:00.004+01:00

With the summer sunshine finally making an appearance in Ireland it was more than apt that Air India's B777-237LR registered VT-ALF made an appearance overhead yesterday morning, September 9. Operating as AIC 140 from JFK to Mumbai the aircraft was captured overhead Barefield Co. Clare, FL350 at 07.28 utc en route Strumble.

Dublin Airport records 15% decline in August passenger numbers

2009-09-10T17:16:00.004+01:00

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has released passenger figures for August 2009.
For the month a total of just over 2.1m passengers were handled, a 15% YoY decline. The differing markets fared as follows :

Continental Europe : 1.100 million passengers, -16% YoY
UK : 680,000 passengers, -15% YoY
Domestic : 54,000 passengers, -27% YoY
North America : 185,000 passengers, -4% YoY
Middle East : 24,000 passengers, -3% YoY

Michael Grealy appointed HR director at Aer Lingus

2009-09-10T16:54:00.000+01:00

Aer Lingus has announced the appointment of Michael Grealy as Director of Human Resources and Organisational Change. Grealy, a native of Galway and graduate of Trinity College Dublin will take up his new position on September 28 next.
Michael Grealy was former Head of Group Human Resources at Bank of Ireland where he earned the reputation of being a hardliner with the banking unions. He was key to the reform of the BoI pension scheme when the bank sought to replace the defined benefit scheme with a defined contribution scheme for new recruits. After protracted negotiations over an 18 month period which included strike action being threatened by the unions the two sides signed a deal which introduced a composite scheme for new employees.
Prior to joining BoI, Michael Grealy held senior PR positions in Boston Scientific and Seagate Technology.
Announcing the appointment, Aer Lingus chief executive Christoph Mueller said that the airline was facing a 'very challenging period' and that it was 'clear that the Aer Lingus of the future must be very different from the Aer Lingus of the past'. He further added that Grealy would be 'a key member of the senior management team which is focused on making the necessary changes to the way we do business'.

ZK-MOH visits Dublin

2009-09-09T22:47:00.000+01:00

New Zealand Aerial Mapping's Rockwell Commander 690 registered ZK-MOH was a welcome visitor to Dublin today. The aircraft is msn 11006. NZ Aerial Mapping Ltd is the second oldest aerial survey company in the world, having been founded in 1936 by Piet van Asch. Pictured above in the copyright picture by Ken Meegan, ZK-MOH is seen on finals at Dublin. Hopefully the aircraft will have it's mission completed before our Indian summer collapses into another swathe of rain and cloud !

EI-CVD returns to Dublin with hydraulics problem

2009-09-09T22:02:00.000+01:00

This morning's Aer Lingus flight EIN 152 from Dublin to London Heathrow returned to Dublin when a warning light came on in the cockpit. The flight, operated by A320 registered EI-CVD was almost 30 minutes into the flight when the crew elected to return to Dublin. The aircraft landed at approximately 07.00 utc. A subsequent investigation traced the fault to a hydraulics problem. Passengers were accommodated on other Aer Lingus flights.

I-AIGG visits Shannon

2009-09-09T21:52:00.000+01:00

Scanderbegair is a New York based airline which was formed with the intention of implementing an air link to their homeland for ethnic Kosovans. The flights are operated under the AOC of Sacramento, CA based Sky King who operate a B767 registered N712AX in the colors of Scanderbegair. The B767 is used to operate the New York - Kosovo flight which fuel stop in Liege.
For the past number of weeks the New York - Pristina flight has been operated by wet leased Air Italy B757 EI-IGB which has fuel stopped in Shannon.
On Saturday morning last EI-IGB returned to Milan Malpensa from JFK, as SGB 8776.
Today's Pristina - JFK flight was operated by Air Italy B767-300 I-AIGG (the former Thomson G-OBYC). Pictured above 'Song Bird 720' is seen on finals to R24 at lunchtime today.
For those with an interest in history, Iskander Beg, or Skanderbeg after whom the airline is named was a 15th century national hero for Albanians who fought the Ottoman Empire for over twenty years.

IAA issues register update

2009-09-09T19:31:00.000+01:00

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) today issued the latest version of the Irish Civil Register. The file which is dated September 02 2009 can be downloaded in Microsoft Excel format at Irish Register.

G-EUNA operates proving flight on LCY - SNN - JFK

2009-09-08T23:56:00.000+01:00

In preparation for the commercial launch of it's new premium only London City - Shannon - JFK service later this month, British Airways operated a route proving flight today. Flight BAW 9152 was operated by A318 registered G-EUNA which was delivered to the airline on August 28 last.