12
GA
/ Vol. 5 / No. 2 / FEBRUARY 2013
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Airline News
Lufthansa plans
Premium Economy
Supervisory Board approves invest-
ment in introductory project / Develop-
ment will take about two years
Lufthansa is expanding its product
portfolio and will equip the entire
Lufthansa long-haul fleet with a
Premium Economy. The Supervisory
Board has approved the investment
capital for the introductory project
to achieve this. In the near future
a project group will be formed to
manage the introduction and define the
precise features of the product as well
as a detailed timetable.
Premium Economy will
be installed on the entire
intercontinental fleet. This
substantially upgraded Economy
product will fill the gap between the
superior Business Class segment,
which features a seat that can be
converted into a fully flat bed, on one
side and the classic Economy Class
on the other. This will appeal to both
leisure travellers seeking additional
comfort and business travellers. ·
Comair launches new
route into Africa
British Airways in southern Africa op-
erator of Comair will commence with
scheduled services between Maputo
International Airport and Johannes-
burg, O.R Tambo.International Airport
in May next year.
The flight schedule comprising
daily return flights with a double daily
service on Tuesdays and Saturdays is
conveniently timed to enable ease of
connectivity for international travellers
transferring through OR Tambo
International Airport to Maputo.
Mozambique is a country
blessed with a wide variety of natural
resources, from Hydroelectric power
to coal and is a focus for many foreign
companies that are currently active in
the region undertaking various mining
initiatives including coal, oil and gas.
Shaun Pozyn, Marketing Manager
for British Airways says, "We are
excited to introduce our new service
as it allows us to continue to grow our
footprint in Africa. In addition to the
large volumes of business travellers
we anticipate will make use of our
new service, Mozambique is fast
becoming known as a world-class
tourist destination. The country
has a warm climate, 2 700km of
tropical and sub-tropical coastline,
world-class conservation areas, exotic
cities, and a rich Arabic, African and
Portuguese heritage." ·
Police-corporate
cooperation
ensures cargo
theft convictio
n
The SAPS secured a major victory
in the fight against aviation crime
following a joint operation between
themselves and ground handler Men-
zies Aviation, which recently saw five
men convicted and receiving lengthy
jail time.
Last week, the Kempton Park
Regional Court found the men some
of them former Menzies employees
and some of them employees of an
international security company with
a strong local presence - guilty of
theft, and sentenced each to 7 years
imprisonment.
This follows incidents on two
nights in September and October
2010, when the men colluded to
steal imported Nokia mobile phones
estimated at close to R320 000. It was
charged that the Menzies employees
colluded with two security officers
from another company to steal the
shipment from an Ethiopian Airlines
flight, after which the phones were
sold on to a man known only as
Mr Sunday.
In 23 November 2010, the
alleged perpetrators were arrested
and detained, after an internal
investigation by Menzies. At the
same time as the men were going
through a disciplinary procedure
and dismissed, a criminal case was
registered with the OR Tambo SAPS.
(CAS 210/10/2010), which ultimately
resulted in last week's successful
convictions in an industry notorious
for its high levels of sophistication.
Forsyth Black, senior vice-
president of Menzies Aviation for
Africa, the Middle East and India,
says the company has always taken
a zero-tolerance stance towards
allegations of criminality, ensuring
that all complaints and incidents
are thoroughly investigated and
followed by disciplinary steps and
prosecutions where necessary.
"As a global operator, we
continuously seek to ensure that
we raise the bar in terms of safety
and security of all our operations
throughout the world. We also
recognise the importance of
assisting the police in building solid,
prosecutable cases if the war on
crime in the industry is to be won,"
says Black.
The arrests come as police are
investigating another racket which
resulted in 12 luggage handlers being
fired by other airport operators at
King Shaka International Airport.
The scam saw international travellers
charged excess baggage fees when
their bags were in fact within limit.
Black says Menzies' zero
tolerance approach appears to be
having a positive knock-on effect
on approaches to crime by the
wider industry.
"We hope we can continue to be
a driver for improved standards in
the entire airline industry. We want
to send out a strong message to all
criminals that we will work closely
with the police to ensure our airline
clients and all who travel can rest
assured that their luggage and safety
will not be compromised. ·
FL Technics Training:
More and more
carriers in the CIS
region seek advice
with regard to
Part-145 and
Part-147 training.
While the demand for air travel
services in Russia & the CIS region
rises, more and more regional aviation
industry companies try to pass the
EASA Part-145 or Part-147 certification
process. The increasing demand for
Part 145 approvals reflects the ongoing
successful fleet development in the CIS
region. The region is forecasted to be
delivered a total of 1,140 new airplanes
valued at $130 billion over the next 20
years, It seems that the prognosis are
reasonable: in the last 10 years local
operators have phased out over 680
Russian-built aircraft, replacing them
with Western-built models. However,
there is one `but' - there are still a large
number of investment shortfalls in the
key areas such as commercial aviation
industry and skilled technicians.
After the collapse of the Soviet
Union, most of the CIS countries
started to pay attention to the issues
of safety with regard to commercial
fleets. This has created not only new
opportunities for third party foreign
MRO providers, but also the Age of
transferring western `know-how' for
the local players, including but not
limited to manufacturers, repair shops,
MROs, training academies and etc.
As concerns the ongoing fleet
modernization and development in
the CIS region, the scope of the MRO
services for Western types of aircraft
will certainly grow in the upcoming
years. Alongside with the interception
of western `know-how', consultations
with regard to the potential for the
development of EASA Part-147 and
Part-145 training organizations as well
as the prospects of integrating qualified
programs from the non-CIS providers
is looking better than ever.
`Many skilled technicians became
unemployed after airlines refused to
use the aging Soviet/Russian types
of aircraft. Lots of them think they
don't have any chance of acquiring
the qualifications necessary to provide
aircraft maintenance services to
Western-built aircraft due to language
barriers. But this could be fixed easily,
'commented the Deputy Head of FL
Technics Training Dainius Sakalauskas.
The immediate target for the MRO
companies based in the CIS region
is to meet the growing demand for
maintenance of imported aircraft.
On the other hand, more and more
non-technical staff from the region
are involved in managing and/or
supervising aviation services and
intercepting the Western know-how
in management process. By acquiring
basic technical knowledge managers
gain the competence required to
ensure higher quality and reliability of
outsourced services.
"Our experts not only possess
the necessary know-how, but also
bring the hands-on experience that
is essential in order to resolve many
of the pressing issues in this region.
Having highly skilled people with
dual certification will enhance the
capabilities of the Russia & the CIS
region-based MROs and increase the
opportunities to attract new aviation
related investment to the region." -
concluded Sakalauskas. ·
South African Airways
and Air Canada Sign
Code Share Agreement
During December 2012 South African
Airways (SAA) and Air Canada
announced a code share agreement
that will make it substantially easier
for customers to travel between
South Africa and Canada. Customers
connecting between the carriers
in London will be able to book a
single itinerary and make seamless
connections. In addition, the two
airlines are members of Star Alliance,
thus enabling customers to benefit
from reciprocal frequent flyer miles
accumulation or redemption and
lounge access for eligible customers.
SAA and Air Canada received
approval from the US Authorities for
connections through New York which
will be added in the near future.
SAA will code share on Air
Canada-operated flights between
London and Vancouver, London and
Toronto, and New York's John F.
Kennedy International Airport and
Toronto (including flights operated
by Air Canada Express). Air Canada
will in turn code share on SAA-
operated services between London
and Johannesburg, New York and
Johannesburg, and Johannesburg /
Cape Town. ·