MARCH 2020 PAGE 32 THE FLYING COLUMN


CATHAY Pacific filed inventory chan- ges for Hong Kong-Dublin service. From


March 29 2020 to June 30 2020. Reservation is available in full fare J/W/Y-class only, often an indication a service may not operate. This route is supposed to operate 4w with A350- 900XWB aircraft.


AER LINGUS has been named the fifth most family friendly airline worldwide by


travel website Lastminute.com and second best in the survey for shortest delays, averaging just 3 minutes.


USA INTERNAL Beginning Oc- tober 1, 2020, the US. Transportation Security


Administration will require passengers 18 years or older to present government ID to fly within the USA..


IAG Willie Walsh says airframe manufac- turing levels are “at a speed way in excess of


what the industry needs or wants,” and says a “disconnect” between airframe and engine manufacturers directly influenced delivery delays which “are not just annoying, they have a big financial impact” on airlines. “We need strong competition between manufacturers. We only have two. I think we have seen both manufacturers have become complacent … They were planning on delivering a lot more aircraft than was required by the industry.


CAR The Department of Transport (etc) has notified the EU Commission of the transfer


of responsibility for Ireland’s Single Euro- pean Sky’s National Supervisory Authority’s economic regulatory functions from the IAA to the Commission for Aviation Regulation, as and from the 011Jan20. Against this back- ground, the CAR has decided to extend its existing three-year Strategic Plan by one year to coincide with the establishment of Ireland’s new civil aviation regulator. In 2020, it plans to work with the Safety Regulation Division of the IAA to put in place a Strategic Plan for the new IAA. In this consultation paper, it pro- poses to add to its Strategic Plan, as required, to take account of additional responsibilities that we have taken on or expect to take on dur- ing 2020. This is open to public consultation with a submissions deadline of 5pm on Fri 28Feb20.


ETHIOPIAN Airlines Service Dub- lin to Addis Ababa will operate via Vienna


in summer20m instead of the present stop at Madrid. Frequency is to increase from 3 to 4w from 07Jun, Aircraft type is B787-9 (un- changed).


JUNEYAO Airlines has confirmed suspension of its plans for Shanghai-Hel-


sinki-Dublin until further notice.


TAP Air Portugal plans to IPO in early 2021, pending financial results.


ETIHAD has started adding more flights from India as it looks to utilise the capacity which is lying idle due to temporary suspen- sion of most of its operations to China due to coronavirus outbreak.


DUBLIN Airport partnered with Hack Access for its accessibility hackathon even


Aviation commissioner Cathy Mannion


Charges appealed O


Dublin Airport bristles against Commission decision


utgoing transport minister Shane Ross established an Appeal Panel to consider


requests for appeal against the Com- mission for Aviation Regulation’s Determination on the Maximum Level of Airport Charges at Dublin Airport. Minister Ross appointed Mr Eoin McCullough SC as Chair. Ms Han- nah Nixon who extensive experience in English regulation and Andrew Charlton, former Chief Legal Offi- cer Qantas with Australian NZ staff based in Brussels & Geneva. As provided for in legislation, the


Appeal Panel three months to com- plete its work by May 4. The Appeal Panel may confirm the Determination or refer the decision in relation to the Determination back to the Commis-


sion for review. An Bord Pleanála claimed it no


role in dealing with a request by Dublin Airport for a determination on the planning implications of its exceeding a cap on annual passenger numbers. The planning authority dismissed


a series of questions referred to it by Fingal County Council, after daa sought clarification about whether it would need new planning permission for its T2 if it breached a condition of planning permission in 2008, which put a limit of 32m on the number of passengers using airport terminals. Daa also asked if 3m transit or connecting passengers who do not use the terminals can be treated sep- arately. The operator pointed out that such passengers using Dublin Airport


are currently double-counted as both arriving and departing passengers. Daa sought information on whether counting such passengers just once would represent ‘development’ in planning terms. An Bord Pleanála said it considered the questions raised by the council and DAA to be outside its scope. The Bord explained that an issue referred to it under Section 5 (4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 confined its role to determin- ing whether a particular matter was a development and, if so, whether it was a development exempted from requiring planning permission. In Aug18, it rejected an application by daa to amend the wording of the condition to remove connecting pas- sengers from its scope.


A LINGUS FLEET TO GROW BY 4 TO 60


er Lingus plans to grow its fleet by four aircraft in the


next two years. Speaking to Travel Extra at the mar- gins of the A4E conference in Brussels, IAG CEO Willie Walsh told Travel Extra that Coronavirus had not diminished his anger at Airbus for A321 delays. “Aer Lingus suffered as a result of not having the A321 for this summer, as we had hoped to have from


the beginning of last year. I am still on with Airbus. We are committed to tak- ing all of the aircraft that we have ordered. This is a temporary issue. We are not going to do anything to jeopardise any of the long term direction of the busi- ness.” Willie Walsh says Aer


Lingus target customers are those trading down. “The focus is connecting Ireland and Europe to the


US.” ASK growth goal 2020-2022 is 5pc a year. “We have replanned


our network, particularly in regard to the Aer Lin- gus transatlantic, to reflect planned A321LR delays, which we see continuing through ‘20 and 2021 and maybe into the early part of 2022.” When will they come? “Ask Airbus.” Aer Lingus fleet end 2022 will have 60 aircraft as against 56 at end 2019,


(13 A330, 3 A321LR, 1 B757. 34 A320, 3 A321. and 2 Avro RJ), probably one A330-300 and three A321XLR of the eight on order from Airbus. So no extra short-haul unit? “This new aircraft is absolutely central


to


our plans to expand our trans-Atlantic network and we are committed to taking the aircraft as and when we get them. The sooner that we get them the better.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40