Luchtvaartnieuws / binnen en buitenland.

[Rich]

CAAP expects EU to lift ban on Philippine air carriers this year

April 24, 2013 5:27 PM

MANILA - The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) on Wednesday said it expects the European Union (EU) ban to be lifted within the year after a "positive" meeting in Brussels last week.

"We are looking forward in getting lifting (EU ban) within the year," William Hotchkiss 3rd, CAAP director general, said, adding that the meeting was "positive."

EU Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) head director Matthew Baldwin invited CAAP to a meeting in Belgium on April 16.

During the meeting, CAAP presented its mandate as well as developments in the past five years in the Philippine aviation sector.

Hotchkiss said the EU noted improvements in CAAP with regard international safety standards.

He said the EU also accepted its invitation for an on-site visit to Manila on June 3 to re-validate what CAAP presented in Brussels.

"The visit will coincide with the EU Air Safety Committee Meeting to be held on the last week of June in Brussels, Belgium," Hotchkiss said.

He said the committee is tasked to determine whether a country can be removed from the EU blacklist.

The on-site invitation came after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) removed the Philippines from a list of member-states with unresolved significant safety concerns (SSCs).

The EU has kept the Philippines on a blacklist since 2010. These negative ratings prevent Philippine carriers from flying to European destinations and expanding in America.

Hotchkiss said John Barbagallo, manager for International Policy and Programs at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), would also conduct a check-in visit on May 2.

He said the visit will determine if FAA will conduct another audit before the US agency decides on bringing back the Philippines to Category 1.

"We are confident that we complied. Hopefully within the year we will be upgraded," Hotchkiss said.

The Philippines has a Category 2 status, which the FAA bestows on countries that fail to comply with the ICAO Standard and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on international civil aviation safety.

Once the Category 2 status is lifted, Philippine Airlines (PAL) plans to fly to London, Paris, Rome and other parts of the US. Cebu Pacific also wants to fly to the US.

Bron : http://www.interaksyon.com/business/60231/caap-expects-eu-to-lift-ban-on-philippine-air-carriers-this-year

[Kano]

Resort airports in PHL and other Southeast Asian countries leave safety to chance


GMA By NEIL CHATTERJEE AND TRISHA SERTORI, ReutersMay 2, 2013

JAKARTA/DENPASAR, Indonesia - It's the invisible enemy: something all pilots dread as they land at Asia's tropical island resorts.

Wind shear–or the sudden change in wind speed and direction–is particularly hazardous at landing, but some of the region's best known holiday spots in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines do not have detection systems on the ground to warn pilots, according to airport officials.

This phenomenon of turbulent winds is common in equatorial Southeast Asia. A Lion Air pilot of a new Boeing Co 737 passenger jet that crashed off Bali only last month told investigators how his plane was "dragged down" by wind into the sea just short of the runway. Remarkably, no-one died.

"There are quite violent thunderstorms that are huge. You can easily exceed the capability of the airplane in severe wind shear," said Richard Woodward, a Qantas Airways Ltd captain who flies A380s.

"The beauty of having a ground-based system is they can tell in advance if wind shear is present," said Woodward, who has flown in the region for more than 30 years.

A ground warning system, which costs about $1 million, can help spot dangerous winds in the plane's flight path, giving pilots more time to avoid them.

But even as revenues rise and building work on glitzy new terminals charges ahead, officials say the airports at Bali, Koh Samui, Langkawi and Cebu do not have the on-ground wind shear detection equipment.

Asked whether the industry supported ground-based systems, Airbus spokesman Martin Fendt said: "We would support any initiative that aims to improve aviation safety. Regarding installations at airports, that is a matter for airport operators and the relevant authorities."

Both Boeing and Airbus say they have on-board wind shear detection systems. Combined the two wind shear detection systems give pilots a better chance of flying to safety.

Act fast

Adverse wind conditions are involved in more than 30 percent of accidents globally at approach or landing, Airbus says.

Upon hearing a wind shear alarm, the pilot has a matter of seconds to level the wings, apply full engine power and ease the nose up to cancel the landing and avoid the intense patch of turbulence.

The Lion Air budget carrier that crashed last month was caught in an unexpected downdraft in a rain cloud even as the airport reported clear weather, said a source who was briefed on the investigations, declining to be identified because the findings are not yet public.

Investigators are likely to examine whether the Boeing 737-800's onboard wind shear alarm went off, and if it did, when and how the pilot responded, and how the brand-new jet reacted.

Indonesia's air transport safety chief Masruri, who goes by one name, declined to give the cause of the crash ahead of its report on the investigation. Local media says it could take up to four months to publish the report.

Gleaming facades

As the middle class grows in Southeast Asia, plane travel increases, with low-cost carriers such as Indonesia's privately owned Lion Air and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd winning 52 percent of the region's market share. That is almost double the level of five years ago.

But behind the facades of the new terminal buildings is a chronic shortage of weather detectors, runways, air traffic control staff and pilots to cope with the burgeoning demand for flying in a region home to 600 million people.

None of the airports in Indonesia or the Philippines has low-level wind shear alert systems (LLWAS) on the ground, airport and government officials say.

The Jakarta and Bali airports might get LLWAS next year, according to the Indonesian state weather agency, which is responsible for funding such systems.

"LLWAS is not yet in place in Indonesia, maybe because of budgets," said Syamsul Huda, director for aviation and meteorology at the agency. "I feel it is more safe with the system."

The Malaysian island of Langkawi has an Instrument Landing System (ILS), which helps guide pilots when they cannot see the runway, but does not have a wind shear detection system.

The Thai island of Koh Samui, famed for its reefs and beaches, lacks both an ILS and wind shear detection systems. The country's top beach resort Phuket has both, and nearby Krabi recently installed a wind shear alarm.

Strong winds on approach to the Phuket runway led to pilot errors that resulted in a One-Two-Go plane crashing in 2007, killing 90 people, according to investigators. Budget carrier One-Two-Go, owned by Thai aviation veteran Udom Tantiprasongchai, now flies by the name Orient Thai Airlines.

Where's the runway?

The state-owned airport in Bali has seen its number of passengers grow by two-thirds in the past five years to 14 million people annually, and expects over 20 million in coming years.

A $290 million new terminal, to be ready for an APEC summit of world leaders this year, will have a roof shaped like flowing waves that absorbs the sun's rays and recycles storm water. But there's no space for a new runway, with the current one having been extended into the sea already. It is, however, long enough to take US President Barack Obama's Air Force One.

The existing runway has no ILS for planes approaching from the western side, as the ill-fated Lion Air jet did. Instead, it has an ILS system for planes coming from the east, and a simpler VOR navigational system that relies on the pilot seeing the runway, from the west.

The Lion Air pilots lost sight of the runway in a rain cloud and the plane fell into the water as they tried to go around for a second landing attempt, according to the source briefed on the investigations.

NASA helped develop predictive systems for US airlines and airports after the inability to detect wind shear led to a Delta Air Lines Inc crash that killed 137 in 1985. One of the companies manufacturing the ground system isFinland's Vaisala Oyj.

Research by Massachusetts Institute of Technology suggests there has not been a wind shear-related accident at an airport that operates modern wind shear detection systems. But equipping airports and planes with warning systems is only half the solution–you also need qualified professionals to operate and monitor the devices, and then act with a cool head.

In a run-down office at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport, the head of air traffic services Tri Basuki says staff do double shifts because he has less than 50 percent of the people needed to operate radar, surveillance and navigation systems.

For air traffic control it is even worse. There are only 43 people, or about a third of a government requirement for 115, to guide the airport's average of 330 landing aircraft a day.

Basuki said some of the controllers at Bali are suffering from cumulative fatigue. "When the controller is fatigued, it's high risk, very high risk," he said. –Reuters


Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/306440/news/nation/resort-airports-in-phl-and-other-southeast-asian-countries-leave-safety-to-chance

[Rich]

Resort airports in PHL and other Southeast Asian countries leave safety to chance

None of the airports in Indonesia or the Philippines has low-level wind shear alert systems (LLWAS) on the ground, airport and government officials say.

Hoe belangrijk LLWAS wel is: http://www.vaisala.com/en/airports/largeaircarrier/windshear/Pages/default.aspx  zie het filmpje.

[Kano]

Piloten vrezen gifgas

door Paul Eldering
UTRECHT -

Ook de Vereniging van Nederlandse Verkeersvliegers (VNV) waarschuwt nu voor gevaarlijke gifdampen aan boord, waardoor motorische en psychische klachten kunnen ontstaan......

Lees verder: http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/21547591/__Pilotenclub_vreest_gifgas_in_cockpit__.html

[Cosyns Guy]

Resort airports in PHL and other Southeast Asian countries leave safety to chance

None of the airports in Indonesia or the Philippines has low-level wind shear alert systems (LLWAS) on the ground, airport and government officials say.

Hoe belangrijk LLWAS wel is: http://www.vaisala.com/en/airports/largeaircarrier/windshear/Pages/default.aspx  zie het filmpje.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Prvftu8JoOI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SnUSdIGxmZY

[Kano]

Airlines may impose fees on late passengers — CAB


By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) | Updated May 18, 2013

MANILA, Philippines - The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said local and foreign airlines are allowed to adopt measures to address higher administrative costs brought about by passengers that come in late for their flights.

CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said in text message to The STAR that both local and foreign airlines could impose charges in the form of penalties or fines to cover higher costs arising from the re-opening of the flight data system.

"Generally, airlines can choose to adopt measures addressing situations that would normally cause the passenger to lose his or her right to fly, as when he or she is a no-show or late for check-in," Arcilla stressed.

He pointed out that airlines incur additional administrative costs due to the re-opening of its flight data system for late passengers.

"These measures entail administrative costs, the charges represent penalties to cover the re-opening of the flight data system for late passengers," the CAB chief added.

According to him, both local and foreign airlines could also impose charges for passengers seeking to fly earlier than their scheduled flights.
Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

"The same situation applies for a passenger wishing to fly earlier, as the earlier flight has its own data that has to be changed," he clarified.

Last May 15, national flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) started imposing late check-in fee and re-accommodation fee of P1,500 per passenger. This would help late passengers to board on the same flight as well as re-accommodate passengers who wish to board to an earlier flight.

In a memorandum dated May 7, PAL said it would impose a P1,500 for late check-in fee on passengers who would report at the check-in counter less than 45 minutes prior to departure.

The airline said the late passenger could still take the same flight provided that there is an available seat.

However, PAL said a passenger would be considered a "no show" if he or she reports at the check-in counter at the same time or later than the estimated time of departure.

Furthermore, PAL is also imposing a P1,500 re-accommodation fee on passengers who want to be accommodated to an earlier flight as long as the flight is on the same date of travel.

Arcilla said local and foreign airlines could also reduce baggage allowance or impose higher charges for excess baggage to improve its competitiveness in the airline industry.

"The baggage charges and reduced allowances, on the other hand, allows an airline to unbundle its cost structure, lower its basic fares, and be more competitive in the highly competitive market," he added.

PAL, which is jointly owned by airline and tobacco magnate Lucio Tan and diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), also slashed the free baggage allowance per passenger to 10 kilograms from 15 kilograms and at the same time raised the fee slapped on excess baggage for domestic flights to P200 inclusive of value added tax from P150 plus value added tax.

Since the entry of SMC, PAL has embarked on a massive refleeting program aimed at acquiring 100 new aircraft to replace its existing fleet. To date, PAL has a fleet of 42 aircraft consisting of five Boeing B747-400s and four B777-300ERs as well as four Airbus A340-300s, eight A330-300s, 17 A320-200s, and four A319-100s.

PAL president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang is confident that it would return to profitability next year after cutting its losses by half this year as the new fuel efficient aircraft would translate to lower fuel as well as operating and maintenance costs.


Source: http://www.philstar.com/business/2013/05/18/943252/airlines-may-impose-fees-late-passengers-cab

[Kano]

Een boete op te laat inchecken daar is wat voor te zeggen, gelet op de gewoonte van de Filipino's om niet op tijd te komen.

Maar het terugbrengen van de vrije bagage van 15 kg naar 10 kg en voor overgewicht P 200 in plaats van P 150 rekenen, dat is kassa voor PAL . Als je op een internationale vlucht zat met 35kg vrije bagage dan zal je bij PAL, die toch al niet goedkoop is, dus P 5000 moeten aftikken voor overgewicht.

[callebaut]

Een boete op te laat inchecken daar is wat voor te zeggen, gelet op de gewoonte van de Filipino's om niet op tijd te komen.

Maar het terugbrengen van de vrije bagage van 15 kg naar 10 kg en voor overgewicht P 200 in plaats van P 150 rekenen, dat is kassa voor PAL . Als je op een internationale vlucht zat met 35kg vrije bagage dan zal je bij PAL, die toch al niet goedkoop is, dus P 5000 moeten aftikken voor overgewicht.

Tiger Airways , Cebu Pac , ...... zullen dit zien als een welkomsgeschenk. Bij Cebu Pac kan men de kilo's van de bagage opgraden via online tot 30 kilo wat nog niet mogelijk was bij PAL.

[antzan]

Cebu air , in September van MNL naar Caga. de Oro . 20 peso p.pers. voor de vlucht ,
en zo,n 70 Euro voor 2 koffers van 30 kg .
Het was een promo , normaal was het zo.n  135 Euro . Online geboekt  en  betaald .
Pal was nog duurder , hadden ook een promo , maar die kon niet on-line !
Anton

[Kano]

An incompetent airport manager

\
By Ramon Tulfo
Philippine Daily Inquirer  Tuesday, May 21st, 2013


For over a month now, the central air-conditioning system at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 has not been functioning.

Passengers, especially those in the departure area, are suffering from the heat, especially since it is summer.

Last Saturday, I saw many of my fellow passengers fanning themselves to ease their discomfort. Many were sweating profusely.

But nobody at the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), which runs the Naia 1, 2, 3 and 4 terminals, cares whether people faint from the heat, as long as their executives are in their air-conditioned rooms at Naia Terminal 1.

Even Miaa General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, who's supposed to look after the comfort and safety of arriving and departing passengers, doesn't seem to care.

"Honrado doesn't visit us here, so how can he know this place is so hot?" said a security guard assigned at Naia 3.

Honrado, who is called names by his subordinates behind his back for allegedly not knowing how to run an airport, is safe in his comfort zone because he happens to be President Noy's relative.

The Miaa official is a retired Air Force general who was an aide to President Cory Aquino when he was a young officer.

As aide, one of his jobs was carrying the President's handbag, instead of flying a plane like his fellow officers.

He's an example of a square-peg-in-a-round-hole official and typifies many appointed officials in the Aquino government today.

*  *  *

Honrado probably thinks that making the rounds of the four terminals is beneath him since he's a former Air Force general.

That's why when he goes out to dine in classy restaurants he has a full complement of bodyguards befitting a military general.

Now, who would want to harm an official holding a noncontroversial position such as that of Naia general manager?

Unless he's afraid of irate plane passengers.

*  *  *

Another guy in the P-Noy administration who looks like he doesn't know what he's doing is Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

Almost all the airports in the country have defects: malfunctioning X-ray machines, stinking toilets, leaking roofs, faulty air-conditioning systems, etc.

Where does the money each passenger shells out for terminal fee go? Isn't this supposed to fund airport maintenance?

Perhaps Abaya can answer these questions.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/412621/an-incompetent-airport-manager#ixzz2TsdNmDbJ