Twice per week to Zagreb

Only a few weeks after Croatia Airlines introduced flights from Zagreb to Barcelona, Spain’s national carrier Iberia has inaugurated services from Madrid to the Croatian capital a few days ago. The new service to Zagreb will be the only new route the airline will introduce in 2009. The service will operate two times per week on a seasonal summer basis. Iberia becomes the third airline to operate services between Spain and Zagreb after Croatia Airlines and Dubrovnik Airlines which now offers services to Madrid as well.

On its inaugural flight, the Iberia Airbus A320 aircraft had a total of 140 passengers from Madrid, mostly tourists. The return leg had 71 passengers on board. The flights will operate until September 20. At a reception on the occasion of the first flight, Iberia Commercial Director Manuel Lopez Colmenarejo said that depending on the performance of the flights they might continue throughout the year. All flights details can be found here. Iberia is one of Europe’s largest airlines although it has suffered significant losses since the global financial crisis arrived in Spain. The airline is expected to be taken over by One World alliance partner British Airways. Despite the turbulent year, Iberia still records one of the highest cabin occupancy rates in Europe and has been one of the largest profit making airlines on the continent in recent years.

Another view of the yet to be identified aircraft.

Robinson R22 Beta ZK-IJD c/n 1952 was cancelled on 06-07-2009 as destroyed.
It was damaged on 16-07-2007 when it failed to out climb a hill on Criffle Station during mustering.
Registered as JA7866 on 02-10-1991 it was listed a written off on 20-12-2001.
It joined the NZ register on 02-12-2004 courtesy of Wing & Rotor Aviation and transferred to Eagle Flight Training Ltd at Papakura on 20-10-2005.
On 22-06-2006 South-West Helicopters Ltd of Te Anau became the official owner/operator.
The pic above was taken at the old Te Anau/Manapouri strip on 17-08-2006.

Code sharing with Turkish Airlines

After connecting its hub Sarajevo to many new European cities in the past few months, B&H Airlines has continued to work hard to improve some of its services. On July 3, B&H Airlines entered a mutual code share agreement with its partner and owner Turkish Airlines. The new agreement allows for the two airlines on services between Sarajevo and Istanbul ,and vice versa, to sell tickets on each other’s flights and opens the possibility for further code share and special pro rate agreements.

The following flights have fallen under the new agreement:

Route	TK Codeshare	JA Operating
Istanbul - Sarajevo	TK8035	JA103
Sarajevo - Istanbul	TK8036	JA102

Route	JA Codeshare	TK Operating
Istanbul - Sarajevo	JA2103 JA2105	TK1423 TK1425
Sarajevo - Istanbul	JA2102 JA2104	TK1424 TK1426

Meanwhile, B&H Airlines will soon introduce online ticketing, which will allow passengers to purchase their tickets online. All other Ex-Yu airlines already have this feature available on their websites. B&H Airlines expects to take delivery of a second Boeing B737-400 by the beginning of the 2009/10 winter season, starting in late October. B&H Airlines, like other regional rivals, has reported a significant drop in passenger figures this year.

To Dubrovnik after all

After the squabbling which took place between the Serbian and Croatian aviation authorities, when Jat Airways’ license for the flights from Belgrade to Dubrovnik was revoked, there now seems to be a resolution on the horizon. The ministries responsible for transportation from both countries will meet on the 13th and 14th of July. The Serbian ministry for infrastructure, under which transpiration falls a part of, expects that an agreement regarding aviation licenses between Serbia and Croatia should be finalised and agreed upon by July 17. In the meantime, flights should continue to operate between Belgrade and Dubrovnik as normal. The Serbian delegation will also suggest for flights between Zagreb and Belgrade to begin and to be operated by Croatia Airlines.

Yesterday there were a total of 40 passengers on board Jat’s flight to Dubrovnik, which is less than expected. This is because many people decided to refund their tickets following the public dispute. A Jat spokesperson has said that if the issue is not resolved passengers will be reimbursement or, if they choose, will be flown to Tivat where bus transfer to Dubrovnik will be organised.

Getting ready for Oshkosh, and my first in-person look at an exciting new electric airplane which you'll be hearing a lot more about in the months ahead.
The Yuneec International E430 electric-powered two seater is in Phase 2 test flight mode.
The bird is fitted with a 54 hp electric motor that weighs only 37.5 lbs., uses six lipo (lithium polymer) batteries and is capable of 1.5 to 2 hours of flight.
And that’s with a 400 pound payload! A 10-battery configuration should bring duration to 2.5 hours. The sleek highwinger sports a 45-foot wingspan. Could that mean motorglider cred too? It gives the LSA a 25:1 glide ratio. Handling in strong winds could be a challenge with that wing and V-tail, but we'll have to wait and see.
Should motorgliding be enabled in future, perhaps with a folding prop, restarts would be a breeze. There are only two moving parts in the engine - the bearings! - just a flick of the switch and the prop is spinning again.
And think about charging time - three hours - and energy cost: around $5. Wow!
Check out this video. It wouldn't open in Firefox, but Internet Explorer worked.
Sure, it’s early yet to get too amped up about this (pardon the pun). But we'll be watching to see how this Chinese beauty and other electrics like the ElectraFlyer C and Waiex play out in the scheme of things.
Plans are to certify the E340 first as an experimental homebuilt, but commercial production is the ultimate goal.
Meanwhile, check out these flight test runs: durations of 15 minutes, max height = 975ft, take off in 265 feet at 40 mph, climb rate: 1320 fpm, cruise speed: 55 mph, top speed level flight: 93 mph. Are we dreaming electric yet, chilluns?
- photos courtesy Yuneec International

Dubrovnik Airport

Loudly billed as the big "return after 18 years", Jat Airways’ tourist charters from Belgrade to the Croatian resort of Dubrovnik have been scrapped after only two flights, authorities in Zagreb confirmed last Friday. Only two "promotional" flights have been agreed, one completed on Thursday and the other planned for later today, Croatian transport ministry spokeswoman Marinka Haluzan said. The other 664 passengers which have purchased their tickets on the Belgrade to Dubrovnik service will now be refunded. While Serbian authorities blame their Croatian counterparts for a lack of cooperation, the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency has blamed their Serbian colleagues for the same reson. The Croatian stance is that flights between Belgrade and Dubrovnik cannot be allowed because there is no bilateral air agreement between the two countries. This is despite the fact that flights from Belgrade to Pula have not and will not be affected. Serbian officials said talks would continue next week. In Zagreb, Haluzan said Croatia "in the past insisted on the air traffic agreement ... it is unclear why the other side did not want it”.

On the other hand a Jat spokesperson said that the airline has held talks with the Croatian authorities and that it had been given a license to operate flights to Dubrovnik until the end of August, only for its license to be revoked on Thursday afternoon (July 2). The airline said it is doing everything in its power to maintain its services to Dubrovnik. It will propose, tomorrow, for the airline to receive a license for two flights each week just prior to the actual flight. Jat has said it also strongly supports Croatia Airlines to commence services from Zagreb to Belgrade in hope that this could soften the Croatian Aviation Authority’s stance. However, Croatia Airline has confirmed that it currently has no interest to fly to Serbia. “The countries in the region which Croatia Airlines does not serve are our potential future markets. Currently there is no bilateral air agreement between the two countries and thus there cannot be any cooperation between the two national carriers”, the airline’s PR manager said.

Marinka Haluzan, from the Croatian transportation ministry, said that “charter flights are not a part of air traffic agreements between countries, only regular airline flights”. Talks between the two countries are complex as they involve issues of ownership over airports and other companies which remain open from the days of the former Yugoslavia. Jat Airways has said that interest for the Dubrovnik flights have been greater than the interest generated when flights to Pula were launched last year. The airline’s spokesperson said that the only problem is that citizens from Pula have a much greater wish to visit Belgrade than those living in Dubrovnik.