Five new airlines for Ljubljana Airport

After the announcement made last week that several low cost airlines will begin operations to Ljubljana, new details have now been revealed. A total of five new airlines will commence flights to Jože Pučnik Airport by the start of the 2012 summer season. They include Ryanair, Wizz Air, Vueling, IZair and Norwegian Air Shuttle. The new arrivals should replace Adria on several routes the national carrier plans to suspend this coming winter. Talks are underway for Ryanair to begin flights from Dusseldorf and Dublin to Ljubljana while Wizz Air would operate a service from its London Luton base. Furthermore, Vueling should commence flights from Madrid to Ljubljana. Previously, the airline had operated flights to the Slovenian capital out of Barcelona. Talks are ongoing with IZair from Turkey to commence flights from Istanbul while Norwegian Air Shuttle could launch flights from Oslo, a service once operated by Adria.

With the prospect of oncoming competition, Robert Vuga, the Executive Director of Adria Airways says that the national carrier should not be affected. “If the new airlines won’t compete with Adria Airways, then we understand the government and their wish to bring more tourists to Slovenia”. The Government of Slovenia has approved a proposal for subsidies to be given to low cost airlines. Earlier in the year it also approved a 50 million Euro bailout for Adria.

The management of Ljubljana Airport sees the new arrivals as a big opportunity for Slovenian tourism but also as a way to improve its sluggish performance when it comes to passenger numbers this year.

03 Oktober 2011





RNZAF Beechcraft King Air B200 (photo : NZFF)



The Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, has announced moves to develop a new advanced pilot training capability for the RNZAF. This will include new advanced trainer aircraft.



“In future pilots will train on fast and manoeuvrable aircraft which provide much more rigorous and realistic training. This will prepare them effectively for the demanding military flying they will be called upon to perform in service,” said Dr Mapp.



“The upgraded P3 Orion and C-130 Hercules aircraft and the NH90 helicopter are frontline military aircraft that are routinely flown well beyond normal civil parameters.



“Currently advanced pilot training is done using King Air B200s. These twin-engine civilian planes are limited in the power, manoeuvrability and cockpit visibility needed for training at this level.





Comparison with Australia and Canada (photo : Beehive)



“They are also not equipped with the modern generation electronic instruments, communications and situational awareness aids that are important features of our new and upgraded aircraft and helicopters.”



Dr Mapp said last year’s Defence White Paper was clear that pilot training needs to match the full range of operational demands made on aircrew.



“A Request for Information from industry has been released today, covering provision of suitable aircraft as well as different training options including the use of simulators.”



“The Government is open to either leasing or purchasing aircraft, and innovative ways of managing the support and operation of new aircraft. We will be encouraging industry to work with the RNZAF to introduce this new training capability as quickly as possible.



“The project exemplifies the Government’s openness to working with industry to develop innovative solutions that deliver better services more efficiently.”



Dr Mapp noted the King Air fleet would still be needed for multi-engine and continuation training and utility transport tasks. A project to upgrade or replace the current King Airs, for which the lease expires at the end of June next year, is underway.



(Beehive)



See Also :



Defence Capability Plan launched

03 Oktober 2011



The Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, today launched the new Defence Capability Plan.



“This plan sets out how Defence will carry out the Defence White Paper strategies over the next decade,” said Dr Mapp.



“It will guide our decisions on shaping frontline units and on the equipment and capability they will have. It takes into account affordability, resources and defence priorities”.



“The plan is not just a list of projects and equipment. Capability for the Defence Force is about transporting and sustaining a deployable Defence Force here and overseas. It is about using modern technology to give the entire defence force a common operating picture. And it is about ensuring our men and women in uniform are equipped to meet all the challenges they face, from combat through to disaster relief.”



The plan includes new projects covering the next decade, including upgrading or replacing the Seasprite helicopters, a systems upgrade for the ANZAC frigates, a Special Forces Battle Training facility, and a land transport capability programme.



“An important project is a new pilot training capability, including finding advanced training aircraft to replace the current King Air B200s,” said Dr Mapp.



There are also plans for network-enabled systems which are interoperable across the Defence Force and multinationally.



Dr Mapp said the plan signals good opportunities for local industry.



“Industry is a key partner in delivering new and upgraded equipment, and in maintaining it. We already work closely with a number of companies, and there will be many more opportunities for industry, particularly in infrastructure and information technology projects.”



He said the projects in the Capability Plan could be funded for the next ten years from accumulated depreciation, with no need for extra capital. Any increase in costs would be met by reallocating existing resources within Defence.

(The Defence Capability Plan can be found at http://www.defence.govt.nz/pdfs/reports-publications/defence-capability-plan-2011.pdf).



(Beehive)

I have been asked by CMM where ZK-CTZ is currently lurking ? and in what condition is it ?
Any body please help ?

It is indeed ZK-NDT (I would have accepted ZK-NBR) and the engine is the JT15D.

Rijeka Airport sees largest passenger growth in 2011

Most of Croatia’s airports maintained passenger growth throughout August. Rijeka continued its comeback, Zagreb saw solid growth while both Zadar and Osijek saw numbers slide.

In August, Zagreb handled 249.159 passengers, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same month last year. So far in 2011, Croatia’s busiest airport has handled 1.568.005 passengers, an impressive surge of 14.2%. However, growth in Dubrovnik slowed with numbers increasing only 1% despite an increase in the number of flight being operated to and from the airport. In the first eight months of the year Dubrovnik has welcomed 977.085 passengers while Split saw 944.907. With 18.282 passengers, Rijeka Airport enjoyed a 35% increase. So far this year, Rijeka has seen the biggest boost in passenger numbers out of all of Croatia’s airports by handling 59.694 passengers, improving its figures by 24.5% on last year's result. In 2010 due to sliding figures and finances there were suggestions to shut down the airport.

On the other hand, Zadar continued its downward slide. With 49.956 passengers, numbers fell by 11.8%, even though the number of flights operating this August increased. Meanwhile, Osijek handled only 4.124 passengers.

Below you can review the performance of Croatia’s airports in August 2011. Overall, Croatian airports handled 932.045 passengers, an increase of 4.1% compared to August 2010. The statistics have been provided by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics.

Airport	Passengers AUG 2011	Passengers AUG 2010	Change (%)
Zagreb	249.159	231.155	▲ 7.8
Dubrovnik	262.262	259.638	▲ 1.0
Pula	86.686	78.996	▲ 9.7
Split	257.031	246.221	▲ 4.4
Zadar	49.956	56.624	▼ 11.8
Osijek	4.124	5.041	▼ 18.2
Rijeka	18.282	13.544	▲ 35.0
Mali Lošinj	1.797	1.298	▲ 38.4

01 Oktober 2011

The Australian Defence Force currently operates 22 Tiger ARH (photo : jigar)

The Australian Defence Force will stage a night-time helicopter training exercise in the Top End.

Four Tiger helicopters will be flown on week nights between 6pm and midnight over the next two months.

The operation will be managed from Darwin but defence says the majority of the training will take place in regional and low-population areas to limit disruptions to the public.

The ADF says the training marks a significant step forward in the use of reconnaissance and attack helicopters.

The helicopters taking part in the night exercises are among 22 Tigers ordered by the ADF under a $2 billion contract.

They had been limited to daylight operations because of delivery delays for night-vision helmets.

It is expected that some of the Tigers will see service in Afghanistan.

Diggers fighting in Afghanistan currently rely on US Black Hawk and Apache helicopters for air fire support and medical evacuations.

(ABC News)

New deadline October 31

The Serbian government has extended a tender call to find a potential strategic partner for a new national carrier, to be set up as a successor to Jat Airways. Although officially the government said the tender is being extended upon the request of interested parties, media speculate that no airline has bought the tender documentation. A similar move was made during the last attempt to privatise Jat back in 2008, when no interest was shown either. The new tender call will last until October 31. The tender originally began back on August 1.

A month before tender procedures began, the Ministry of Infrastructure sent letters to a total of sixty airlines across the world hoping to get companies interested before the tender got underway. Experts say that there are no set guidelines to the tender, that it is unreasonable to ask for an airline company to be a part owner of a still nonexistent future national carrier and that Jat should have been restructured and then put up for sale. Statements made by the government that Turkish Airlines interested in purchasing the Serbian carrier (or setting up a new one) have turned out to be false. The only condition for the future part owner of Serbia’s national carrier is that it must have handled 1.5 million passengers in 2010.

Over the past month, media has speculated that airBaltic was interested in purchasing the tender documentation as well AZAL from Azerbaijan.