Cathay granted certification
Cathay Pacific Airways has been granted a Civil Aviation Department certification allowing the airline to operate its twin-engined Airbus Industrie A330s up to two hours between airports.
The extended range twin engine operations (Etops) approval allows Cathay to take more direct routes to its destinations, saving flight time and fuel on Australian services to Cairns and Brisbane.
Cathay will later take advantage of its Etops approval on flights to Colombo and Perth and is having its new Boeing 777s certified for Etops flights.
Cathay is the first operator of Rolls-Royce Trent 700 powered A330s to be granted the certification and it will be the first for a Rolls-Royce Trent 800 powered 777.
The certification for Etops flights states that a twin-jet can safely operate for a specific amount of time between airports on one engine.
As a new aircraft and engine comes into service, it must go through a lengthy programme to receive the certification, which first allows it 90 minutes between airports, then 120 minutes, 138, and finally 180 minutes.
Cathay said an Etops trial was held earlier this year and involved more than 7,000 flight hours on the A330.
Cathay's first 777 will be delivered in May, and the airline is considering buying an ultra-long range derivative of the 777, the 777-100X.
It is expected to be ready by 1999 and will be able to fly up to 18 hours without refuelling, allowing for non-stop services to New York.
Although Cathay has no immediate plans to fly 777s on Pacific routes, there has been concern that the closure of United States military airfields in the North Pacific will affect the operations of airlines flying twin-jets from Asia to North America.
Airlines using such aircraft may need to take longer, more northerly routes that could add to fuel costs and cause revenue losses from lower cargo or passenger loads, industry experts said.
The US Department of Defence's base closure programme will shut or downgrade the Aleutian Island bases of Adak and Shemya.
Approach aids from Midway have been withdrawn and Wake and Johnston Islands face downgrades.
A joint Federal Aviation Administration and Air Transport Association committee in Washington was considering raising the international limit for flights to 210 minutes from 180.
