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SCMP Reporter

FORMER world motor racing champion Niki Lauda's Lauda Air was yesterday given the green light for a second service between Hong Kong and London.

   The decision was approved during two days of air service agreement talks between the Hong Kong and Austrian governments in the territory.

   Lauda Air chief executive officer Otmar Lenz was part of the Austrian delegation.

  The airline started a weekly Boeing 767-300ER service to Hong Kong via Bangkok in 1988 and in its first year carried 3,000 passengers.

  Two years ago tragedy struck the airline when more than 200 passengers and crew died when a plane crashed shortly after taking off from Bangkok en route to London.

   Today Lauda Air, cleared of any blame in the crash, has fully recovered and in the past year carried 10,000 passengers on the route.

    ''A second service makes it far more attractive to the business traveller,'' said Mr Lenz.

  ''There are more Austrians travelling to the region today both for business and leisure.''     A third flight is anticipated next year. Lauda Air has eight Boeing 777s on order as it looks to expand its long-range network. They are expected to be introduced into service in 1997.

 THE China aviation industry hardly seems to be out of the headlines these days.

   Last week an American air travellers' association told us it was safer to walk the streets of Sarajevo than fly on the airlines of the mainland.

   And yesterday the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) itself announced that of those aircraft that did arrive, more than half were late because of a shortage of air traffic controllers.

   Add all this to the already well-publicised shortages of pilots, qualified engineers, airports and aviation fuel, and it doesn't take a genius to realise that there are major aviation problems both in the air and on the ground north of the border.

   But let's put all this in context. A poll of travellers who do business in China this week revealed that, generally speaking, there was confidence in the safety of China's top airlines, if not their timetables.

   One businessman, who spends a great deal of his time in China trying to sell or lease planes to airlines large and small, says the quality of pilots and engineers at Beijing-based Air China, Shanghai-based China Eastern and Xian's China Northwestern is as good as any major Western airline.

   The smaller but respected Shanghai Airlines is another that comes in for praise.

   But the provincial airlines that have been springing up like mushrooms in the past couple of years are another matter altogether, and they make up the majority of 37 airlines that were registered up to the time Beijing said recently that enough was enough.

   Government officials admitted there were worrying signs that safety was being compromised in the race for rich pickings.

  ''The aviation industry on the mainland is out of control. I certainly would not travel on the smaller airlines,'' said a Chinese businessman.

    But what is reassuring is that mainland officials are openly recognising the problems and trying to do something about them.

   More and more they are turning to airlines and servicing companies outside China for assistance, and there are no shortage of companies knocking on doors with officers of help.

   Next month more than 150 aviation-related companies from more than 20 countries will gather in Beijing for China's Aviation Expo.

  They will range from the giant aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing to the small and hopeful companies selling a vast variety of wares.

       Kong Dong, the general manager of the Shenzhen Airport Corporation, perhaps reflects the feelings of many in the industry when he says more training and expertise are needed from overseas and more investment needed from within China to raise industry standards.

    In Shenzhen Airport's case, he says, it will take several generations before the standards can match the top international airports.



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