Freight DogsFinally a forum for those midnight prowler types who utilise the unglamorous parts of airports that many of us never get to see. Freight Dogs is for pilots and crew who operate mostly without SLF.
Re: non-UK and non-EU registers that are currently operating in the UK.
Non-UK, I feel the CAA are missing the point, they are so paranoid with their opinion, all UK airlines are hell bent on degrading the 371, they are missing the point, it is not a change in the 371 we want, just a level, commercial, playing field in comparison with carriers from other EU countries.
Non-EU carriers are a different subject, the last freight application was only objected to by two airlines. If the UK’s airline management are not prepared to put the time and effort into producing viable objections, then we are just inviting these carriers in.
No we have not done any flights so far. However the long term plan always expected that the take-up would be slow as, due to CAA restrictions, we were not able to go into the market place until we had the AOC & OL in place.
As you are probably aware, freight contracts tend to be for fixed period, so we are in the process of bidding for contracts starting later in the year, when they come up for renewal.
One advantage of "mature" equipment is that our overheads are low, so we are not burning the cash that we would be if we had ATR equipment on an expensive lease.
On other fronts our TRTO application is in, so we should shortly be in a position to start crew training. The second aircraft is nearly ready for delivery, this being one of our stated aims that we would not want to start a contract without a back-up, to ensure customer satisfaction.
Thanks for the update and best of luck in seeking out some contract work.
What about ad hoc though? I would have thought you were well placed geographically for that at an H24 airfield. I believe there is a Hungarian AN26 charter in SEN today for example, so there must be some of that type of work available n'est-ce pas? Or does the lack of a freight door preclude you from bidding for much of what is available?
We have considered ad-hoc work, and will probably be open to that in the future, but aircraft like the AN26 which are cheap and also have the rear loading ramp tend to hoover up that sort of work now, especially the car parts which tend to come in large stillages which are a pain in the **** on the 748.
There is the 1 LFD 748 (G-BIUV) that Emerald had, but it is believed that it has been sold.
Can't help feeling a bit of "deja vu on the other foot" when someone from Janes complains about using foreign registered aircraft because they are cheap. Of course, Emerald NEVER did that!!
Doc C
Last edited by Doctor Cruces : 9th June 2008 at 19:03.
Good to see that they cant keep a couple of "old dogs down" I am so glad you got things going again, its been interesting watching from outside the aviation bubble, the developments of the last couple of years.
Its a shame that the rug was pulled initially and all the unhappiness and bad feeling it caused. All the best I am sure you will be very successful
I don't want to rain on Janes Aviation's parade, but can anyone remember an outfit who, nearly 2 months after gaining their AOC had not carried out a single revenue flight?
I really am surprised that no ad hoc work is being sought, nor that they seem at present to even be in a position to seek any from a crewing perspective. It's certainly a new angle on the high fuel cost problem - just don't fly and your fuel costs are zero!
I hope their pockets are deep enough to get through this inactive phase of 'operations'.
Work is still going on to secure the necessary contracts to start operations. We have considered the Ad-hoc market, but this is now the wrong time of year (factory shut down's, etc). As we have stated before, the low capital cost of the HS748 means we are not under pressure to fly "at all costs" which would be the position if we had an newer asset, on an expensive lease, sitting on the ground. Believe me, it is all in the plan.
One area we have been trying to get sorted is the question of crew training & TRE's on the HS748. As effectively the only operator of the HS748 in Europe, with only a few operating in Canada & Africa, the lack of a TRTO means we cannot train up new crews for any contracts. We have applied for a TRTO but the CAA have just moved the goalposts so we need to resubmit our manual. Currently we only have 1 TRE which is very limiting so we are looking at additional cover, but again the lack of other JAR OPS operators means there limited numbers of TRE's on the HS748. So if there any HS748 TRE / TRI's out there, please give us a call!
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