1Time Lose Cat 2 status.
 

As of yesterday the CAA pulled 1Time's Cat2 status.
The CAA have been busy auditing and clearly things did
not go too well.
Apparently its got to do with the reliability of the CSD's?
Hope they catch a BIG WAKEUP :ugh:
Lots of folk rely on this airline and it would be terrible
for all concerned if it were forced to close its doors alla Nationwide.
Maybe some of the money generated from its BEE deal can
now be used wisely in all critical areas needing urgent attention :confused:

Scuse my ignorance, but what has a Constant Speed Drive have anything to do with shooting a CATII ILS??? Or did I misread your post? In all fairness, who's auditing the SACAA? They sure as sh!t leave a lot to be desired. Oh and NO, I don't work for 1Time...

Good question - however if the reliability of CSD's is in question then I suppose it has a lot to do with it. All wx ops require independent instrument electrical supplies - if that cannot be guaranteed within agreed criteria then I suppose it is game over?


Regards
Exeng

In all fairness, who's auditing the SACAA? They sure as sh!t leave a lot to be desired. Oh and NO, I don't work for 1Time...

You "sure as sh!t" don't keep up with SA aviation if you don't know who audits the SACAA, They get audited often by the likes of the FAA and other aviation regulatory organisations. We are quick to blame them when we "know" an airline is breaking the law, but just as quick to criticize when they do the right thing. We cant have it both ways!!

Really smartass, besides the FAA, who else.....

Yip thats right I said CSD's. EXENG is pretty much spot on.

Probably find that when half the fleet's APU's are U/S (hence all the copco starts requested on clearance) are combined with the CSD's that are probably overtemping it makes for a one generator operation which means no CAT II's. Management too busy painting rosy pictures to the people responsible for profit and loss (directors) and this is the end result. A management style change is what is required here for better outcomes. Hopefully 1-Time can learn from the Nationwide catastrophe.

I don’t see the big deal. As long as they follow the MEL, no problem.That what its for. I am sure 1 Time does that.
APU can be INOP.
As to the SACAA.No Comment!!!!
And I don’t work for 1 Time.

Time they got decent machines. Put all this nonsense aside, get decent machines, and lead the pack.

Only one thing stops 1-Time from being top of the domestics in SA, and that is the equipment they fly.

Nothing wrong with the MD80.
Many airlines around the world operating them.
They just need proper technical support and spares available.
You can have a brand new B737-800 and without the above you will have the same problem.

Do I smell an agenda?
 

Guys and gals,
I don't fly for 1Time. Hey, I don't even fly for an airline.
I do find it interesting, however, that there are suddenly 3 different 1Time threads running - all biased against the airline in no uncertain terms.
Does someone maybe have an agenda here - competitors seeking an advantage or the media fishing for news?
Disgruntled interview candidate?
Stranger things have happened...

No bones from this side. It's my domestic airline of choice. Kulula is permanently late, BA is too expensive, and SAA....well the less said the better.

I just speak from a purely objective point of view (albeit mine) in that it seems the equipment is often stopping 1-Time from reaching the levels that their crew and service ethic would allow, if they were operating some more modern airframes.

As an aviator, if you asked me which airline I would expect serviceability issues on, it would unfortunately have to be 1-Time. Perhaps not as result of the MD80 type per se, but there seem to be issues on the maintenance side.

I fully back 1-Time, all the time, I just wish they could attain their rightful place in the hierarchy, which is what their crews, their attitude, and their loyal pax deserve.:ok:

I use domestic flights in SA a lot. For my money FlyMango are the best, followed by SAA. Kulula are as above, plus unreliable. I've only flown 1Time one time, and was put off by the tatty state of the old aircraft. I'm quite sure that mechanically they are 100% but it's not for me unless there's no alternative. Crew very professional on board, let down by very poor handling at Jan Smuts (yes I prefer to call it that .... even if others call it 'ORTIA').

Strange, I have found the opposite with 1-Time...inside the aircraft ok, outside...not so.

Have flown Mango twice and found no hassle, except that they are SAA (in my mind anyway) and I found the legroom oppressive, though by removing the safety card, you can double it....

They are really all much of a muchness, except for Kulula, the biggest joke of all. Kulula is for the unemployed, or aimless wanderers, because if you have a time or place or need to be ( yes, even place) , you can forget about it. Will not get into how many clients, potential or otherwise, they cost me when my comany insisted on booking with them, due to my complete inability to keep appointments. Cheap at first glance, but very very expensive in the big picture.

I should have qualified my comment about 1Time's a/c. Inside fine, clearly old but clean and spruce, but tatty and dirty on the outside, streaks of oil behind the engines, a lot of things just giving the impression of not caring. I know they wouldn't fly if they weren't safe .... although on reflection one might have said that about Nationwide until they left an engine behind on departure from D F Malan one fine afternoon!

Kulula, a joke indeed, a sick one.

There is a second thing..................money or more precisely the cost of finance.

The choice of MD-80s is for no other reason than they can be bought/leased cheaply. If 1time were to replace these aircraft with say B737 - 700 or 800 then the cost of financing them would soar through the roof. 1time is a low cost carrier with, I suspect, very thin margins and no room for massive increases in costs.

That said, I thought there was a rumour last year that they were going to get the ex-Saudi MD-90 aircraft from Airbus who took them when Saudi changed to Airbus. These aircraft were basically the prototypes for the MD-95/B717 aircraft.

Kulula is indeed a complete joke in it's current state in terms of scheduling - that said, you have to consider why, and how it relates to 1Time. Kulula are running with NO margin for error (or even negative margins) in order to maximise usage, and thus profitability, to finance the new fleet of -800's. The three, soon to be four, on lease will be supplemented by brand new aircraft (Really brand new from Boeing, as opposed to 'Kulula' new :) ) at some stage in the next few years. (2012?) I'm told that they've had to jump through several financial hoops, and demonstrate suitably awesome levels of profitability to secure the loans. Thats even after having made a profit for the last 60 years or whatever they're always going on about. And it's still no excuse for being late all the time of course.

Simply put, it may be beyond 1Time to get that kind of backing, or it may raise their operating cost beyond what they claim to be. Who knows.

Wishful thinking aside, what sort of airline loses it's CAT II status? There has been no communication to the crew as to why it has been revoked (rumours abound of course), or how long it will take to regain CAT II certification. It is tempting to add "...if ever" to the previous sentence, but that would reek of juvenile bias against the airline. Latest unconfirmed and unofficial rumour is that the CAA has given 1Time a 2 month period in which to address the shortcomings found in the audit, the consequence of failing to do so is apparently the revocation of the AOC.

Would the CAA actually follow through with such a warning? Will the airline pull up it's socks and sort itself out? This is either a period in which the company will experience a renaissance of sorts and get the crucial bits on track...or it is the inevitable writing on the wall. Does the company have the finances to do what is required?

In my opinion I think the management at 1time must be commended to an extent !

1Time has grown since its inception...albeit with the same "old" aircraft type essentially....the only airline still operating those machines in large numbers is Delta and American. They can do it because the operating costs (of the MD fleet) are probably being absorbed by the other 100 ,or so, aircraft they operate(ie. B737/767/777/744 and A330's).

In the case of Mango and Kulula , they both "piggy back" on their parent companies. When I was at comair afew years ago their kulula Jhb-PE flights were combined with BA flights. (pax scored cause they didnt need to pay for food.) In the case of Mango...well lets not even go there....

Anyway, my point is that the guys at 1time must be doing something right. They "piggy back" on themselves.....everything they've done has been on their own accord so lets not "run" them down !!!

I hope they sort out this cat 11 status issue and move on...hopefully a newer fleet is on the cards....:ok:

btw. the longest delay I have ever experienced in my LIFE was with 1time...it was from Dbn-Jhb on the 24th of Dec 2004. I was booked on the 2pm flight to JHB (24th).....we eventually left on xmas day at 1pm.........................on SAA. LOL ...the staff at 1time booked 80 pax on an SAA flight from Dbn-Jhb :D. Apparently a technical delay led to a "crew" shortage . Never seen so many p#ssed off people before. It would have been easier if we just got on a bus ! ....

It appears to that the SACAA has a selective way of auditing.
Some Airlines get the short end of the stick while others don’t.
The standards should be the same for all Airlines regardless of the size and who they are.
For example the CAA granted non-scheduled airlines three month to comply with EGPWS.
Why. Is there a difference with safety with non-scheduled and scheduled?
Safety should be the same for all!
Looks to me like 1Time is being singled out!!!