St. Helena Service
Surely the civil Lockheed Hercules of the large fleet operated by Safair in South Africa have the availability, range and capability.
Plenty of reasons why the Herc could not be used for civilian pax flights - (non) availability of pax oxygen for a start. (Non) separation of pax and their bags for another.
More info from Saint Helena Local:
The official announcement was delivered today. “That SA Air link are the chosen bidders to provide commercial air services to St Helena”
The long awaited press release from the St Helena Government announcing the successful bidder was somewhat brief and sort of an anticlimax; As it was always apparent who was going to be the preferred bidder after Atlantic Airlines and Cello Aviation was told that they weren’t going to be invited to continue through to the second phase of the tender process. The confirmation came really when SA Air link were chartered to airlift home the stranded passengers from South Africa last month. For this the SA Air link used an identical aircraft the Avero RJ Aircraft that Atlantic Star Airlines used when they landed on St Helena last year.
SHG Air service press release
However, generally the community are now asking when will flights commence but again Government is asking the public to be patient. For most of us patience is wearing thin and there is a feeling in the community that indicates most are seeking alternative means of access. For some they have already taken the decision to don’t travel to and from St Helena at all. Let’s hope that Atlantic Airlines and other providers are not perturbed by disappointment and will soldier on to continue to offer St Helena the alternative service especially for the UK and Ascension links.
The community is greatly aware that Atlantic Star who also submitted a comprehensive bid to offer air services that was designed to grow the travel needs of St Helena, included options to employ saints.
How long will it take the St Helena Government to negotiate the final part of the tender with SA air link. Your guess is as good as mine as the announcement didn’t explicitly say this but more on the lines like how long is a piece of string.
Details of the connecting hub and flight schedules and commencement date is also up in the air so it seems as this we are told also forms part on the ongoing contractual negotiations.
The preferred connecting hub for most saints are Cape Town International in South Africa, this will enable familiar onward travel for most. The original decision however to use Johannesburg as a hub could still be a possibility.
The concerns about Saints living on Ascension and the Falkland Islands remains a big unresolved issue. The possibility of air travel via Ascension to connect with St Helena air travel could be highly unlikely if Ascension Island wide-awake airfield remains closed to commercial aircraft due to ongoing safety concerns with the runway. Though it is generally known that Ascension will remain the alternative airport for St Helena in case of emergency.
So what do we know about SA Airlink.
The official announcement was delivered today. “That SA Air link are the chosen bidders to provide commercial air services to St Helena”
The long awaited press release from the St Helena Government announcing the successful bidder was somewhat brief and sort of an anticlimax; As it was always apparent who was going to be the preferred bidder after Atlantic Airlines and Cello Aviation was told that they weren’t going to be invited to continue through to the second phase of the tender process. The confirmation came really when SA Air link were chartered to airlift home the stranded passengers from South Africa last month. For this the SA Air link used an identical aircraft the Avero RJ Aircraft that Atlantic Star Airlines used when they landed on St Helena last year.
SHG Air service press release
However, generally the community are now asking when will flights commence but again Government is asking the public to be patient. For most of us patience is wearing thin and there is a feeling in the community that indicates most are seeking alternative means of access. For some they have already taken the decision to don’t travel to and from St Helena at all. Let’s hope that Atlantic Airlines and other providers are not perturbed by disappointment and will soldier on to continue to offer St Helena the alternative service especially for the UK and Ascension links.
The community is greatly aware that Atlantic Star who also submitted a comprehensive bid to offer air services that was designed to grow the travel needs of St Helena, included options to employ saints.
How long will it take the St Helena Government to negotiate the final part of the tender with SA air link. Your guess is as good as mine as the announcement didn’t explicitly say this but more on the lines like how long is a piece of string.
Details of the connecting hub and flight schedules and commencement date is also up in the air so it seems as this we are told also forms part on the ongoing contractual negotiations.
The preferred connecting hub for most saints are Cape Town International in South Africa, this will enable familiar onward travel for most. The original decision however to use Johannesburg as a hub could still be a possibility.
The concerns about Saints living on Ascension and the Falkland Islands remains a big unresolved issue. The possibility of air travel via Ascension to connect with St Helena air travel could be highly unlikely if Ascension Island wide-awake airfield remains closed to commercial aircraft due to ongoing safety concerns with the runway. Though it is generally known that Ascension will remain the alternative airport for St Helena in case of emergency.
So what do we know about SA Airlink.
- SA Airlink is a South African domestic and regional carrier and it is privately owned and mainly based in Johannesburg.
- Airlink was formed in 1978 and forms is part of a feeder for SA Airlines some of the aircraft owned by the company are Avero RJ85s, Embraers and BAE Jet streams.
- Like most airlines airlink have suffered a few incidents and accidents over the years some of which occurred in September 2009, December 2009, defence web in South Africa reported that SA Air link had four incidents in three months.
- SA Airlink is a member of IATA (International Air Transport Association)
- SA Airlink have flown to St Helena only a few months ago to bring home stranded passengers when the RMS St Helena experienced mechanical issues.
Safair Operations | Specialist Aviation Services
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Baggage shouldn't be a problem so long as it is regarded as cabin baggage and goes thru the appropriate security checks
It would be interesting to see the business plan for SHL airport.
I cannot see it paying back GBP 250M ever if the revenue is just from tourism and obviously there are other costs than the airport associated with that.
The only other source of revenue I could see was from Satellite uplink operators who want to take advantage of SHLs favourable position for uplinking data to S America and Souhtern Africa. Once again though this is dependent on spend elsewhere and the airport bit is only to allow hi tech equipment to be shipped to the island and to send specialist techies to and fro .
So I cannot see how it would have ever made money even if in this case a profit is actually just a reduction in UK subsidies. A very sad story
I cannot see it paying back GBP 250M ever if the revenue is just from tourism and obviously there are other costs than the airport associated with that.
The only other source of revenue I could see was from Satellite uplink operators who want to take advantage of SHLs favourable position for uplinking data to S America and Souhtern Africa. Once again though this is dependent on spend elsewhere and the airport bit is only to allow hi tech equipment to be shipped to the island and to send specialist techies to and fro .
So I cannot see how it would have ever made money even if in this case a profit is actually just a reduction in UK subsidies. A very sad story
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Great interview that sums it up very well:
https://omny.fm/shows/afternoons-wit...lights-and-new
https://omny.fm/shows/afternoons-wit...lights-and-new
Birns says Airlink appears to be optimistic about the technical capabilities and safety of the Embraer 190 aircraft.
He predicts that the local airline will strike a deal that will protect their finances from any disruptions to the services in their contract.
He predicts that the local airline will strike a deal that will protect their finances from any disruptions to the services in their contract.
It was never the plan to pay back the construction costs in a commercial manner. The money was a gift from the UK Government Aid budget.
Unfortunately once an overall figure of public funds gets agreed there is then a desperation to spend every penny of it, regardless of need. This is what has led to a grandiose terminal building which would be suitable for 100 times the anticipated passenger volumes, which I would point out are initially on one flight a WEEK. There must be many a UK regional airport who is envious of it.
What would have been more appropriate would have been a longer runway, and a couple of Portakabins for terminal facilities. The ongoing operating costs of the terminal alone must exceed any possible revenue. This is a poor island with no industry, the residents do not jet off to the ski slopes every winter.
Unfortunately once an overall figure of public funds gets agreed there is then a desperation to spend every penny of it, regardless of need. This is what has led to a grandiose terminal building which would be suitable for 100 times the anticipated passenger volumes, which I would point out are initially on one flight a WEEK. There must be many a UK regional airport who is envious of it.
What would have been more appropriate would have been a longer runway, and a couple of Portakabins for terminal facilities. The ongoing operating costs of the terminal alone must exceed any possible revenue. This is a poor island with no industry, the residents do not jet off to the ski slopes every winter.
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It would be interesting to see the business plan for SHL airport.
I cannot see it paying back GBP 250M ever if the revenue is just from tourism and obviously there are other costs than the airport associated with that.
The only other source of revenue I could see was from Satellite uplink operators who want to take advantage of SHLs favourable position for uplinking data to S America and Souhtern Africa. Once again though this is dependent on spend elsewhere and the airport bit is only to allow hi tech equipment to be shipped to the island and to send specialist techies to and fro .
So I cannot see how it would have ever made money even if in this case a profit is actually just a reduction in UK subsidies. A very sad story
I cannot see it paying back GBP 250M ever if the revenue is just from tourism and obviously there are other costs than the airport associated with that.
The only other source of revenue I could see was from Satellite uplink operators who want to take advantage of SHLs favourable position for uplinking data to S America and Souhtern Africa. Once again though this is dependent on spend elsewhere and the airport bit is only to allow hi tech equipment to be shipped to the island and to send specialist techies to and fro .
So I cannot see how it would have ever made money even if in this case a profit is actually just a reduction in UK subsidies. A very sad story
one evening?Not everything is about profit!
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The terminal at St Helena is nothing shy of ridiculous for the size of the airport.
Numerous check in desks, conveyor-belt systems, arrivals belts, numerous xray machines etc....
Why?
The airport was never going to get more than 100 pax a week
Numerous check in desks, conveyor-belt systems, arrivals belts, numerous xray machines etc....
Why?
The airport was never going to get more than 100 pax a week
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The Deluxe Airport of St Helena
It's not just the terminal that's over the top. It's got every conceivable navaid (apart I think from a VDF) - it's like they said to the nav aid supplier - money no object - it's being paid for by the UK Government!
There's a localizer only ILS - just for runway 20. There's an NDB locator beacon, and the VOR which only works over the Eastern part of its coverage. Finally, they've spent money on the Honeywell "Smartpath" GPS augmentation approach system - which so far is not recognised by ASSI, so not usable.
Other extravagances - having "full blown" ATC facilities - including approach and tower frequencies. With the miniscule traffic expectation, the whole of the ATC could be handled by a FSO who just needs to check that no vehicles are on the runway then issue a "land at your discretion" instruction and pass the wind info. You could train up a local Saint to do that in a few hours, instead of flying in South African ATC professionals - who probably find it all a bit boring.
Also, why do you need an expensive security fence surrounding the airfield? A couple of policemen could be stationed suitably when a plane is due to keep people off the runway.
The whole thing has been designed by people unused to the conditions on a small island with just 4000 people - and with a "money no object" mentality.
There's a localizer only ILS - just for runway 20. There's an NDB locator beacon, and the VOR which only works over the Eastern part of its coverage. Finally, they've spent money on the Honeywell "Smartpath" GPS augmentation approach system - which so far is not recognised by ASSI, so not usable.
Other extravagances - having "full blown" ATC facilities - including approach and tower frequencies. With the miniscule traffic expectation, the whole of the ATC could be handled by a FSO who just needs to check that no vehicles are on the runway then issue a "land at your discretion" instruction and pass the wind info. You could train up a local Saint to do that in a few hours, instead of flying in South African ATC professionals - who probably find it all a bit boring.
Also, why do you need an expensive security fence surrounding the airfield? A couple of policemen could be stationed suitably when a plane is due to keep people off the runway.
The whole thing has been designed by people unused to the conditions on a small island with just 4000 people - and with a "money no object" mentality.
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Also, why do you need an expensive security fence surrounding the airfield? A couple of policemen could be stationed suitably when a plane is due to keep people off the runway.
Probably so if one assumes that the police security will be on site even with said fence... And it has to be maintened, at a significant cost I'm sure.
Again: one flight per week!
Again: one flight per week!
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Other extravagances - having "full blown" ATC facilities - including approach and tower frequencies. With the miniscule traffic expectation, the whole of the ATC could be handled by a FSO who just needs to check that no vehicles are on the runway then issue a "land at your discretion" instruction and pass the wind info. You could train up a local Saint to do that in a few hours
It's not necessarily what you do but what you are trained to do, whether the tower has one or two frequencies is nitpicking because one controller can work both frequencies but it's when the unexpected, the unforeseen, happens that the guy(s) in the tower come in to their own, in my previous life in ATC I dealt with emergencies whereas an aircraft crew might expect one's undivided attention whilst there are crash wagons, ambulances calling on a ground frequency whilst the telephones are going crazy etc. etc. etc. and you suggest that the person in overall charge of this can be trained in a few hours?
The terminal at St Helena is nothing shy of ridiculous for the size of the airport.
Numerous check in desks, conveyor-belt systems, arrivals belts, numerous xray machines etc....
Why?
The airport was never going to get more than 100 pax a week
Numerous check in desks, conveyor-belt systems, arrivals belts, numerous xray machines etc....
Why?
The airport was never going to get more than 100 pax a week
100 pax per week? ... Just reading here I've read that the original, well early, plan was for B737-800 operations which seat significantly more than 100, I've also read of ideas of B757 operations from/to UK, last I heard B757's seat in excess of 200 pax, I've also read of medivac and bizjet operations whilst SA Airlink's planned operations are yet to be divulged.
These days I'm a self-employed hotelier, I built my ten rooms when I didn't have a single guest, is it being suggested that I should only have built one room and then call the builders back to build another room each and every time I reached capacity?
The airport, the terminal, is to be the gateway to St Helena and as such there is nothing wrong with it being state of the art and welcoming, in comparison the airport of the island that I live on, they only built the terminal a few years back only planning that there would only be one aircraft on the ground at a time, the departure lounge can only accommodate an ATR72 load, there are only two check-in desks, and already we're often up to two aircraft, of two different operators, on the ground at the same time so two different airlines need to share two check-in desks, the departure lounge simply isn't big enough and as for security, searching every item of baggage by hand, well it's a nightmare.
If only we had a terminal like St. Helena!
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Well send a Saint or few to RAF Shawbury to learn the textbook stuff then send them for some OJT at an airport that has a reasonable number of movements ... It takes longer than a few hours to learn regarding controlling aircraft!
I'm sure there are many Saints who would like to qualify and have the required aptitude. The RMS St. Helena is/was when I met some Officered mainly by Saints so I see no reason the ATC roles could not be filled in a similar manner in the long term.
I am v much looking forward to this getting sorted as I can't wait to visit again and beat my pb up the Jacob's ladder...
I am v much looking forward to this getting sorted as I can't wait to visit again and beat my pb up the Jacob's ladder...
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