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29th Jan 2004, 09:29
From Nzoom.com
Air NZ takes Airwork to court
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- Fiji holidays just got cheaper
Jan 29, 2004
Air New Zealand says it has obtained a court injunction against Airwork Holdings for the return of a confidential flight operations manual.
The airline alleges the manual was photocopied by Airwork's manager of flight operations and another person while being unlawfully on Air NZ premises on Auckland Anniversary Day (January 26).
Airwork is the company that is to provide a Boeing 737-300 aircraft to Flight Centre for its planned holiday package charter flights to Fiji, fares for which undercut Air New Zealand's current fares by around $200.
Airwork's managing director Hugh Jones was unavailable for comment when nzoom.com called.
Flight Centre managing director Graeme Moore says he is confident that Airwork is doing everything it can to get Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval for its aircraft.
"The only reason they were there (getting the manual) on Anniversary day is because that's the day they received the request - CAA was working in Wellington - and they are trying to get everything through as quickly as possible," Moore says.
"This whole thing could have been solved with a couple of phone calls, rather than a court injunction. It's a storm in a tea cup."
Moore says he is satisfied by the explanation he has been given by Airwork's Jones.
Air NZ says its manuals are copyright and include commercially valuable material.
"The relevant parts of the operating manual feature a comprehensive Quick Reference Handbook and are not available from Boeing in its standard 737-300 operating manual," the airline says.
To get Civil Aviation (CAA) approval to operate as a transport airline, an operator has to have its manuals approved.
Air NZ alleges the Airwork's manager when he was challenged suggested that Airwork intended to use the proprietary Air New Zealand operating manual in order to gain CAA approval of Airwork's Boeing 737-300 operations more quickly and easily.
Moore says he has been told CAA needed documentation to show the difference between the documentation for the 737-300 aircraft and the simulator that had been used for pilot training.
But an Air NZ spokesman told nzoom.com that the Airwork's personnel, who are former Air NZ staffers, used an access card to gain entrance to Air NZ's premises on a day Airwork was not scheduled to use the simulator for training.
"They were trespassing," the spokesman says.
Furthermore, Air NZ had a copy of the CAA letter to Airwork which requested the additional information on the differences between the 737-300 cockpit and the simulator "by the end of January", he says.
"They photocopied 250 pages of the manual - a manual which clearly says copyright is vested in Air New Zealand. We expect them to give all the documents back by the end of the day."
Asked if a request had been made for Air NZ to supply Airwork with the manual, possibly selling it, the spokesman said no such request had been received.
Source: nzoom.com
see also
Air NZ cuts fares to the islands (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=116772)
Air NZ takes Airwork to court
RELATED LINKS
- Fiji flights first shots in price war
- Fiji holidays just got cheaper
Jan 29, 2004
Air New Zealand says it has obtained a court injunction against Airwork Holdings for the return of a confidential flight operations manual.
The airline alleges the manual was photocopied by Airwork's manager of flight operations and another person while being unlawfully on Air NZ premises on Auckland Anniversary Day (January 26).
Airwork is the company that is to provide a Boeing 737-300 aircraft to Flight Centre for its planned holiday package charter flights to Fiji, fares for which undercut Air New Zealand's current fares by around $200.
Airwork's managing director Hugh Jones was unavailable for comment when nzoom.com called.
Flight Centre managing director Graeme Moore says he is confident that Airwork is doing everything it can to get Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approval for its aircraft.
"The only reason they were there (getting the manual) on Anniversary day is because that's the day they received the request - CAA was working in Wellington - and they are trying to get everything through as quickly as possible," Moore says.
"This whole thing could have been solved with a couple of phone calls, rather than a court injunction. It's a storm in a tea cup."
Moore says he is satisfied by the explanation he has been given by Airwork's Jones.
Air NZ says its manuals are copyright and include commercially valuable material.
"The relevant parts of the operating manual feature a comprehensive Quick Reference Handbook and are not available from Boeing in its standard 737-300 operating manual," the airline says.
To get Civil Aviation (CAA) approval to operate as a transport airline, an operator has to have its manuals approved.
Air NZ alleges the Airwork's manager when he was challenged suggested that Airwork intended to use the proprietary Air New Zealand operating manual in order to gain CAA approval of Airwork's Boeing 737-300 operations more quickly and easily.
Moore says he has been told CAA needed documentation to show the difference between the documentation for the 737-300 aircraft and the simulator that had been used for pilot training.
But an Air NZ spokesman told nzoom.com that the Airwork's personnel, who are former Air NZ staffers, used an access card to gain entrance to Air NZ's premises on a day Airwork was not scheduled to use the simulator for training.
"They were trespassing," the spokesman says.
Furthermore, Air NZ had a copy of the CAA letter to Airwork which requested the additional information on the differences between the 737-300 cockpit and the simulator "by the end of January", he says.
"They photocopied 250 pages of the manual - a manual which clearly says copyright is vested in Air New Zealand. We expect them to give all the documents back by the end of the day."
Asked if a request had been made for Air NZ to supply Airwork with the manual, possibly selling it, the spokesman said no such request had been received.
Source: nzoom.com
see also
Air NZ cuts fares to the islands (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=116772)