Virgin fixing glitches in maintenance record system
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Virgin fixing glitches in maintenance record system
Fri "The Australian"
Virgin fixing glitches in maintenance record system
By Steve Creedy
March 05, 2004
VIRGIN Blue is confident it is on track to fix glitches in its maintenance record system that left it unable to add aircraft to its fleet.
The airline dobbed itself in to authorities after it last year discovered problems with the way spare parts were recorded on its computerised maintenance system.
The issue with parts normally replaced in heavy maintenance also prompted Virgin to voluntarily suspend its extended range twin engine operations (ETOPS) rating.
The airline and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority say the record glitch does not pose a safety risk because Virgin's new planes will not require heavy maintenance in the near future.
Virgin has not applied to add planes to its operator's licence since the problem was revealed and officials say they still expect to bring on new aircraft by May.
The carrier's prospectus called for one firm aircraft and three leased aircraft to be added to its fleet of 40 aircraft by the end of this month with two more firm aircraft planned by the end of May.
Virgin spokesman David Huttner said the airline discovered the problem as it was developing its ETOPS program.
He said all of the airline's aircraft were operating as normal.
"Since our aircraft are new, we did not face any issues that would affect the operational safety of our fleet," Mr Huttner said.
"But we felt it better to get these systems in order now before our fleet came of an age when this issue became more important.
"Therefore, we both self-diagnosed and put forward a plan to CASA to improve the situation."
A CASA spokesman said the authority had been working with Virgin and was satisfied there were no immediate safety risks.
Meanwhile, both Qantas and Virgin said they were complying with a Boeing directive to replace faulty landing gear locking springs on Boeing 737-800 aircraft as parts become available. One of the springs landed on the roof of a house in Townsville in January after it fell off a Virgin Blue plane.
===========================================
Virgin fixing glitches in maintenance record system
By Steve Creedy
March 05, 2004
VIRGIN Blue is confident it is on track to fix glitches in its maintenance record system that left it unable to add aircraft to its fleet.
The airline dobbed itself in to authorities after it last year discovered problems with the way spare parts were recorded on its computerised maintenance system.
The issue with parts normally replaced in heavy maintenance also prompted Virgin to voluntarily suspend its extended range twin engine operations (ETOPS) rating.
The airline and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority say the record glitch does not pose a safety risk because Virgin's new planes will not require heavy maintenance in the near future.
Virgin has not applied to add planes to its operator's licence since the problem was revealed and officials say they still expect to bring on new aircraft by May.
The carrier's prospectus called for one firm aircraft and three leased aircraft to be added to its fleet of 40 aircraft by the end of this month with two more firm aircraft planned by the end of May.
Virgin spokesman David Huttner said the airline discovered the problem as it was developing its ETOPS program.
He said all of the airline's aircraft were operating as normal.
"Since our aircraft are new, we did not face any issues that would affect the operational safety of our fleet," Mr Huttner said.
"But we felt it better to get these systems in order now before our fleet came of an age when this issue became more important.
"Therefore, we both self-diagnosed and put forward a plan to CASA to improve the situation."
A CASA spokesman said the authority had been working with Virgin and was satisfied there were no immediate safety risks.
Meanwhile, both Qantas and Virgin said they were complying with a Boeing directive to replace faulty landing gear locking springs on Boeing 737-800 aircraft as parts become available. One of the springs landed on the roof of a house in Townsville in January after it fell off a Virgin Blue plane.
===========================================
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The system is far from fixed,no-one in VB seems to understand the Trax computer system or how all of the data interacts within the internal modules of the program.CASA currently meet with VB twice a week in what they call AOC protection meetings!VB are still not allowed to add any more aircraft to the AOC (VH-VOU still in storage in CHC) and still can not operate ETOPS,says it all.Glad i don`t have any shares in them .
VOU was ferried as DJ9068 on 04/03 and it certainly wasn't there when i arrived on the MEL-CHC inaugural at 1500, i think we passed it on the way over.
DJ737
The Roo Rooter
PS also this gleaned from some mob called OZ-Spotters
737-8FE VH-VOU 'Blue Billie' of Virgin Blue was delivered from Christchurch to Melbourne today as flight DJ9068.
DJ737
The Roo Rooter
PS also this gleaned from some mob called OZ-Spotters
737-8FE VH-VOU 'Blue Billie' of Virgin Blue was delivered from Christchurch to Melbourne today as flight DJ9068.
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OK,I take your word for it!May be VB hadn`t changed some of the paperwork to reflect the ferry.Sure it wasn`t the Fleetwood Mac charter flights that have been occuring as they have been using different flight numbers?
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..Huttner and CASA better pray like hell that they don't get caught in that dirty little lie they're both telling...oh and I hope Godfrey realises that his CEO position is a CASA postholding - something goes wrong now and the law says these fella's could end up in jail.
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How times have changed at CASA. 
When Compass was operating, on several flights out of Brisbane, CASA Inspectors turned up as the Aircraft was ready to pushback full of pax, and demanded to check all the log books before flight.
When I explained to them that the Aircraft was ready to go, they just said too bad we have to check all the paper work right now.
Each time they purposely delayed our flight, but never found anything wrong.
When I queried why they had to do it, they said that they did it regularly at all Airlines, then I pointed out that for the 28 years I had spent at Ansett I never saw it done even once, to which they had no answer.
Obviously there are many different standards of surveillance for different Airlines.
When Compass was operating, on several flights out of Brisbane, CASA Inspectors turned up as the Aircraft was ready to pushback full of pax, and demanded to check all the log books before flight.
When I explained to them that the Aircraft was ready to go, they just said too bad we have to check all the paper work right now.
Each time they purposely delayed our flight, but never found anything wrong.
When I queried why they had to do it, they said that they did it regularly at all Airlines, then I pointed out that for the 28 years I had spent at Ansett I never saw it done even once, to which they had no answer.
Obviously there are many different standards of surveillance for different Airlines.
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Wed "Melbourne Age"
Virgin in maintenance crisis
By Scott Rochfort
March 10, 2004
Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline, has admitted its maintenance records are in disarray, raising questions about its ability to maintain its 40 aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Virgin say there is no immediate risk to passenger safety, although CASA has barred Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for all of the parts on its existing fleet of Boeing 737s.
The airline's head of strategy, David Huttner, highlighting the youthfulness of Virgin's fleet, said: "While it does not affect the operations today, we want to ensure the systems are of the highest standards so we will not encounter issues a few years down the road when (our) rotable parts reach their maximum usage.
"If we didn't do this now, in three to five years down the track we might be sitting with parts that are out of time that we didn't know about about."
Referring to 737 parts that are required to be serviced and replaced regularly, Mr Huttner said: "There are no parts out there that are at their life-span limit."
So daunting is the task that Virgin, with the help of Boeing, has to backdate the history and maintenance record of each part on its aircraft. Each 737 has around 367,000 parts.
The head of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Bruce Byron, declined to speak to The Age.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said: "Basically the program to improve their maintenance record system is in place. They are now doing the work. There were no reasons to ground flights as long as these issues were addressed."
Mr Gibson said CASA grounded Ansett's 10 B767s three years ago because they posed an immediate safety concern, noting that some of the planes had "wrong parts" and improperly stowed emergency evacuation slides.
Mr Gibson said the problem facing Virgin was that it had grown quicker than expected, with its maintenance infrastructure struggling to keep up with the growth in its fleet.
Virgin reported the maintenance problems to CASA in December, when the airline forfeited its right to fly extended-range twin operations, which allowed it to fly its twin-engine 737s more than one hour's flying time from the nearest airport. Mr Huttner said this had added five to 10 minutes to the Melbourne-Perth route.
He denied the growth in Virgin's fleet had overwhelmed the airline's maintenance systems. He said Virgin had allocated enough funds to build a maintenance infrastructure that could handle a fleet of 60 to 70 aircraft.
"If we thought it was a real issue we would have put more planes on the New Zealand AOC (Air Operators Certificate)," Mr Huttner said.
The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority said the maintenance crisis facing Virgin Blue would not affect its New Zealand- based subsidiary Pacific Blue, given both airlines used separate maintenance tracking systems.
With the NZCAA allowing Pacific Blue to fly "short-range" extended-range twin operations on flights between Australia and New Zealand, the airline's Melbourne and Wellington flights still have to make a slight detour mid-flight to stay within range of Lord Howe Island.
==========================================
Virgin in maintenance crisis
By Scott Rochfort
March 10, 2004
Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline, has admitted its maintenance records are in disarray, raising questions about its ability to maintain its 40 aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Virgin say there is no immediate risk to passenger safety, although CASA has barred Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for all of the parts on its existing fleet of Boeing 737s.
The airline's head of strategy, David Huttner, highlighting the youthfulness of Virgin's fleet, said: "While it does not affect the operations today, we want to ensure the systems are of the highest standards so we will not encounter issues a few years down the road when (our) rotable parts reach their maximum usage.
"If we didn't do this now, in three to five years down the track we might be sitting with parts that are out of time that we didn't know about about."
Referring to 737 parts that are required to be serviced and replaced regularly, Mr Huttner said: "There are no parts out there that are at their life-span limit."
So daunting is the task that Virgin, with the help of Boeing, has to backdate the history and maintenance record of each part on its aircraft. Each 737 has around 367,000 parts.
The head of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Bruce Byron, declined to speak to The Age.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said: "Basically the program to improve their maintenance record system is in place. They are now doing the work. There were no reasons to ground flights as long as these issues were addressed."
Mr Gibson said CASA grounded Ansett's 10 B767s three years ago because they posed an immediate safety concern, noting that some of the planes had "wrong parts" and improperly stowed emergency evacuation slides.
Mr Gibson said the problem facing Virgin was that it had grown quicker than expected, with its maintenance infrastructure struggling to keep up with the growth in its fleet.
Virgin reported the maintenance problems to CASA in December, when the airline forfeited its right to fly extended-range twin operations, which allowed it to fly its twin-engine 737s more than one hour's flying time from the nearest airport. Mr Huttner said this had added five to 10 minutes to the Melbourne-Perth route.
He denied the growth in Virgin's fleet had overwhelmed the airline's maintenance systems. He said Virgin had allocated enough funds to build a maintenance infrastructure that could handle a fleet of 60 to 70 aircraft.
"If we thought it was a real issue we would have put more planes on the New Zealand AOC (Air Operators Certificate)," Mr Huttner said.
The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority said the maintenance crisis facing Virgin Blue would not affect its New Zealand- based subsidiary Pacific Blue, given both airlines used separate maintenance tracking systems.
With the NZCAA allowing Pacific Blue to fly "short-range" extended-range twin operations on flights between Australia and New Zealand, the airline's Melbourne and Wellington flights still have to make a slight detour mid-flight to stay within range of Lord Howe Island.
==========================================
Nunc est bibendum
And this similar one from the SMH:
There are two bits out of this that I reckon are interesting. Firstly, 'five or ten minutes' extra on MEL-PER. I don't think so. I remember doing this non-ETOPS years ago and it was at least 30 minutes and probably closer to 40!! Maybe it was just the day we had with head winds and so on! 
The second bit is Mr Huttner denying that the rapid growth had overwhelmed the record keeping. So, it wasn't growth then? What was it? If it wasn't the growth of the airline that caused it then it means that it must be just pure incompetence!! Should've taken the 'growth' branch when it was offered!
Flawed records force Virgin to fly the long way home
By Scott Rochfort
March 10, 2004
Australia's second-largest airline, Virgin Blue, has admitted its maintenance records are in disarray, raising serious questions over the upkeep of its fleet of 40 aircraft.
The airline has agreed it will fly within an hour of an airport at all times, forcing it to deviate from the most direct path and add travelling time.
And the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has barred Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for every part on each of its existing Boeing 737s. That means it may be unable to register five new 737s due for delivery from the US by late May - a crucial building block in its attempt to capture more of the market.
In December, Virgin Blue reported flaws in its maintenance records to CASA. It discovered its logs had lost track of aircraft parts, including from engines.
A CASA spokesman, Peter Gibson, said the "real problem" was that Virgin "has grown quicker than expected" and its maintenance infrastructure was struggling to keep up with the growth in its fleet. From two aircraft in August 2000, Virgin now has 40. Virgin has to account for the history and maintenance record of each part on its aircraft, from the rotor blades on the engines to the bolts on the landing gear. Each 737 has about 367,000 parts.
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But the airline's head of strategy, David Huttner, stressed that all of its aircraft were young and insisted there was no immediate risk to safety - a claim CASA supports.
"While it does not affect the operations today, we want to ensure the systems are of the highest standards so we will not encounter issues a few years down the road when [our] rotable parts reach their maximum usage," Mr Huttner said. "If we didn't do this now, in three to five years down the track we might be sitting with parts that are out of time that we didn't know about."
Mr Huttner added: "There are no parts out there that are at their life-span limit."
Mr Gibson said: "There were no reasons to ground flights as long as these issues were addressed."
Virgin has forfeited its right to fly Extended-Range Twin Operations [ETOPS], meaning it must now not stray more than an hour from an airport at any time. Mr Huttner could not say exactly how much time this added, for example, to the Sydney-Perth route, but suggested five or 10 minutes on the Melbourne-Perth run.
When the airline won the right to fly ETOPS last October, its head of engineering, Michael Hockin, said it was "a vote of confidence in Virgin Blue's flight operations, navigation services and aircraft engineering programs".
Mr Huttner denied Virgin's rapid growth had overwhelmed its record keeping.
By Scott Rochfort
March 10, 2004
Australia's second-largest airline, Virgin Blue, has admitted its maintenance records are in disarray, raising serious questions over the upkeep of its fleet of 40 aircraft.
The airline has agreed it will fly within an hour of an airport at all times, forcing it to deviate from the most direct path and add travelling time.
And the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has barred Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for every part on each of its existing Boeing 737s. That means it may be unable to register five new 737s due for delivery from the US by late May - a crucial building block in its attempt to capture more of the market.
In December, Virgin Blue reported flaws in its maintenance records to CASA. It discovered its logs had lost track of aircraft parts, including from engines.
A CASA spokesman, Peter Gibson, said the "real problem" was that Virgin "has grown quicker than expected" and its maintenance infrastructure was struggling to keep up with the growth in its fleet. From two aircraft in August 2000, Virgin now has 40. Virgin has to account for the history and maintenance record of each part on its aircraft, from the rotor blades on the engines to the bolts on the landing gear. Each 737 has about 367,000 parts.
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But the airline's head of strategy, David Huttner, stressed that all of its aircraft were young and insisted there was no immediate risk to safety - a claim CASA supports.
"While it does not affect the operations today, we want to ensure the systems are of the highest standards so we will not encounter issues a few years down the road when [our] rotable parts reach their maximum usage," Mr Huttner said. "If we didn't do this now, in three to five years down the track we might be sitting with parts that are out of time that we didn't know about."
Mr Huttner added: "There are no parts out there that are at their life-span limit."
Mr Gibson said: "There were no reasons to ground flights as long as these issues were addressed."
Virgin has forfeited its right to fly Extended-Range Twin Operations [ETOPS], meaning it must now not stray more than an hour from an airport at any time. Mr Huttner could not say exactly how much time this added, for example, to the Sydney-Perth route, but suggested five or 10 minutes on the Melbourne-Perth run.
When the airline won the right to fly ETOPS last October, its head of engineering, Michael Hockin, said it was "a vote of confidence in Virgin Blue's flight operations, navigation services and aircraft engineering programs".
Mr Huttner denied Virgin's rapid growth had overwhelmed its record keeping.
The second bit is Mr Huttner denying that the rapid growth had overwhelmed the record keeping. So, it wasn't growth then? What was it? If it wasn't the growth of the airline that caused it then it means that it must be just pure incompetence!! Should've taken the 'growth' branch when it was offered!
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From Media Monitors.com Wed 10 Feb 2004
"Flawed records force Virgin to fly the long way home
Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline, has conceded that its maintenance records are in disarray.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has banned Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for every single part on each of its existing Boeing 737 aircraft, leaving the airline unable to register five new 737s due for delivery in May.
CASA spokesman, Peter Gibson, said Virgin's 'real problem' was that it had 'grown quicker than expected' and its maintenance infrastructure was struggling to keep pace."
"Flawed records force Virgin to fly the long way home
Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline, has conceded that its maintenance records are in disarray.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has banned Virgin from flying any new aircraft until it can account for every single part on each of its existing Boeing 737 aircraft, leaving the airline unable to register five new 737s due for delivery in May.
CASA spokesman, Peter Gibson, said Virgin's 'real problem' was that it had 'grown quicker than expected' and its maintenance infrastructure was struggling to keep pace."
Mmmm, bad publicity for DJ!!!
What's the betting we get some sort of media stunt today where Godfrey dresses up in a funny outfit, surrounds himself with some pretty bimbos and offers some completely unobtainable cheap fares to distract the media pack???
What's the betting we get some sort of media stunt today where Godfrey dresses up in a funny outfit, surrounds himself with some pretty bimbos and offers some completely unobtainable cheap fares to distract the media pack???
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Quote from media:
____________________________________________________
"He says CASA has known about the situation for the past three months and Mr Godfrey says Virgin Blue planes are as safe as any others now flying.
"We've satisfied ourselves and CASA there is no issue - no issue with regards to the aircraft or else they wouldn't be flying and it is certainly disappointing that there are certain elements out there that still want to push this issue," Mr Godfrey said."
___________________________________________________
Brett Godfrey reackons its no issue.
If it wasn't an issue Brett why is CASA kicking up a stink and why are there aircraft not allowed on the register because of this problem.
Perhaps Godfrey can stand in front of the share holders and tell them its a non-event.
And I thought the AMP shareholders meeting was a farce.
And hey Brett - are those "certain elements pushing the issue" CASA or the general public??
If this was Ansett then we'd be talking fullscale groundings.
____________________________________________________
"He says CASA has known about the situation for the past three months and Mr Godfrey says Virgin Blue planes are as safe as any others now flying.
"We've satisfied ourselves and CASA there is no issue - no issue with regards to the aircraft or else they wouldn't be flying and it is certainly disappointing that there are certain elements out there that still want to push this issue," Mr Godfrey said."
___________________________________________________
Brett Godfrey reackons its no issue.
If it wasn't an issue Brett why is CASA kicking up a stink and why are there aircraft not allowed on the register because of this problem.
Perhaps Godfrey can stand in front of the share holders and tell them its a non-event.
And I thought the AMP shareholders meeting was a farce.
And hey Brett - are those "certain elements pushing the issue" CASA or the general public??
If this was Ansett then we'd be talking fullscale groundings.
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justapplhere
Laurie Foley, former Assistant Director of CASA, was the DJ Maintenance Controller but was then found insufficiently experienced by CASA to hold that position, and is now in Quality Control as manager (I think)
Nothing to do with the above and sorry to go off topic, but does anyone know if a former CASA executive is employed in VB maintenance?
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I was starting to feel like I'd heard this story before, we all remember those "groundings".
Now lame pops up with another 'name' that was involved at that time as well. I suppose I could throw in another name that kinda went , casa, ansett (KD actually), casa, dj and casa again (still). I'm not suggesting "capture" or anything but there could of course be a bit of inside knowledge of the 'system' and its players.
History does have this habit of repeating itself
ding
Now lame pops up with another 'name' that was involved at that time as well. I suppose I could throw in another name that kinda went , casa, ansett (KD actually), casa, dj and casa again (still). I'm not suggesting "capture" or anything but there could of course be a bit of inside knowledge of the 'system' and its players.
History does have this habit of repeating itself
ding
Evertonian
Are you suggesting spy's Ding???
I am shocked that you could suggest such of an organisation with the highest integrity!
Our planes are safe: Virgin
March 10, 2004 - 11:36AM
Virgin Blue planes were as safe to travel on as Qantas despite it being told to keep its planes within an hour of an airport, the budget airline's boss Brett Godfrey said today.
He said if there was any doubt about the safety of Virgin Blue planes he would ground them.
The domestic airline has been ordered to fly within an hour of an airport at all times because of flaws in maintenance records for its planes.
But Mr Godfrey said the glitches within the maintenance system had been resolved and added it was in Qantas' interests to publicise Virgin Blue's problems.
He said the maintenance problem had been self diagnosed two months ago and the airline alerted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
"We transferred our data from an older type system to a new type system ... that cost us somewhere in excess of $US3 million ($A3.96 million) and that system was put into play because when we started we had two aeroplanes and we didn't need the type of system that we have in play today," Mr Godfrey told ABC radio.
"The transfer took place and there were some glitches in terms of the transference of that data.
"We've satisfied ourself and CASA that there is no issue with regards to the aircraft, or else they wouldn't be flying.
"And it is certainly disappointing ... that there are certain elements out there who still want to push this issue."
He refused to blame Qantas for publicising the problems but said: "My major competitor obviously has something to gain from something like this."
Mr Godfrey said Virgin Blue planes were as safe as any in Australia.
"They are as perfectly safe as Qantas and as perfectly safe as any other carrier that's flying in Australian skies today because we are constantly under review, as is Qantas and the other airlines, as for our standards and our procedures," he said.
"If that wasn't the case we wouldn't be flying, we wouldn't be flying not because CASA says so, because I would say so."
- AAP (My bold)
Wasn't this an unwritten rule that you never capitalised on a competitors safety record? Who the @#*%! does he think he is?
I'm no QF stooge, but it galls me to listen to the utter crap that comes out of BNE these days! Correct me if I'm wrong, but has anyone seen QF capitalise on this maintenance problem?
He says, in I assume a pious manner, that he would ground the aircraft himself if there were problems. He must be trying to keep the air fair still, but why has he kept the travelling public in the dark about this? Especially since he espouses to be the peoples champion?
(My apologies to all the DJ die-hards out there. I sincerely hope that CASA doesn't do an "Ansett" to you, but I honestly can't stomach that whinger!)
I am shocked that you could suggest such of an organisation with the highest integrity!Our planes are safe: Virgin
March 10, 2004 - 11:36AM
Virgin Blue planes were as safe to travel on as Qantas despite it being told to keep its planes within an hour of an airport, the budget airline's boss Brett Godfrey said today.
He said if there was any doubt about the safety of Virgin Blue planes he would ground them.
The domestic airline has been ordered to fly within an hour of an airport at all times because of flaws in maintenance records for its planes.
But Mr Godfrey said the glitches within the maintenance system had been resolved and added it was in Qantas' interests to publicise Virgin Blue's problems.
He said the maintenance problem had been self diagnosed two months ago and the airline alerted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
"We transferred our data from an older type system to a new type system ... that cost us somewhere in excess of $US3 million ($A3.96 million) and that system was put into play because when we started we had two aeroplanes and we didn't need the type of system that we have in play today," Mr Godfrey told ABC radio.
"The transfer took place and there were some glitches in terms of the transference of that data.
"We've satisfied ourself and CASA that there is no issue with regards to the aircraft, or else they wouldn't be flying.
"And it is certainly disappointing ... that there are certain elements out there who still want to push this issue."
He refused to blame Qantas for publicising the problems but said: "My major competitor obviously has something to gain from something like this."
Mr Godfrey said Virgin Blue planes were as safe as any in Australia.
"They are as perfectly safe as Qantas and as perfectly safe as any other carrier that's flying in Australian skies today because we are constantly under review, as is Qantas and the other airlines, as for our standards and our procedures," he said.
"If that wasn't the case we wouldn't be flying, we wouldn't be flying not because CASA says so, because I would say so."
- AAP (My bold)
Wasn't this an unwritten rule that you never capitalised on a competitors safety record? Who the @#*%! does he think he is? I'm no QF stooge, but it galls me to listen to the utter crap that comes out of BNE these days! Correct me if I'm wrong, but has anyone seen QF capitalise on this maintenance problem?
He says, in I assume a pious manner, that he would ground the aircraft himself if there were problems. He must be trying to keep the air fair still, but why has he kept the travelling public in the dark about this? Especially since he espouses to be the peoples champion?
(My apologies to all the DJ die-hards out there. I sincerely hope that CASA doesn't do an "Ansett" to you, but I honestly can't stomach that whinger!)
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NZPA
Pacific Blue safety systems adequate - CAA
10 March 2004
Budget airline Pacific Blue has adequate safety systems in place, New Zealand aviation authorities say – despite a 90-minute restriction on how far its aircraft can travel from a runway.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Pacific Blue's domestic Australian carrier, Virgin Blue, had been banned from flying more than an hour away from an airport at all times because of flaws in its maintenance records.
However, New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Bill Sommer, said Pacific Blue, which began trans-Tasman flights in January and was launching two new trans-Tasman routes today, had met both CAA and Boeing safety certification requirements.
The 90-minute ETOP ("extended-range twin-engine operation", or how long an aircraft could travel on one engine) granted to Pacific Blue was "quite sufficient" for trans-Tasman flights, he told NZPA.
"If one engine shuts down halfway across the Tasman, the aircraft can easily reach an Australian airport within 90 minutes or turn around and go back to New Zealand."
The Sydney Morning Herald said Virgin Blue reported discrepancies in its maintenance logs to the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) in December, and was subsequently banned from flying more than an hour from a runway.
Casa spokesman Peter Gibson told the paper the airline had struggled to keep pace with maintenance due to faster than expected growth of its fleet.
Virgin Blue spokesman David Huttner told the newspaper there was no safety risk for passengers.
He said the company was pre-empting any issues and ensuring its systems were of the highest standards.
Mr Sommer said the CAA had no concerns about either Virgin Blue or Pacific Blue, which in any case was a New Zealand-registered airline with completely separate maintenance systems to Virgin Blue.
The trans-Tasman carrier had applied for a 120-minute ETOP, but this could take up to three or four months.
"To get certification, there's a lot of work required to prove maintenance systems and monitoring are operating satisfactorily."
Mr Sommer said the report that Virgin Blue had been "banned" from flying more than an hour from an airport was "not quite correct".
"In fact, it was the airline itself that noticed the maintenance problem and reported it to Casa and then the airline voluntarily pulled back its ETOP," he said.
Pacific Blue, which began trans-Tasman flights on January 29, could entice about 2400 more New Zealanders a week to travel to New South Wales on new routes connecting Sydney with Christchurch and Wellington which come into service today.
NZPA-
=========================================
Dow Jones
CASA Says No Immediate Virgin Safety Concerns
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority said Wednesday there was no immediate safety risk to Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd.'s aircraft fleet.
"There's no current safety issues with Virgin Blue. They're flying normally and there are no safety issues out there," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told Dow Jones Newswires.
Australia's second biggest airline, which currently operates a fleet of 41 Boeing 737 aircraft with an average age of less than two years, is moving toward upgrading its maintenance operations, he added.
Gibson's comments follow a media report that Virgin Blue's "maintenance records are in disarray, raising serious questions over the upkeep" of its aircraft fleet.
Virgin Blue has agreed to fly within an hour of an airport at all times, adding about 5 to 10 minutes to normal traveling time, Gibson said.
He rejected the suggestions by the Sydney Morning Herald that CASA had barred Virgin Blue from flying any new planes until it can account for every part of its Boeing fleet.
"They voluntarily said they won't add any additional aircraft to the fleet, which is sensible because you wouldn't want to be actually increasing the size of the fleet while you were going through a change process," Gibson said.
Virgin Blue wasn't immediately available to comment.
Virgin Blue shares hit an intraday low of A$2.45 Wednesday morning, but then regained some ground, and at 0046 GMT the stock was down 3 cents, or 1.2%, at A$2.47.
A broker attributed the share price fall to concerns that the airline would have to spend money to rectify any problems.
By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires;
===========================================
AAP
Virgin's blues over grounded jet
By Andrew Hunter and wires
March 10, 2004
BUDGET carrier Virgin Blue has a new 737 grounded indefinitely in a Melbourne hangar because of problems with the airline's maintenance procedures.
The new plane is one of three yet to be commissioned as the airline tries to bolster its fleet to take on Qantas-backed JetStar in an increasingly competitive market.
Two more 737s are expected to arrive from Boeing's Seattle plant next month.
Virgin cannot use any of the aircraft because the airline's maintenance procedures are not up to scratch.
Keeping the Boeing passenger jet in the hangar is costing the company - self-confessed "penny-pinching ******s" - more than $220,000 a month.
The carrier notified the Civil Aviation Safety Authorities (CASA) of problems with its maintenance logs in December. Several aircraft parts were unaccounted for, including engine components.
The airline then forfeited its right to fly Extended-Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) which meant its aircraft were barred from operating further than an hour away from an airport.
It is understood CASA would have revoked Virgin's ETOPS status had the airline not withdrawn it.
Virgin Blue chief Brett Godfrey said the cost of hangaring the new 737 was $8000 per day. The figure was factored into financial forecasts, he said.
"This is only one aircraft (in a fleet) of 40. The impact of this is immaterial," Mr Godfrey said.
"We don't take this lightly - we're penny-pinching ******s - but this was estimated and included in our forecasts.
"There is no financial impact, it's business as usual."
CASA said today there were no safety risks for Virgin passengers and that it would meet the airline's operations staff either today or tomorrow as part of an ongoing process to improve the airline's record-keeping system.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said there was no safety imperative to fast-track Virgin's new maintenance procedures.
"From a safety perspective it does not matter how long this process takes," Mr Gibson said.
"The process is continuing and the length of time they take to finish the process is entirely up to them."
Mr Godfrey would not set a deadline for the new system but said he would not pressure his operations staff to rush the process despite the grounded plane.
The flight restrictions do not apply to Virgin Blue's international New-Zealand based offshoot - Pacific Blue - which made its maiden flight into Sydney from Christchurch today.
Mr Gibson said the restrictions weren't relevant because Pacific Blue had a New Zealand Air Operator certificate.
with AAP
==========================================
Pacific Blue safety systems adequate - CAA
10 March 2004
Budget airline Pacific Blue has adequate safety systems in place, New Zealand aviation authorities say – despite a 90-minute restriction on how far its aircraft can travel from a runway.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that Pacific Blue's domestic Australian carrier, Virgin Blue, had been banned from flying more than an hour away from an airport at all times because of flaws in its maintenance records.
However, New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesman Bill Sommer, said Pacific Blue, which began trans-Tasman flights in January and was launching two new trans-Tasman routes today, had met both CAA and Boeing safety certification requirements.
The 90-minute ETOP ("extended-range twin-engine operation", or how long an aircraft could travel on one engine) granted to Pacific Blue was "quite sufficient" for trans-Tasman flights, he told NZPA.
"If one engine shuts down halfway across the Tasman, the aircraft can easily reach an Australian airport within 90 minutes or turn around and go back to New Zealand."
The Sydney Morning Herald said Virgin Blue reported discrepancies in its maintenance logs to the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) in December, and was subsequently banned from flying more than an hour from a runway.
Casa spokesman Peter Gibson told the paper the airline had struggled to keep pace with maintenance due to faster than expected growth of its fleet.
Virgin Blue spokesman David Huttner told the newspaper there was no safety risk for passengers.
He said the company was pre-empting any issues and ensuring its systems were of the highest standards.
Mr Sommer said the CAA had no concerns about either Virgin Blue or Pacific Blue, which in any case was a New Zealand-registered airline with completely separate maintenance systems to Virgin Blue.
The trans-Tasman carrier had applied for a 120-minute ETOP, but this could take up to three or four months.
"To get certification, there's a lot of work required to prove maintenance systems and monitoring are operating satisfactorily."
Mr Sommer said the report that Virgin Blue had been "banned" from flying more than an hour from an airport was "not quite correct".
"In fact, it was the airline itself that noticed the maintenance problem and reported it to Casa and then the airline voluntarily pulled back its ETOP," he said.
Pacific Blue, which began trans-Tasman flights on January 29, could entice about 2400 more New Zealanders a week to travel to New South Wales on new routes connecting Sydney with Christchurch and Wellington which come into service today.
NZPA-
=========================================
Dow Jones
CASA Says No Immediate Virgin Safety Concerns
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority said Wednesday there was no immediate safety risk to Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd.'s aircraft fleet.
"There's no current safety issues with Virgin Blue. They're flying normally and there are no safety issues out there," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told Dow Jones Newswires.
Australia's second biggest airline, which currently operates a fleet of 41 Boeing 737 aircraft with an average age of less than two years, is moving toward upgrading its maintenance operations, he added.
Gibson's comments follow a media report that Virgin Blue's "maintenance records are in disarray, raising serious questions over the upkeep" of its aircraft fleet.
Virgin Blue has agreed to fly within an hour of an airport at all times, adding about 5 to 10 minutes to normal traveling time, Gibson said.
He rejected the suggestions by the Sydney Morning Herald that CASA had barred Virgin Blue from flying any new planes until it can account for every part of its Boeing fleet.
"They voluntarily said they won't add any additional aircraft to the fleet, which is sensible because you wouldn't want to be actually increasing the size of the fleet while you were going through a change process," Gibson said.
Virgin Blue wasn't immediately available to comment.
Virgin Blue shares hit an intraday low of A$2.45 Wednesday morning, but then regained some ground, and at 0046 GMT the stock was down 3 cents, or 1.2%, at A$2.47.
A broker attributed the share price fall to concerns that the airline would have to spend money to rectify any problems.
By Lilly Vitorovich, Dow Jones Newswires;
===========================================
AAP
Virgin's blues over grounded jet
By Andrew Hunter and wires
March 10, 2004
BUDGET carrier Virgin Blue has a new 737 grounded indefinitely in a Melbourne hangar because of problems with the airline's maintenance procedures.
The new plane is one of three yet to be commissioned as the airline tries to bolster its fleet to take on Qantas-backed JetStar in an increasingly competitive market.
Two more 737s are expected to arrive from Boeing's Seattle plant next month.
Virgin cannot use any of the aircraft because the airline's maintenance procedures are not up to scratch.
Keeping the Boeing passenger jet in the hangar is costing the company - self-confessed "penny-pinching ******s" - more than $220,000 a month.
The carrier notified the Civil Aviation Safety Authorities (CASA) of problems with its maintenance logs in December. Several aircraft parts were unaccounted for, including engine components.
The airline then forfeited its right to fly Extended-Range Twin Operations (ETOPS) which meant its aircraft were barred from operating further than an hour away from an airport.
It is understood CASA would have revoked Virgin's ETOPS status had the airline not withdrawn it.
Virgin Blue chief Brett Godfrey said the cost of hangaring the new 737 was $8000 per day. The figure was factored into financial forecasts, he said.
"This is only one aircraft (in a fleet) of 40. The impact of this is immaterial," Mr Godfrey said.
"We don't take this lightly - we're penny-pinching ******s - but this was estimated and included in our forecasts.
"There is no financial impact, it's business as usual."
CASA said today there were no safety risks for Virgin passengers and that it would meet the airline's operations staff either today or tomorrow as part of an ongoing process to improve the airline's record-keeping system.
CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said there was no safety imperative to fast-track Virgin's new maintenance procedures.
"From a safety perspective it does not matter how long this process takes," Mr Gibson said.
"The process is continuing and the length of time they take to finish the process is entirely up to them."
Mr Godfrey would not set a deadline for the new system but said he would not pressure his operations staff to rush the process despite the grounded plane.
The flight restrictions do not apply to Virgin Blue's international New-Zealand based offshoot - Pacific Blue - which made its maiden flight into Sydney from Christchurch today.
Mr Gibson said the restrictions weren't relevant because Pacific Blue had a New Zealand Air Operator certificate.
with AAP
==========================================
Last edited by Wirraway; 10th Mar 2004 at 10:51.