Airline chiefs dismiss safety fears over A330 jets

Kuala Lumpur: Several airline chiefs dismissed safety fears over the Airbus A330 on Tuesday, saying they were confident of the plane's reliability despite last week's Air France jet crash.
Emirates airlines President Tim Clark said the Dubai-based company has a fleet of 29 A330-200 planes that have been flying since 1998.
"It is a very robust airplane. It has been flying for many years, clocking hundreds of millions of hours and there is absolutely no reason why there should be any question over this plane. It is one of the best flying today," he said on the sidelines of a two-day global aviation conference here.
Gulf Air Chief Executive Bjorn Naf said he was "not concerned at all" over the safety of the carrier's fleet of 10 A330-200 planes but would wait for directive from Airbus. Manama, Bahrain-based Gulf has no plans to cancel the 20 A330-300 planes and 15 A320 jets it ordered last year, he said.
Investigators are uncertain what caused Air France Flight 447 to crash in the Atlantic Ocean while flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris on June 1, killing 228 people on board. It was the worst aviation accident since 2001.
Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy told reporters late Monday on the sidelines of the conference that the A330-200 was a "reliable" plane and that it was too early to conclude otherwise until investigations were completed. Leahy left Kuala Lumpur later Monday and other officials from Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, declined to comment pending investigations.
David Epstein, Qantas Airways General Manager for Government and Corporate Affairs, said two companies manufacture the external monitors suitable for the A330 planes — France's Thales Group and Charlotte, North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp.
India's Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal echoed similar sentiments, saying he was confident of the safety of Jet's 12 A330-200 planes. Eight are operated by Jet, while two are leased out.
"No, I am not concerned. We are OK," he said. "We will be guided by whatever Airbus tells us."
Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Idris Jala said the carrier has changed the speed sensors on its three A330-200 planes in September last year as recommended by Airbus.
Emirates said it will phase out its 29 A330 jets from September next year to be replaced by the new Airbus A350 long range airliner as part of its fleet modernization.
12/06/09 AP/Sify.com

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Jun 2009, Safety Jun 2009