Replacing Malev – Easier Said than Done

When Malev Hungarian Airlines ceased operations two weeks ago, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and tens of thousands ticket holders uncertain about the value of their reservations, people in Hungarian aviation were stunned. Emotions ran high and the political parties, typically, were blaming each other for the demise of the 66 years old national carrier.… Continue reading Replacing Malev – Easier Said than Done

UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) to the rescue… or not?

We have been reading about UAS’s for some time. Stories abound on how they have been used successfully to catch bad guys on the battlefield or in the course of police and border patrol interdiction operations. It was fun reading about them not least because of the comfortable feeling: they are here, sure, but not… Continue reading UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) to the rescue… or not?

4D Flight, a SESAR First

Only two and a half years into active SESAR development work, today the first initial four dimensional (I-4D) trajectory flight successfully took place. Thanks to the complementary expertise of the involved SESAR members (Airbus, Eurocontrol, Honeywell, Indra, NORACON , and Thales), the Airbus A320 test aircraft taking off from Toulouse to Copenhagen and Stockholm, successfully… Continue reading 4D Flight, a SESAR First

Ryanair Takes Budapest by Storm

With Malev gone from its home base, Ryanair was quick to try and fill the void… successfully it would appear. With its customary aggressive stance and no-nonsense approach to flying, the Irish company is establishing a base at Budapest Ferihegy Airport with five aircraft and 42 destinations. Agreement with the company operating the airport is… Continue reading Ryanair Takes Budapest by Storm

DCIS – What is this?

It was a sunny and warm afternoon when American Airlines captain Russ Chew, IATA European Regional Director Phil Hogge and myself sat down in the little garden behind our house in Brussels to discuss AA’s dissatisfaction with the way the FAA was going about its air/ground digital link program and how AA may participate in… Continue reading DCIS – What is this?

Ferihegy Airport, with 40% of its traffic gone, dragging its feet over the Ryanair solution

One would think that an airport that has just lost 40 % of its traffic due to the collapse of local airline MALEV would jump at the offer of Ryanair to take up the slack. Budapest Ferihegy has been leased to Hochtief but it is not a far fetched idea to surmise that their feet-dragging… Continue reading Ferihegy Airport, with 40% of its traffic gone, dragging its feet over the Ryanair solution

The First Day in the Tower Without MALEV

We woke to a sad day on 4 February 2012. We had every reason to be happy… winter had arrived and we were looking forward to some serious snowfall. Of course for those on day-shift this was also cause for a bit of apprehension, what with the memories of a day two years ago when… Continue reading The First Day in the Tower Without MALEV

Malev failure – the Human Dimension

When an airline dies, it has an economic dimension that impacts a lot of other businesses. Some will suffer, others will benefit. But for those who lost “their” airline, the people who were in fact the airline, the failure is an emotional experience that leaves a deep, deep wound, something that may never heal completely.… Continue reading Malev failure – the Human Dimension

The Last Tow…

Failed MALEV’s leased aircraft were flown back to ILFC’s Shannon facility Friday afternoon. I can only imagine what the pilots must have felt as they took their “toys” back to the store… Here we have a sad picture of one of the MALEV turboprops being towed away from the ramp where they have stood, ready… Continue reading The Last Tow…