ISSUE 238
JULY 2013
Voldirect leads the way for single engine commercial passenger flights
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Sovereigns prove their worth
Chief pilot Wolfgang Karlstetter has been so delighted with the performance of Aerowest’s pair of Sovereigns that the company is already considering adding more. “They are very good and very reliable. They are both flying extremely well,” he says. See full story on page 6.
After 20 years of industry lobbying, single engine IFR operations with turboprop aircraft have become a reality in Europe for the first time. Although the EU Ops regulations still do not allow single engine commercial passenger services, France has broken ranks and issued the continent’s first such AOC. Voldirect SAS of Rennes has been granted the AOC, enabling it to transport commercial passengers using its TBM 850 turboprop in instrument meteorological conditions. The AOC is standard and there is no restriction in Europe. “In today’s difficult context for France’s air transport sector – especially business aviation – we must thank the French DGAC civil aviation authority, which understood the value of leveraging economic and fast aircraft such as the TBM 850 and TBM 700, with proven reliability,” says Voldirect ceo Frédéric Caussarieu. “We also want to praise the support of the manufacturer, which has been responsive to our needs and assisted us in the certification process.” Caussarieu adds: “Now that we have got this AOC we can expand. The idea is to get out of this AOC more areas from which we are going to operate, and more planes, and more business. We are planning this expansion in other main cities in France, and we also have some contacts for other countries, which are interested in doing the same thing.” The high reliability of the PT6 engine was undoubtedly a
factor in the AOC being issued. The engine type has accumulated more than 350 million flight hours. From the operator’s perspective, there were many reasons for wanting the certification: “We wanted to offer our service to different corporations and companies from the ones which we served initially,” says Caussarieu. “We had many more requests from companies that did not have any connection in terms of capital and equity in our plane or in our group. We had to find a way to accept the requests from those other companies. “I am extremely happy that we’ve crossed the threshold.” The AOC has lent increased professionalism and security to Voldirect’s operations. It now uses standard operating procedures, with documents numbering 2,000 pages, and it also makes thorough route calculations to include possible Continued on page 4
Frédéric Caussarieu, Voldirect ceo, at the Paris Air Show.
Shell brings CHC onboard for sub-Saharan exploration Vancouver-based CHC Helicopter has signed a contract worth several million dollars to support Shell in its deep water exploration missions off the coast of sub-Saharan Africa. The five-year agreement sees CHC supply two Eurocopter Super Puma L2 aircraft with the capability to offer transportation services and to implement emergency medical evacuations where required. Shell is
FREIGHT – Combining passengers with parcels Page 11
using its Noble Globetrotter II deep water drill ship in multi-country operations. CHC has a long-standing history of providing offshore support to complex operations, and has so far provided services in 19 different African countries. It operates more than 240 aircraft in around 30 countries worldwide and, according to regional director for Africa and Euro-Asia Chris
Krajewski, is the obvious choice for an operation such as this. “We support customers in challenging oil and gas territories around the world, including in recent projects for EHL, Petrobras and British Gas throughout East and west Africa,” says Krajewski. “This contract reflects CHC’s ability and our commitment to customers, as we help them safely go further and do more in Africa and around the world.”
CHC Helicopter says it is now at the forefront of providing transportation to offshore oil and gas platforms and vessels in sub-Saharan Africa. Its pilots are specially trained to fly over open water and equipped with stringent training and procedures. CHC comments that missions are becoming trickier as rigs move farther offshore, and the soaring temperatures of subSaharan Africa also pose a challenge.
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