Comment: No way to run an air service

Jul 3 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

WHO could ever have imagined that Liverpool’s first direct air link with New York would end in ignominy and a highly-damaging court case?

Budget airline FlyGlobeSpan, which operated from Liverpool John Lennon Airport in 2007, yesterday pleaded guilty to failing to comply with safety rules and is now awaiting sentence for its transgressions.

Globespan Airways Ltd, which trades as FlyGlobeSpan, admitted two charges of breaching Civil Aviation rules in that it allowed a Boeing 757 to fly out of JLA, land at Knock, in Ireland, and then fly on to new York in spite of instrument failure – two of its two engine pressure ratio indicators were out of action.

The technical implications of this were, essentially, that the crew had to carry out “hands on” adjustments using a handbook.

That flight should never have gone ahead; no doubt those who were passengers that day will be thanking their lucky stars it went ahead without any drama. The company’s assurance that safety was not compromised is likely to cut little ice with those on board.

FlyGlobeSpan has admitted the defects increased the workload for crew, but claimed that the pilot was well capable of handling it. It is a pointless argument; safety regulations were breached and for this the company should suffer a hefty penalty.

Meanwhile, there is still no direct link from Liverpool to New York.

There is evidence to suggest that another firm – one which, unlike FlyGlobeSpan, is not prone to leaving passengers stranded at JFK Airport for several days – could profitably operate the link; but, in the current economic climate, it is unlikely that any carrier will want to gamble on it being a success.