duncan228
10-27-2008, 11:16 PM
Spurs will travel on Northwest Airlines (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_will_travel_on_Northwest_Airlines.html)
By Bryan Chu
Memories of being stranded 11 hours on the tarmac in New Orleans just a day before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals are still fresh on the minds of Spurs players.
“It was a situation that didn't work,” Spurs guard Michael Finley said. “Hopefully this year we won't have that problem.”
To that end, the Spurs have left Champion Air, their carrier for the past five years, to join 15 other NBA teams in using Northwest Airlines. The league has shown its confidence in NWA by signing a 10-year partnership.
According to federal records, NWA a safer and more reliable option.
Based on an analysis of Federal Aviation Administration records from 2003-07 by the Express-News, NWA has reported 50 service difficulty reports compared to almost 600 by the now-defunct Champion.
“We feel good about our partnership,” said NBA spokesman Tim Frank.
The NBA and Northwest had a previous agreement from 1997-2002, but NWA sold its planes, so the NBA went with Champion.
“We had a great relationship with NWA, so when Champion Air was going out of business, (NWA) was the answer, and it's worked out for us,” Frank said.
Minnesota-based NWA uses 12 reconfigured Airbus A319s for the NBA program, seven of which will be used regularly, said Bill Wernecke, the company's director of charters.
Wernecke added that planes were reconfigured from 124 seats to 54 and have three tables and club seating.
“The NBA is smart to (choose NWA),” said Richard Stone, a retired commercial pilot of 35 years, a former crash investigator and current spokesman for the International Society of Air Safety Investigators. “A319s have a good safety record.”
Age is the biggest difference between NWA's fixed-winged, multi-engine A319s and Champion's Boeing 727s. NWA's A319s were manufactured from 2000-2005. The Boeing 727s were 30 years old.
Based on federal records from 2003-07, Champion racked up 598 mechanical reports. Of those, 169 occurred while the planes were preparing for flight or in the air, according to records. There were 63 unscheduled landings.
By comparison, records indicate that there were 50 service difficulty (maintenance) reports for NWA planes from 2003-07. Of those reports, there were 13 unscheduled landings, nine of which were due to the detection of smoke, fumes, odors or sparks.
Players appreciate the switch.
“Glad there was a change,” Spurs forward Ime Udoka said. “We had to be more safe than sorry.”
Also during that span, NWA reported four events as accidents or incidents to the FAA. Two were collisions with other planes while taxiing in the runway or pushing back from the gate.
Another FAA report in January 2008 stated that part of a plane's right engine came off with one mile to landing. The plane landed safely, according to the report.
“Those are not major events as far as I am concerned,” Stone said.
NWA is the largest charter program for the NBA. The teams flying NWA include the Spurs, Clippers, Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Hornets, Magic, Grizzlies, Bobcats, Wizards, Pacers, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Nets, 76ers, Hawks and Warriors.
Some of NWA's other clients include the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, as well as various colleges like Michigan, Indiana and Cal.
Why the change and NWA?
“It's simple: safety,” Frank said in an e-mail.
NWA assured the NBA that it has backup options if a plane ever encountered problems.
“We can fly in a new part and fix it, (transfer the team) to another plane, ferry in another airplane,” Wernecke said. “Certainly in the playoffs we would pull out all the stops, no overnight situation.
“The (Spurs) got caught in a bad spot (in New Orleans last season).”
The A319s were first introduced in 1995, and there are 1,103 in operation today, according to Airbus' Web site.
Asked how transportation has been so far, “very nice,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said.
Express-News database editor Kelly Guckian contributed to this report.
By Bryan Chu
Memories of being stranded 11 hours on the tarmac in New Orleans just a day before Game 1 of the Western Conference finals are still fresh on the minds of Spurs players.
“It was a situation that didn't work,” Spurs guard Michael Finley said. “Hopefully this year we won't have that problem.”
To that end, the Spurs have left Champion Air, their carrier for the past five years, to join 15 other NBA teams in using Northwest Airlines. The league has shown its confidence in NWA by signing a 10-year partnership.
According to federal records, NWA a safer and more reliable option.
Based on an analysis of Federal Aviation Administration records from 2003-07 by the Express-News, NWA has reported 50 service difficulty reports compared to almost 600 by the now-defunct Champion.
“We feel good about our partnership,” said NBA spokesman Tim Frank.
The NBA and Northwest had a previous agreement from 1997-2002, but NWA sold its planes, so the NBA went with Champion.
“We had a great relationship with NWA, so when Champion Air was going out of business, (NWA) was the answer, and it's worked out for us,” Frank said.
Minnesota-based NWA uses 12 reconfigured Airbus A319s for the NBA program, seven of which will be used regularly, said Bill Wernecke, the company's director of charters.
Wernecke added that planes were reconfigured from 124 seats to 54 and have three tables and club seating.
“The NBA is smart to (choose NWA),” said Richard Stone, a retired commercial pilot of 35 years, a former crash investigator and current spokesman for the International Society of Air Safety Investigators. “A319s have a good safety record.”
Age is the biggest difference between NWA's fixed-winged, multi-engine A319s and Champion's Boeing 727s. NWA's A319s were manufactured from 2000-2005. The Boeing 727s were 30 years old.
Based on federal records from 2003-07, Champion racked up 598 mechanical reports. Of those, 169 occurred while the planes were preparing for flight or in the air, according to records. There were 63 unscheduled landings.
By comparison, records indicate that there were 50 service difficulty (maintenance) reports for NWA planes from 2003-07. Of those reports, there were 13 unscheduled landings, nine of which were due to the detection of smoke, fumes, odors or sparks.
Players appreciate the switch.
“Glad there was a change,” Spurs forward Ime Udoka said. “We had to be more safe than sorry.”
Also during that span, NWA reported four events as accidents or incidents to the FAA. Two were collisions with other planes while taxiing in the runway or pushing back from the gate.
Another FAA report in January 2008 stated that part of a plane's right engine came off with one mile to landing. The plane landed safely, according to the report.
“Those are not major events as far as I am concerned,” Stone said.
NWA is the largest charter program for the NBA. The teams flying NWA include the Spurs, Clippers, Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Hornets, Magic, Grizzlies, Bobcats, Wizards, Pacers, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Nets, 76ers, Hawks and Warriors.
Some of NWA's other clients include the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers, as well as various colleges like Michigan, Indiana and Cal.
Why the change and NWA?
“It's simple: safety,” Frank said in an e-mail.
NWA assured the NBA that it has backup options if a plane ever encountered problems.
“We can fly in a new part and fix it, (transfer the team) to another plane, ferry in another airplane,” Wernecke said. “Certainly in the playoffs we would pull out all the stops, no overnight situation.
“The (Spurs) got caught in a bad spot (in New Orleans last season).”
The A319s were first introduced in 1995, and there are 1,103 in operation today, according to Airbus' Web site.
Asked how transportation has been so far, “very nice,” Spurs guard Tony Parker said.
Express-News database editor Kelly Guckian contributed to this report.