ISRAEL: Arkia Boss Explains Japan Delays, Comments on Foreign Crew Background Checks
Tel Aviv, Israel: Arkia chief executive Oz Berlowitz said East Asian regulators have not adapted their procedures to account for an Arkia-branded aircraft using a Portuguese aircraft, thus blocking its Tokyo route despite approved slots.
Tel Aviv, Israel
- Arkia chief executive Oz Berlowitz says delays in the carrier's long awaited service to Tokyo is because East Asian regulators have not adapted their procedures to account for wet-leasing wherein an Arkia-branded aircraft operates using a "Portuguese registration".
- Arkia had planned to use an A330, wet-leased from Hi fly, to ply the route. As such, while the Israeli carrier has been granted airport slots, he said, it must wait for the regulators to decide.
- In the meantime, the carrier has doubled its flights to Hanoi, which has become one of its busiest destinations.
- Commenting on Israeli carriers now carrying out backround checks on its ACMI crews, Berlowitz said that as roughly half of Arkia's fleet operates under wet-lease arrangements, foreign crews are based in Israel for one to one-and-a-half months. Arkia therefore conducts background checks and personal vetting on these crews.
- Recent ACMI operators with Arkia include Heston Airways, Electra Airways, Cambodia Airways, Fly Lili, and Hi Fly.
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