Category: Top Stories

General Atomics Europe intends to take over RUAG Aerospace Services

General Atomics Europe GmbH (GA-E), the medium-size service and consulting company with stakes in eight subsidiaries, has announced its intention to acquire RUAG Aerospace Services (RUAG), formerly part of the Swiss technology group RUAG International. This will enable GA-E to expand its product and service portfolio to include the maintenance and repair of business aircraft and military helicopters, as well as the production and maintenance of the Dornier 228. GA-E intends to retain 450 RUAG staff that will result in the creation of a 1,000-strong technology group workforce.  GA-E will also become one of the few companies in Germany to Read more

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Rolls-Royce looks to double up on October 1 bond offering to now raise £2 billion

On October 1, Rolls-Royce Holdings (Rolls-Royce) announced its intention to raise at least £1 billion through a bond offering as part of its strategy to raise £5 billion in a recapitalization package to support its long-term strategy. However, unanticipated strong demand for the investor Notes has seen the company double the size of the offering, which will now comprise three tranches in three separate currencies issued by Rolls-Royce and guaranteed by the Company. The Bond Offering will comprise:  US$1,000 million aggregate principal amount of 5.750% Notes due 2027; €750 million aggregate principal amount of 4.625% Notes due 2026; and £545 Read more

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Combined research involving Volocopter opens way for multicopter use in emergency scenarios

ADAC Volocopter ©Volocopter

In 2018 a feasibility study was launched by ADAC Luftrettung and sponsored by the ADAC foundation to examine if the rescue service system could be improved and future-proofed through the use of multicopters as a means of transport for emergency doctors, in cooperation with Volocopter, which is currently building the world’s first sustainable and scalable urban air mobility business to bring affordable air taxi services to megacities worldwide. “We are proud to be contributing to the greater public good by applying Volocopter technology to air rescue missions. In the close cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung, it has become clear how profound Read more

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Boeing suffers with more 737 MAX cancelations and continued 787 Dreamliner problems

For the month of September, Boeing Co (Boeing) delivered just 11 aircraft, considerably down on the 25 twin-aisle jets it delivered in September 2019, bringing total aircraft deliveries for the year to 98, again greatly reduced from the 301 aircraft delivered in the first nine months of 2019. This has caused considerable cash flow problems for Boeing as the majority of the price paid for each jet is on delivery. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has dramatically hit sales for both Boeing and European rival Airbus. September also witnessed three further 737 MAX cancellations, two of which were from Read more

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EU looks to persuade U.S. to drop trade tariffs surrounding Airbus-Boeing dispute

Valdis Dombrovskis, the new EU trade chief has warned the U.S that it needs to withdraw its US$7 billion tariffs it has recently placed on EU products or it will have to deal with a retaliatory US$4 billion in tariffs on exports to Europe. For 16 years there has been a dispute between Europe’s Airbus and U.S planemaker Boeing over what have been seen as unfair subsidies. Last October the U.S was awarded the right to impose tariffs by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which includes a 25% duty on products such as olives, cheese and single-malt whisky, together with Read more

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Airbus deliveries on the increase – targets 500 deliveries for 2020

Airbus delivered 57 jets in September, up from 39 in August, bringing its annual total for deliveries to 341, a figure down 40% on the same period in 2019. Many of the jets have been delivered from a parked backlog as the European planemaker continues to operate at a reduced output owning to the dramatic drop in demand because of the COVID-19 crisis. Airbus is still targeting 500 deliveries for the whole of 2020, having posted a record number of 863 delivered jets in 2019. For the first time in ten years Boeing cut its long-term demand forecasts and while Read more

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easyJet looks to government for bespoke aid package for airline industry

©easyJet

easyJet’s CEO Johan Lundgren has openly turned to the U.K. government to provide a tailor-made package to help the airline industry recover from the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel. The low-cost carrier is set to post its first-ever operating loss and is on target to lose between £815 million and £845 million by year end. Despite having carried nine million passengers between July and September, this was only 38% of its planned pre-pandemic capacity and it still managed to burn through £700 million in that period. Since the pandemic began, easyJet has raised over $2.4 billion Read more

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Boom Supersonic reveals X-B1 demonstrator ahead of next year’s flight testing

Supersonic X-B1 rollout ©Boom

Eying a return to supersonic transatlantic air travel that ceased with the decommissioning of the Anglo-French Concorde 2003, Boom Supersonic (Boom) has unveiled its innovative XB-1 which has a 21.6 m (71 foot-long) fuselage, a carbon-composite airframe and three GE-designed J85-15 engines. Carbon-neutral flight testing is scheduled to begin towards the end of next year (2021) in Mojave, California. One of the principal challenges for the aircraft is to meet with noise and carbon emission standards which are in place for more traditional commercial aircraft. According to Reuters news agency, when interviewed, Boom’s Chief Executive, Blake Scholl, commented that he Read more

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Looming cash crisis could threaten up to 4.8 million aviation sector jobs

IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned that in the second half of 2020, airlines will burn through approximately US$77 billion in cash, while 2021 will see a likely continuance of a cash burn-through rate of between US$5 billion and US$6 billion per month. The IATA is calling on governments worldwide to support the industry, but especially those in the northern hemisphere where the traditionally slower winter season looms. Whether in the form of tax relief including fuel taxes, corporate tax relief direct aid or wage subsidies, so far US$160 billion has been provided by governments across the globe. Read more

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MTU Aero Engines looks to focus on hydrogen as the engine fuel of the future

Dornier 228 ©MTU

MTU Aero Engines (MTU), Germany’s leading engine manufacturer, has openly welcomed Airbus’ ZEROe concepts in relation to emission-free aviation. “Hydrogen is a highly attractive future option for us as an engine producer as well,” says MTU Chief Operating Officer Lars Wagner, adding: “It should be used as a fuel right away.” MTU sees three possible uses for hydrogen: Converted to sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs), hydrogen could be dropped into existing aircraft and engines right away. “Direct combustion of liquid hydrogen in gas turbines is possible in technical terms, too,” says Dr Stefan Weber, Senior Vice President Technology & Engineering Advanced Read more

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