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LATEST NEWS
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Monday, July 6th, 2020
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The flag carrying airline Air France, along with its low-cost subsidiary Hop!, are to make substantial staffing cuts as a direct consequence of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on air travel.
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Air France has indicated that it will shed 6,000 jobs from a workforce of approximately 41,000 staff, while Hop! will reduce its approximate 2,000 staff by 1,020. The carrier’s parent company, Air France-KLM is Europe’s second-largest carrier and the job cuts are anticipated to take place over a three-year period.
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After discussions with unions, the carrier confirmed that: "Air France and Hop! are working together with the unions to implement plans that give priority to voluntary departures, early retirement arrangements and professional and geographical mobility." However, union members and staff staged protests at several locations across France on Friday, including at the company's offices near Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport.
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At the peak of the pandemic, revenue dropped by 95% and the Air France airline alone was losing €15m (US$17m) on a daily basis. It is now predicting that passenger demand will return to the pre-pandemic level before 2024. A wider-reaching “reconstruction plan” for Air France is due to be presented at the back end of July, along with a broader one for the parent company, Air France-KLM.
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The French government has pledged billions of Euros to support Air France-KLM and the wider aviation industry as demand for travel has crashed as a result of coronavirus-related lockdown measures, though one of the conditions for a loan to Air France was that it cut a number of domestic flights from its schedule to reduce the rate of carbon emissions. Recently, competitor airlines such as easyJet, British Airways and Lufthansa confirmed they will be trimming staffing levels substantially.
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Strata Manufacturing (Strata), the advanced composite aero structures manufacturing facility wholly-owned by Mubadala Investment Company PJSC, has successfully delivered 100-shipsets of the assembled A350-900 Inboard Flaps (IBF).
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Having completed the full first article inspection for the fabrication of six IBF components at its state-of-the-art facility in the Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park, Strata now assumes fabrication and assembly duties in partnership with Airbus.
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To fully-automate the IBF manufacturing process, Strata will utilise Hot Drape Forming (HDF) and computer-controlled robotic Automated Tape Layup (ATL) machines, which gained first part qualification and first article inspection design and quality verifications early this year.
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Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on international aviation, MTU Aero Engines plans to adjust its personnel capacities. By the end of 2021, the company aims to reduce capacity at its German and international locations by a total of around 10 to 15%.
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This will be carried out largely through individual agreements such as the increased use of partial retirement, early retirement and other arrangements. The target figure will also be reached through measures that have already been initiated, such as an extensive hiring freeze or waiver to fill vacant positions, as well as a reduction in working hours.
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“As a result of the pandemic, the aviation industry will remain under pressure for some time to come. It will be years before air traffic – which is the foundation on which our activities in series
production and our maintenance business rest – returns to pre-crisis levels,” said CEO Reiner Winkler. “We have no interest in compulsory redundancies or social plans, and will coordinate our approach very carefully with the works council. We want to keep as many of our highly qualified colleagues on board as possible during and after the crisis. We will continue to offer our partners
and customers the high level of quality and service they have come to expect.”
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Lockheed Martin, the Joint Program Office and the U.S. Air Force successfully connected the F-35, F-22, F-16 and E3 Sentry in a highly contested simulated environment during a Distributed Mission Training final acceptance test at Nellis AFB, Nevada. This simulated training event was the first time these platforms were connected virtually. Additional platforms such as the F-15 can also connect into this shared virtual environment.
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The F-35 DMT capability creates interoperability across military platforms for continuation training and large force exercises. The initial delivery at Nellis AFB is a major step forward as it establishes the framework for F-35 simulators around the world to interconnect.
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Previously, F-35 simulators allowed up to four pilots at a facility to fly together in simulated combat. DMT links pilots at Nellis AFB to pilots at other bases through an existing distributed network enabling simulated training events with existing 4th generation and 5th generation platforms. This is the first of many fielded DMT solutions for the F-35 training enterprise.
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Niel Golightly, Boeing's Senior Vice President of Communications, has resigned after an employee complaint that brought to Boeing's attention an article Golightly wrote in 1987 while serving in the military, about whether women should serve in combat.
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Golightly said in a statement: "The article is not a reflection of who I am; but nonetheless I have decided that in the interest of the company I will step down.”
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Boeing has initiated a search for his successor. In the interim, the communications function will report to Greg Smith, Executive Vice President of enterprise operations and chief financial officer until a permanent successor is named.
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AerCap has delivered a new Airbus A321LR on operating lease to Air Transat.
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“The A321LR is the ideal new-generation aircraft for the transformation of our fleet and the relaunch of our air operations, which will resume on July 23,” said Jean-François Lemay, President of Air Transat. “The arrival of our fourth A321LR allows us to become more efficient and provide a better experience for our customers, while taking an important step in the energy transition in air transportation.”
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