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LATEST NEWS
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Tuesday, June 4th, 2019
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With the Boeing 737 MAX program already in trouble after two fatal crashes and a number of airlines already canceling orders, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has announced that it has
identified a faulty part in a number of the jets, as well as the 1997 third-generation 737 variant, the 737 NG. According to the FAA the affected parts “may be susceptible to premature failure or cracks resulting from the improper manufacture process.”
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Slats are moveable panels that extend along the wing’s front during take-off and landing to provide additional lift. The tracks guide the slats and are built into the wing.
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The FAA confirmed on Sunday that the 737 may contain one of the improperly manufactured parts, namely leading-edge slat tracks, identifying over 300 of the 737 MAX (179) and NG (133) variants that will require these parts to be inspected and faulty ones replaced. However, the FAA also confirmed that the NGs would not be grounded in the interim until repairs have been carried out as it did not consider the failure of the part likely to lead to the loss of the aircraft, but that a failed part could cause aircraft damage when in flight.
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Bombardier has closed the previously announced sale of the Q Series aircraft program assets to De Havilland Aircraft of Canada (formerly Longview Aircraft Company of Canada), an affiliate of Longview Aviation Capital Corp., for gross proceeds of approximately CA$300 million. Net proceeds are expected to be approximately CA$250 million after the assumption of certain liabilities, fees, and closing adjustments.
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Longview will carry on the production of Q400 aircraft at the Downsview Facility in Toronto, and will continue performing aftermarket services for Q Series aircraft. Bombardier will provide transitional
services and will license certain intellectual property to Longview to facilitate a seamless transition of the Q Series aircraft program.
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GAL Aerospace has introduced Global Aftermarket Field Support for the Regional Aircraft Interiors market.
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Through its subsidiary GAL AeroStaff, GAL Aerospace has been actively providing worldwide Customer Service, Field Support, and Technical Staffing on behalf of regional aircraft OEMs for the
past ten years. Leveraging its experience supporting airlines around the globe, GAL is now raising the bar for cabin interiors support for all ATR, and Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8/Q400 families of regional aircraft.
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“When it comes to the aftermarket for cabin interiors, we are committed to providing the most responsive service in our industry,” says Jonathan Cornwell, Vice-President of Business Development and Sales for GAL. “In addition to supporting our existing products, we are
determined to earn recognition as the first call for airlines and leasing companies looking to modify, improve, or reconfigure their regional aircraft interiors. Having GAL trained technicians closer to our customers’ locations will allow us to respond with the immediacy operators expect.”
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Voyego, the dedicated travel and mobility division of the Comtrade Group, has partnered with Aer Lingus to deliver an innovative Payments Hub platform.
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In essence, the payments hub enables Aer Lingus to implement new alternative forms of payments such as Apple Pay and Aer Club Avios points. As well as providing new payment options, the solution offers the convenience of frictionless and secure in-app payments.
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Easily integrated within its existing systems, the platform makes it easier for the airline to
effectively adopt and implement new payment methods. In turn, this allows the company to also pick the payment service providers who help to improve the guest experience and purchasing activity.
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The payments hub also automates back office payment processes for Aer Lingus and enables more efficiency when processing payments, including refunds and credits.
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The payments hub also automates back office payment processes for Aer Lingus and enables more
efficiency when processing payments, including refunds and credits.
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Furthermore, the solution collates all payment information into a central location which helps
to deliver a more personalised and streamlined passenger experience. Not only do travellers have more payment options, they can pay for flights at the touch of a button on mobile devices.
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Dring 2018 Aerostar has recorded its highest ever throughput of Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families aircraft heavy checks with 104 aircraft passing through its Bacau facility for ‘C’ and ‘D’ checks (79 Boeing 737 family and 25 A320 family).
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These aircraft were from 22 different customers, of which seven were new customers. Included among the new customers was Air France which booked four A320 family aircraft in for heavy
checks.
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The first aircraft, F-HEPG, was the prototype for the A320 installation of the Internet Connectivity via Satellite package; it is an Aeroconseil modernisation bulletin implemented on three aircraft. The work also included a passenger cabin full refurbishment.
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Also in 2018 Aerostar performed Europe’s first base maintenance inspection on an A320neo –
LEAP 1A aircraft - of long-standing customer Pegasus Airlines of Turkey. By the end of 2018 a further four A320neos had passed through Aerostar’s shops.
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So far in 2019, Aerostar has re-delivered to operators a total of 26 aircraft after heavy
maintenance checks (19 B737 and 7 A320 aircraft).
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To meet increased demand construction is now well underway on a new 4-bay MRO hangar at Iasi International Airport in northeast Romania and is expected to be completed at the end of 2019. This new hangar will increase Aerostar’s throughput of Airbus A320ceo and neo families and Boeing 737 Classic and New Generation overhauls by up to 40%.
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The new facility lies 130 km north of Aerostar’s existing business operations at Bacau where the two existing dedicated hangars provide six/seven aircraft bays which are invariably full during the peak maintenance periods.
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Aerostar has also increased its capabilities and experience for the installation of STC modifications to include the WiFi Global Airconnect System and ACARS Datalink Systems Installations.
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In parallel, AEROSTAR is continuing the courses to licence the personnel and complete the
Part-66 authorisations for the licence personnel of the Part 145 organisation, both for Bacau and the new Centre in Iasi.
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TAG Aviation has named Pete Beilby as Director of Flight Operations for the UK and Malta with immediate effect. Beilby joins TAG Aviation (UK) directly from Cobham Aviation Services where he has been the Director of Flight Operations, UK Special Mission, for the last three years.
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Prior to this role he worked for the organisation as a Type Rating Instructor and Examiner which involved undertaking secondments to the Far East, Europe and Africa where he was responsible for delivering Operational Readiness Training.
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Beilby’s aviation career started in the Royal Air Force where he trained to become a pilot, spending twelve years serving in the UK and was also deployed on Operational Tours throughout the world, including Iraq.
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With Garuda Indonesia (Garuda) the first airline to officially cancel an order for Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jet, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), the flag-carrying airline, has confirmed it is to cancel its US$1 billion order for ten of the narrow-body jets. Garuda’s cancelation was a major blow to Boeing as the original order was for 50 of the jets at a combined value of US$4.9 billion at list price. Garuda had already taken delivery of the first jet of the order that was placed back in 2014 and
is also discussing the plane’s return to Boeing.
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When announcing the order cancelation on March 22, Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan commented: "We have sent a letter to Boeing requesting that the order be cancelled," adding: "The reason is that Garuda passengers in Indonesia have lost trust and no longer have the confidence." As a consequence, Boeing officials will be visiting Indonesia to discuss options with Garuda. The Indonesian carrier has made it clear that it has not lost total confidence in Boeing itself. "In principle, it's not that we want to replace Boeing, but maybe we will replace these planes with another model," Garuda’s director I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra commented to the press.
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In relation to the latest news from the
Azrbaijan carrier, "AZAL refused to buy 10 aircraft from Boeing due to
safety reasons," AZAL spokesperson Pasha Kesaminsy told Reuters. Beyond
this, Indonesia’s largest carrier, Lion Air which operates ten of the 737 MAX 8
variants as part of an original order worth a record US$22 billion, recently postponed
delivery of four of the planes with the company SEO stating publicly that a total
cancelation of the order was an option being considered.
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Acro Aircraft Seating, the UK based manufacturer of Economy Class and Premium Economy Class aircraft seats, has moved a step closer to initiating additional production capabilities in China.
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The company established a facility in Shanghai in Q4 2018 with the intent to supply the Chinese civil aviation market with Acro’s innovative seating products.
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Chris Leese-Wood, Acro’s CEO and Accountable Manager said:
“We are delighted with the progress that both our UK Quality and Shanghai Production teams have made to realise our production capabilities in China. The Shanghai facility will be initiated under existing Acro regulatory approvals, with the intention of firstly servicing Asia’s retrofit market and with linefit programmes to follow later.”
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Earlier this year, Acro announced that it has secured its first Chinese carrier with the selection of Series 3ST+ by Spring Airlines as part of a major linefit programme, comprising of forty five Airbus A320 and fifteen A321 narrowbody aircraft. The company has also been selected to supply another
Chinese carrier with its next-generation Series 6 Economy Class seat.
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Lufthansa Group Chief Executive Officer, Carsten Spohr, has assumed his duties as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term effective from the conclusion of the 75th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Spohr is the 78th chair of the IATA BoG. He has served on the BoG since May 2014.
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Spohr succeeds Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, who will continue to serve on the BoG.
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With the departure of flight WS6 on June 1, WestJet becomes the only airline operating a non-stop route between Calgary and Dublin. The airline's newest route provides historic access between Western Canada and Ireland and is the last of three 787 Dreamliner inaugurals that are central to WestJet's global strategy and focus on Calgary as its initial Dreamliner hub.
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WestJet's newest Dreamliner route adds to its existing 787-9 flights between Calgary, Paris and London (Gatwick), supporting tourism and trade between Europe and Canada. In addition, WestJet's Calgary-Dublin service complements its existing seasonal Halifax-Dublin route. WestJet has been operating flights to Dublin from Eastern Canada since 2014.
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