Daily2018-02-20

LATEST NEWS

Friday, July 19th, 2019

easyJet Q2 2019 results in line with expectations

easyJet has released its financial results for the first financial half to 31 March 2019. Passenger numbers increased by 4.9 million while capacity increased by 14.5% principally due to annualizing of new operations in Berlin. Load factor decreased by 1.0 percentage points to 90.1% mainly as a result of building loads in Berlin in the first quarter. Total revenue increased by 7.3% to £2,343 million (H1 2018: £2,183 million).

Total revenue per seat decreased by 6.3% to £50.71 (H1 2018: £54.10), with a decrease of 7.4% at constant currency. Headline cost per seat increased by 3.9% to £56.66 (H1 2018: £54.53) as a result of fuel price increases, the impact of foreign exchange, underlying cost inflation, investing in resilience as well as the impact of drones at Gatwick in December, mitigated by easyJet’s cost programme and fleet up-gauging.

Headline cost per seat excluding fuel at constant currency increased by 1.3%. Headline loss before tax was £275 million (H1 2018: loss of £18 million) reflecting the above revenue and cost drivers, easyJet’s normal seasonality as well as increased volume of capacity. Total loss before tax of £272 million for the six months ended 31 March 2019 (H1 2018 loss of £68 million).

It has also been reported that Peter Bellew, COO of Ryanair, will be joining easyJet in an identical role. easyJet’s chief executive Johan Lundgren said: “Peter has an exceptional level of experience across commercial and operational roles in both low-cost and full-service airlines and is a great leader with a proven track record in delivering results. I believe we have secured the very best person for this role and I am delighted to welcome Peter.” (£1.00 = US$1.25 at time of publication.)

ePlane

Wizz Air expands Chisinau operations with addition of new A320

Wizz Air has allocated a third aircraft to Chisinau. The new Airbus A320 will join the fleet in December, enabling the increase of frequencies of the airline’s existing 8 routes and the start of four new routes from Chisinau.

WIZZ started operations from Chisinau International Airport in 2013 and established a based there in March 2017. After 6 years of successful operations, the airline announced further great expansion at its Moldovan base by allocating a third Airbus A320 aircraft in December 2019.

The new aircraft represents another US$101 million investment into the Moldovan aviation market and will contribute to the creation of over thirty new direct jobs with Wizz Air.

Kellstrom Aerospace purchases CFM56-5B3/P engine

Kellstrom Aerospace has purchased a serviceable CFM56-5B3/P engine, bearing s/n 779656. This engine will be added to its engine Lease pool, reinforcing its commitment to  supporting its airline customers around the world. This engine is currently located in Europe.

TP Aerospace

Elix Aviation Capital delivers ATR 42-500 to Afrijet

Elix Aviation Capital has delivered one ATR 42-500, MSN 633, on lease to Afrijet Business Service, headquartered in Libreville, Gabon.  This is the first turboprop delivery by Elix to Afrijet.  With this new customer, Elix continues to expand its leasing services in the African market. With this ATR 42-500, Afrijet is now welcoming a 6th ATR in its regional aircraft fleet.

In 14 years Afrijet has become the main aviation group in Central Africa. With this aircraft being added to the fleet, Afrijet is notably operating 6 aircraft, 3 ATR 72-500 and 3 ATR 42-500.

Héroux-Devtek and Longueuil facility employees ratify new three-year collective agreement

Landing gear manufacturer Héroux-Devtek has released that the unionized employees at its Longueuil, Québec, facility have voted in favour of the early renewal of a three-year collective agreement, which now extends through April 30, 2023. The renewal concerns approximately 210 employees who are members of Unifor, Local Section 1956.

"We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our employees that will allow our teams to fully dedicate time and resources to delivering the record backlog of our Longueuil facility. This also demonstrates the dedication of our personnel to meeting customers' expectations. Our employees are the main force of our company and we are very pleased to work hand-in-hand with them in order to continue offering high-quality jobs throughout our organisation." said Martin Brassard, President and CEO of the Corporation.

Eirtech

Clockwork Research appoints Alexandros Kontotasios as Human Factors Specialist

Clockwork Research, a fatigue risk management consultancy and part of Air Partner’s Consulting & Training division, has named Alexandros Kontotasios as Human Factors Specialist.

Kontotasios has a solid academic background in researching and assessing fatigue in pilots, human factors in aviation, psychology, military psychology and accident investigation, enabling him to prepare high quality fatigue research. He is currently finishing a PhD at the University of Leeds, exploring fatigue and performance in pilots who commute by driving, and also holds a BSc in Psychology, a BSc in Military Psychology and an MSc in Human Factors in Aviation.

Prior to joining Clockwork, Kontotasios worked as a human factors psychologist for the Hellenic Air Force, where he conducted psychological assessments of staff, including pilots, air traffic controllers and cabin crew, provided training on fatigue and stress management, researched fatigue and stress, and investigated accidents.

StandardAero and Robertson Fuel Systems deliver two AS350 Crash-Resistant Fuel Tanks to Oklahoma City Police Department

StandardAero and Robertson Fuel Systems have delivered two of their AS350/EC130 crash-resistant fuel tanks (CRFT) to Hangar One Avionics, which will soon be installed on the Oklahoma City Police Department’s (OKCPD) AS350 B3e (H125) helicopters.

The OKCPD received budget approval in May 2018 to purchase crashworthy fuel systems for their two AS350 helicopters and conducted a thorough review of the available retrofit options to determine the best solution to meet their requirements.

The StandardAero/Robertson AS350/EC130 CRFT is fully compliant to the latest FAA FAR Part 27.952 fuel system crash resistance requirements, including with underbelly equipment installed. In March 2017, the StandardAero/Robertson team successfully conducted a 50-foot drop test of the CRFT in an airframe structure, including cargo swing attachment, solidifying its ability to withstand significant impact without leakage.

AFG

IATA urges European governments and ANSPs to make improvements to air traffic management

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on European governments and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to make urgent improvements to European air traffic management. The priority should be to cut carbon emissions and address the unnecessary costs and flight delays suffered by passengers from inefficient airspace routes and bottlenecks.

According to Eurocontrol, in June more than 210,000 flights, 20% of the total, were delayed. The average delay time was 17 minutes. The vast majority of the delays are from a lack of air traffic control capacity, driven by inadequate staffing, inflexible rostering, and an inability to react to
disruptive events.

In the first six months of the year Karlsruhe Upper Area Control (UAC) in Germany, the Marseille UAC in France and the Vienna UAC in Austria contributed the most to delays.

A short-term contingency plan was introduced last year to re-organize the region’s airspace in a move to mitigate inefficiencies in the network. The plan generated new problems as it redistributed 1,000 flights per day from the most problematic areas. The re-routing of aircraft increases travel time for passengers and it forces airlines to circumnavigate saturated areas with longer, less efficient routes that produce unnecessary CO2 emissions.

IATA calls on the European Commission, European Governments and ANSPs to:
  • Reform outdated work practices so that staff can be deployed where they are required, and recruit additional staff as needed to fill any gaps
  • Modernize ATM infrastructure and implement the new Airspace Architecture program
  • Continue the deployment of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) which airlines have invested in
  • Empower the European Network Manager to plan and configure the network to meet the demands of air travelers
  • Penalize ANSPs which fail to deliver agreed capacity targets under the European Performance and Charging Scheme
“The busy summer travel season in Europe has begun and both travelers and airlines should be able to get to their destinations on time. The current situation is simply unacceptable. Airlines are making strides to reduce their environmental impact but in Europe they are being forced to produce unnecessary emissions every day. Fortunately, solutions exist. With the correct investment and planning, and a change in mindset by both governments and ANSPs, another summer of wasted emissions and delays can be avoided,”said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe.

Beach Aviation Group

Southwest Airlines removes MAX from schedule through November 2.

Southwest Airlines has released that it continues to monitor information from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements. The airline remains confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX.

Southwest previously revised its flight schedule by removing the MAX through Oct. 1, to offer reliability to its operation and stability for its customers but with the timing of the MAX's return-to-service still uncertain, the airline is again revising its plans to remove the MAX from its schedule through Nov. 2.

Rolls-Royce to develop hypersonic technology with UK MOD

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to develop hypersonic propulsion systems for increased aircraft performance and capability.

The MOD’ procurement arm, Defence Equipment and Support, intends to place a circa 2-year, single sourced contract, of approximate value £10 million, for a UK programme to undertake design studies, research, development, analysis and experimentation relating to high-Mach advanced propulsion systems. The contract will be with Rolls-Royce Plc, (RR) and its technology partners, BAE Systems and Reaction Engines and will focus on enabling technologies for increased aircraft performance and capability.

Speaking at the 2019 Air and Space Power Conference, the UK’s Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, said: “As part of the technologies being developed in parallel with Project Tempest, I am delighted to reveal that in concert with Rolls-Royce, Reaction Engines and BAE Systems, we are developing hypersonic propulsion systems, which will be designed and tested over the next 2 years, paving the way for the UK to become a centre of excellence in this technology and contribute to meeting future UK Defence needs.”

AFI KLM
AviTrader_Weekly_Headline_News_Cover_2019-07-15

click here to download the latest PDF edition

AviTrader_Monthly_MRO_e-Magazine_Cover_2019-07

click here to download the latest PDF edition

click here to subscribe to our other free publications

AIRCRAFT & ENGINE MARKETPLACE

click here to view in PDF aircraft and engines available for sale and lease

UPCOMING EVENTS

Engine Leasing Seminar
September 17, 2019 – Holiday Inn Kensington High Street, London, UK


Effective Risk Management in Aircraft Leasing and Aviation Finance
September 18, 2019 – Holiday Inn Kensington High Street, London, UK


Advanced Engineering 2019
October 30 - 31, 2019 – NEC, Birmingham, UK


EyeforTravel Revenue Optimization and Marketing Summit
November 26 - 27, 2019 – Hotel Novotel Amsterdam City, Amsterdam, NL