Daily2018-02-20

LATEST NEWS

Wednesday, August 14th, 2019

Embraer's Praetor 500 awarded Brazilian certification

Embraer's new Praetor 500 midsize business jet was granted its Type Certificate by Brazil’s Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC—Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil). The Type Certificate was awarded during a ceremony at LABACE (Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition).

The Praetor 500 surpassed its certification goals achieving an intercontinental range of 3,340 nautical miles (6,186 km—NBAA IFR Reserves with four passengers), a high-speed cruise of 466 KTAS, a full-fuel payload of 1,600 lb (726 kg), a takeoff distance of only 4,222 ft (1,287 m) and an unfactored landing distance of 2,086 ft (636 m). For a 1,000-nautical-mile mission, the takeoff distance is a mere 2,842 ft (867 m).
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Lufthansa Group Airlines welcome around 14.6 million passengers in July 2019

In July 2019, the Lufthansa Group airlines welcomed around 14.6 million passengers. This shows an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year’s month. Capacity was up 2.5% over the previous year and traffic increased by 3.1%. In addition as compared to July 2018, the seat load factor increased by 0.6 points to 86.9%.

The Network Airlines including Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried more than 10.6 million passengers in July – 4% more than in the prior-year period. Compared to the previous year, capacity increased by 3.8% in July. traffic was up by 4.6% over the same period, with an increasing seat load factor by 0.6 points to 87.1%.

In July, the strongest passenger growth of the network airlines was recorded at Lufthansa’s hub in Zurich with 6.5%. The number of passengers increased by 5.7% in Vienna and by 5.3% in Munich. In Frankfurt, however, the number of passengers decreased slightly; there was a decline of 0.4%.

Lufthansa German Airlines transported more than 6.9 million passengers in July, a 2.8% increase compared to the same month last year. A 4.1% increase in capacity corresponds to a 5.1% increase in traffic. The seat load factor rose by 0.9 points year-on-year to 86.9%.

Eurowings (including Brussels Airlines) carried around 4.0 million passengers in July. A 3.1% decline in capacity in July was offset by a 2.9% decline in traffic, resulting in a seat load factor of 86.2%, which is 0.2 points higher than the previous year.
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TUI earnings hit hard by 737 MAX grounding

European tourism group TUI has reported a 46% decline in underlying quarterly earnings which it predominantly puts down to the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jet. 10% of the group’s fleet of planes (15 in number) are 737 MAXs, while a further eight of these planes are currently on order, but until the grounding order is lifted, no delivery date can be provided.

It is anticipated problems with the 737 MAX will cost TUI in the region of €300 million for the 2019 financial year, current figures so far reflecting a loss of €144 million. TUI Chief Executive Fritz Joussen also indicated that many British travelers had been discouraged after sterling losses which had resulted from the election of the new U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. TUI posted underlying earnings before interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITA) of €100.9 million in the quarter to the end of June, the third quarter of the group’s financial year. (€1.00 = US$1.12 at time of publication.)

New FAA chief to review agency in light of 737 MAX crashes

After the swearing in ceremony of Stephen Dickson as the new administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao confirmed that she asked Dickson to make an assessment of the agency’s performance subsequent to the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes, making it clear that: "it is an important opportunity to take stock of how well the FAA is doing in carrying out its critical safety functions." Chao also asked him “to assess the performance of the agency and the results of the ongoing investigations to make recommendations about any needed reforms.”

Dickson’s response was similar to that of Acting Administrator Dan Elwell in that the Boeing 737 MAX: “will not fly in commercial service until I am completely satisfied that it is safe to do so. FAA is following no timeline in returning the aircraft to service. Rather we are going to where the facts lead us.”
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Norwegian to end transatlantic flights between Ireland and North America

Norwegian will stop flights between Ireland and the US in September, after its finances were hit by the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max. In a statement Matthew Wood, SVP Long-Haul Commercial at Norwegian said:

“As the airline moves from growth to profitability, we have conducted a comprehensive review of our transatlantic operations between Ireland and North America and considering the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we have concluded that these routes are no longer commercially viable. Compounded by the global grounding of the 737 MAX and the continued uncertainty of its return to service, this has led us to make the difficult decision to discontinue all six routes from Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the US and Canada from 15 September 2019."

“Since March, we have tirelessly sought to minimise the impact on our customers by hiring (wetleasing) replacement aircraft to operate services between Ireland and North America. However, as the return to service date for the 737 MAX remains uncertain, this solution is unsustainable."

Werner Aero Services welcomes Temur Muzashvili to expand CIS business

Werner Aero Services has announced that Teimuraz (Temur) Muzashvili has joined its team. He will be focusing on overseeing and expanding Werner’s current business in CIS countries. Muzashvili joins Werner Aero Services with over 9 years' experience in the airline industry as a power plant manager.

His arrival reinforces Werner Aero Services' commitment to increase its presence and services in EMEA and CIS with a local solution and expand the APU, engine nacelle and component business in the region.
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Air BP expands carbon offset program for business aviation

Air BP, the international aviation fuel products and services supplier, will highlight the expansion of its pioneering carbon offset program for business aviation in Brazil during the largest business aviation conference and exhibition in Latin America, LABACE from August 13 to 15.

The program will be extended to two of Voa São Paulo’s airports, a Brazilian private airport administration consortium, which are now part of Air BP’s supply network. Jundiaí and Amarais airports are the first to join the program and there is the potential to expand the offer to more of Voa São Paulo’s locations in the future.

Air BP launched its carbon offsetting offer for business aviation in Brazil in 2018. Its first customer, business aircraft management company Avantto, offset more than 1,000 tons of carbon emissions from June 2018 to May 2019 – the equivalent of 1,588 trips from São Paulo (SP / HBR) to Angra dos Reis (RJ) or the carbon that could be captured by almost 73,000 adult trees. The agreement with Avantto has been renewed for another year, enabling customers to offset the emissions related to the fuel supplied to the company by Air BP.

TP Aerospace goes paperless

With recent approval from EASA, TP Aerospace becomes a frontrunner in MRO digitalization as they ditch paperwork and implement paperless processes throughout their inhouse MRO shops. The new system enables digital sign-off of work orders, digital tasks lists, as well as increased efficiency through time optimization and reduced risk of human errors. Finally, it brings improvements to quality controls and safety protocols.

The initial phase of the paperless project began in 2018 along with the launch of the Green Sunrise strategy – an ambitious growth plan for increasing proximity to airline customers worldwide and provide the best possible wheel and brake support, wherever in the world their aircraft may be. A result of the Green Sunrise is a continuously increasing network of in-house MRO facilities, and
thus, it has become vital to develop a stronger data foundation to sustain the growth and ensure that all MRO facilities within the TP Aerospace network continues to meet and exceed the highest standards in the market.

TP Aerospace has managed to use their current ERP system, developed by Component Control, to customize the Paperless System for the company’s specific needs and MRO workshops, making all processes involved in raising, completing and signing off a work order electronic. The new system can process work orders from the introduction of a unit, through the maintenance procedures, and to the end of the final inspection where ARC can be signed off electronically.

The Paperless System is a direct data entry method where no paper is needed on any work processes. It will replace the old barcode scanning system, where barcoding was needed on all tools and hardcopy work orders. With the new system, the number of procedures to be completed are linked to digital protocols. This provides a stronger quality control and reduces the risk of
mistakes.
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Sale of India’s Jet Airways under threat as two potential investors walk away

The sale of India’s Jet Airways has been thrown into doubt after two potential investors have backed away. Anil Agarwal, the head of Vedanta and whose family trust, Volcan, had investigated taking a stake in the failed airline has confirmed that there is no longer any interest from their side. Etihad, the Gulf carrier which has held a 24% stake in Jet Airways since 2013, has also confirmed that it has no intentions of investing further owing to the Indian carrier’s liabilities, stating that: “Etihad remained engaged in the process, but despite the endeavors of everyone involved there remained very significant issues relating to Jet’s previous liabilities.”

Expressions of interest (EOIs) in Jet Airways have to be submitted by August 13, and while there had been three EOIs submitted, that number is likely to be reduced to two with the withdrawal of Volcan. The only criterion that has been set for submission of an EOI is that any bidder must have a minimum net worth of 10 billion Indian rupees (US$140 million). With the current situation little different to that where Jet Airway’s lenders had previously requested submissions of EOIs and had failed to attract any firm bidders, the carrier is now stuck in what appears to be a state of limbo, which can only decrease any value left. The carrier ceased all operations in April this year after racking up over US$1 billion in debt, with over 90% of its planes grounded either through maintenance difficulties or aircraft being seized by lessors for lack of lease payments.

Willis Lease Finance posts quarterly pre-tax profit of US$21.8 million

Willis Lease Finance has reported pre-tax profit of US$21.8 million and total revenues of US$95.8 million in the second quarter of 2019. The Company’s second quarter 2019 pre-tax results were driven by continued revenue growth in its core leasing business and spare parts sales as well as gains associated with the active management of its portfolio. Aggregate lease rent and maintenance reserve revenues were US$71.5 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Total revenue increased by 21.7% to US$95.8 million in the second quarter of 2019 compared to US$78.7 million in the same quarter of 2018. Lease rent revenue was US$45.0 million in the second quarter of 2019; 4.5% growth from US$43.1 million in the same quarter of 2018. Quarterly maintenance reserve revenue increased by US$4.4 million, or 20.1%, to US$26.5 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to US$22.0 million in the same quarter of 2018. Spare parts and equipment sales increased by 25.2% to US$14.6 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to US$11.7 million in the same quarter of 2018. Other revenue increased by US$2.7 million to US$4.6 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to US$1.9 million in the same quarter of 2018, primarily reflecting performance fees earned managing engines on behalf of a third party. Earnings before tax were US$21.8 million in the second quarter of 2019, compared to US$11.6 million in the same quarter of 2018 and were US$49.6 million year to date, compared to US$21.2 million in the first half of 2018.

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