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Tuesday, June 12th, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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The Rolls-Royce 1000 Trent engine which powers the Boeing Dreamliner has developed further problems, which has caused concern over safety and which has created potential disruption for carriers including British Airways and Norwegian.
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Having currently focused its attention on trying to fix durability problems with the ‘Package C’ version of the engine, 166 of its ‘Package B’ engines now require further inspection. The problem would appear to be of a similar nature – parts are wearing out faster than anticipated.
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Already aircraft have been grounded as a result of ‘Package C’ problems, while airlines including Virgin Atlantic have been forced to lease alternative aircraft.
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Rolls-Royce initially warned that the company would be likely to take a financial hit on the region of £370 M (US$496 M) to fix the problems with the ‘Package C’ engines, but in April it was mooted that this figure would have to be revised upwards to take into account the replacement of more parts and the payment of compensation to airlines. Industry analysts predict the final figure could well be around the £1.00 billion (US$1.34 B) mark.
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Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce President Civil Aerospace, said: “We are working closely with our customers to minimize any operational impact of these inspections and we deeply appreciate their continued co-operation. We remain absolutely committed to eliminating this issue from the Trent 1000 fleet.”
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There is an investor’s day being held this Friday in London and Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Warren East is expected to announce over 4,000 job losses, predominantly resulting from a major thinning out of middle-management positions as opposed to front-line engineering posts. Analysts are predicting a higher figure of job losses at around 10% of the current 50,000-strong workforce.
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Current plans in place to offset the impact of the engine faults beyond cutting jobs will likely include reducing non-essential spending on travel and IT upgrades.
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U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao has announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award US$677 million in airport infrastructure grants, the first allotment of the total US$3.2 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airports across the United States.
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The 241 grants will fund 346 infrastructure projects that include runways, taxiways, aprons, and terminals. These projects are important to the safety and efficiency of the nation’s system of airports.
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“These Airport Improvement Program grants will enhance airport safety, modernize our aviation infrastructure and strengthen the economic vitality of communities throughout the country,” said Secretary Chao.
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The U.S. infrastructure, and especially its 3,332 airports and 5,000 paved runways as an essential piece, moves the country’s competitiveness and improves the traveling public’s quality of life. According to the FAA’s most recent economic analysis, U.S. civil aviation accounts for $1.6 trillion in total economic activity and supports nearly 11 million jobs. Under the Secretary’s leadership, the Department is delivering AIP investments to strengthen the safety and efficiency of America’s airports.
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Airports can get a certain amount of AIP entitlement funding each year based on activity levels and project needs. If their capital project needs exceed their available entitlement funds, the FAA can supplement their entitlements with discretionary funding.
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At the end of June, Dr. Alexander Toussaint will step down from his position as CEO of RUAG Aerostructures at his own request in order to pursue a new challenge outside the company.
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Dirk Prehn, Head of Programs & Sales and a member of the Executive Board of the RUAG Aerostructures division, will assume the management of the division on a temporary basis and will be responsible for its 1,250 employees and the production facilities in Oberpfaffenhofen (Germany), Emmen (Switzerland) and Eger (Hungary).
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HT Aerotech was granted CAMO approval by the IAA for all Airbus narrow-body Series aircraft, Airbus A330 aircraft, Boeing 737 Classic and 737 NG aircraft as well as the Embraer Aircraft Series. This complements the Bermuda (BCAA) CAMO approvals for these same aircraft types previously granted in 2016. The IAA approvals have already been utilised to help transition two B737NG aircraft from China to India.
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HT Aerotech is the first Chinese based engineering services company to have been granted CAMO approval by an EASA National authority.
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Ethan Guan CEO of HT Aviation Group explains: “We opened our Dublin office in 2017 to better serve the aircraft leasing community outside of China. Having EASA CAMO approvals is an important step to help transition aircraft in and out of the EU and in ensuring the highest airworthiness standards are maintained in moving aircraft from other jurisdictions and also for long term aircraft storage. This is just the first step of growing the Dublin team at HT Aerotech. We also support the aircraft leasing community with Part 21 Design and other lease management activities.”
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HT Aerotech is a wholly owned subsidiary of Haotong Aviation which is a listed company on Beijing Stock Exchange (NEEQ).
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SAS Scandinavian Airlines has reported traffic results for May 2018. Scheduled traffic increased 1.6% compared to the previous year, while capacity increased 1.5%. The load factor increased to 74.1%, up 0.1 point versus last year.
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FPG Amentum, the Dublin-based aircraft leasing / management company announces the sale of two Airbus A319-112s (MSNs 3533 and 3560).
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The aircraft were sold on behalf of FPG Amentum’s investor customer Global Aircraft Fund I.
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Southwest Airlines has reported its May traffic statistics. Traffic in May 2018 increased 4.2% compared to May 2017, while capacity increased 5.2%. The May 2018 load factor was 84.6% compared with 85.4% in May 2017.
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Airbus has announced from its production facility in Toulouse, France that a new A350-900 destined for Philippine Airlines has taken its first flight as part of the final production process. The aircraft will be ready for delivery within the next few weeks.
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This is the first of six A350-900s, or XWBs on order – XWB standing for Extra-wide Body – which will be used by the Philippine flag carrier for long-haul services from Manila to North America and Europe. The six jets will join Philippine Airline’s existing Airbus fleet comprising 26 A320 Family aircraft, 15 A330s and five A340s.
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The A350 XWB is the first Airbus jet whose fuselage and wing structures are made predominantly out of carbon fiber reinforced polymer, the current version using new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. When combined with its latest aerodynamic design, the operational efficiency now runs at a 25% reduction in fuel burn and emissions, while significantly reducing maintenance costs.
According to Airbus, the A350 XWB “features an Airspace cabin which, on top of the aircraft spaciousness and quietness, provides better ambience, design and services, contributing to superior levels of comfort and well-being, and setting new standards in terms of flight experience for all passengers.”
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The A350 XWB has two variants, the A350-900 and A350-1,000 with seat capacity varying between 280 and 366 passengers in a three-class configuration. The A350 900 entered into service with Qatar Airways in June 2015, and the A350-1000 entered into service with the same carrier in February this year.
As of the end of May this year, total orders of the A350-900 stand at 679 with 173 delivered, and orders for the A350-1000 stand at 168 with one delivered. Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific and Singapore airlines are the principal operators of the A350 XWB with over 20 of the aircraft each in service.
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The board of directors of ELTA, subsidiary and division of Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI), which is headed by CEO Joseph Weiss, has approved the nomination of Yoav Turgeman to ELTA CEO and IAI EVP.
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Turgeman has been serving in managerial positions at IAI for the past 11 years, the most recent one as general manager of the MLM plant, where he was responsible to various IAI strategic operations.
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ST Engineering’s Aerospace sector officially opened a new airframe Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility on June 8, in Pensacola, Florida, USA.
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The new facility, which can carry out heavy and line maintenance, as well as aircraft modification work, joins two others that ST Engineering has in the USA, located in San Antonio, Texas and Mobile, Alabama, increasing its capacity to serve the North America region and its global clientele.
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Located at the Pensacola International Airport, the new hangar has been developed at a cost of US$46 million. At 173,500 ft ², it is one of the largest hangars in ST Engineering’s global network of airframe maintenance facilities. The facility has an annual capacity of 600,000 labour hours, and can accommodate at any one time two aircraft of the largest version of the 777 widebody series, or six A321 narrowbody aircraft.
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Having received all required regulatory approvals, Airbus SE, Bombardier and Investissement Québec (IQ) have agreed to close the C Series transaction effective on July 1, 2018. The transaction by which Airbus will acquire a majority stake in the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP) was initially announced in October 2017.
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The Mirabel-based partnership, which was originally established between Bombardier and IQ, will benefit from Airbus’ global reach, scale, procurement organization and expertise in selling, marketing and producing the C Series – a state-of-the-art jet aircraft family in the 100-150 seat market.
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Airbus will work with its partners Bombardier and IQ to fully unlock the C Series’ potential and create significant new value for customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and the communities in which the partnership operates. The partnership’s head office, primary assembly line and related functions will be based in Mirabel, Québec.
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As previously announced, Bombardier will continue with its current funding plan of CSALP. Due to the early closing of the partnership, the terms of this plan are updated according to the following schedule: Bombardier will fund the cash shortfalls of CSALP, if required, during the second half of 2018, up to a maximum of US$225 million; during 2019, up to a maximum of US$350 million; and up to a maximum aggregate amount of US$350 million over the following two years, in consideration for non-voting participating shares of CSALP with cumulative annual dividends of 2%. Any excess shortfall during such periods will be shared proportionately amongst CSALP’s Class A shareholders. Airbus will consolidate CSALP effective from July 1, 2018 onwards. Further financial information on the transaction will be provided later this year.
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The C series program continues to ramp up. Having delivered 17 aircraft in 2017, it is gearing up to double its deliveries in 2018.
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