Daily2018-02-20

Tuesday, May 29th, 2018

beachaviationsponsor2018-04-03

LATEST NEWS

Massive boost for Bombardier C Series with air Baltic order for up to 60 jets

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Air Baltic Corporation have jointly confirmed the Latvian low-cost carrier’s firm order for 30 CS300 aircraft, with option and purchase rights for a further 30 of the same type of jet. Based on list prices, the firm order stands at a value of US$2.9 billion, rising to US$5.9 billion with the exercising of all options and purchase rights.

This takes air Baltic’s firm orders for the C Series jet to 50, making it Europe’s largest customer for the jet, and the second-largest worldwide. The acquisition of the C Series planes is connected to the carrier expanding operations from all three Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania under its Destination 2025 expansion plan.

Commenting on the deal, Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer, airBaltic said: “As an early adopter of the C Series, we took a forward-looking decision on advanced technology to support our turnaround plan leading to sustainable profitability, and today we are benefiting from the most fuel-efficient small single-aisle aircraft. With demonstrated fuel savings of more than 22 percent, the CS300 aircraft plays a vital role in maintaining our operating cost at a low level. In 2017, we experienced outstanding growth and showed the world the unique capabilities and comfort of this innovative aircraft. We successfully executed our fleet modernization strategy and are excited to further grow our fleet up to 80 CS300 aircraft while phasing out our other aircraft types in the next three years.”

According to Uldis Augulis, Minister of Transport, Republic of Latvia: “2017 was the most successful year in the history of airBaltic during which the company achieved exceptional operational and financial results. This serves as solid proof of the success of the airline’s business strategy and operating model. The new order is the largest investment in Latvia’s history and plays an important role in the development of the air infrastructure of the Baltic region with wide-ranging effects on exports, economy and jobs.”

Deliveries pertaining to this new order are scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The airBaltic fleet consists of 31 aircraft – 8 Bombardier CS300, 11 Boeing 737 and 12 Bombardier Q400 aircraft – with the carrier connecting the Baltic region with 70 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and the CIS.

TMS

Boeing Business Jets grows order book with new sales

Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) have won four new orders in 2018 the company announced at the European Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (EBACE).

The new orders follow an impressive 2017 in which customers purchased 16 Boeing Business Jets. Two of the new orders this year are for the BBJ MAX airplane, adding to a backlog of 19 airplanes.

The BBJ MAX family offers customers more range, comfort and space and is capable of flying 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km) and features a lower cabin altitude and bespoke interiors to match any preference.

"The performance advantage of the BBJ MAX is a big sales driver," said Laxton. "The airplane is perfectly suited for discerning customers who want to fly further without stopping."

Boeing celebrated the first BBJ MAX 8 flyaway in April 2018. Additional deliveries of BBJ MAX airplanes are expected in the coming months.

Rolls-Royce launches new Pearl engine family

Rolls-Royce has launched a new engine family for business aviation, with the introduction of the Pearl. The engine has been purpose-built and will be the sole engine for Bombardier’s latest business jets, the Global 5500 aircraft and the Global 6500 aircraft.

The Pearl 15 is the first of the planned state- of-the-art Pearl engine family for business aviation and marks the sixth new civil aerospace engine introduced by Rolls-Royce in the past 10 years. The introduction of this new engine family serves to reaffirm Rolls-Royce’s leading position in business aviation.

The Pearl engine combines innovative technologies derived from Rolls-Royce’s Advance2 technology demonstrator programmes with proven features from the Rolls-Royce BR700 today’s leading engine family in business aviation. Its pioneering technology, combined with outstanding performance, will support Bombardier’s successful Global family of aircraft in reaching new standards in the ultra-long-range corporate jet market.

The new engine, which has been developed at Rolls-Royce’s Centre of Excellence for Business Aviation engines in Dahlewitz, Germany, has undergone a comprehensive test programme and received EASA certification on February 28, 2018. The engine is currently undergoing flight tests at Bombardier’s Flight Test Centre in Wichita, Kansas, supporting the planned entry into service at the end of 2019.

TP Aerospace

Airbus appoints Eduardo Dominguez Puerta Head of Urban Air Mobility

Airbus has appointed Eduardo Dominguez Puerta, Head of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), a new Airbus unit, effective June 1, 2018. In his new function, he will report to Patrick de Castelbajac, Executive Vice President Strategy and International.

With this appointment, Airbus is integrating all its UAM activities – except its current air vehicle projects. Based in Munich, the UAM unit will be operating in proximity of the company’s Corporate Technology Office and Unmanned Aerial Systems in Ottobrunn as well as the company’s helicopter plant in Donauwörth.

Currently ongoing vehicle projects will remain in their respective business units and will now be coordinated by the UAM unit. These include:
CityAirbus, an electrically-powered Vertical Take-off and Landing air vehicle demonstrator (eVTOL), developed by Airbus Helicopters;
Vahana, a self-piloted eVTOL small passenger aircraft, developed by A3, the company’s US-based Innovation Centre in Silicon Valley;
VOOM, the world’s premier on-demand helicopter booking platform.

LHT signs first customer for innovative radome

Lufthansa Technik AG has signed a contract with an undisclosed customer concerning development and delivery of its new TIOS+ radome (Three-In-One-Solution). The customer, a renowned completion center for VIP aircraft, is the first buyer for the new radome technology. The radome will be installed on a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

TIOS+ is a product of Original Equipment Innovation (OEI), Lufthansa Technik's product division dedicated to the development and manufacture for innovative products. The customer will receive the first shipset of TIOS+ by the end of 2018.

TIOS+ is a triple Band (L, Ku, Ka) elegant and fuel efficient tail mount solution for the 737 family. Nearly 20 years after the introduction of the popular TIOS (Two-In-One-Solution) radome, Lufthansa Technik has been able to advance the system for use with Ka-band installations. Within only six months, Lufthansa Technik developed this product and established an in-house manufacturing setup in Hamburg.

The future development aims at the adaption of TIOS+ to the Boeing 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 9 aircraft types.

Pentagon2000

ACJ debuts Harmony cabin concept for VIP widebodies

Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) has created a new cabin design concept, called Harmony, which combines the comfort and space of a widebody cabin with the practicality to suit the longest of flights.

Harmony seamlessly combines the benefits of Airbus Corporate Jets’ VIP widebodies – such as comfort, space and quietness - to produce a consistently harmonious customer experience. It builds on the Airspace cabin brand from the Airbus airliner family.

Initially proposed for the new ACJ330neo Family, which features new-generation engines and Sharklets, Harmony can also suit other Airbus widebodies, such as the ACJ350 XWB.

“Long-haul flights provide time for productive work and socialising, as well as rest, and ACJ’s Harmony cabin concept is wonderfully well designed to enable all of these, while bringing the world within a single flight,” says ACJ President Benoit Defforge.

“Harmony is a timeless and elegant design concept, because we dare to break the conventions that are traditionally imposed on us as cabin designers. Our creativity needs to be unique to fit the needs of our customers, as befits a host receiving their guests in their ‘world above the world,” says ACJ Head of Creative Design Sylvain Mariat.

F/LIST opens new Canadian-facility and signs partnership agreement with Lufthansa Technik

This year’s EBACE takes place just two weeks after F/LIST has officially opened F. LIST CANADA CORP. its new production facility in the Montreal aerospace cluster.

It provides high-quality wood veneers for business and executive jet interiors, finishing and assembling of interior components, refurbishment of interiors, and product and customer support for the entire North American market. The facility also houses a showroom and a veneer selection area as part of its designation as F/LIST’s Veneer Competence Centre for flame retardant wood veneers, key components of its interior finishing business.

In addition, F/LIST has announced a new sales partnership with Lufthansa Technik: as of now, F/LIST distributes Lufthansa Technik’s nice HD system for the aftermarket business. Currently, the nice HD system is available for the Bombardier Challenger, Bombardier Global and Gulfstream G450/G550 platforms.

Kellstrom_2018-05-29

Australia and The Netherlands hold Russia ‘liable’ for downing of Flight MH17

On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 left Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur with 298 passengers and crew on board. Approximately 50km (30miles) from the Ukraine-Russian border, air traffic control lost all contact with the jet. Shortly afterwards it crashed in the rebel-held Donetsk area in Ukraine killing all on board, including 193 Dutch nationals, 43 people from Malaysia, and 27 from Australia. Other victims came from countries including Indonesia, the UK, Belgium, Germany and the Philippines.

Russia has consistently and vehemently denied any involvement on the incident, even blaming it on a ‘rogue’ Ukrainian military pilot, Capt. Vladyslav Voloshyn, who is understood to have committed suicide in March this year. Russia also denied other allegations that the Malaysia Airlines jet had been shot down by a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile, claiming that it must have been a Ukrainian military Buk missile.

However, last Thursday, Dutch investigators leading the investigation into the crash concluded that the plane was struck by a Buk missile which exploded close to the plane’s nose, puncturing the hull. They confirm that the missile was supplied by the Russia’ 53rd anti-aircraft rocket brigade in Kursk. It had previously been presumed by Ukrainian and US intelligence sources that the Buk system had been sent into rebel territory by Russia, then moved out again.

The decision was announced in a statement from the Dutch government and by Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop.
Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok commented: "On the basis of the conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17," adding: "The government is now taking the next step by formally holding Russia accountable."
"We call on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the process to establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims of flight MH17 and their next of kin," Mr Blok also said.

AerFin

P&WC’s FAST™ solution achieves STC for PT6A-67P-powered Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft

Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has achieved Supplemental Type Certification (STC) for its FAST™ prognostics solution on the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 47E NG aircraft powered by the PT6A-67P.

The FAST solution captures and analyzes full-flight engine and aircraft data, enabling high visibility on a multitude of key operating parameters within 15 minutes of the pilot shutting down the engine, which can be used to optimize maintenance planning and operations and further increase aircraft availability.

PlaneSense, a leading fractional aircraft ownership program, will launch the FAST solution on its fleet of PC-12 NG aircraft.

In addition to the PC-12 NG, the FAST solution is certified on the Beechcraft King Air 200/300 series, Textron Aviation’s Cessna Caravan 208/208B as well as Air Tractor platforms.

P&WC continues to invest in new FAST certifications, including in the development of an STC for the PC-12 45 and 47 series of aircraft to help meet the growing demand for advanced digital engine health management among 7,000 PT6A operators.

ST Aerospace secures first ACJ maintenance contract at San Antonio facility

ST Aerospace’s VIP Completion arm, AERIA Luxury Interiors (AERIA) secured its first Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ) customer when it was awarded a 12-year maintenance support contract for its first ACJ, an A319.

Under the agreement, AERIA will carry out heavy maintenance works that include interior and auxiliary fuel tank removal/replacement.

While AERIA has built up a strong record since 2014 in servicing and performing VIP modification and completion on Boeing platforms, the A319 is the first ACJ that the company is supporting at its facility located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. This milestone project allows AERIA to showcase its capability and knowledge base in Airbus platforms to potential ACJ customers looking for customised VIP interior solutions.

GA Telesis

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