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Thursday, May 31st, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair has confirmed its intention to raise its initial 24.9 percent stake in the Austrian carrier Laudamotion to 75 percent as soon as possible, subject to European regulatory approval.
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In addition, Laudamotion and Ryanair have agreed an option that will allow the Irish carrier to buy the remainder, allowing it to take full ownership in four years.
With Austria becoming a rapidly expanding hub for Eastern Europe destinations, this move will see Ryanair secure a much-desired foothold.
To help Laudamotion cope with a recent rise in oil prices and become profitable, Ryanair has also confirmed a further investment in the Austrian carrier with an injection of €20 million (US$23.4 million), taking its overall investment to €120 million (US$140 million).
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This Saturday Laudamotion will commence flights from Vienna, having begun with flights from Germany in March and Switzerland in April. While the intention is to have four planes stationed in Vienna during the summer, this number should double for the winter season. Ryanair has confirmed that its longer-term plans are to build up a base of 50 planes in the Austrian capital.
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Currently, Lufthansa has 90 aircraft stationed in Vienna, while at its peak, and prior to its demise, Niki (now rebranded as Laudamotion), the subsidiary of Air Berlin, had 21 aircraft stationed there.
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Presorting garbage during the flight to separate recyclables from waste and from liquids with the maximum ease of use is now possible. It happens thanks to the ReTrolley, a new system for on board recycling developed by Iacobucci HF Aerospace.
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The Italian Manufacturer has crafted the device in exclusive from a concept conceived by Airbus. The ReTrolley combines the simplicity of a standard cabin service trolley (both in half-size and full-size) with the possibility for the cabin crew members to handle, on top of it, different containers with peculiar designs for each kind of waste: paper, plastic, cans, with a dedicated liquids disposal bin and a specific area for staking cups that contribute to make the presorting really effective.
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The ReTrolley debuted last April at the 2018 edition of the Aircraft Interiors Expo. As a disruptive innovation meant to address the fast growing “green” market, it represents the right answer to all the Airlines that are trying to reduce the costs of waste management and, at the same time, to meet the expectations of the customers, who demand a more sustainable, environment-friendly experience even when flying.
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Boeing, through its subsidiary Jeppesen, has signed a new agreement at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition with GlobalJet, a leading business aviation aircraft management and charter operator, to provide them with Jeppesen Operator and JetPlanner Pro digital operations management solutions.
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Jeppesen Operator is a virtual corporate flight department solution that integrates multiple resources and operations capabilities in a single platform for business aviation operators. In a streamlined, in-house solution, GlobalJet now will be able to effectively manage their trip planning, scheduling, maintenance and crew management operations.
“Integrating digital operations tools from Jeppesen will help us increase efficiency and reduce preparation time with our European and global operations,” said Renny Cichella, director, Ground Operations, GlobalJet. “Teaming with Jeppesen is a great fit, as our shared dedication to flight safety is reflected in these digital solutions that will help us plan and execute our flight plans more effectively and increase situational awareness on the ground and in the air.”
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Through the Jeppesen Operator platform, GlobalJet will also have access to flight planning data generated by the JetPlanner Pro solution. JetPlanner Pro optimizes flight planning and dispatch operations that will help reduce costs through advanced route planning, reduced fuel consumption and increased manpower efficiency.
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MRO service provider SR Technics, has expanded its line maintenance capabilities at its line stations in the United Kingdom to support the latest Airbus A330neo and Airbus A350 types.
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SR Technics line stations at Belfast, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, London-Stansted and Manchester, have now been joined by East Midlands airport, further expanding the MRO’s portfolio to meet customer’s flight network.
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Jakob Straub, Head of Aircraft Services and Line Maintenance at SR Technics said: “The new station at East Midlands allows us to grow and diversify our service offering, coupled with the addition of the very latest Airbus models to continue to offer industry leading delivery levels and aligning our services to the demands of our valued customers.”
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Indian-carrier Jet Airways has appointed Mr. Athar Khan as its Vice President for the Americas to leverage the sales and distribution strength of its partners - Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic and Air France KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, in order to drive high quality sales in all these markets.
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Athar joins Jet Airways after having spent over two successful decades with leading international carriers such as Delta Air Lines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines.
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Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel's largest national military and civilian security defense company, has issued its consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
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The Company's sales in Q1 2018 amounted to US$ 883 million compared with US$ 837 million in Q1 2017, an increase of 5.5%.
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Operating income in Q1 2018 amounted to US$34 million (3.8% of sales) compared with US$44 million in Q1 2017 (5.3% of sales). This decrease can be explained by the increase in R&D expenses and in general and administrative expenses compared with the corresponding quarter of last year.
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EBITDA in Q1 2018 amounted to US$75 million compared with US$72 million in Q1 2017.
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Net financial expenses in Q1 2018 amounted to approximately US$17 million compared with US$7 million in Q1 2017. The increase in net financial expenses compared to the corresponding quarter of last year is mainly a result of exchange rate valuation losses due to the erosion of NIS asset balances and the ineffective portion of foreign exchange hedges in view of the appreciation of the US$ exchange rate in relation to the NIS by about 1.4% in the first quarter of 2018 as opposed to a depreciation of 5.5% in the corresponding quarter of last year.
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Net income in Q1 2018 totaled US$11 million (1.2% of sales) compared with net income of US$46 million in Q1 2017 (5.5% of sales). The decrease in net income mainly arises from the decrease in operating income and the increase in financial expenses and in tax expenses.
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The order backlog at the end of Q1 2018 amounted to US$12 billion compared to US$11.2 billion at the end of 2017. 76% of the order backlog is held for sale to foreign customers with wide geographical dispersion. The order backlog is comprised of a wide variety of products and secures 3.2 years of operation.
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Newbow Aerospace, a leading design, manufacturer and supplier of Ground Support Equipment to the aviation industry, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Oakenhurst Aircraft Services to market and distribute the SealVac® range of fuel bowser ground support equipment.
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Oakenhurst, an FAA, TCCA and EASA 145 & 21 approved MRO, are official distributor for Spokane Industries SealVac System and under the terms of this agreement, Newbow Aerospace will market and promote the range of Sealvac equipment into its existing customer portfolio spanning more than 250 global airlines as well as new customer opportunities.
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The SealVac Vacuum Fuel Drain Bowser safely reduces fuel draining and depuddling times from hours to minutes so aircraft maintenance can proceed without delay. The long term benefits to both the airlines and maintenance service providers are maximizing fuelhandling safety by significantly reducing human contact with fuel.
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TAG Aviation is creating a Maintenance Control Centre (MCC) at Lisbon/Cascais (LPCS) Aerodrome from June 2018. This will enhance TAG Aviation's current Mobile Repair Team (MRT) operations, with maintenance services support now available from eight locations throughout Europe.
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The MCC will simplify the centralised handling of all AOGs and MRT requests, with one Customer Services contact number, available 24/7, to request assistance from TAG’s highly-trained technicians. TAG’s dedicated maintenance services teams will be able to swiftly respond to clients’ requests, even at short notice, and can be dispatched from anyone of its locations.
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“One central contact number empowers our maintenance services teams to be able to respond very speedily to our clients’ needs across the full range of maintenance service capabilities we operate, minimising downtime, and further supporting our on-going commitment to maximise the efficiency of our clients’ operations”, said Franck Madignier, President Maintenance and FBO Services, TAG Aviation Europe.
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TAG Aviation has approved MRO maintenance centres right across Europe, including Geneva, Sion, Paris, Lisbon, Farnborough, Cermont Ferrand as well as Lomé (Togo), Hong Kong in Asia and recently opened line stations in Luanda in Angola and in Sheremetyevo in Moscow. TAG Maintenance services is approved by all main aircraft manufacturers and certified to undertake work on over sixty aircraft types.
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Ryanair has appointed Carol Sharkey as the airline’s Chief Risk Officer, joining its senior management team.
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Sharkey, who is currently Ryanair’s Director of Safety and Security, will assume responsibility for all of Ryanair’s operational risk assessment and will report directly to the CEO.
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She has worked at Ryanair since 1995 having previously held roles in inflight, flight operations and in recent years has overseen the flight safety department.
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Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has announced that its leasing division DAE Capital has signed three agreements to sell 16 aircraft with a total market value of approximately US$900 million.
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The aircraft covered by these agreements include Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, A330, and A350 family aircraft, have an average age of two years and are currently on lease to 11 airlines in 11 countries.
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Firoz Tarapore, Chief Executive Officer of DAE commented “This divestment activity will help us optimize our portfolio composition and monetize some of our recent larger-scale investments. This transaction does not impact our total number of customers. Proceeds will be used to pay down debt and reinvested to support our ambitious growth plans. Proactively managing our portfolio through active trading is a critical component of our long-term portfolio strategy and it is important for us to remain relevant in all segments of the secondary market for aircraft sales.”
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These agreements are expected to close in the second half of 2018.
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MRO-provider Monarch Aircraft Engineering (MAEL) and Thomas Cook Aircraft Engineering have signed a landmark agreement where MAEL will handle elements of Thomas Cook Airlines’ line maintenance across the UK.
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Thomas Cook Airlines’ line maintenance has been transferred to MAEL at five UK airports - Gatwick, Birmingham, Glasgow, Newcastle and East Midlands. As part of this, line maintenance engineers working for Thomas Cook Airlines at those locations have transferred across to MAEL.
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MAEL has a well-established line maintenance operation, with permanent year-round stations at 10 airports across the UK and mainland Europe, where it provides line maintenance support including all levels of maintenance on Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and Bombardier aircraft types.
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Avion Express has signed leasing agreements for three additional Airbus A320 aircraft. These three aircraft have recently been added to the fleet of Avion Express, which now comprises of 18 Airbus A320 family aircraft. During summer-autumn 2018 all three newly leased-in aircraft will be flying on behalf of Avion Express clients in Europe.
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With the addition of these three aircraft, Avion Express has completed its fleet expansion for 2018. The current fleet, which is the largest in the history of the company, has been growing consistently over the years back from 2011 when Avion Express started to operate its first Airbus A320 aircraft.
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The 2,000 thrust reversers have been designed and manufactured by Safran Nacelles for nearly 20 years at its United Kingdom site in Burnley, and have enabled the company to strengthen its position as the leading manufacturer of thrust reversers for business jets.
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The thrust reversers are produced to a best-in-class quality standard, and have been supplied to various customers to serve a number of aircraft and engine variations, including Bombardier Challenger 300/350, Embraer Legacy 450/500, Gulfstream G280 and Textron Cessna Citation Longitude.
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The efficiency and quality of production is also increasing over time. The assembly line in Burnley has been re-engineered into a single stepping line to support the four different customer variants of the product, which is also produced without any quality notices.
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Simon Hallas, Acting Managing Director of Safran Nacelles, said: "The business jet market is a critical market for Safran Nacelles, as we can leverage our design, engineering and industrial skills to manufacture quality products that meet the needs of our global customers. Over the years, we have developed our knowledge of our customers in this particular market, and we fully understand where we can increase customer value and competitiveness."
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In the past 20 years, more than 3.5 million flight hours have been logged across the different variants, and in March 2018 the Cessna Longitude completed a tour around the world as it approaches certification and entry into service.
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As well as producing thrust reversers for the HTF7000 engines, Safran Nacelles also provides business jet nacelles for the Dassault F7X and F8X aircraft, Bombardier Global 5000, 6000 and 7000, and Gulfstream G550.
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Acropolis Aviation, the Farnborough Airport, UK-based VVIP charter operator has confirmed at EBACE, Geneva another important supplier on its brand-new Airbus ACJ320 - which entered production at Airbus’ Toulouse facility this month.
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Acropolis is due to receive the first ACJ320 during the fourth quarter of 2019. The aircraft is due to be delivered green by Airbus to Acropolis’ chosen outfitter, AMAC Aerospace before year end. AMAC will be installing a new Alberto Pinto cabin at its Basel, Switzerland facilities.
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Acropolis, via AMAC Aerospace of Switzerland, has specified Rockwell Collins as cabin management system provider for the ACJ320. Acropolis is specifying Rockwell Collins’ high-definition Venue cabin management and entertainment system; Stage on demand; Air show moving map and the company’s innovative Viet LED interior lighting system.
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The decision to keep loyal to Rockwell Collins builds on a successful relationship which first began with the introduction of Skybox IFE in 2015, through to the upgrade to Stage aboard G-NOAH earlier this year, said Acropolis CEO Jonathan Bousfield.
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ARGUS International (ARGUS)has announced its aircraft activity analysis and market intelligence tool, TRAQPak FBO, is now integrated with EUROCONTROL, an intergovernmental organization committed to building a Single European Sky that will deliver the air traffic management (ATM) performance required for the twenty-first century and beyond. The extension will allow flights throughout Europe to be tracked within TRAQPak FBO, bringing TRAQPak data and insights to Europe while extending flight data available to current TRAQPak customers.
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“We are very pleased to provide our TRAQPak FBO program that now incorporates EUROCONTROL flight data for European FBOs and Airports,” said Shirley Mason, Executive Vice President of Market Intelligence at ARGUS International. “We are especially excited to support the European FBO community with a flight activity tracking and analysis system that will improve their operational efficiency, customer service and support, and communication between locations if they are part of an FBO network.”
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EUROCONTROL has 41 Member and 2 Comprehensive Agreement States, and manages activity of over 10 million flights per year through their Network Manager.
TRAQPak FBO is an advanced, web-based aircraft movement intelligence tool that provides live flight tracking with fully integrated functionality powered by TRAQPak’s historical aircraft activity data and analysis, FlightView aircraft movement data, and Flight Global Ascend aircraft owner/operator contact information
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Bombardier, the plane and train manufacturer has chosen the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE2018), in Geneva, Switzerland to unveil two longer-range variants of its successful Global business jets.
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David Coleal, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft commented that: “Bombardier’s two newest Global aircraft are the result of our unrelenting commitment to innovation, excellence and most of all, our desire to deliver unmatched capabilities to our customers. This next generation of performance stems from the winning DNA of our Global family of aircraft, now further enhanced through a newly optimized wing, a fully reimagined cabin and new, purpose-built engines.”
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According to Bombardier: “The Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft add to the industry’s best large-category family, joining the high-performing Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft, and the unparalleled Global 7000 aircraft. These new aircraft build on the success of the Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircraft by offering 500 and 600 nautical miles of additional range, respectively, coupled with an up to 13-per-cent fuel burn advantage, contributing to highly favorable operating costs versus smaller competing aircraft with less range.”
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Purpose-built Rolls-Royce Pearl engines and a new wing make the Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft cleaner and more efficient, so the Global 5500 aircraft can connect Sao Paolo and Paris, and Moscow and Los Angeles, while the Global 6500 aircraft can connect Hong Kong or Singapore and London, and Toluca and Madrid.
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Bombardier has also revealed that the Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft will be fitted out with the patented Nuage seat, which Bombardier says is the “first new seating architecture in business aviation in more than 30 years.” The Nuage seat is designed with long flights in mind.
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The Global 5500 and Global 6500 aircraft are anticipated to enter service by the end of 2019.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
June 5, 2018 – Jury’s Inn Hotel, Prague
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