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Thursday, December 13th, 2018
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LATEST NEWS
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Brazil’s fourth-largest carrier, Avianca Brazil, has cited the threat of repossession of aircraft as the reason why it had filed for bankruptcy protection, fearing that such an action would see it unable to continue operations. Currently 50 of its 58 aircraft are leased and recent negotiations with lessors have failed to find any common ground. Aircastle has confirmed in a disclosure with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it was moving to repossess 11 aircraft – one Airbus A330-200 and 10 A320s – on lease to Avianca Brazil. In return, Avianca Brazil is seeking legal protection to block the move.
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For the time being, the São Paulo-based airline will continue to operate ‘as normal’. However, part of the reason for Avianca Brazil’s financial woes comes from having to use the U.S. dollar for much of its outgoings such as fuel, which has risen in price, while generating revenue in more-volatile currencies such as the Brazilian real and the Argentinian peso, which have not performed well. The struggling airline has made it clear that Brazil’s aviation regulator, ANAC, could force it to stop issuing tickets to passengers while it resolves current problems, a move that “would dramatically affect (its) cash flow.” ANAC said in a statement that it had not yet been informed of the bankruptcy filing and was asking Avianca Brazil for clarifications about any possible impact on passengers.
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Avianca Brazil is owned by Synergy Group, which also controls Avianca Holdings SA, a publicly listed airline based in Colombia. Shares in Colombia’s Avianca fell as much as 25 percent as a result of Avianca Brazil’s filing, before later recovering to a two percent drop.
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Airbus has delivered its 100th aircraft from the company’s U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, Alabama. The A320neo, serial number (MSN) 8580, was delivered to Frontier Airlines. The aircraft features two horses, Meadow & West, on its tailplane.
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Airbus’ Mobile facility is delivering four A320 Family aircraft per month and has delivered to eight U.S.-based customers thus far, including Air Lease Corporation, Allegiant Air, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines. Airbus has three other A320 Family production facilities around the world: Hamburg, Germany; Tianjin, China; and Toulouse, France.
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United Airlines (UAL) has reported November 2018 operational results. UAL's November 2018 consolidated traffic increased 7.1% and consolidated capacity increased 5.5% versus November 2017. UAL's November 2018 consolidated load factor increased 1.2 points to 83% compared to November 2017.
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Aviation engineering and maintenance company Commsoft has signed a contract for its MRO IT system, OASES. The deal was signed with the recently launched Emirates Flight Training Academy (EFTA), located at custom-built premises at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai.
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OASES has been supporting the prestigious flight training academy which began operations in Dubai South in November 2017. The contract covers five key modules of the OASES system: core, airworthiness, planning, inventory and production. These have been implemented on Commsoft’s private cloud for optimum security and customer care.
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EFTA recently received its CAR M Subpart G continuing airworthiness management organisation and CAR 145 maintenance organisation approvals (ref CAMO/0007/18 & UAE.145.0073) from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority which allows EFTA to manage and carry out the maintenance on the aircrafts in-house.
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OASES support is being progressively rolled out across the fleet of twenty-two Cirrus SR22 G6 aircraft and five Embraer Phenom 100EV Very Light Jets that are being used to train cadets in EFTA’ s ab-initio flight training programme.
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Portugal’s national carrier TAP and CFM have signed a General Support License Agreement (GSLA) for maintenance activities of LEAP-1A engines.
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Under the terms of this agreement, TAP Portugal becomes part of the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) network for LEAP-1A engines and will also benefit from CFM’s expertise in training. This GSLA will allow TAP to initiate the process for LEAP-1A maintenance activities.
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TAP has been a CFM customer since 1990, operating a large fleet of A320 aircraft family. In 2016, the airline ordered 79 LEAP-1A engines to power its new fleet of 37 Airbus A320neo/A321neo aircraft and took delivery of the first three aircraft earlier in 2018.
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The Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA) partnered with National Aviation Services (NAS), to launch the first electronic gates (E-gates) at the Pearl Lounge in the Marrakech Menara Airport departures area.
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With this new state-of-the-art, self-service check in, guests visiting the Pearl Lounge can access the lounge faster without checking in at the reception desk or waiting in a queue. The passengers simply scans their printed or online boarding pass at the gate and enter the lounge.
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The E-gate effectively captures all the boarding pass data, checks eligibility, enters the transaction into a database for billing and reporting, and opens the gate for eligible passengers - all in less than 2 seconds. The E-gate also supports lounge membership cards and vouchers.
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The same technology will soon be adopted at other Pearl Lounges in Morocco as well as across other lounges in the NAS network.
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NAS has been exclusively managing the refurbishment and operations of 16 lounges across nine airports in Morocco, following a ten-year concession awarded by the Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA).
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Korean low-cost carrier Eastar Jet has contracted Lufthansa Technik to supply components for its new fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
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With currently six aircraft on order, Eastar Jet will receive its first two 737 MAX by the end of 2018, with the remaining four aircraft following in mid-2019.
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Similar to the support for the airline's Boeing 737NG fleet, the new Total Component Support (TCS®) agreement includes component maintenance as well as spare parts leasing through a component pool at Eastar Jet's headquarters at Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. Likewise the airline will be granted access to the corresponding spare parts pools at Lufthansa Technik.
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Subsequent to the proposal of Benjamin Smith, CEO Air France-KLM, and the approval of the Air France-KLM Board of Directors, the Air France Board of Directors has appointed Anne Rigail as CEO of Air France, following their meeting on December 12, 2018.
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Previously EVP Customer at Air France, Anne Rigail will assume her new role as CEO Air France on December 17, 2018 and will replace Benjamin Smith, who was appointed acting CEO of Air France through the end of 2018.
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Joramco, the Amman based MRO and the engineering arm of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise DAE and flydubai have successfully renewed an agreement to provide the carrier with heavy maintenance solutions for its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.
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Under this agreement Joramco will perform up to 45 C checks and EIS checks from January 2019. In addition, Joramco will perform avionics and cabin modifications including broad band modifications.
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“In the past five years, Joramco has played an important role in our operations by fulfilling our MRO requirements,” said Mick Hills, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Maintenance at flydubai. “We look forward to seeing our partnership strengthen with this latest agreement as our fleet continues to grow.”
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Dubai-based flydubai has created a network of more than 85 destinations and over the next decade the airline will see its fleet grow by up to 296 aircraft. It currently operates a single fleet-type of 58 Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline placed the largest single-aisle aircraft orders in the region at the 2013 and 2017 editions of the Dubai Airshow.
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HAECO Xiamen, a member of the HAECO Group, has signed a collaboration agreement with Xiamen City University (XMCU). The agreement formalises co-operation between the two organisations in developing talented individuals for the aircraft maintenance industry.
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Students who enrol in the joint XMCU-HAECO Xiamen programme will receive basic skills training in aircraft maintenance at the HAECO Xiamen Technical Training Centre over the course of their three-year academic studies at XMCU. This will give them exposure to the aircraft maintenance industry and upon graduation, students will receive higher diplomas from XMCU and training certificates from HAECO Xiamen.
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The integrated programme will fast-track the process of developing high-quality aircraft maintenance mechanics by six months. The partners will continue to refine the programme’s curriculum, assessment criteria, and develop student recruitment plans.
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Airbus has appointed Alberto Gutiérrez, Head of Military Aircraft within Airbus Defence and Space, effective January 1, 2019.
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He will report to Airbus Defence and Space Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dirk Hoke and become Member of the division’s Executive Committee. Furthermore, Gutiérrez will also serve as Head of Airbus Spain, overseeing the company’s overall business activities in the country.
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He succeeds Fernando Alonso, who will retire after 40 years in the aerospace industry, thereof 37 at Airbus. Fernando Alonso will stay on until the end of March 2019 to ensure a smooth transition with his successor.
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Aeronautical Engineers (AEI) has received Transport Canada approval for the AEI CRJ200 SF passenger-to-freighter conversion.
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The Transport Canada approval (SA18-130) allows for the operation of Canadian registered CRJ200 SF freighters. AEI received the original FAA STC for the CRJ200 SF at the end of 2016 and in May of this year received EASA approval.
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Currently, AEI has over 45 firm orders and commitments for the freighter. Since certification, AEI has delivered 10 CRJ200 SFs and will redeliver the 11th overall later this month.
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The AEI CRJ200 SF provides a payload of up to 14,574 lbs. (6,611 kg), depending upon the specific aircraft model. The conversion comes with a large 94” x 70” Main Cargo Door and with an ANCRA Cargo Loading System capable of carrying (8) 61.5” x 88” Containers/Pallets, P1 to P8.
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Technology provider Sabre Corportation has announced that Taiwan’s flag carrier, China Airlines, has successfully implemented its flight operations management solution, Sabre AirCentre Movement Manager.
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A partner of Sabre for over twenty years, the next-generation solution will enable China Airlines to improve daily flight operations, continue to provide reliable service, and contribute to enhancing the traveller experience.
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In response to the country’s growing demand for air travel, China Airlines is committed to streamlining its operations and to driving customer centricity. By implementing Sabre’s fully integrated Movement Manager solution, the carrier can enjoy nominal service disruptions, react swiftly to flight irregularities and improve on-time performance through a more comprehensive overview of flight movement. This technology will also contribute to reducing operating costs for China Airlines and help to capitalize staff productivity.
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As part of its widebody fleet renewal, the Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines – Air Liban (MEA) has decided to purchase four new and two option Airbus A330-900neo powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines due to deliver in 2021.
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Rolls-Royce has signed a contract with MEA to provide support for the Trent 7000 engines powering its new Airbus A330-900neo fleet. The contract covers long-term engine maintenance services, throughout the operation of the engine with MEA, the purchase of spare engines and supply of parts.
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The contract was signed during the Lebanon-UK Business and Investment Forum in London.
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Rolls-Royce will deliver the latest engine in its Trent range, the Trent 7000, along with its flagship TotalCare® support service. The Trent 7000 is part of a Trent family that has now accumulated more than 125 million engine flying hours.
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February 19 - 20, 2019 – Palma de Majorca, Spain
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