18th Annual Regional & Business, Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference Montelucia, Paradise Valley (Scottsdale), AZ November 6-8, 2013 Preliminary Program Available at www.speednews.com
The restructuring of the Brazilian subsidiary of TAP Maintenance & Engineering (TAP M&E) is reaching its final stage, with the company now focused on improving processes and methods, says TAP M&E’s Deputy Vice President of Operations Brazil, Nelson Vaz. IT, logistics, HR, sales and operations all are on a solid footing and “we are confident that in the short-term TAP M&E Brazil will be a profitable business,” he says. TAP bought the former Varig maintenance and repair provider in 2005 and the company has reported heavy losses since then.
Human factors, monitoring, fatigue and automation are among the factors that Australian investigators are considering in an investigation of a data entry error that placed a Virgin Australia Boeing 777-300 too close to the ground after an approach to Melbourne, Australia on Aug. 15. No one was injured, and the aircraft was not damaged in the incident, which occurred at 8:10 a.m. at the end of a 14-hr. flight from Los Angeles.
No issue in aeropolitics is as contentious as the introduction of charges for carbon emissions. The European Union almost caused a trade war over its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), but it seems a global deal is in sight. Agreeing on the basics and a schedule for the introduction of a global structure of market-based measures (MBM) to limit aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions will be the most important topic at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 38th General Assembly, which began this week in Montreal.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of September 25, 2013, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller believes that all intra-European airline service that does not go through a hub will soon be taken over by low-cost carriers. Speaking yesterday at the DLR/Roland Berger Aviation Convention in Cologne, Mueller said that those routes have become so uneconomic that legacy carriers will have to pull out. “The game is over,” he noted. Mueller also sees a total of 800 aircraft flying in Europe that do not even earn their cost of capital.
MTU Maintenance and Sumitomo Corp. have created two joint ventures to lease commercial aircraft engines. The first is MTU Maintenance Lease Services, of which MTU owns 80%; it will provide short- to medium-term engine leases for the independent maintenance provider's customers. The second, Sumisho Aero Engine Lease, of which Sumitomo owns 90% and MTU Aero Engines 10%, will focus on long-term engine leases that are not necessarily associated with MRO contracts with MTU.
The FAA has reissued a market survey seeking companies or teams capable of deploying a next generation weather processing (NWP) system for the national airspace system. The new survey, a repeat of the original market survey conducted in 2011, comes in advance of an expected release of a request for proposals for the weather system in the first quarter of 2014.
Spanish carrier Vueling, now a fully owned subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG), has reduced the minimum connecting time at its main base in Barcelona-El Prat Airport from 55 min. to 35 min., which CEO Alex Cruz says allows the airline to double the number of connections through the hub and significantly broaden its connecting network.
CSA Czech Airlines Technics is looking to add ATR and Embraer to its landing gear capabilities in order to improve utilization of its facilities at Prague Airport while keeping investment low. The MRO currently is certified to maintain Boeing 737 Classic and NG landing gear.
Ukrainian airlines can resume flights to the U.S. now that the FAA has upgraded Ukraine to a Category 1 rating under the International Aviation Safety Assessment program.
A new shorter-range option for the Airbus A330-300 consists of cabin rearrangements for more seats, derated engines and lower gross weight certification, but no physical changes to the powerplant or airframe. At all offered weights, the A330 will also get cockpit technology from the A350 and A380, including dual head-up displays and new navigation systems.
VietJet Air’s agreement to purchase 62 Airbus A320-family aircraft is a signal that the Vietnamese low-cost carrier’s (LCC’s) tentative steps into international markets will soon gather momentum. Under a memorandum of understanding signed with Airbus, VietJet intends to order 42 A320NEOs, 14 of the current model A320, and six A321s. The airline also will secure purchase rights for 30 A320-family aircraft. VietJet also intends to obtain eight more Airbus narrowbodies from leasing companies.
The FAA is facing considerable uncertainty, with the U.S. government headed toward a possible partial shutdown Oct. 1 and sequestration levels of funding likely to remain in place even if a shutdown is avoided. “I have no idea what’s going to happen,” FAA’s deputy associate administrator-airports Kate Lang said at the annual Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, Calif. “I have no idea whether we’ll be at work on Oct. 1 . . . Frankly, nobody knows.”
The MRO subsidiary of Egyptair Holding is seeking to double revenue from third-party customers to 50% of total sales, and has won two contracts to help achieve that goal. From Oct. 1, Egyptair Maintenance & Overhaul will perform the line maintenance for Qatar Airways’ 28 weekly flights at Cairo International Airport, taking over from Lufthansa Technik. And starting Nov. 1, it will take care of line maintenance for the twice-daily flights of Gulf Air at the same airport.
Four Asian customers will buy 140 Airbus A320-family aircraft in four orders or intended orders announced on Sept. 25. Of those aircraft, 91 are for the re-engined NEO series.
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Contracting Opportunity Announcement The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has issued a solicitation for the following project: RFP 1-14-C005: Air Service Development Consultant
If an airline orders more than 100 new aircraft, then two months later says that 95% of its annual maintenance and engineering contracted work is up for re-tender by 2017, the industry should take note. While EasyJet did exactly this in July and September, the news does not signal a seismic shift in its operations. Rather, the carrier is continuing to do what it does well—run a lean, low-cost operation. EasyJet considered proposals from Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier over a 20-month period, but Airbus’s final price seemed to clinch the deal.
