For investors in aerospace stocks, it doesn't get much better than TransDigm. The supplier of aircraft components has seen its share price more than quintuple since the company went public six years ago, with gains of 67% in 2009, 52% in 2010, 33% in 2011 and about 20% so far in 2012. Sales are on pace to reach $1.5 billion this year--up 10-fold since 2000--and the company has posted operating margins of 44% in a sector where 20% is considered superior.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics 12 Months Ended June 2011 Jet Aircraft Pages 5 and 6 of 11 MD80 Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
Portuguese government named Luis Ottolini Combre president of the board of directors of NAV Portugal. Other new board members are Gen. Luis Palma de Figueiredo and Carlos Manuel de Abreu.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, San Francisco - Seoul Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way, San Francisco - Seoul United Singapore Airlines Others
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) March 7—54th Annual Laureate Awards, Washington, D.C. March 13-14—Innovation Supply Chain Showcase, Orlando, Fla. April 3-5—MRO Americas 2012 Conference & Exhibition, Dallas April 3-5—MRO Military Conference & Exhibition, Dallas May 23—MRO Regional (Eastern Europe, Baltics and Russia) Conference & Exhibition, Vilnius, Lithuania
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Feb. 22-23—Business Jet Interiors World Expo, Cannes, France, www.fly-corporate.com Feb. 22-23—MIU Events/Exhibitions India Group’s Indian Business Aviation Expo 2012, Manekshaw Center, New Delhi, +44 (124) 351-3606, www.miuevents.com/ibae2012
India’s government has relaxed restrictions to international route authorities once preserved rights for state-owned Air India, a move that now gives domestic carriers such as Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Indigo, and SpiceJet greater access to foreign destinations. The civil aviation ministry’s decision last week also revokes an unofficial ban on international flying imposed last year that only granted privately owned operators access to international routes when Air India formally rejected the rights.
Qantas has made significant changes to its plans for an Asian-based premium carrier, and is now negotiating with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) for a joint-venture based on some of the Airbus A330 aircraft that MAS has on order. The Australian carrier had previously said it wanted to set up the premium carrier in either Malaysia or Singapore, using eight of the 110 A320s that it had ordered. But Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the airline is now pursuing a “capital-light” plan for the startup, as it looks to cut capital expenditure.
Investors, wary of increased competition among Brazil’s airlines, have forced GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes to suspend a bond issue. The airline instead says it now is considering a perpetual note exempt from certain U.S. regulations. Such an offer essentially means GOL will be paying higher interest rates on notes that have no deadline to repay the principal.
A busy day for Alaska Air Group sees Bill Ayer stand down from the CEO role he has held for 10 years and the company’s board of directors approve a two-for-one stock split, a rarity in the U.S. air transport sector. Ayer, who retains his chairman role, hands his CEO duties to Brad Tilden, who also keeps his title as company president. Tilden formally assumes his new role at the company’s annual shareholder meeting on May 15.
A weak fourth quarter has dampened optimism surrounding fast-growing, low-fare carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle, but the airline was still able to boost earnings in its fiscal year 2011, ended Jan. 31.
Bombardier Thursday identified Ethiopian Airlines as the carrier that ordered five Q400 NextGen aircraft earlier in the week. The order, valued at $160 million at list prices, will bring to 13 the number of Q400s ordered by Ethiopian. Two of the five aircraft will be operated by Ethiopian and three by its affiliate, Togo’s ASKY Airlines.
Mitsubishi Aircraft is set to announce a second delay to the MRJ schedule amid undisclosed development difficulties, easing pressure on Embraer to move quickly in upgrading the rival E-Jet.
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Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) does not plan to follow the example of its competitors Finnair and regional carrier Cimber Sterling by outsourcing mainline flying to a lower-cost platform, CEO Rickard Gustafson tells Aviation Week. “That does not change our strategic decisions. There is still demand for a provider of a solid business traveler product,” he says. Gustafson, who took the helm of SAS last year, does not rule out more outsourcing in other areas, such as ground-handling or MRO, but the flying will remain inside the company.
Certification of the long-awaited Sikorsky S-76D is on track for midyear with first deliveries in the third quarter, company President Jeff Pino confirmed at the 2012 Heli-Expo event. Delayed by up to four years based on its original program targets, the S-76D effort has overcome several development issues including rotor lag, avionics problems and an engine redesign. “We are not going to deliver a helicopter without dealing with these,” said Pino.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandated the replacement of six aluminum rivets on the Airbus A380 in its latest airworthiness directive (AD 12-014) for the type. The rivets have been used at the junction of Fuselage Stringer 21 left and right and Frame 0. During an engineering review, the pieces have been found “not in compliance with the certification requirements.” While the structural limit load capability is still ensured, the rivets may not sustain ultimate load stress, according to fatigue analysis.
In observance of the U.S. Presidents' Day, Aviation Daily will not publish an issue dated Feb. 21. The next issue will be dated Feb. 22. Aviation Week Intelligence Network subscribers may visit www.aviationweek.com/awin at any time for news updates.
Apron controllers are on the verge of launching a strike that will severely affect air traffic at Frankfurt Airport. The GdF union representing air traffic and apron controllers announced a walk-out beginning at 3 p.m. yesterday that extended through 10 p.m. If no compromise in the ongoing collective bargaining talks is reached, the walk-out will be resumed today, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. GdF recently assumed representation of the controllers and has been negotiating a completely new collective bargaining agreement.
Airbus is bringing to market the A330 passenger-to-freighter program with ST Aerospace, with the aircraft to enter service in 2016. Both the A330-300 (to come first) and -200 (due a year later) will be part of the P2F program which also includes EADS’ EFW unit. ST Aerospace will have the development lead, with EFW performing the modification and marketing. The accord has been under development for three years. Airbus turned to ST Aerospace in part because of “the scarcity of our engineering resources,” says Airbus CEO Tom Enders.
