Qantas cut 500 more management positions in mid-April, to slash costs and streamline the airline. CEO Alan Joyce said a statement that Qantas wants to avoid redundancies but is exploring alternatives to further cuts, such as part time work, various types of leave and other tactics. He said the the group’s diversified business portfolio and financial management have “cushioned” the impact of market conditions on its business. “Taking further action on costs and capacity will ensure we can continue to benefit from these strategies,” Joyce said.
BEIJING—China’s newly formed military aircraft and missile company, Avic Defense, is emphasizing maintenance as part of a business model that it has expanded far beyond just making original equipment. General Manager Wang Yawei says the company will forge a complete value chain covering the whole life cycle of its products, from weapons system predevelopment to maintenance and support guarantees for equipment that it has sold.
I look forward every year to AVIATION WEEK’S MRO Americas and MRO Military conferences in the spring as opportunities to get a sense of the industry’s mood and direction. This year’s event was one of conflicting signals.
Phoenix Air Group, reissued STCs to install an electrical system and a Chrysler Pentastar Aviation auxiliary generator adapter assembly on Gulfstream G-159 aircraft, STC SA1699GL and SA1681GL
The Bell Helicopter Training Academy launched its first online course for customer service facilities that maintain Bell 412 products. The 412-CSF field maintenance refresher course, available through Bell’s Learning Management System, allows technicians to complete refresher training requirements and earn full Bell Achievement Ranking System training credits online. IT
Delta TechOps secured more than $200 million in extended work for Global Aviation Holdings subsidiaries World Airways and North American Airlines. This is the third such service extension with the two airlines, TechOps says. The contracts cover component repair, inventory exchange programs, drop-in A and C check inspections, time and material engine maintenance for World’s Pratt & Whitney PW4000 and GE CF6-80C2 engines, and exclusive provision of repairs for North American’s Honeywell 331-200 APUs.
StandardAero appointed Chris Swan VP/general manager of its component services operation in Cincinnati. Swan joins the DAE company from GE Aviation, where he served as regional director, Americas for commercial field service among other roles. Airframes
Madrid Aerospace Services delivered its first overhauled landing gear , an Airbus A320 gear belonging to Iberia Airlines, in early April. The 50/50 joint venture of ST Aerospace and Iberia Maintenance, formed in February 2008 and approved by the European Commission last June, operates two lines, one for A320s and one for A330/340s, but it plans to expand its capacity to six lines. Located near Madrid Barajas Airport, Madrid Aerospace Services received AESA and EASA approval in December 2008.
AirCell, amended STC to install an AirCell Broadband Services system on various Boeing 767 and 757, McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and MD-88, and Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft, STC ST02541CH
StandardAero authorized Banyan Air as an approved facility for the Cessna Caravan 208-series aircraft engine upgrade program under a support center agreement signed April 1. The upgrade replaces the aircraft’s PT6A-114/-114A powerplants with the PT6A-135A engine, an increase in power from 600 shp/675 shp to 750 shp. A redesigned air inlet also improves ram air recovery to the engine intake for increased engine performance. StandardAero said the engines should be ready for installation early in the third quarter of this year.
The Safran Group’s Microturbo has 4,000 APUs and Gas Turbine Systems in operation on Dassault Falcon 20s and Rafales, Bombardier CL415s, BAE Hawk 200s and Aermacchi M346s, as well as on NH Industries NH90s and Eurocopter EC725s. A new e-APU for business aircraft and helicopters has been selected for two models and made its first test-bed run on Dec. 31, 2008. Microturbo’s network supports all its APUs and offers cost per hour contracts. The company has seen no decline in APU usage because its APUs mainly serve military aircraft and helicopters.
Lufthansa Technik scored two big wins for its photo-luminescent strips for commercial aircraft. It signed a preferred supplier agreement with Airbus on March 31, making Lufthansa Technik’s Guideline ColourFit emergency floor-path guidance system standard on Airbus’ complete line of aircraft. And, C&D Zodiac, one of the main suppliers for Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft, selected LHT to supply the Guideline ColourFit floor-path marking for use in the 100-149 seat aircraft.
For many of its sensors, PCB Piezotronics offers a sealed, watertight, integral cable assembly for protection from liquid ingress. The submersible accelerometers offer an alternative sealing technique that PCB Piezotronics says adds value when used in gearboxes, transmissions, flow tubes and valves, sealed chemical reactors with mixers, and when measuring structural reactions to turbulence.
Safran plans to start building two plants in Mexico this spring to produce landing gear components and engine parts for its Messier-Dowty and Snecma businesses. The facilities are to be built close to its landing gear repair shop and CFM56 engine overhaul facility in Queretaro, according to Marcelo Lopez, Queretaro’s undersecretary for economic development. The new plants are expected to be ready for production from 2010.
Precise Flight, to install high intensity discharge aviation lighting and the L3 infrared camera system on various Bell 206 and 407 models, STC SR01980SE
Dana Stanley doesn’t wear earplugs or steel-toed boots to work anymore, but she fondly remembers the days when she did. “I didn’t want to leave the flight line,” she said, explaining that she worked for more than a decade as a production manager before becoming chief of quality, safety and environmental for the 402nd Maintenance Wing at Robins Air Force Base.
The Longbow Limited Liability Co., marked the first successful powered flight of the Radar Electronics Unit (REU) configuration of the Longbow Fire Control Radar (FCR) onboard an AH-64D Apache Block III prototype attack helicopter. The joint venture of Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin’s radar is designed to enable the Apache Longbow to rapidly search, detect, locate, classify, prioritize and engage both moving and stationary targets, while improving power ratios and providing built-in processor expansion growth. Parts/Components
Bluebird Cargo will operate the first Boeing 737-400 Bedek Special Freighter Configuration aircraft , which it is leasing from General Electric Commercial Aviation Services. Bluebird, based in Iceland, already operates three 737-300BDSF aircraft. The 737-400 is the 39th passenger to freighter conversion performed by IAI, which holds supplemental type certificates from the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel, the European Aviation Safety Agency and the FAA.
