Austrian Airlines finished modifying its 21 Airbus A320 aircraft with new cabin furnishings. It also just finished installing new cabins in its 11 Boeing 737 aircraft. The star of the cabin modifications is Austrian's new Europe seat, which the airline designed in conjunction with Recaro. The new grey and red seat is up to 11 lbs. lighter than the previous Austrian seats and offers more space for each passenger, adding up to 4 in. of leg room. The new seats will lighten Austrian Airlines' aircraft by more than 31,500 lb., saving fuel.
Delta TechOps OPERATIONAL SINCE: 1929 HOME BASE: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport FACILITIES: 51 maintenance stations: 29 domestic, 22 international APPROVALS: FAA 121 and 145, TCCA/FAA 145, EASA 145, ISO 9200 (covers components, engines and landing gear), CAAC, ANAC, many more in Asia and Latin America.
TAM Airlines has completed commercial flight operations with Shell Aviation's AeroShell Ascender high performance capability turbine engine oil. Avionics/IFE
Air Europa has chosen A.J. Walter Aviation to provide a five-year power-by-the-hour support agreement for its Airbus A330 Rolls-Royce Trent engine component accessories. The agreement will cover two aircraft and it is A.J. Walter's first contract with the Spanish airline.
Beginning this month, FAA inspectors will have to wait two years after they leave the agency before they can take certain industry jobs. While the new “cooling off” period—imposed through a recent rulemaking—will only impact a limited number of agency employees, it closes another chapter in the spring 2008 controversy surrounding Southwest Airlines management of airworthiness directives (ADs).
Bolder Manufacturing issued STCs to install galley cart stops and Atlas-standard carts on Airbus A319 and Boeing 757-200 series aircraft, STCs ST02983CH and ST02953CH
Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services has received a maintenance certification for the Ukraine and will support charter airline Air Italy's fleet of Boeing aircraft. The certification, from the Aviation Administration of Ukraine, will allow Boeing Shanghai to do line and base maintenance work on Boeing 767-200/-300 aircraft for Ukraine-based customers. Boeing Shanghai will support Air Italy with maintenance services for its Boeing fleet for up to two years, starting with a C check on a Boeing 767-300ER scheduled for this month.
FL Technics, an Avia Solutions Group company, will purchase U.K.-based line maintenance provider Storm Aviation. The acquisition will give FL Technics access to a network of 24 line stations. FACILITIES
Talk to airlines, OEMs, distributors and MROs about Spec 2000, the industry's communications backbone, and you are likely to hear that the system has been in place for years. “We have Chapter 3 for exchanging purchase orders installed in our IT system and it's managed very well,” says Adrien Guillame, a project manager for logistics services with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance.
AAR appointed Andrew J. Schmidt as senior VP, supply chain, AAR Allen Asset Management. His duties will involve providing strategy, business planning and operational leadership for the division. This position adds to Schmidt's 25-year aviation career, which has included leadership positions at Oliver Wyman, Macquaire Capital and Taurus Aerospace. Matt Eaton has also joined AAR as VP of sales and marketing for its MRO segment.
Iberia has opted for General Electric CF6-801E engines to power its new fleet of Airbus A330-300s. In March the airline committed to buying eight of the widebodies, with options for eight more, but held off on the engine selection. The engine deal includes a 15-year support package for the powerplants.
Alaska Air Group has announced several leadership changes at Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air. Yvonne Daverin has been elected VP of maintenance and engineering at Horizon after serving as managing director of airframe, engine and component maintenance at Alaska Airlines. Ann Ardizzone has been elected VP of strategic sourcing and supply chain management for the group after previously serving as Alaska Airlines' VP of inflight services.
American Fuel Cells and Coated Fabrics Co., amended STC to install an Amfuel internal auxiliary fuel system completion kit on Sikorsky S-92A helicopters, STC SR02298LA
MTU Aero Engines and US Airways has extended its maintenance agreement for the IAE V2500-A1 engine until the end of 2016. The contract began in 2008. Avionics/IFE
Sifco Applied Surface Concepts has added Reed Kimbell to its team as production manager. Kimball will be responsible for contract plating operations and the production of SIFCO's plating products.
AFI-KLM E&M has appointed Amar Chouaki to VP regional sales, southern Europe. He comes to the role after joining the Air France KLM group in 2001 and serving in several positions within the cabin modifications business unit.
Interational Air Response, issued STC to install a removable 3,000-gal.chemical tank and release door system on a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service C-130A operated under the restricted category for the special purposes of forest and wild life conservation, STC ST02348LA
The Nordam Group officially named Meredith Siegfried CEO, succeeding Bill Peacher and completing a transition announced in July. Peacher will continue to serve on Nordam's board and as a financial consultant to the company. Ken Lackey, executive chairman, and Hastings Siegfried, vice chairman and COO of the Transparency Group, remain in their current positions. The election of Siegfried as CEO is one of the final pieces of the company's long-term succession plan for its leadership
Southern Air is the first U.S. operator to use the Amos IT system for its MRO. Swiss Aviation Software manufactures Amos and Lufthansa Systems distributes the software. Southern Air chose to upgrade its MRO IT system with Amos as it adds Boeing 747 and Boeing 777F aircraft and increases its workforce.
AAR Corp. offers paint services at its 226,000 sq-ft. hangar in Miami, Fla., near Miami International Airport. Painting is offered in conjunction with many other maintenance procedures such as heavy checks, bridging checks, passenger-to-freighter conversions, interior upgrades, avionics upgrades, corrosion control programs, non-destructive testing and structural modifications. Other AAR locations for heavy maintenance include facilities in Hot Springs, Ark., Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. AAR offers engineering services in Indianapolis and Singapore. www.aarcorp.com
