United Airlines promoted Michael Lorenzini to managing director of United Technical Operations, maintenance control. He also serves as director of maintenance. Airframes
Pratt & Whitney’s first PurePower PW1000G engine is “doing very well” at the OEM’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility, where it just left the test stand after running well for more than 200 hr. This engine, destined for a Bombardier CSeries installation, now heads to Plattsburgh, N.Y., for icing tests. A second PW1000G, designed for the MRJ platform, moves to the test stand. It is targeted to run for fewer than 200 hr., but as Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners VP Tom Hutton says, “We'll let it run as long as it’s giving us good data.”
Supply chain management programs for consumable parts are making more inroads as airlines and MROs continue to pursue cost-cutting strategies. At the same time, suppliers see new business opportunities in the distribution of items that are generally non-repairable or directly consumed during the repair process.
Lufthansa Technik's Hamburg auxiliary power unit (APU) shop added the Hamilton Sundstrand APS2300 to its repair portfolio with certification from the German Federal Office of Civil Aviation. The APS2300 APU equips Embraer 170/190 family aircraft. Lufthansa Technik says it has signed a contract with Air Dolomiti for APS2300 services, and work on the first APS2300 started in March.
LONDON—In the past, European regulation of aviation safety has centered on human factors and error management, but today it is focusing on safety management systems (SMS) for airlines and MROs. According to Bob Simmons, technical director at aviation safety training consultancy Baines Simmons, the move to SMS originated from changes to the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices some 6-7 years ago. Canada, some Asian states and Australia subsequently adopted SMS, but implementation in Europe has been slow.
Dublin Aerospace won a contract from Ukraine International Airways for the loan and overhaul of Boeing 737 Classic landing gears. As of April 5, the first shipset of landing gears had been completed; the remaining four shipsets will be completed over the next two years.
Norwegian Air Shuttle picked the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 and a TotalCare maintenance and support package for Boeing 787-9s in a letter of intent worth around $450 million. Norwegian expects to receive its first 787-8s on lease from International Lease Finance Corp. in the fall of 2012. Avionics/IFE
Nordam offers cabin windows and transparencies for most types of commercial aircraft, either directly to airframe manufacturers for installation during production or to third-party MRO providers as PMA parts. The company's capabilities include Airbus A320, A330, A340 and A380 models; Boeing 737, 747, 757 and 777 aircraft; Bombardier CRJ regional jets and Dash 8 turboprop aircraft; the Comac ARJ21 and Embraer 145. Nordam's transparency division supports American Airlines' Boeing fleet and Delta Air Lines' A320s and 747s. www.nordam.com
In June 2009, the Air Transport Association published its Spec 2000 Chapter 9 data standard for the permanent identification of parts, the identification of receiving/shipping information and traceability. Contrary to popular belief, Spec 2000 Chapter 9 is strictly a “data standard”—not a technology standard. Fourteen required fields of information have been defined, including a small section providing an option to record additional information.
Bombardier Aerospace and Fokker Services formed a strategic alliance to launch “FLY,” a program aimed at improving component availability and reducing Dash 8/Q-series 100/200/300 repair costs. The service is modeled after Fokker Services' Abacus cost-by-the-hour component support program for out-of-production Fokker aircraft parts; for the Bombardier aircraft, Fokker Services will handle repairs and parts requests through its large exchange pool. Bombardier says the program is a further step in bolstering the operational value of this particular fleet; in 2009.
The advent of a new Congress this year brought new budget realities for the FAA. The turnover, and work left undone in the previous Congress, has left the agency to grapple with an uncertain budget. The FAA has faced a series of short-term funding extensions while key lawmakers work out the fiscal 2011 appropriations levels and a multi-year, comprehensive authorization bill.
Boeing added Ethiopian Airlines as the 13th customer for its 777 Component Services Program, a parts-provisioning service offered by Boeing and Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance designed to reduce airlines' upfront investment in inventory. For Ethiopian Airlines, the program initially will support three Boeing 777-200LR aircraft delivered since November 2010; the airline expects to receive two more aircraft of the type this year, one in late April and another sometime in the third quarter.
Standard 1926.502 of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Regulations for Construction (part 1926, subpart M) contains specific guidelines for lifeline systems, including the requirement that fall protection must be provided to an employee working more than 6 ft. off the ground. OSHA Standard for Occupational Safety and Health Standards (part 2010) also covers fall systems and personal protective equipment such as harnesses.
The Persimmon Group appointed Ray H. (Tray) Siegfried director, aerospace services. Siegfried joins the Oklahoma-based business management consulting firm from The Nordam Group, the Siegfried family business, which he most recently served as vice chairman of the board.
Baines Simmons-Americas acquired Great Circle Consulting, an Atlanta-based company focused on flight operations risk management, flight crew safety training and advanced qualification program development. Great Circle Consulting now does business as Baines Simmons-Americas, and Chris Hallman, Great Circle Consulting's founder and president, joined Jerry Allen as a Baines Simmons-Americas director and partner. Great Circle Consulting's clients include American Airlines, Air Astana and FAA Flight Inspection.
Lufthansa Technik Philippines completed a heavy maintenance IL check on an Asiana Airlines Airbus A320 aircraft and a heavy maintenance D1 check and cabin retrofit (a reconfiguration that added lie-flat seats in business and reduced the number of the economy seats) on a Swiss International Airlines Airbus A340-300 in March. Asiana also uses LTP line maintenance services. The work for Swiss marked the first time the Lufthansa Group airline sent maintenance work to the Philippines.
EADS in late March completed the acquisition of Canadian helicopter repair company Vector Aerospace. Vector will become part of Eurocopter, which has a mandate to increase its services activity. EADS says the deal for Vector Aerospace values the business at C$625 million ($641 million), or a 15% premium over the March 25 closing price. The price already had increased on takeover rumors and represents an 80% premium above the Dec. 2 price, when Vector Aerospace said it would consider a sale.
Trax USA gained Manila-based Zest Air as a customer for its Trax Maintenance MRO software. Zest Air will implement e4, the latest version of the Trax USA software with more than 20 modules on subjects including material management, finance, technical records and reliability. Contracts
Sifco Applied Surface Concepts in Cleveland completed its fifth consecutive Nadcap aerospace chemical processing audit, which recognizes conformity for chemical processing.
