Logistechs signed a four-year inventory planning and optimization agreement with WestJet to plan spare parts requirements for the Canadian low-fare airline's 737 aircraft.
SR Technics' recently announced acquisition of FLS Aerospace is like a prologue to a play that hints at the outcome. Merging the Swiss provider of maintenance services with the Dutch-owned concern, with its recently downsized but still significant presence in the United Kingdom and Ireland, indicates that size will matter in the shrinking, but highly competitive world of MRO service.
BAE Systems Platform Solutions received a $70 million contract in February to provide 128 radar map display subsystems for Royal Air Force Tornado GR.4 attack aircraft. The company's Avionic Systems business unit will supply the equipment to BAE's Customer Support & Solutions' (CSS) Warton facility, as prime contractor and aircraft platform integrator for the Tornado Advanced Radar/Map Display Information System, or TARDIS. This will replace current obsolete Tornado rear-cockpit radar-projected map display and digital scan converter systems installations.
Customized major avionics systems developed for the IDF/AF's current Lockheed Martin F-16I procurement program, involving deliveries of 102 two-seat Block 52+ F-16Ds, were detailed in February by the Elbit Systems Group. In addition to a new mission computer, these included a display processor and digital color map with multi-function cockpit displays, plus new head-up displays (HUDs) from Elbit's Electro-Optics Industries (El-Op) subsidiary.
SAS Component and EADS Sogerma Services, buoyed by market response, are expanding their 17-month-old component repair and supply program from covering Airbus operators in Europe to servicing Airbus operators around the world, the companies announced during Asian Aerospace, where they shared an exhibit booth.
Alaska Airlines appointed Ben Minicucci vice president of maintenance on April 14. Minicucci left Air Canada as vice president of aircraft maintenance in Vancouver to accept this post. Minicucci will be responsible for Alaska Airlines' base maintenance, line maintenance and production support. More than 1,000 maintenance technicians and management employees will report to him.
AirLiance Materials expanded Roscoe Musselwhite's role as executive vice president to include all business operations, including sales, technical services, human resources, operations and information systems.
BAE Systems received $60 million worth of follow-contracts from the U.S. Air Force for weapon system upgrades to EC-130H Compass Call aircraft, which are modified Hercules. BAE Systems also received a $24 million contract for Block 35 Lot 4 upgrades to be completed in 2006, as well as a $16 million Prime Mission Engineering Support Services contract for work to be completed in 2005.
Airbus SAS selected Total Engine Support (TES) to supply engine and APU technical services for the Airbus Asset Management portfolio. With this three-year contract, TES's managed engine body includes more than 1,200 engines.
Keystone Helicopter signed a maintenance agreement with America Rising, the only scheduled helicopter airline in the U.S., to provide overhaul and repair services.
NetJets named David Miller senior vice president of fleet management. He will be in charge of fleet acquisitions, maintenance programs and aircraft planning. Miller most recently was senior vice president and general manager of L-3 Communications/EMP Systems.
M.C. Gill will manufacture raw stock panels for Triumph Composite Systems, which will fabricate them into ready-to-install aircraft floor panels for both OEM and aftermarket customers.
IFS Australia signed a contract with Jet Turbine Services to implement its IFS Applications software for MRO services, including document management and financials. Jet Turbine Services recently acquired the former Ansett engine maintenance facility in Melbourne.
Progress at last shows signs of being made for limited NATO upgrades of about 100 Mil Mi-24D/V ``Hind D/E'' attack helicopters operated by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Some degree of NATO system standardization was sought through a planned cooperative agreement between these four Central European Visegrad countries. In the absence of operational equipment requirements and funding level agreements, however, the Visegrad countries began pursuing individual Mi-24 and Mi-8/17 upgrade options.
Rolls-Royce's annual 10-year helicopter forecast revealed that 10,724 turbine-powered helicopters collectively worth $95.6 billion will be delivered from 2004 to 2013. The split will be 50:50, on a unit basis, between civil and military sales. On the civil side, turbine singles will represent 57% of the deliveries and light twins will account for 23%. Rolls-Royce predicted that substantial engine upgrades will occur on military rotorcraft during this time.
Permacel's P-626 and P-626SL cargo liner seam tapes are made from flame-retardant glass cloth backing and are Boeing BMS 5-146 QPL approved. The Permacel tapes also meet Airbus ABD 0031 requirements and FAA 8110-3 certificates for FAR 25.853 and 25.855 flame-retardancy standards. The P-626 shown in the photo is being used to seam cargo liner panel joints to maintain a cargo bay's flame retardancy. Permacel, Attn: Scott Barnes, Aerospace Business Manager, US Highway #1, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
In 2003, Lufthansa Technik's companies increased their total number of customers to 458. Two-hundred-and-one new contracts were signed that were valued at 284 million -- 54 of them with new customers. This compared favorably with 2002 when 119 new contracts were signed, including 35 new customers. The number of aircraft being serviced by the group, including the Lufthansa fleet, rose by 11% to a total of 959.
Volvo Aero and British Airways signed a deal to market the airline's surplus spares inventory. Volvo Aero will sell about $100 million in Boeing spares. Wizz Air awarded Lufthansa Technik a five-year Total Technical Support contract, which includes line and base maintenance, for its Airbus A320 fleet.
ATA Airlines deployed Teradata Solutions' data warehouse, customer relationship management and revenue management software to enhance the airline's efficiency. Before, ATA maintained 45 different data sources to cover daily airline activities -- from maintenance to customer service to forecasting. These three Teradata nodes replace the 45.
Dallas Airmotive transitioned from the ISO 9002 standard to the latest ISO 9001:2000 certification for its major overhaul facilities and Regional Turbine Centers. Gulfstream Aerospace expanded the product support of its aircraft in Latin America by collaborating with Varig Engineering & Maintenance's So Paulo facility to boost Gulfstream model-specific technician maintenance training and increase spare parts inventory to $2.4 million.
AVPAC changed its name to Duncan Aviation Parts Support Services to more closely align with its parent company, Duncan Aviation. The parts, components and consignment company will retain the same staff, in addition to adding two technical sales representatives: Darrell Cermak and Mike Mettscher.
CMC Electronics received a contract from Kalitta Air to supply its CMA-900 GPS-based flight management systems for Kalitta's Boeing 747 cockpit upgrade program. CMC Electronics also recently delivered the system to KLM Engineering & Maintenance, which is completing Martinair's avionics upgrade program for four 747s this year.
Jet Aviation Singapore recently scheduled extensive maintenance on a couple of business jets, and said its pre-purchase inspections and other maintenance projects are picking up in Asia again.
British Airways selected Tel-Instrument Electronics' TR-220 multi-function test sets to test aircraft that are being upgraded to meet the new Eurocontrol requirements for Mode S and ADS-B.
