Alitalia signed a contract with FLS Aerospace to perform maintenance on one of its Boeing 747 aircraft, registration I-DEMR. The contract includes full paint strip, D check and repainting of the aircraft at FLS Aeropace's Dublin facility.
LPS Laboratories introduced BrightCoat Cold Galvanize, a corrosion inhibitor with a shiny zinc-rich coating to protect ferrous metals. BrightCoat restores hot dip galvanizing and protects rusted or welded surfaces. The finish will dry to the touch in 15 to 30 minutes and can be recoated in six hours. The company also introduced NoSpark, a fast-evaporating, nonflammable cleaner that penetrates and cleans without leaving residue. The chemical is particularly suited for cleaning electrical parts and other types of delicate mechanisms. LPS Laboratories, P.O.
China Eastern Airlines signed a $100 million contract with Rolls-Royce for a 10-year fleet hour agreement covering the Trent 500 engines that power the airline's new fleet of Airbus A340-600s. The airline has ordered five of the aircraft, each of which are powered by four 56,000-lb. thrust Trent 556 engines. This will be the first Trent operation in mainland China.
Triumph Group acquired the assets of Aerocell Structures, Inc., a company that specializes in repair and overhaul of airframe components, bonded components and structural assemblies for all commercial air fleets. The acquired company will become part of Airborne Nacelle Services, Inc., a Triumph company. Aerocell is expected to contribute $10 million of incremental revenue to Airborne Nacelle during its first year.
Sabena Technics won a three-year contract from Lithuanian Airlines to test, repair and overhaul components on the carrier's four Boeing 737s. Sabena Technics also will provide maintenance training to Lithuanian Airlines' personnel. In addition, French carrier Euralair signed an agreement with Sabena Technics for the maintenance of one Airbus A310-300 aircraft.
Pratt&Whitney Component Solutions, Inc. upgraded its warehousing operations in Muskegon, Mich., by construct-ing a 15,328-sq.-ft. expansion, with a total of 30,000 sq. ft. now available for aviation related distribution. The expansion will allow Pratt&Whitney to consolidate inventories from its Franklin Lakes satellite facility and accommodate an expanding customer base.
Pratt&Whitney Canada's Customer Service Centre Europe entered an eight-year Fleet Management Plan agreement with Norwegian carrier Wideroe, which operates more than 300 daily departures. The agreement covers all 58 of Wideroe's fleet of PW121&PW123 engines.
Aviadesign received FAA approval for a `Failsafe' wing spar reinforcement for T-34 series aircraft. The installation reduces the stress level in the lower main spar cap by 35% resulting in a 30-fold increase in fatigue life, the company said. The modification is an adaption of the `Saunders Wing Strap' widely used to combat fatigue problems on Beech 99 and King Air aircraft.
Jet Aviation International recently got Brazilian DAC maintenance approval to work on aircraft registered in the South American country. This eliminates the lengthy authorization process that's required for Brazilian operators to go to a non-Brazilian facility.
Total Aircraft Services Inc. (TAS) promoted Scott Starkey to vice president and general manager. He will manage the overall staff, develop new projects and coordinate TAS' engineering and modification efforts. TAS also announced the appointment of John Nall to director of engineering and Nick Kast as manager of customer service.
Shuttle America named William R. Kratz director of maintenance, responsible for the airline's fleet of Saab 340 aircraft. He formerly was manager of airline services for Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation. Shuttle America operates out of Pittsburgh as a US Airways Express code-share partner.
The consensus among the industry executives I talked to last month during Aviation Week's MRO Europe Conference&Exhibition in Hamburg, Germany, is that it's only a matter of time before the MRO industry rebounds from its depressed state. While no one wanted to predict exactly when the recovery would begin, several people said they began to see an increase in inquiries and business late in the summer.
Precision Conversions, LLC awarded an installation contract to Aviation Management Systems, Inc. for aircraft modification and other technical support services required to support the certification of the company's first Boeing 757 passenger-to-freighter conversion.
FAA's long-awaited omnibus rule governing fractional operations is due out this fall and is expected to clarify, strengthen and liberalize maintenance standards for fractional operations, as well as validate practices already adopted by some fractionals. The Regulation of Fractional Aircraft Ownership Programs and On-Demand Operations, first published on July 18, 2001, in the Federal Register, will affect several FARs, including Parts 13, 21, 61, 91, 119, 125, 135 and Part 142, which governs training centers.
Rockwell Collins signed a strategic alliance agreement with Air New Zealand to jointly pursue common business interests. A business agreement and maintenance support agreement recently were signed to allow for full-service maintenance for commercial air transport and business aircraft as well as regional airline customers in need of service and support.
The competition for free space in overhead storage bins should get a little easier following Boeing's recent announcement that its BigBins now are in production on a 757-300. The new BigBins increase the effective storage capacity by 60%, and allow 58 more roll-aboard bags on a typical 757-300. Previously, the storage bins could only accommodate bags stored in the forward-to-aft (nose-to-tail) direction. The new deeper bins allow the bags to now be stowed in an inboard-to-outboard (wing-to-wing) direction, increasing capacity from three to five roll-aboard bags per bin.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University promoted Guy McCurkan to vice president of affiliate operations, responsible for management of the Aviation&Space Technology Academy.
Midcoast Aviation delivered a repaired Falcon 900B that suffered major structural damage during landing in March 2000. This marks the third successful major structural repair project Midcoast has completed in the past year. In the most recent repair, both wings had to be replaced, but an analysis determined the plane was structurally sound. Midcoast became the first company outside the factory to perform a center wing plank installation.
Air Canada Technical Services secured a five-year C$101.7 million agreement for the maintenance and repair of Canada's Department of National Defense (DND) fleet of Airbus A310 aircraft. The agreement includes five one-year options for contract extension which, if exercised, would bring the total contract term to 10 years with potential revenue to Air Canada of C$250 million.
Jet Aviation Engineering Services is performing engineering services for L3 Communications, a subcontractor for NASA. Jet Aviation will install an infrared telescope in a Boeing aircraft to create a stratospheric observatory, which is all part of an eight-year process that involves modifying the aircraft's airframe to install a 40,000-pound telesope, a protective door and supporting structures in the Boeing 747SP aircraft.
Pratt&Whitney Canada announced that its new PT6C-67D engine, used in the Huey helicopter P&WC UH-1H Plus upgrade program, has received a Type Certificate from Transport Canada. The certificate was validated by the U.S. FAA.
Ozark Aircraft Systems LLC announced several promotions, including J.M. (Jeff) Udesen to senior vice president/general manager, formerly director of programs at the company; Sonny Stern to vice president of sales and marketing, formerly with McDonnell Douglas; and Todd H. White to vice president of maintenance, formerly director of maintenance at Ozark.
Taiwan's TransAsia Airways signed a maintenance contract with Lufthansa Technik AG for its V2500-A5 engines, as well as the engine related accessories, of its fleet consisting of six A320 and two A321 aircraft. Lufthansa will maintain TransAsia's aircraft under a ``power-by-the-hour'' based Total Engine Support agreement for the next eight years.
Spirit Airlines appointed retired U.S. Air Force Col. Grady H. Reed as senior vice president of safety. Reed served 24 years in the Air Force in flight operations and aircraft maintenance and has held senior level positions with Northrop Worldwide Aircraft Services, Mesa Air Group and Northwest Airlines.
Timco Aviation Services, Inc. completed the first of several C checks on an Airbus A300-600 freighter at its Greensboro, N.C. facility. Timco's work at the location ranges from C checks to a variety of OEM reliability upgrades.
