Boeing introduced stage one of its 737NG mid-life update with the delivery of the first aircraft equipped with the Sky Interior cabin to Flydubai on Oct. 28. The U.A.E.-based low-cost airline, the first of five airlines slated to receive 737NGs with the new interior this year, planned to put the 737-800 into service in November, and to receive three more Sky Interior-equipped aircraft before year-end. Malaysia Airlines received its first 737NG with the new interior on Nov. 8.
Aviation industry leaders have been preparing for changes on Capitol Hill in light of elections that resulted in a shift in power from a Democrat-controlled House of Representatives to Republican control. These changes largely were expected, but the elections produced one stunning return for the aviation industry—the end of Rep. James Oberstar’s (D-Minn.) four-decade career in Congress. Oberstar, the powerful chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I), lost his bid for re-election to newcomer Chip Cravaack, a former U.S.
Inventory is the hot potato of the supply chain. No one wants to hold it. That is especially true in the MRO industry, where airlines and maintenance organizations alike are right-sizing their businesses in light of the recession.
Pratt & Whitney Canada added Kansas Aviation as a repair and overhaul supplier for constant speed units, prop governors and oil-to-fuel heaters for a variety of engine types, including the PT6T, PT6A, JT15D, PW100, PW150, PW200, PW300 and PW500.
The Regional Airlines Association added Constance Arnold as director of safety and technical affairs. Arnold most recently worked with US Airways’ Phoenix-based technical operations group. She will be responsible for many safety and regulatory issues previously handled by Dave Lotterer, who retired last December.
SR Technics Malta completed its first maintenance visit of an easyJet aircraft—an Airbus A321 named “Pride of Malta”—on Oct. 21. SR Technics is maintaining easyJet’s fleet under a 10-year contract extension signed last fall.
MyTechnic in Istanbul came under the majority control of HNA Group Co. Ltd. of China and Bravia Capital of New York with a Nov. 4 deal, the terms of which were not disclosed. MyTechnic, a Lean, greenfield MRO in Istanbul, launched in 2008. The new shareholders plan to replicate the MyTechnic model in emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Do you get a sense that the term “partnership” in the aviation aftermarket is subtly morphing into something new? I do. The overused term is rather generic, but I have heard enough examples recently that make me think new ways of working together are forthcoming.
CORRECTIONS: The quote by Andrew Richardson, AkzoNobel Aerospace Coating’s global market director, pertains to the company’s interior cabin coating, Aerofine, and not to its Aerodur 3001 basecoat or Aerodur 3002 clearcoat system (October, pg. 62-63). Inventory Locator Service was misidentified as International Locator Service (November, pg. 45).
ADDIS ABABA—While the African subcontinent represents only 4% of global MRO revenues, its markets are anticipated to witness greater demand for MRO services as a result of air traffic growth, new aircraft deliveries and airline consolidation, says Frost & Sullivan. These predictions are supported by Boeing’s September forecast, which pegs carriers in Africa to experience steady growth over the next 20 years, with a delivery of 710 airplanes in that time frame.
Vartan Product Support founded a new, wholly owned subsidiary called Vartan Product Support in Washington state. The new branch already has won a contract to support the Boeing 747-8, and it is working on cabin manufacturer Bucher Leichtbau and Anolis' program for Lufthansa. Vartan says the new company will expand cabin support for Boeing in future.
Scheduling has long been an issue in aviation maintenance. Current project management software such as Microsoft Project is adequate, but these programs can make thousands of microscopic errors that can add up to a lot of ups and downs in manpower and overtime requirements, says Matthew Ginsberg, CEO of On Time Systems Inc.
TAM Airlines installed OnAir’s satellite-based inflight mobile communications system on one Airbus A321. The aircraft will provide telephone service and access to emails and the Internet through GPRS networks.
What have been your biggest challenges in the first year of refocusing Olympic Air’s maintenance business? Pascalis: We started our operation on Sept. 28, 2009, and the old Olympic Airlines actually concluded their operations on the same day. The first challenge was to take over the hangar facilities at Athens Airport: they were coming out while we were going in. It sounds easy, but it’s not. You have one huge, 40-year-old organization moving out, and us moving in on the same day. Logistically, it’s a big effort.
LONDON—Could it be that ongoing economic pressures on civil air transport are causing some operators and maintainers to cut corners during maintenance? Some aircraft engineers in Europe think so and are voicing concerns that some airlines and MROs simply ignore unsafe practices. Moreover, instead of investigating reports of safety violations, some say the companies concerned threaten the reporters of these violations with sanctions including job loss if they mention such occurrences to aviation regulators.
Ramco Systems will provide Suite 5 M&E and MRO maintenance planning software to the National Aviation Co. of India, which operates Air India, Indian Airlines, Air India Expres and Alliance, under a September contract.
Synergy Jet Group is the name of a new, Atlanta-based business aviation advisory firm launched by veteran aviation sales executive Tom Chapman. Airframes
Pratt & Whitney introduced its EcoPower engine wash service in 2004, and has since touted the service’s ability to cut thrust-specific fuel consumption by up to 1.2%. In an effort to take a more holistic look at environmental services, Pratt & Whitney announced in July that it has teamed with aviation consultant Flight Sciences International (FSI) to offer the washing program with other services through a new, five-year fuel conservation program called EcoFlight Solutions.
CFM International will maintain Muscat-based Oman Air’s 33 CFM56-7B engines under an Oct. 26 agreement. The contract guarantees maintenance costs on a dollar-per-engine flight hour basis for all of the powerplants that equip Oman Air’s 15 Boeing 737NGs, in addition to spares. According to CFM, Oman Air was the first customer in the Gulf region for CFM56-7B-powered 737NGs, which it ordered in 2001.
SR Technics will provide integrated component solutions for five Airbus A320s operated by Swiss charter carrier Hello through 2016 under a late October contract that includes dedicated consignment stock at Basel and access to SR Technics’ component pool stocks on a flight-hour basis.
Armand F. Lauzon, Jr. ➤ CEO, Sequa Corp. and President, Chromalloy
During the summer of 2008, I was asked by The Carlyle Group, one of the largest private equity firms in the world—and a company I’d been working with for a number of years—to run Chromalloy, a company it had purchased the previous December. From the outset, it was clear to me that the job would be challenging and that one of the most difficult tasks would involve driving a cultural change to establish a unified reputation—both inside and outside the company.
Ramco Systems will provide Suite 5 M&E and MRO maintenance planning software to the National Aviation Co. of India, which operates Air India, Indian Airlines, Air India Expres and Alliance, under a September contract.
