Ameco Beijing in October launched an electronic parts procurement interface to the AeroXchange purchasing portal, which it says should speed its parts purchasing process.
Qantas Mainline fleet*: Six Airbus A380-800s, six Boeing 747-400ERs, 21 Boeing 747-400s, 26 Boeing 767-300ERs, 41 Boeing 737-800s, 21 Boeing 737-400s, 11 Boeing 717-200s, 10 Airbus A330-300s and seven Airbus A330-200s Employees*: total staff 30,000, including 6,000 in maintenance and engineering * Does not include Jetstar, which is operated as a separate carrier, or QantasLink’s turboprop fleet.
British Airways and Tata Consulting Services developed an SAP-based platform for integrated MRO IT management called SWIFT MRO that they offer commercially.
Lufthansa Technical Training added new Airbus A330/A340 type training course capability with a cockpit simulation device called the Maintenance Flight Training Device, which it started using on A330 courses in August. It plans to extend the simulator’s use to Boeing types, starting with the Boeing 747-400.
Aviation maintenance professionals are not an overly superstitious lot. But they do believe in ghosts. The “ghosts” in question here are phantom components, whose very existence is shadowy, ethereal. They manifest themselves when MROs and airlines go looking for parts. Sellers say they have the part on hand, but in reality, “they do not have the quantity they represent, or they don’t even have the part,” says Brian Tolley, president of PartsBase.
H.I.G. Capital closed the deal to buy Volvo Aero Services from AB Volvo on Oct. 6 for an undisclosed amount. Claes Malmros, Volvo Aero Services’ president and CEO, will remain, as will the rest of the management and staff. Malmros said the company planned to change its name to VAS Aero Services within 45 days of Oct. 7. Transitioning functions such as information technology and financial systems from Volvo should take about one year.
MAS GMR Aerospace Engineering Co. Ltd. is set to launch operations in the second quarter of 2011, partners GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. and MAS Aerospace Engineering say. The $70.9 million facility will service widebody and narrowbody aircraft in its four hangars.
Singapore Airlines plans to roll out full OnAir onboard connectivity services, across its fleet of five Airbus A340-500s in the first half of 2011. It plans to follow with OnAir services on its Boeing 777-300ERs and Airbus A380s. SIA formerly offered onboard Internet via Boeing’s Connexion service but stopped in 2006, when Boeing exited that business. Parts/Components
Enigma and Rusada software modules will form Atitech’s new MRO planning and execution system. It will implement Enigma’s InService MRO, Job Card Generator and Revision Manager modules, with Rusada’s Envision asset management system.
Pratt & Whitney added ITR-Turborreactores, S.A. de CV’s Queretaro, Mexico, facility as a designated service provider center of excellence for JT8D engine component repair.
Ameco Aviation College added a new Airbus A320 and A330 maintenance training device: simulation software that generates a virtual cockpit, virtual aircraft and animated system schematics. Ameco says it is the first training organization in China to implement this kind of next-generation training tool.
Seven Q Seven to replace Pratt & Whitney JT3D series engine with Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 engine and associated systems in all positions on Boeing 707-300C series aircraft, STC ST02287LA
STG Aerospace amended STCs to install a STG Aerospace Powersmart wireless emergency primary power system on various Boeing 737, 757 and 767 series aircraft, STCs ST03629AT, ST03465AT and ST03692AT
Electronic Cable Specialists to upgrade the internal core software of the ACARS data link management unit (DLM-900) on various Airbus A300 and A310 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 and MD-11F models, STCs ST02866CH and ST02865CH
Sargent Aerospace & Defense named Kevin Connelly VP, aftermarket services. Connelly most recently was general manager of ACE Service, a joint venture of Parker Aerospace and Singapore Airlines. Airframes
The European Commission, ICAO, IATA and the U.S. Department of Transportation signed a memorandum of understanding to create a “framework and path” toward the creation of a global safety information exchange. The four organizations will begin by reviewing the safety information each collects and selecting items “most relevant to improving safety by risk reduction.” IATA has committed to providing de-identified information from 345 airlines participating in its operational safety audit program. ICAO will coordinate the exchange.
Zodiac Aerospace bought Sell GmbH from the Premium Aircraft Interiors Group, a move aimed to strengthen its cabin interiors business. It announced plans to buy Sell, which designs, makes and services premium aircraft galleys and equipment, in July.
Technical trainer John Mendoza is lucky. In his 25 years at San Antonio’s Kelly Aviation Center, he has rarely experienced major safety issues in the engine test cell. But accidents happen to even the best test cell operators, and once, early in his career, he came across an emergency situation that he was unprepared to handle.
The European Commission added Ghana’s Meridian Airways to its list of airlines banned from the EU for safety reasons and banned three freighter aircraft operated by another Ghanaian carrier, Airlift International, from operating into EU airspace. The EC explained that Meridian had been banned “as a consequence of a series of very poor results from inspections involving not only their aircraft but also facilities used by the airline in the EU.”
Federal Express amended STC to install a Honeywell head-up display and a Kollsman infrared enhanced flight vision system on McDonnell Douglas MD-10-30F, MD-11 and MD-11F aircraft, STC ST03557AT
LONDON—Attendees at July's Farnborough International Airshow gained insight into the crucial role that projected long-term maintenance costs play when airlines negotiate deals for a clean-sheet airliner—especially if the engine is an all-new design, too. On opening day, Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways, quashed speculation about a likely show order for Bombardier’s CSeries when he told reporters that talks were in limbo until Pratt & Whitney agreed to maintenance cost guarantees for its PW1000G geared turbofan.
Commsoft signed a 10-concurrent-user contract with Sweden-based Nex Time Jet AB, which will use Commsoft OASES MRO management software to support its 13 Saab 340s, three BAe ATP, two Beech 1900D and one Beech King Air 200 aircraft.
Delta TechOps inked a three-year contract with Cimber Sterling for time and materials services for 11 CFM56-7B engines and Honeywell GTCP131-9B APUs. The contract’s value was not disclosed.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen added a new engine parts and accessories repair, or EPAR, product to expand its nacelle services. It initially will repair common nacelle assemblies and tail cones for the IAE V2500 engine.
