Aeronautical Engineers, Inc. is converting a Boeing 737-400 built in 1989 into an 11-pallet freighter for an undisclosed customer. The aircraft was at AEI conversion center Commercial Jet, Inc. in Miami, as of early October for heavy maintenance and freighter modification work.
TAP Maintenance & Engineering Brazil implemented an operational security management system, which it plans to deploy in four stages by December 2012. Training
British Airways and Tata Consulting Services developed an SAP-based platform for integrated MRO IT management called SWIFT MRO that they offer commercially.
ASL Aviation in Ireland acquired three Aerogo Capital assets—Safair Operations (Pty), Safair Lease Finance (Pty) and three ATR72-500 aircraft. It expects to close the transaction later this month.
LONDON—Incorrect cleaning of angle-of-attack sensors and pilot error led to the loss of an Airbus A320 off the coast of France in November 2008, according to French air accident investigation organization the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses (BEA). XL Airways was operating the Airbus A320 on a pre-handover acceptance flight for Air New Zealand following its return-from-lease from XL Airways when it crashed off Canet-en-Roussillon, killing two XL pilots, four Air New Zealand personnel and a New Zealand CAA inspector.
Lufthansa Technik signed a 10-year total component support contract with Aeromexico covering the airline’s fleet of 34 Boeing 737-700s and -800s. The value of the contract was not disclosed.
CFM International’s CFM56 fleet became the first high bypass turbofan engine family to achieve 500 million flight hours in service in September. The first CFM56 engines entered service in 1982, on reengined DC-8 Super 70 and U.S. Air Force KC-135 aircraft.
Pentagon 2000 Software gained Aero Contractors Co. of Nigeria as a customer for its Pentagon2000SQL logistics management and record keeping software. Contracts
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
Honeywell International reissued STC to install the Mark II aircraft communications addressing and reporting system on Boeing 737-200, -300, -400 and -500 series, STC ST00717WI
After 18 months of subcontracting line maintenance to a local provider, Klaus Ren, president and CEO of Copenhagen-based Jet-Time A/S, had had enough. “Our vendor didn't perform as promised,” says Ren, noting that the provider has since folded. With seven Boeing 737-300s, Jet-Time now does all line work at its own hangar in Copenhagen. “By doing this inhouse, we can supervise our staff, which is dedicated to our own aircraft. You can’t count on that with an outside provider.”
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.
Malaysian Aerospace Engineering added 767 heavy checks to its repertoire. The MRO provider said it had completed its first heavy check on a Boeing 767—a Kenya Airways 767-300. In addition, it secured a deal to do heavy checks on two of Royal Brunei’s 767-300s.
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.
India’s Air Works aims to expand rapidly into the country’s booming market for aircraft maintenance by buying foreign specialist operators and replicating their expertise at home. It sees the expansion strategy, already used with its purchase of British aircraft painting firm Air Livery, as the answer to a range of challenges: how to quickly gather expertise, avoid overloading management, lure new customers, and establish and keep a reputation for quality.
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.
LiteAir Aviation Products reissued STC to fabricate a LiteAir window plug assembly on Boeing 777-200, -200LR, -300 and -300ER series aircraft, STC ST02073SE
Rockwell Collins Aerospace & Electronics to install the Rockwell Collins Model 4000 head-up guidance system with enhanced vision system capability on Boeing 737-700, -700C, -800, -900 and -900ER series aircraft, STC ST00039MC
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.
Airbus inked a flight hour services tailored support package contract with Singapore Airlines to cover full component support, line and base airframe maintenance, and fleet technical management for five A340-500 ultra long-haul, all-business-class aircraft.
New Systems to install dual Universal Avionics flight management systems with global positioning system on Bombardier DHC-8-100, -200, -300 and -400 series aircraft, STC ST10977SC
Chippewa Aerospace amended STC to install protective covers for 1K4XD relay, traffic alert and collision avoidance systems processor, horizontal stabilizer control unit, stall protection computer, data concentrator unit, slat stab control unit, slat flap extend control unit, passenger address amplifier and fuel quantity computers on various Bombardier regional jet aircraft (Series 100, 440, 700, 701, 702, 705 and 900), STC ST03336AT
