The first of two SunExpress CFM56-7B turbofan engines arrived at Lufthansa Technik’s Hamburg engine overhaul center on Oct. 13. The engines are covered under a 10-year total engine support contract the Turkish carrier arranged for its Boeing 737-800 fleet earlier this year.
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
Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. (EGAT) signed a 10-year, $230-million OnPoint agreement with GE Aviation to support 100 GE CF6-80C2 engines that power EVA Air’s fleet of Boeing 747-400 and McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighters and combi aircraft. The contract covers OEM material management and repair solutions for the CF6s. EGAT and GE also have signed a 10-year extended general support licence agreement that GE says allows it to continue to provide technical support to EGAT.
BAE Systems signed a five-year, total support deal with Air France-KLM Group company CityJet for JetSpares, continued airworthiness and technical support services and technical publications. CityJet also committed to a five-year extension of BAE Systems’ Tech 21 service for technical and engineering support and a five-year extension of technical publications support via BAE Systems Regional Aircraft’s online iSapphire service. Separately, Pelita Air Service in Indonesia extended its JetSpares agreement for its RJ85 fleet.
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.
Avionics Group issued and amended STCs to install Universal Avionics UNS-1Fw flight management systems, application server unit systems, Class II electronic flight bag , and EFI-640 electronic flight instrument systems and terrain awareness and warning systems on various McDonnell Douglas DC-9, MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft, STCs ST03842AT, ST03838AT, ST03831AT and ST03824AT
GE Aviation plans to invest $40 million on 1,000 new repairs in 2010, and part of this funding is focused on developing new capabilities for its CF6-80C2 engine. Although this 25-year-old model is in the last stages of its life-cycle, its manufacturer is participating in a joint repair development with Lufthansa Technik to test some tried-and-true repair techniques in the turbine engine aftermarket for the first time.
Environmental efficiency increasingly falls in step with better business practices when it comes to optimizing resources, and hangar structures make no exception to the rule. Buildings that can be lengthened, reconfigured, moved to a new place or even shifted on a fixed site enable flexible operations for aircraft maintenance providers. A movable building accomodates decisions to offer new services, shift work from one site to another, move a base in its entirety to a lower-cost address or sell the entire structure to another company in a new place.
Avionics Group amended STC to install the Honeywell (TRA-67A) or Collins (TPR901) Mode S enhanced surveillance system on Boeing 767-200, -300, -300F and -400ER series aircraft, STC ST03559AT
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
MRO companies could see increasing line service opportunities as airlines continue to outsource more maintenance. TeamSAI predicts that by year end, airlines will have spent $7.8 billion for line service on a jet fleet of 19,000. That amount should reach about $12 billion by 2020, when the fleet is expected to reach 27,000.
The low-cost carrier sector in Southeast Asia is “positively dynamic,” as one MRO executive puts it, and its strategies are shaping those of the organizations that maintain its aircraft. Mostly young Airbus A320s, Boeing 737NGs and ATR turboprop fleets bring new opportunities and challenges to the region’s MRO providers, which have been busy adding narrowbody capability to historically widebody-centric work profiles.
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
The demand for qualified aviation mechanics has never been greater than it is today. With more planes coming back into service, deferred service schedules expiring, and commercial conversion projects fueled by industry consolidation, the market for these professionals will remain hot. The commercial and government MRO and manufacturing businesses are going to need people, and contract labor is a strategic part of the manpower plan for many of these organizations.
Sabena technics renewed its component support for Dublin-based cargo carrier Air Contractors’ six ATR-42s and 10 ATR-72s for five more years in September. Sabena technics also will provide component repair and overhaul services for Croatia-based Trade Air’s two Fokker 100’s from its Dinard, France, site and its Paris Charles de Gaulle component pool.
Rolls-Royce has won an order worth $560 million at list prices for Trent 700 engines to power eight Lufthansa and Swiss Airbus A330 aircraft. The order includes a TotalCare long-term service agreement. The aircraft are slated to enter service from 2012. Avionics/IFE
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.
B/E Aerospace entered a definitive agreement to buy TSI Group from private equity firm Arlington Capital Partners on Oct. 7 in a $310-million cash deal. The transaction is expected to close in the current quarter. TSI Group, which makes thermal management systems for aircraft, is expected to complement B/E’s aircraft cabin interior and fastener business.
ST Aerospace secured two 10-year contracts with South Korean low-cost carrier T’Way Air together worth $63 million. The first is a maintenance-by-the-hour component support contract for T’Way’s Boeing 737-800s that includes repair management and access to rotables on an exchange basis; the second is an exclusive, time-and-materials based engine maintenance program for CFM56-7Bs. The deal covers engine condition monitoring and removal planning.
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.
