REB Technologies amended STC to install night vision imaging system compatible infrared filters on Eurocopter France AS-350B, B1, B2 and BA helicopters, STC SR09430RC
Electronic Cable Specialists to install mounting brackets as provisions for future mechanical installation of electronic flight bag display units and remote processing units on Boeing 777-200, 200LR, 300 and 300ER series aircraft, STC ST02835CH
Aircraft Systems & Manufacturing amended STC to install a Teledyne Controls Airborne Wireless LAN unit and enhanced airborne data loader on Boeing 737-800, 900 and 900ER series, STC ST10819SC
Aveos Fleet Performance bolstered its long-term work load with a 12-year contract to service Air France engines and airframes. The arrangement provides MRO and related services for CFM56 engines and Airbus A320, A330 and A340 aircraft.
Iberia Maintenance is developing an automated robotic workshop that will accomplish each step of a compressor blade repair process in a closed, predictable environment. The automated repair process, with minor differences, can be used for almost all compressor blades regardless of manufacturer, says José Luis Quirós Cuevas, the company’s VP sales, marketing and business development. “It’s a single technique.” Iberia’s goal is to repair about 60,000 blades per year and become a center of excellence for compressors.
A J Walter Aviation added work for Royal Jet to its Dubai hub’s customer base with a July agreeement for one Airbus A319 aircraft. AJW also plans to invest $10 million in Airbus A320/A330 inventory in Los Angeles, and it gained a Delta TechOps spares deal worth more than $10 million. In Europe, Dutch carrier Jet Time picked AJW support for its Boeing 737-400s in addition to six already covered 737-300s.
Aviation Technical Services expanded Raj Sharma’s responsibilities to include those of CEO. Sharma was named executive chairman in January; prior to that he was a senior advisor at Aveos Fleet Performance. ATS also named Jodie Douglas VP human resources.
Sanding aircraft exteriors and structural components is a time-consuming, costly process that often causes vibration injuries in workers. One solution is the Easily Manipulated Mechanical Arm, or EMMA, by Temple Allen Industries.
Monarch Aircraft Engineering signed a line maintenance technical handling agreement with Air Finland covering support services at London Gatwick, Luton, Birmingham and Manchester airports.
Canard Aerospace Corp. amended STC to install Honeywell Classic navigator systems on Boeing 747-100, 100B, 100B SUD, 200B, 200C, 200F, 300 and SP series aircraft, STC ST01117CH
Kenmore Air Harbor amended STC to install the Jasco Model 7555-1 alternator kit on Pratt & Whitney R-985 series engine on Viking Air DHC-2 Mk.I aircraft, STC SA348NW
LONDON—Full implementation of the European Aviation Safety Agency’s new operations and licensing requirements is due in 2012, but there is still some confusion as to the acceptable rules. During the consultative stage, there was a lot of opposition to some of the new rule proposals, particularly those concerning personal licenses.
Pratt & Whitney’s EcoPower engine wash system will launch in India with an Air India service center at Mumbai International Airport. Air India plans to wash its own engines as well as those of third-party customers. Pratt also renewed its engine wash agreement with JetBlue Airways for another two years. The carrier started washing its IAE V2500 and CF34 engines using the EcoPower system last year. Pratt recently washed its 13,000th engine, and it formed a partnership with fuel management consultant Flight Sciences International called Eco Flight Solutions.
Volvo Aero did not disclose the name of the investment company that plans to acquire Volvo Aero Services. The companies intend to close the deal in the third quarter. Facilities
Fusion, the initial name for Panasonic’s Integrated Smart Monitor, is not only a great description of the industry’s first fully integrated IFE/seat solution, it’s also a great description of the future of IFE. That’s because tomorrow’s cabins are going to be less about individual IFE vendors supplying and servicing individual products and more about vendors of cabin products merging solutions and taking a more holistic approach to both design and maintenance.
LONDON—Ireland’s place in world aviation took off in 1975 with the creation of Guinness Peat Aviation (GPA), a commercial aircraft sales and leasing company that went on to become the world’s largest commercial aircraft lessor. Since the late 1980s, GPA’s fortunes and ownership have fluctuated, forcing many of its former staff to find work with the other aircraft lessors that followed it to Dublin.
“Necessity is the mother of invention,” applies to MROs, even those in the developed world, where companies compete with organizations from lower-cost emerging markets. “Processes like airframe maintenance rely on labor, which is a commodity in today’s environment,” says Mike McBride, executive VP and CFO of Team SAI. “If an MRO in North America or Europe wants to maintain its margins, it has to move up the value chain and offer additional services, modifications and eventually component and engine repairs.”
