The maintenance division of Adria Airways, Slovenia’s national carrier based at Ljubljana, is one MRO that has significantly benefited from its relationship with an OEM, in this case Bombardier Aerospace. Adria Airways’ place in Eastern Europe is noteworthy because it is the first Bombardier recognized CRJ heavy maintenance facility in all of Europe.
Mubadala Development Co. launched a business to provide engine and component financing and help airlines move more of their inventory off their balance sheets. The Sanad Aero Solutions (Sanad) operation already has its first customers, with January's agreement between Mubadala’s SR Technics and German carrier Air Berlin and a $30 million deal with Etihad for component support. Contracts Commercial
The state of supply chain management in the aftermarket has reached a critical juncture. Aerospace and defense maintenance and overhaul supply chain practices lag years behind other industries such as global electronics or consumer packaged goods. Why? Several factors delay and complicate supply chain processes: long product life-cycles; highly engineered, often sole-sourced components; complex regulatory environments; and program-centric management.
Lufthansa Technik and bmi signed a five-year agreement covering MRO services for more than 50 IAE V2500 engines that power bmi’s complete Airbus A320-series fleet. The first engine services are expected to be carried out around the end of the first quarter.
StandardAero to install an Aircell high-speed internet system and an optional Aircell cabin telecommunications router on Boeing 737-700 series, STC ST02753CH-D
FlightSafety International promoted J. Scott Hunter to director, maintenance training sales. Hunter, who joined FlightSafety International in 1994, takes over the role for Doug Bowen, who has been named director, maintenance training services.
Aviation Specialties Unlimited amended STC to install a supplemental light system on Eurocopter Canada BO 105 LS A-3 and Eurocopter Deutschland BO-105C and BO-105S helicopters, STC SR01546SE
Ascent Aviation Services in Tucson added John “Jack” Keating as VP operations and director of maintenance and Michael Melvin as controller. Keating most recently was president of Evergreen Maintenance Center; Melvin also joins Ascent from Evergreen, where he served as CFO. At the same time, Ascent realigned internally, shifting Richard “Rick” Dupuy from director of maintenance to director of quality and Charles Stead from director of quality and planning to director of planning.
GE Aviation acquired Ottawa-based BMB Fuel Consulting Services, a privately owned supplier of fuel consulting services, which identify and track operational improvements to reduce fuel consumption.
Delta TechOps will partner with Evergreen Aviation Technologies to provide Tokyo-based Skymark Airlines’ CFM56-7B-powered Boeing 737NG fleet with engine maintenance services under a five-year agreement. EGAT already provides Skymark with comprehensive maintenance.
One of the many things I’ve learned from presiding over a technology-based services company for the past 14-years is that if you are to not only survive but to grow, you need to constantly evaluate how fast to develop and deploy new applications and capabilities. Said another way, it’s really about how fast the market will adapt to advancing technology; how fast they see the value of change.
Aircraft Exterior Decals High-performance decals for aircraft are offered by Color Craft, which provided Olympic-themed decals to Air Canada for one of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to celebrate the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Color Craft produces screen and digitally printed graphics, and its decals can be applied without specialized labor or environmentally controlled hangars, the company says.
GE Aviation selected Premier Turbines as its designated repair center in North and South America for M601 and H80 turboprop engines. Premier Turbines planned to begin accepting M601 engines for repair in the first quarter.
What are your short- and long-term business goals? Liou: EGAT's short-term business goals are applying strong technical skills and depth in technical understanding to the maintenance and repair of aging aircraft, building on the quality conscious culture from the production workplace into a general life-skill, and placing tighter controls on material and manpower costs.
The latest safety statistics released in January by UK-based consultancy Ascend qualify 2009 as “the safest year ever” for airline operations in terms of the number of fatal accidents. That said, high fatalities in several severe accidents pushed the number of passengers and crew killed in 2009 to 732, up 29.1% compared to 567 in 2008.
When Michael Williams, a professor of business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), first joined the aviation business several decades ago, computers were “unheard of,” he recalls. Today, however, an understanding of technology and computer programs is an essential capability of every maintenance manager. “Being able to use maintenance planning software, scheduling software, being able to communicate electronically—these [skills] are needed more than anything today,” he says.
Nexcelle added Michel J. Abella as director of programs. Abella previously was program manager for Airbus A380 nacelles at Aircelle’s Toulouse, France, operation.
Southeast Aerospace acquired Global Aerospace Consulting, a systems design, integration, certification and aircraft technical publications company. SEA retained Global Aerospace President N. “J.” Curran as director of engineering and certification at SEA corporate headquarters in Melbourne, Fla. Facilities
Safety Station A storage unit for safety and first-aid equipment now is available from Shure Manufacturing. The reinforced steel safety unit features a stainless steel top and chase panel, and it comes equipped with leg levelers as well as a mirror, soap dispenser, towel dispenser, waste receptacle and emergency eye wash
LONDON—EASA issued mandatory safety directives in December for the replacement of specified parts on Rolls-Royce Trent engines powering Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft. This work must be completed by January 2011. The mandate relates to concerns of ice build-up in the fuel oil heat exchanger (FOHE), which could potentially block fuel lines and shut down engines during long flights—an occurrence thought to have caused the crash-landing of a Boeing 777 at Heathrow in January 2008 and a May 2009 engine malfunction on a Trent 700-powered Etihad Airways A330.
EVA Air and Thales inked a five-year, repair-by-the-hour contract for avionics services and support of the Taiwanese carrier’s fleet of 11 Airbus A330 aircraft. Thales will ensure the maintenance of the components from its Singapore regional service center.
Three H-3 Mk-2-variant Sea King helicopters operated by Egypt will be refurbished by AgustaWestland North America in a depot maintenance program. The company received a $17.4-million contract via the U.S. foreign military sales program. Work is to be finished by the end of the year.
The Pakistan defense ministry has awarded Lockheed Martin a $43-million contract to upgrade the avionics of seven navy P-3C Orion aircraft. The work, which will be done in the U.S. at plants in Eagan, Minn., and Greenville, S.C., is a continuation of a program that began in 2007. Lockheed then was named general contractor and paid $186.5 million to install new communication systems, inverse synthetic aperture radar, electronic support measures and acoustic tracking systems.
