Dallas-based Southwest Airlines is reporting successful trials with an innovative ozone-based aircraft water system sanitization unit, according to Cory Howe, an aircraft systems engineer in the carrier’s maintenance and engineering department. “The EPA has issued some recent rulings which prompted us to look into new technologies that can remove potential hazards and allow for aircraft potable water system quality verification on our entire 737 fleet,” he explains.
Magellan Services Co. to install an active ventilation system for lavatories, galleys and non-essential equipment throughout Boeing 737-700 aircraft, STC ST10952SC
Voicing concerns for the survival of Europe’s airlines, the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which represents Europe’s most important network carriers, has called for a stakeholder summit on the European aviation industry.
Most airlines expect their parts inventories to decline further in 2010 and to make more use of vendor-owned inventories and pools. These are a few of the preliminary results of a survey Aerostrategy and IATA are conducting.
Line Operations Safety Audit, or LOSA, has long been a fixture in cockpits. Now, a committee is working to move that same program onto the ramp and into maintenance facilities.
HONG KONG—Zero defects. Sound like an impossible goal? For Cathay Pacific, it’s not. It’s the new cabin standard, and the airline hopes to have it largely in place this year.
Shannon Aerospace gained a new customer in Nicosia-based Cyprus Airways, which contracted it to carry out a D check plus routine and structural work and a full repainting on one of its A320s. The work should be completed early this month.
Airbus launched a winglet upgrade for the A320 family that promises to provide a 3.5% fuel-burn improvement over the existing wingfence design. New Zealand Airways is the launch customer for the "sharklets." Airbus is still working on a winglet retrofit option for the A320, but it will not be the sharklets. It is looking at its own design but also is talking to Aviation Partners, which may be involved in building the sharklets. The A320 will be the first to get the devices, with a planned in-service date of late 2012.
DUBAI—As O&M went to press, the financial uncertainty in Dubai had not been resolved. Abu Dhabi was considering whether to bail out its smaller, northeastern neighbor after the biannual Dubai Airshow came to a close. The November aerospace and defense event subtly foreshadowed this shift in capital and influence. Aftermarket requirements spurred several new developments in the down economy, and Abu Dhabi-based firms seemed to move into prime positions to take advantage of these opportunities.
Wencor acquired assets of Boone Air Parts in November. It planned to use the assets to begin a new company with the same name, but operated as a Utah Corporation and Wencor subsidiary. Facilities
Pratt & Whitney and China Eastern Airlines’ Shanghai engine joint venture became the first facility in China to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. It is also the 21st such building to be designated LEED outside the U.S.; only 5% of fewer than 4,000 LEED buildings worldwide attain platinum certification. The Qingpu district MRO opened in September 2009 and carries out CFM56 engine repairs. IT
Interior, Exterior LED Aircraft Lights Heads Up Technologies offers new LED cabin interior lighting for the Beechcraft King Air 350i and an exterior LED light system for the Cessna CJ family. Originally developed for the CJ4, the LED landing lights now are available for CJ1, CJ2 and CJ3, as well.
The Army Aviation and Missile Command plans to install as many as 1,500 advanced datalinks in four types of helicopters over the next six to seven years. Apache, Blackhawk, Chinook and Kiowa rotorcraft will receive the IDM-304B (improved data modem), which is in the final stages of development by Symetrics Industries of Melbourne, Fla.
ST Aerospace renamed six subsidiaries to brand them more firmly to the parent company: ST Aerospace Services Co. Ptd. Ltd. (formerly ST Aviation Services Co. Pte. Ltd.), ST Aerospace Training Academy (ST Aviation Training Academy), ST Aerospace Guangzhou Aero-Technologies & Engineering (Guangzhou Aerospace Technologies & Engineering), ST Aerospace Mobile (ST Mobile Aerospace Engineering), ST Aerospace San Antonio (San Antonio Aerospace) and ST Aerospace Panama (Panama Aerospace Engineering).
Russian Helicopters, JSC, and Uzrosavia of Uzbekistan signed a five-year agreement in December to work together to service and maintain Russian rotorcraft in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.
American Airlines named James Ream, president and CEO of ExpressJet, senior VP of its maintenance and engineering operations effective Jan. 1. Ream succeeds Carmine Romano, who retired after 41 years with American. Romano was VP for base maintenance before he was named MRO VP in 2007.
Further pressure on the MRO sector came from an EU proposal submitted to the United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen in December. It proposes that emissions from aviation be cut by 10% by 2020 from 2005 levels and calls for all parties to work through ICAO to enable an agreement in 2010 and approval by 2011. The EU supports the use of market-based instruments to reduce aviation emissions and says ICAO should develop such tools.
iPod Integration Equipment Rockwell Collins added an integration feature for its Digital Total Entertainment System and Enhanced Total Entertainment System for widebody aircraft that allows passengers to output video and audio from their iPods or other portable media device into the aircraft’s IFE system. Passengers then can listen or watch their own media files via in-seat displays or headphones. The new equipment includes USB charging capabilities and is designed to work with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPod Classic and iPod Nano as well as other portable media devices.
What is bmi's fleet age and utilization? Mahoney: Our narrowbody Airbuses are six years old, the Boeing 737s are around 13 years old, and the A330s are around eight years old.
