Thai flag carrier Thai Airways International (Thai) has signed up with Airbus’s Smarter Fuel Efficiency (SFE) system in an effort to squeeze the last drop of mileage out of its aircraft. “Smarter Fuel Efficiency will serve the objective of efficiently monitoring fuel consumption and maximizing the utilization and reliability of our fleet,” said Captain Montree Jumrieng, executive vice president, technical department at Thai.
Maintenance providers are under-represented in FAA’s push to leverage safety-related data as part of risk oversight—a trend that the agency is willing to dedicate resources to change, says FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety (AVS) Peggy Gilligan.
An FAA-led review of the Boeing 787 design, certification and manufacturing process will speed the agency’s push to adapt its oversight to so-called manufacturer “risk-sharing” business models that place more than just financial risk with subcontractors. The review’s results, released in report form March 19, found that Boeing’s processes—while not perfect—are producing a safe and reliable aircraft. Review team members also confirmed that FAA’s production approval oversight focuses too much on the top level of the supply chain.
Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) has moved to buy the U.S. company Barfield from Sabena Technics, a move which AFI KLM E&M’s executive vice president Franck Terner says offers the perfect opportunity to grow within the Americas. The sale, which has been in the pipeline since September last year, is still subject to regulatory approval, but the Franco-Dutch group expects to finalize it within the first half of 2014.
South African carrier Comair has finalized its fleet renewal and expansion plans with an order for eight Boeing 737 MAX 8s, valued at $830 million at list prices, plus purchase rights on a further eight. The order, which was placed in December 2013 and logged to an unidentified customer, marks the first 737 MAXs to be taken by an African airline. An initial four MAXs are scheduled to be delivered to Comair in 2019, followed by another two in 2020 and the final pair in 2021.
SINGAPORE — With aerospace revenues topping the results for Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. (STE), the company reported increased net group profits after taxes of $580.8 million, up from $576.2 million last year—an increase of some 7% overall. Aerospace-related business was the most important segment in the group’s revenue figures for 2013, with 31% of the total revenue of $6.63 billion. Aviation services brought in $2.08 billion, compared with $2.02 billion last year.
Click here to view the pdf A4A Monthly Passenger Yield, January 2014 A4A Monthly Passenger Yield, January 2014 Domestic International System January 2014 16.5
Airbus has determined that an open-rotor-powered A320-class airliner is technically feasible. The next steps are to prove the concept is economically viable, then demonstrate the propulsion system in flight, which is planned under Europe’s Clean Sky 2 public-private research program.
Inflight connectivity provider Gogo has added two approvals that clear the way for expansion of its intercontinental aircraft installations under deals with Delta Air Lines and Japan Airlines (JAL). The FAA has granted Gogo supplemental type certificates for installing its Ku-band satellite service on certain Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s. The 777 approval was accompanied by Japan Civil Aviation Bureau certification, clearing the way for Gogo to outfit JAL’s 18 777-200s. The carrier also has signed up for Gogo service on its domestic fleet.
Boeing this summer will begin offering 737NG customers the option for an in-house runway excursion prevention suite that gives pilots a pseudo-synthetic vision view on the primary flight display (PFD). The package will include four new sources of situational awareness information plotted on the PFD: The flight path vector, conformal runway edge lines, a runway centerline leader that extends 12-14 nm. out from the runway, and runway-remaining “billboards” that appear after touchdown, marking thousands of feet remaining.
Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) expects to have its first two Boeing 787-9s delivered between July and September, although it is not yet revealing the seating configurations. The carrier will be among the first few airlines to receive the stretched -9 version of the 787, with ANA and rival Japan Airlines both due to begin accepting -9s soon after launch customer Air New Zealand’s initial delivery in July.
Rolls-Royce is considering a model where it would lease engines directly to aircraft operators, although the idea is still in its infancy. Over the past 20-30 years, Rolls-Royce has shifted from simply supplying engines to providing a full support package under its TotalCare service range. Taking this idea one step further, Rolls-Royce president-civil large engines Eric Schulz said the engine manufacturer is examining the idea of retaining ownership of the engines and simply leasing them to operators.
Malaysia appears to be giving up more control over the search and rescue mission for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. While Acting Transport Minister Hishammudin Hussein says overall coordination of the efforts is still in the hands of his country, “our partners have taken on an increasing role within the search sectors.” The search has not resulted in any findings yet.
The Hawaii inter-island market will lose one of the handful of small carriers that competes with Hawaiian Airlines, with regional jet operator Go! planning to cease operations from April 1. Go! is owned by Mesa Air Group, and the parent company said it is withdrawing the Hawaii service so it can redeploy aircraft to support its growing operations on the U.S. mainland.
The German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) says Airbus put certain A330 and A340 operators at risk for in-flight smoke events, diversions and fire between 2005 and 2011 by not properly warning them of a 2005 incident involving the power unit for an onboard light.
Guided by a mix of capacity-conservative plans and flight-grounding winter storms, U.S. full-service airlines—along with behemoth Southwest Airlines—saw capacity grow by just half a percentage point in 2014’s first two months, while the rest of the so-called value carriers added 7% to their networks. Consultancy Oliver Wyman compiled the data for Aviation Week.
Indonesia faces looming staffing problems, from flight crews to technical oversight, as a result of the country’s dramatic aviation growth, and at least one top aviation official hints at import limits to try to cope. Herry Bakti, the head of Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Direktorat Jenderal Perhubungan Udara or DJPU), shared with Aviation Week that he was prepared to limit the number of aircraft imported into Indonesia by local carriers—despite large orders having being placed to support planned expansion.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce faces another grilling from Australian lawmakers this week, as politicians and unions spar over whether to repeal the law that restricts foreign ownership of the carrier.
The White House is projecting that the balance of the user-funded Airport and Airway Trust Fund will grow steadily over the next decade even as the Obama administration pushes to have it pay for nearly all of FAA’s activities.
All of the 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft ordered by Indian low-cost carrier SpiceJet on March 12 will be powered by Leap-1B engines, made by CFM. The engine order is valued at $1.1 billion at list price. “We are pleased that SpiceJet has continued to place its trust in CFM,” says Gael Meheust, vice president of sales for CFM. “We have built a great relationship with this airline over the years and really look forward to introducing the Leap engine into their new fleet.”
International Airlines Group (IAG) has seen a slight improvement in its freight volumes, although it continues to project a weak cargo outlook for 2014-15. “There is maybe some volume recovery, signalling the end of the cargo downturn, but it is too early to ring any bells,” said IAG CFO Enrique Dupuy at the release of IAG’s full-year results.
Thales Group’s acquisition of LiveTV expands the French company’s already extensive inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) offerings with complementary technologies, and could jump-start LiveTV’s efforts to expand its reach from the cabin to airline operations. The $400 million all-cash deal, announced March 13, ends JetBlue’s multi-year effort to shed a valuable, but non-core, asset. It also expands Thales’ already-formidable IFEC presence, which began in 1999 with the purchase of B/E Aerospace’s IFE business.
