ON THE BOEING FRONT

           CAAC Leading Industry’s Recovery: Boeing Executive

“The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is playing a leading role in guiding the recovery of China’s aviation industry amid the Covid-19 pandemic”, Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said Wednesday, June 10th.

“It’s important that we reassure passengers and crew through words and action that flying in an airplane is safe and secure.  China’s aviation sector is responding to this challenge,” Deal told Xinhua.  

“We commend the CAAC for taking a leadership role is putting in place protocols to curb the spread of Covid-119 and encourage the safe resumption of flying,” he said.

The industry at large appreciates the agency’s guidelines for airports, operators and crew members on easing the transition to regular commercial flights, Deal noted. 

It is encouraging to see ” domestic traffic in China” reach “70 percent of pre-Covid levels,”

he added.

The aviation industry is facing an unprecedented shock from the pandemic, the speed and scale of which have not been seen in more than a century.

“However, this is a resilient industry that will recover and grow again,” said Deal.

Boeing has launched its “Confident Travel Initiative” to explore technologies to further minimize air travel health risks and heighten public awareness of safeguards already in place.

In China, ”air traffic is beginning the long climb back to pre-Covid levels.  People need and want to fly.   We are working hard with our industry partners to make sure they can do so,” Deal said.

Source : Xinhua News Agency/Microsoft Azure Translator   

               

ON THE AIRBUS FRONT

    Last A380 Convoy In French Village Spells End of an Aviation Era

The last convoy of outsize parts for the A380 airliner crawled towards an assembly plant in southwest France late Wednesday, June 17th, was applauded by residents and production workers as Europe’s Airbus prepares to build the last A380.

Trucks carrying three fuselage sections squeezed through the rural village of Levignac on their way to Toulouse, where the final A380 will be assembled before the model ends production in 2021, just 14 years after entering service.

Faced with weak sales of the four-engined airplane, beaten on efficiency by smaller jets like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, Airbus announced the early halt last year.

One truck bore the sign “Goodbye Saint-Nazaire,” the name of the French plant where some sections are pre-assembled.

Airbus had bet billions on its vision of 555-seater jets, but without the A380, executives argued, Airbus would not have been able to knit a consortium of France, Germany, Britain and Spain into one European entity.

Source: Reuters/Picture Airbus           

        

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

                                        Netherlands Air Force One

The Netherlands recently acquired a new VIP Boeing Business Jet 737 for top government officials to use.

The Dutch royal family as well as high-ranking officials such as the prime minister, use the aircraft for state business, including traveling overseas for state visits.

King Willem-Alexander, as a licensed pilot, frequently flies the aircraft and it was revealed the royal was flying for fun as a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines co-pilot for 21 years. The royal kept a low profile, never revealing his identity to passengers.

When KLM retired the aircraft he flew, a Fokker 70, it was time for the king to get upgraded to a larger jet: the Boeing 737.  Retraining on the new plane meant Willem-Alexander could fly the Boeing 737 from the manufacturer’s Boeing Business Jet facility in Seattle to the Netherlands.

Source : Business Insider/Picture Boeing Business Jet

                          Gulfstream to End G550 Production

Gulfstream is nearing the end of the line for its workhorse G550 with the announcement that it has taken the last order for the ultra-long-range twinjet.  Ending what will be an 18-year production run, final commercial version will be delivered to a customer in 2021.

After a program launch in 2000, the G550 entered service in 2003 with the debut of the airframes’s PlaneView flight dockhand.   Its design team earned that year’s Robert J. Collier Trophy for its technological innovations and safety enhancements.  The G550 has since been supplanted in the company’s product lineup by the G600, which entered service last year.

“The G550 set the standard for subsequent aircraft and the industry,” said Gulfstream president Mark Burns.  ”With more than 600 in service, the G550 has earned its place  as a leader in business aviation.”  With a range of 6,750 nm and high altitude capabilities, the up-to-19-passenger aircraft also saw use as a special mission platform.

Source: Gulfstream/Picture Gulfstream

                                                                 

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

                             Sabeti Wain Lets Passengers Sit Safely

Sabeti Wain Aerospace, which dominates the Middle East region with its aircraft seating covers, has developed a seat safety product for airlines to consider.

“The seat safety product is a clear plastic flat packed-so it can be stored in the cabin without taking too much room,” said Paymen Sabeti, director.

The product has been development following the current Covid-19 pandemic to offer safety and peace of mind for both passengers and airlines.

“The seat safety product can be attached behind the headrest on the seat and will over the sides and the top of the passengers head from the passenger sitting next to and behind.  It is priced to be affordable and purchased in large numbers for all economy seats in the cabin,” said Sabeti.

Sabeti said the company, which has a facility in Dubai, offers two options; plain plastic or with leather or fabric stitched to the sides and back.

Source: Sabeti Wain Aerospace/Picture Sabeti Wain Picture

                                KLM Trials Sustainable Taxiing

On May 27 KLM started taking part in a trial at Schiphol to test sustainable ways to taxi aircraft. The trial is being carried out with a Taxibot. This is a hybrid towing vehicle which, unlike the normal pushback trucks, is licensed to tow full aircraft to near the start of the runway, without the aircraft having to start its engines.

This is expected to reduce fuel consumption during taxiing by 50% to 85%.  Schiphol Airport has made Taxibot available to KLM, Transavia and Corendon to enable them to carry out joint research into more sustainable ways to taxi.

During the test, an empty KLM Boeing 737 was towed to the runway by the Taxibot. ”It’s important to find out how far we can cut CO2 emissions by using the Taxibot,” explained KLM’s project manager, Jeroen Jaartsveld.

“ We’d also like to know how long it takes to taxi with the Taxibot, what effect this has on aircraft engines maintenance, and how we might introduce sustainable taxiing with Taxibots on a large scale into Schiphol’s daily operations”.

KLM’s sustainability initiative, Fly Responsibly, launched last year, included a commitment to reducing carbon emissions caused by taxiing.

This will contribute to KLM’s ambition to cut its fleet’s total carbon emissions by 15% compared to 2005.

Source: KLM/KLM Picture

        S.Korea to Lease Korean Air’s 747-8i as New Presidential Plane

Both Korea signed a five year contract with Korean Air Lines Co. in May to lease a Boeing 747-8i jet as the next presidential plane, the defense ministry said.

Under a 242.3 million US dollars deal, the country’s No.1 air carrier will provide pilots, crew members, mechanics, as well as a back-up plane of the same type for the president’s overseas trips, according to the ministry.

The plane will enter service in November next year after going through remodeling work necessary inspection, it said.

The lease period for the current presidential jet, 747-400, was originally planned to expire in March after a five-year operation, but has been extended until October next year as the government failed to find a new contractor in time.

The new plane will be equipped with various security and communication devices, as well as hardware to improve its defense against outside attacks, such as missiles.

A ministry official said while a purchase option is not currently on the table, the government can consider buying when circumstances are met.

Source: Yonhap News 

      

LATEST NEWS

• Southwest & JetBlue top annual list of most satisfying air carriers published by J.D. Power.                                                                                                                                                 
• United Airlines delivered 7,500 face masks to front line employees at San Francisco International Airport and the airline’s San Francisco Maintenance Base that were made from 12,284 pounds of uniforms United upcycled.                                                                   
• Rolls-Royce Deutschland has delivered the 8,000th engine manufactured at its Dahlewiz, Germany facility.The milestone engine, A BR725 powerplant, went to Gulfstream Aerospace and will be installed on a G650ER.                                                         
• EasyJet has reached an agreement with Airbus to push back by five years the delivery of 24 aircraft.

• Middle East Airlines(MEA) introduces a new livery with its first Airbus A321neo.  The company is also celebrating its 75th anniversary.

• Textron Aviation has delivered the 250th Cessna Citation M2 entry-level jet on June 15 to Fast Rabbit Aviation in Seattle.

• Qatar Airways has finally retaken delivery of its Boeing 787-9s.The four aircraft arrived following a period in storage at Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville.

Source: Textron, Qatar, Rolls-Royce, United airline, Middle East Airlines

 

AIR CARGO

                      DHL Orders Freighter Conversion  of 767-300ERs

German express carrier DHL has contracted with Israel Aerospace Industries(IAI) to convert three Boeing 767-300ER passenger planes to all-cargo configuration.

The contract, which IAI stated also includes an option for DHL to have IAI to convert a fourth 767-300ER to freighter service.

DHL operates more than 260 aircraft with 17 partner airlines on more than 3,000 daily flights.

In February, DHL received the first of six new Boeing 777-200LR freighters scheduled for delivery this year.   The company ordered 14 777-200 LRFs in 2018, with four delivered last year and another four coming in 2021.

Source: DHL/Picture DHL

 

OTHER NOTEWORTHY NEWS

                Alaska Airlines Advances Airbus A320 Retirements

Alaska Airlines is moving forward with plans to retire more Airbus A320s even as it ponders the shape its future fleet amid uncertainty over the recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The Seattle-based carrier is keeping plans to retire seven of its 49 remaining A320s in 2021, under an updated fleet plan released on Monday June 22nd.  In addition, Alaska will retire one 737-800 and hopes to take delivery of 15 737MAX 8s next year.

The move comes as Alaska continues to weigh whether to keep the A320s planned through around 2024, or accelerate their retirement due to the pandemic.

Alaska has retired 12 planes its 10 A319s plus two A320s so far in the crisis.  And while the update fleet plan does not show more aircraft retirements this year, the airline noted in a footnote that: “it is probable that the current outlook as stated will change significantly.”

The fate of the classic A320 jets that Alaska inherited from Virgin America has been questioned since their merger in 2016.  Alaska was an all 737 mainline operator for nearly a decade prior to the merger, something it touted by emblazoning the slogan “Proudly All Boeing” on the fuselage of its Boeing jets.

The 2021 fleet plan does not outline a long-term decision for Alaska. What it does do to paraphrase Deutsche Bank analyst Michael Linenberg, is confute to make the fleet decision “in real time.”

Earlier in June, Alaska president Ben Minicucci said the airline only plans to fly about half of what it flew in 2019 in August.   On the top that, Alaska will be 20% smaller in 2021 than it was last year with revenues down as much as 35%.

Source: Alaska Airlines/Ed’s Research

                         

 

 

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@msn.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian