ON THE BOEING FRONT

 Customers Harness Boeing’s Services Solutions to Support Operations and Growth

Boeing announced a number of services orders and agreements to support international customers, streamline their operations and enhance their future growth.

These supply chain solutions will simplify customers’ asset and maintenance management, inventory and operating costs, while improving parts availability.

The agreements for Boeing’s digital solutions will provide cost savings fleet-wide, enhance airline crew situational awareness and increase operational efficiency.

“As airlines and operators continue to respond to the current challenges facing the global air travel industry, our partners are moving forward, integrating creative solutions to continue connecting people around the world,” said Ted Colbert, president and CEO,Boeing Global Services.”  Boeing is working closely with our customers around the world, delivering the customized solutions they need to improve operational efficiency, support their fleets, and reduce their costs.”

Supply Chain agreements include:

-Alaska Airlines signed its largest consumable and expendable services agreement, with a multi-year agreement for solutions which include Tailored Parts Package and Quick Engine Change kits.  The agreement supports Alaska’s fleet of 737 airplanes and provides price and availability benefits that allow the airline to streamline its maintenance operations.  The Tailored Parts Package consists of 2,900 part numbers.  Throughout the term of this three-year agreement, Boeing anticipates the shipment of nearly 800,000 parts and four Quick Engine Chain kits, which will be used to configure spare engines to allow for quick return of an airplane to service when an engine needs to be repaired or replaced.

-ALL Nippon Airways, the largest airline in Japan, announced a partnership with Boeing Global Services to install a 787-9 galley facility in its new training center to enhance crew training opportunities. And also signed an agreement for ten Quick Engine Change Kits. 

Source: Boeing global Services

                    

ON THE AIRBUS FRONT

    Airbus Completed Its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off & Landing Project

Airbus completed its Autonomous taxi, take-off, and landing project that saw one of its A350-1000 XWBs perform normally pilot-flown maneuvers entirely on its own.

The project’s successful completion opens the door for fully autonomous flights as autopilot already handles most of the functions while airborne.

The common belief with airplanes is that they fly themselves after take-off thanks to autopilot, and pilots can sit back and relax for most of the flight.  But Airbus just took that idea to the next level after proving a passenger jet can perform complex maneuvers without any pilot input.

The European manufacturer just completed flight testing for its Autonomous Taxi, Take-off, and landing project after its flagship aircraft successfully navigated each phase of flight on its own as pilots simply watched.

Over 500 flights were conducted with the new Airbus A350-1000 XWB that utilized         “ image recognition technology” to essentially give the plane a pair of eyes.  The technology, integrated with the A350’s exterior cameras, allowed it to perform the phases of flight on its own, Airbus announced.

With Airbus proving that its jet can also land and taxi on its own, the door is now open to fully autonomous flights.

Source: Airbus/Picture Airbus           

        

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

            Textron Aviation Introduces the Beechcraft King Air 360 

Textron Aviation has ushered in the next generation of its King Air turboprop family with the Beechcraft King Air 360/360ER.

The updated turboprop offers the latest technological advancements in the cockpit, a redesigned cabin, and enhancements to passenger comfort.  The aircraft is currently in production with customer deliveries expected to begin in the Fall of 2020. 

The Cockpit is the new digital pressurization controller, which automatically schedules cabin pressurization during both climb and descent, reducing pilot workload and increasing overall passenger comfort.  The Pressurization gauges have been integrated with the powerful Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion flight deck.

With seating for up to nine passengers, the latest King Air offers an even greater passenger experience than its predecessor. The aircraft features a cabin altitude of when compared to the King Air 350i.  The improved cabin altitude levels provide greater comfort to passengers, especially during longer flights.

The new turboprop twin models are priced at $7.9 million and $8.795 million, respectively.

Source: Textron Aviation/Picture Textron Aviation

              Gulfstream Opens New Farnborough Service Center 

Gulfstream Aerospace’s new service center at Farnborough Airport is now open and took in its first aircraft, a Middle East-based Gulfstream, for service.  The 225,000 sq m to 20,903 sq m facility can simultaneously accommodate up to 13 ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650 or G700s.

The Farnborough center is able to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul services, as well as interior refurbishments and aftermarket modifications.  To complement the site, Gulfstream’s Field and Airborne Support Teams(FAST) continues to maintain a presence at London Luton Airport.

“Gulfstream Farnborough is already seeing great demand,” said Gulfstream Customer Support president Derek Zimmerman.  ”This opening marks the completion of another goal in our overarching strategy to enhance convenience and increase options for our customers.  The new facilities we are building can better accommodate more of the large-cabin Gulfstream aircraft our customers are flying.”

Source: Gulfstream Aerospace

                                                                   

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

Israel Government Authority to Recommend El Al Control Permit for Rosenberg

Israel’s Government Companies Authority said it would recommend allowing Eli Rosenberg to buy control of cash-strapped El Al Israel Airlines.

Rosenberg in July offered to funnel $75 million into the airline in return for a 45% stake. He is the son of American businessman Kenny Rosenberg, who is CEO of New York-based nursing home chain Centers Health Care. 

The authority said it would allow control of Israel’s flag carrier with a stake of over $40% conditioned upon proof Rosenberg’s Israeli citizenship or regency.Israel would retain a golden share.

Israel’s finance and transport ministers also need to approve Rosenberg becoming the controlling shareholder.

El Al’s board had agreed to a bailout that could put the carrier back under state ownership after the coronavirus pushed it to the verge of bankruptcy.

The government has offered to back $250 million in bank loans while El Al must issue $150 million in shares, which the state will buy if no one else does.

The carrier’s unions have already agreed to a significant cost-cutting measures.

El Al, which has reported losses for two years running and racked up debt to renew its fleet, suspended flights when Israel closed its borders and furloughed most of its employees.

Source: Reuters/picture El Al

                Emirates Covers Customers from COVID-19 Expenses

Emirates will cover medical expenses of up to EUR 150,000 ($176,000) and quarantine costs of EUR 100 per day ($118.00 prepay for 14 days) should they be diagnosed with Covid-19 during their travel, while they are away from home.

This cover is provided by the airline, free of costs to its customers.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Group chairman and chief executive said: “Under the directive of his Highness Sheik Mohammed,UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Emirates is proud to lead the way in boosting confidence for international travel.  We know people are yearning to fly as borders around the world gradually re-open, but they are seeking flexibility and assurances should something unforeseen happen during their travel.”

He added : “Emirates has worked hard to put in place measures at every step of the customer journey to mitigate risk of infection, and we have also revamped our booking policies to offer flexibility.   We are now taking it to the next level, by being the first in the industry to offer our customers free global cover for Covid-19 medical expenses and quarantine costs should they incur these costs during their travel.  It is an investment on our part, but we are putting our customers firsthand we believe they will welcome this initiative.”

Emirates is the first airline in the world to offer free, global cover for Covid-19 related costs.

Source: Emirates/Picture Emirates

      Taiwan Parliament Passes Proposal To Rebrand China Airlines

Taiwan’s parliament passed a proposal on July 22nd to rebrand the island’s largest airline to avoid confusion with carriers on the Chinese mainland.

China Airlines (CAL) is frequently mistaken for Air China… the mainland’s national carrier…and there have long been calls to rename it or make it more clearly Taiwanese.

But the movement received fresh impetus during the coronavirus pandemic, which Taiwan has successfully tackled.

The self-ruled island has sent medical aid overseas as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill, often on China Airlines aircraft, sparking some public confusion abroad over where the shipments had come from.

The motion did not set a timeline for when the airline should be eventually renamed, saying it would require further discussion.

The name China Airlines is a throwback to the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, when the defeated Kuomintang nationalists fled to Taiwan.

The Republic of China …Taiwan’s official name…set itself up as a rival to the People’s Republic of China.

Taiwan has since morphed into one of Asia’s most progressive democracies and a distant Taiwanese identity has emerged.

Source: AFP

                                Deferral to Cost Twice as Much

Fiji Airways will have to pay double the amount it owes over a longer period of time if it gets a deferral on a loan, says managing director and CEO Andre Viljoen.

He made the comment while addressing public assumptions on the airline’s cost-cutting efforts.  Mr Vijoen said requesting for a decal from their financier would put the airline in more trouble.

“The second myth that some people are saying is you solve the problem with a deferral,” said Mr. Viljoen.

“ The Banks come to us and say ‘ sure, you can have three months or six months but that’s it ‘, and when the six months is over you repay it together with the normal payments so you got double the payments to make.”  So the noose was loosened slightly for a few months and re-tightened again but now it’s tighter.”

He said the only way a deferral of payment work was if the airline was committed to a longer plan.

According to Mr. Viljoen, Fiji Airways cannot simply hand back leased aircraft.  He said binding agreements signed between the national carrier, leasing companies and financial institutions were a “noose” the airline could not “wiggle out of”.

Fiji Airways has recurring costs of $38 million a month, which includes lease and loan repayments.  Mr. Viljoen said if the airline defaulted on the repayment for one aircraft, it could go belly up.

Source: The Fiji Times

          

      LATEST NEWS

• Cathay Pacific Airways will transfer a third of passenger aircraft from Hong Kong. The first batch of 12 aircraft will will go to Alice Springs in Australia for storage.

• Kawasaki, Korean Air renew 787 aft wheel bulkhead contract with Boeing tier one supplier Kawasaki Heavy Industries 

• Boeing has secured an A$287 million($205 million) sustainment contract for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) fleet of 12 P-8A maritime patrol aircraft.

• Vistara, a joint venture between TATA group and Singapore Airlines, took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo in New Delhi on July 24th.

• KLM will retire its last three Boeing 747-400s in October.  In March KLM announced it would retire the seven total passenger airplanes that were in its fleet, a move prompted by the coronavirus crisis.

• Boeing’s third 777X airframe has launched on its maiden flightless than a week after the airframer said its first delivery of the type would be pushed back to 2022.

• Icelandair Group is cutting four Boeing 737 Max jets from its order commitment and revising deliveries of the remaining six as part of a final settlement with Boeing.

• Cessna SkyCourier the second SkyCourier 408 completed its second flight which lasted one hour and 35 minutes, and reached a maximum altitude of 14,200 feet, and a maximum speed of 210kt (378km/h).

• Boeing’s 737 Max backlog declined nearly 20% in the first seven months of 2020,   with the company stripping more than 850 jets from its books due to order cancellations and accounting adjustments.

• Cathay Pacific appears to have converted a pair of Airbus A350-1000s to the Smaller-900 variant, the Hong Kong-based carrier’s half-year accounts indicate.

Sources: Boeing, Icelandair, Cessna, Cathay Pacific, KLM, Vistara.

AIR CARGO

         GECAS Cargo Tops Up Orderbook with More 737-800BCFs

GECAS(GE Capital Aviation Services) signed an agreement with Boeing converting 11 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter(BCF) options to firm orders and adding nine additional options to the GECAS Cargo order book.

This agreement marks a repeat order by the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric for the 737-800BCF, bringing their total order book for the type to 74(60 firm and 14 options) since the narrowbody conversion program was announced in 2015.  The 20 in this agreement are scheduled to complete conversions between 2022 and 2024.  To date, Boeing has delivered 23 of the converted 737-800BCFs to GECAS for its leasing customers.

“It is an honor to extend our strong partnership with GECAS as they place their third repeat order for the 737-800BCF.  GECAS is renowned for providing great freighter solutions and this order is another testament to the 737-800BCF’s ability to extend the life of an airplane and help cargo carriers reduce operating costs,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing, The Boeing Company.

Source: GECAS

             S7 Plans to Receive Two Boeing Boeing 737-800BCFs

S7 has signed a contract with GECAS to supply two Boeing 737-800BCF air freighters, the Russian air carrier said on Thursday August 13th.  These are the first airplanes fully focused on freight transportation only in the airline fleet.

S7 Airlines ”plans to receive two Boeing 737-800BCF aircraft in November 2020 and in January 2021.”  S7 Cargo, the master agent for sales of freight transportation by S7 Group of companies, will implement commercial management of cargo traffic, the company said .

“ The extra capabilities will be engaged in destinations with high demand and limited capabilities of freight compartments of passenger aircraft.  The wide geography of S7 Airlines’ flights, cooperation with leading logistical companies and branched network of agents enable us to carry various categories of goods and mail within short terms and support efficient loading of aircraft.  According to our estimate, new airplanes will enable increasing the volume of transported cargo and mail by 30%,” S7 cargo CEO IIya Yaroslavtsev said in a comment.

Source: Russian Aviation/ Picture S7

                OTHER NOTEWORTHY NEWS

       Boeing Recognized for Sustainability Leadership

On August 13, 2020, Boeing received a 2020 Sustainability Leadership Award from the National Association of Manufactures.

The award recognizes the company’s innovative efforts to recycle aerospace carbon fiber, diverting waste away from landfills across the globe.

Since 2018, Boeing has partnered with UK based ELG Carbon Fiber to recycle excess aerospace carbon fiber.  Boeing collects the scrap material, which ELG then treats in a furnace to remove binding agents. The result of the process is clean material that can be sold to third parties to make products such as electronic accessories and automotive equipment.

“Boeing is demonstrating that you can be environmentally sustainable in a cost effective way,” said Bryan Scott, vice president of Environment, Health & Safety at Boeing.  ”We are the largest consumer of aerospace-grade composite and the only company able to recycle 100% of it.”

The carbon fiber recycling process has now been implemented at 11 of Boeing’s global airplane manufacturing sites.  Most excess carbon fiber comes from sites in Australia, the Puget Sound region of Washington state, and Salt lake City,Utah.

Boeing will train companies on the recycling process ,beginning with its supply chain.  “Creating commercially viable solutions for recycling carbon fiber composites is good for the industry and good for the environment”, said Tia Benson, director of advanced Materials and Product Development at Boeing.

Source: Boeing

 

                         

 

Researched and Compiled by : 

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor  

Contact – ekaplanian@msn.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian