ON THE BOEING FRONT

               Boeing Global Services Continues to Be On the Roll

Boeing’s services business has signed a series of orders and contracts from Asia-Pacific carriers, primarily for its digital products.

This comes on the back of a Boeing Global Services forecast projecting the Asia-Pacific commercial aviation services market will grow 5% annually over the next twenty years.  By 2038, it is estimated to be worth $3.4 billion.

Boeing announced that Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo signed a deal for crew and aircraft scheduling and management solutions offered by Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen.

Japanese low-cost operator Peach Aviation has signed for Boeing’s digital aircraft positioning products.  Chinese carriers, Shandong Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines, both renewed multi-year contracts for various Jeppesen products as well.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific and Philippine Airlines inked deals with Boeing for performance improvement packages for their Boeing 777-300ER fleets.

The second version of the packages feature aircraft modifications, associated retrofit parts kits and accompanying service bulletins.  These  will improve aircraft fuel efficiency, payload and range capability without requiring airlines to significantly change operational policies or procedures, says Boeing.

Lastly, Malaysia Airlines signed a consumables and expendables services agreement, allowing Boeing to provide supply chain solutions.

Source : Boeing

                      

ON THE AIRBUS FRONT

              Airbus Inaugurates Automated Fuselage Line in Hamburg                         

Airbus has inaugurated an automated fuselage structure assembly line for the A320 family of aircraft in Hamburg, the company announced on October 1st.

The new facility features 20 robots, new logistics concept, automated positioning by laser measurement, and digital data acquisition system.

For the initial section assembly, Airbus uses a modular, lightweight automated system called Flextrack, which employs eight robots and counter-sinking 1,100 to 2,400 holes per longitudinal joint.  In the next production step,12 robots, each operating on seven axes, combine the center and aft fuselage sections with the tail to form one major component, drilling, counter-sinking, sealing, and inserting 3,000 rivets per orbital joint.

Besides the use of robots, Airbus will implement new methods and technologies in material and parts logistics to aid production efficiency, improve ergonomics, and shorten lead times. The initiative includes the separation of logistics and production levels, demand-oriented material replenishment, and use of autonomous guided vehicles.

The Hamburg structure assembly facility carries responsibility for joining single fuselage shells into sections and final assembly of single sections to aircraft fuselages.  Mechanics equip aircraft parts with electrical and mechanical systems their delivery to the final assembly lines in France, Germany, China, and the U.S.

Source : ainonline/Picture Airbus             

        

REGIONAL/BUSINESS JETS

              Flagship Cessna Citation Longitude Enters Service

Textron Aviation has announced the first deliveries of the company’s new flagship Cessna Citation Longitude super-midsize business jet, which it says signals the start of a new dimension in business travel.

“The newly certified Citation Longitude brings unrivaled technology to the business travel market, for both the passenger and the pilot, offering our customers the most efficient and productive super-midsize jet now in operation,” said Ron Draper, president and CEO.  ”We are thrilled to now transition this program into service.”

The Longitude features the longest maintenance intervals in its class—800 hours or 18 months—and is the most cost-effective aircraft in its category.

“The Longitude was designed around maximizing reliability and operational availability for our customers,” said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, global Customer support.

Source : Textron Aviation/Picture Textron Aviation

                                                                       

OTHER AVIATION NEWS

   Aeroflot Announce Contract on 777 Passenger Cabin Modifications

Aeroflot and Boeing announced a contract to modify passenger cabins on 18 of the Russian flagship carrier’s 777-300ERs.

Boeing will perform engineering work and supply component kits for the planned cabin interior reconfiguration.

“It’s a great honor that a leading Russian carrier selected Boeing solutions,” said Stan Deal, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Global Services.  ”Aeroflot is an experienced 777 operator and we are pleased to provide them with the expertise that will support their implementation, long-term strategic growth and development plans.” 

Aeroflot is a member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance.  It serves 159 destinations in 54 countries.  Aeroflot’s 249-strong fleet is the youngest of any airline worldwide that operates more than 100 aircraft.  In 2018, Aeroflot carried 35.8 million passengers.

Source : Boeing/Picture Aeroflot

         Gulf Air Receives its Seventh 787-9 Dreamliner with New Livery

The airline received the aircraft at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC.In attendance at the event marking the arrival, which took place ahead of Gulf Air’s 70th anniversary, was the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and Chairman of Gulf Air’s Board of Directors, HE Zayed, R. Alzayani and the United States Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur L.Ross.

Attendees toured the aircraft, which displayed a redesigned vintage of the Golden Falcon Locheed TriStar livery, representing the company’s iconic design from the 1970s.

Alzayani said: “It gives me great honor to reveal this special livery which would definitely resonate nostalgically with our global audience.The revival of this livery is a homage to our resilient national carrier as it celebrates being one of the first established carriers in the Middle East and how it continues to connect the Kingdom of Bahrain to the world”.

The new Dreamliner will join the fleet by the end of this month, increasing the total number of Dreamliners operated by the airline to seven aircraft following the delivery of three more by 2021.

Source : Arabian Aerospace

      Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Delays Entry into Service of A350-1000 Jets

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways is delaying the entry into service of five Airbus A350-1000 jets as it strives to return to profitability after three consecutive years of losses.

The state-owned carrier has been downsizing its fleet and route network following a failed strategy to rapidly expand to compete with more established Gulf airlines like Emirates.

The Spokesman for the airline said the largest version of the A350 jet remained important to Etihad’s future plans, but did not say when the airline would start using it.  Airbus declines to comment, referring questions to Etihad.

Etihad has canceled billions of dollars in aircraft orders, including for 40 of the smaller A350-900 jets and two A350-1000s, as part of a five-year turnaround strategy started in 2016.  It has committed to take delivery of five A350-1000s from a current order of 20.

Etihad replaced the management who led the aggressive expansion strategy, which also included investments in airlines that later ceased operations due to their own financial turbulence.

Source : Reuters   

      

LATEST NEWS

• SpiceXpress has taken delivery of its first 737-800 Boeing converted Freighter (BCF)

• Pegasus Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo on September 11, equipped with a 239-seat high-density cabin layout.

• China’s AVIC begins first MA700 assembly; on September 27, aiming for first flight in 2020 and certification in 2022.

• EasyJet UK budget carrier has emerged as the recipient of the 9,000th Airbus A320-family jet to undergo delivery to customers.

• Turkmenistan Airlines buys a Boeing 777-200LR which is planned for delivery in January 2021.

• Mongolian Airlines will receive its first Boeing 787-9 from Air Lease Finance in the Spring of 2021.

• Saudia the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has welcomed its first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner with a special ceremony that included a water cannon salute at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport on Monday September 30.

• Flydubai introduces Split Scimitar Winglets on its NG Boeing 737-800 fleet.

• Boeing says it remains fully committed to the development of the ultra-long-range 777-8 variant despite its decision to shelve development to focus on recovering the schedule of the baseline 777-9.

• ATR regional aircraft manufacturer, confirms it has received authorization from the board of directors for the launch of the ATR 42-600S.

 

Sources: Flightglobal, Boeing, Arabian Aerospace, World Airline News, Airbus.

 

AIR CARGO

           Express Cargo Operator Atran Adds Extra 737-800 BCF

 

Russian express airline Atran has added another freighter to its fleet as it continues adding capacity to cater for an e-commerce bonanza.

The addition of a second Boeing 737-800 BCF brings the Volga-Dnepr-owned airline’s fleet to six aircraft.

Atran has now taken delivery of three freighters this year and its fleet also includes four 737-400Fs and another 23t-capacity 737-800BCF.

The company says that the additional capacity will help it meet growing demand for e-commerce shipments, including mail, between China, Russia and CIS states.

The 737-800BCF is 19ft (6m) longer than the -400F variant and also has a wider cargo door.

Atran says that the “step-by-step” fleet expansion and addition of new destinations has allowed it to achieve a “more than 15-fold volume upsurge from China to Russia, eight fold increase of domestic traffic, and more than six-fold uptick from Europe to Russia.”

Source : Volga-Dnepr/Flightglobal/Picture Atran Airlines

 

MAINTENANCE, REPAIR AND OVERHAUL NEWS

                  Japan Airlines Strives for No Irregular Operations

Japan Airlines is a bit of a phoenix that has risen past adversity and now has an engineering division that is striving toward achieving the highest safety goals, what it terms zero, zero, 100 irregular operations and inflight shutdowns; zero flight squawks and 100% on-time departure. 

Since starting its zero, zero, 100 safety goals in 2017,JAL’s flight operations have improved. One big achievement is not having any inflight shutdowns in 2018 and none in 2019 as of this writing, says Yasuo Yoshida, VP maintenance, corporate planning and finance.  This is a first for JAL.

He also revealed that the airline’s on-time domestic and international on-time departure rate is more than 99.38%, as of August.

“We’d like to be first MRO” to reach the zero, zero, 100 goal, he says.  While he says some people think the airline’s goals are “far too high” or “may sound crazy”, he says they are largely driven by three detrimental things: the crash of  flight JA8119, a Boeing 747 that crashed in 1958 and resulted in 520 deaths; the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau issuing a “business improvement order” in 2005 after a series of three unsafe events: and the airline filing bankruptcy in 2010 after accumulating $264 trillion in debt.

“We had given so much trouble to society due to the accident and bankruptcy that we felt that we needed to give back,” says Yoshida. JAL, relisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

 

 

 

Researched and Compiled by :

Ed Kaplanian    Commercial Aviation Advisor 

Contact – ekaplanian@msn.com

Editor:   Lee Kaplanian