1. Akzo and American Supplier: AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings

As airlines continue to watch engine expenses, MROs are being asked by their customers to design customized approaches to service and provide material solutions. The conversation is forcing MRO vendors to search for answers outside their facilities.“A decade ago, the focus of engine maintenance contracts was on supporting the customer—at the time of the shop visit,” says Kristin Kenny, director of Pay Per Hour Programs for Pratt & Whitney Canada. “Now, contracts must be structured to take into account a complete understanding of the customer's operation.”

In Europe and the U.S., new leaders face old challenges

Plans for system to be available to commercial aircraft by 2020

SR Technics and Paris-based carrier Aigle Azur are setting up a line maintenance joint venture (JV) in France that will expand the MRO provider’s presence to four line stations in the country by yearend, the companies report. The JV, which will be based at Paris Orly Airport, immediately will support Aigle Azur’s four Airbus A319s, five A320s and four A321s. Assuming regulatory hurdles are cleared, SR Technics will open line stations in Marseille on July 1 and Lyon “within three months,” an SR Technics spokeswoman tells Aviation Week.

The FAA is calling for “independent inspections” after certain maintenance actions on a large number of CFM56-3 and -7B turbofans in the U.S. fleet, engines that power the Boeing 737 Classic and Next-Generation fleet. A proposed airworthiness directive (AD), to be published today, is designed to prevent total loss of engine oil from the turbofans in situations where mechanics forget to reinstall the “handcranking pad covers” on accessory gearboxes.

Aircraft replacements hold big implications for airline, parts and maintenance businesses.

British safety investigators are recommending that Airbus “formally notify” all operators of A320-family aircraft about a May 24 incident in which the two fan cowl doors on both engines detached from a British Airways A319 departing London Heathrow for Oslo with 75 passengers and five crewmembers. An interim report reveals that two safety nets designed to verify cowls are latched—mechanics’ procedures and pilots’ procedures—did not work as designed, as the aircraft left the gate with its cowls unlatched.