Take a money-losing MRO, add the sudden departure of its CEO and the loss of business, and the rumors start flying like plates at a Greek wedding. Example: the company is up for sale, desperately seeking partners or about to go out of business. Such was case with Montreal-based ExelTech Aerospace, whose CEO Derek Nice resigned this summer as chairman and CEO. Also finding the exit was CFO Roland Blais.
AeroLogic chose Boeing’s web-based Maintenance Performance Toolbox and Airplane Health Management to support its 777F maintenance documentation. The carrier, a 50/50 joint venture of DHL Express and Lufthansa Cargo, will use AHM to monitor its Boeing 777 freighters. The product is designed to be a real-time fault management tool to identify maintenance needs and communicate with ground teams.
Pratt & Whitney Canada inked an 11-year fleet management program deal with JetSuite, a private jet charter company. P&WC will maintain its charter fleet of PW617F-powered Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft, including scheduled and unscheduled engine maintenance and engine trend condition monitoring.
Eurocopter reopened the Cape Town MRO facility operated by its Eurocopter Southern Africa subsidiary on Sept. 18, following ZAR$2 million in expansion and refurbishment. Eurocopter Canada also expanded its Richmond, B.C., facility, which now comprises 11,700 sq. ft. dedicated to technical support, logistics and spare parts for Canadian customers.
ASD/ENSA , surrendered STC to install mounting brackets for VOR antenna and APX-78 radar beacon located in the vertical tail tip of Boeing 747 and 747-200B series aircraft, STC SA697GL
Rolls-Royce signed a long-term CorporateCare agreement with private investment management firm Berwind. The deal covers support for Berwind’s BR725-powered Gulfstream G650, which is scheduled to enter service in the second half of 2012. Rolls says it has signed 150 new CorporateCare deals to date. Another first for Rolls: the first Trent engines entered service in Latin America, equipping Avianca’s first of 10 Bogota-based, Trent 700-powered Airbus A330s.
Goodrich and SilkAir signed a long-term flight hour agreement to cover engine nacelle maintenance for the Singapore Airlines-owned regional carrier’s Airbus A320s. The 12-year deal provides for the Goodrich nacelles to be repaired at Goodrich Aerostructures Service Center–Asia (GASCA) in Singapore.
Bombardier added the Learjet 85 to its Smart Parts program, which will be available to support the all-composite aircraft once it enters service. The base program provides cost-per-flight-hour support for airframe system component and avionics support, and it can be upgraded to include engine support and/or comprehensive maintenance coverage.
An October safety audit found four Indonesian airlines failed to meet minimum safety standards, while four carriers who previously had had their AOCs suspended met the standards and resumed operations. Carriers that failed to meet the audit’s standards are Pura Wisata Baruna, Sampoerna Nusantara, Dabi Air Nusantara and Atlas Deltasatya. They have three months to bring their operations into compliance.
Learjet , to install the Universal Avionics Systems UNS-1B Plus flight management system software upgrade and Rockwell Collins DME-42 system upgrade on Learjet 35A (C-21A) aircraft, STCs ST00018MC-D and ST00017MC-D
Airbus announced two agreements with members of its MRO network to provide aftermarket services for aircraft leased to Singapore Airlines. A deal inked Sept. 23 with ST Aerospace subsidiary ST Aviation Services Co. Pte Ltd. (SASCO) covers heavy maintenance checks for the 19 A330 aircraft leased to Singapore Airlines. The work is expected to begin in 2015, and should be conducted over 18 months, according to ST Aerospace. SR Technics will manage and repair some 350 components for the 19 A330s.
Learjet , amended STC to install a Honeywell TCAS II on Bombardier CL-600-2A12 (CL-601), 600-2B16 (CL-601-3A), CL-600-2B16 (CL-601-3R) and CL-600-2B16 (CL-604) aircraft, STC SA8054NM-D
STOL Aviation , reissued STC to modify the powerplant installation, fuselage (other than weld assembly), wing flaps and tail wheel installation to conform to the designs of the corresponding installations, assemblies and components of the Model S-1B2 airplane (Army L-6 XL-6), STC SA622AL
Nomad Aviation picked Inmedius’ S1000D publishing suite management, authoring and publishing modules to manage its technical content and support its S1000D and ATA iSPEC 2200 projects. Contracts
Western Skyways , reissued STC to install Teledyne Continental TSIO-520-VB engines in place of existing Teledyne Continental TSIO-520-EB engines on Cessna 401B, 402B, 402A and 401A helicopters, STC SA09007SC
Jetcraft Avionics installed the first Elbit-Kollsman EVS II for an aftermarket application on a Bombardier Challenger 604. The company expects to receive FAA certification for the installation, which aims to improve situational awareness and make flights safer, by the end of the year.
The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) ordered 91 additional F110-GE-129C turbofans, costing more than $750 million, to re-engine its F-15S multi-role combat aircraft. This contract follows the 2007 RSAF selection of 65 F110 engines to re-engine 29 F-15S fighters, with a combined value of the 156 F110 powerplants and logistics support package exceeding $750 million. Deliveries will start later this year.
Page AvJet Corp. , surrendered STCs to install a Sperry PRIMUS800 x band color radar system and dual Sperry ADZ800 air data computer system with VN 801 vertical navigation system on Boeing 727-100 series aircraft, STCs SA1655SO and SA1658SO
I am pretty cynical when it comes to airline mergers. I quickly lose patience with all the “wave of consolidation” talk that sweeps through the industry every few years. If all the mergers happened that the “experts” predicted would happen over the past two decades, there’d be maybe a half dozen airlines left in the world.
P.G. MacKay, Canada's minister for National Defense and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced a new overland surveillance capability for the Canadian Forces (CF) maritime patrol Lockheed Martin CP-140/A P-3 Aurora aircraft. Valued at approximately $20 million, the project will deliver the mission systems required to improve the Aurora’s ability to conduct primarily domestic sovereignty and security missions.
Pratt & Whitney Canada opened a new parts distribution center in Sydney, to serve customers in Australia and New Zealand. Pratt & Whitney Component Solutions also operates centers in Singapore and Amsterdam. The OEM further signed a letter of intent with ITR-Turborreactores, S.A. de CV, to establish the Querétaro, Mexico, MRO provider as a designated service provider center of excellence for Pratt & Whitney JT8D component repair.
