Airnews Round Up December 2011
A350 XWB’S TRENT ENGINE ROLLS-OUT
Toulouse – Airbus has completed installation of the first Rolls-Royce Trent XWB flight-test engine on its A380 “flying-test bed” aircraft. The installation was undertaken at Airbus’ Jean- Luc Lagardère site in Toulouse. The aircraft and engine were then prepared for the flight-test campaign which is due to begin shortly. The Trent XWB engine, which is the largest Rolls- Royce turbofan with a 118-inch diameter fan, has been specially designed to power all members of the new Airbus A350 XWB Family.
ARIK AIR JOINS IATA
Lagos – Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest commercial airline, has formally been announced as the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) newest member. The IATA membership follows one year after Arik satisfied the requirements to be registered on the IATA Operational Safety Audit’s (IOSA) register. Arik has already opened interline agreements with Hahn Air and Emirates and is currently speaking with a number of international carriers on code-share arrangements. Arik has also joined up to the IATA Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) for Nigeria, Central and West Africa.
BOEING PARTNERS WITH RWANDAIR
Washington, DC– At one of the world’s largest business summits for US and African businesses, Boeing recently stood with RwandAir and the US Export-Import Bank to sign an agreement for financing for the airline’s two new Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft – RwandAir’s first purchased airplanes. Boeing supported RwandAir to complete the airline’s Information Memorandum (IM) for assisting the airline with financing the two 737-800s, both equipped with the new Boeing Sky Interior, through the US Export-Import Bank (ExIm Bank).
The IM was used for RwandAir’s application for a loan guarantee to finance the two aircraft. The financing for the aircraft came from the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) Bank and was backed by ExIm Bank. PTA Bank is an Eastern and Southern Africa trade and development bank.
EXECUJET’S IS-BAO REGISTRATION
Johannesburg – ExecuJet South Africa has achieved the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) certification. The foundation of IS-BAO is the development of a safety management system to assess the risks encountered in flight operations. It is modelled on the ISO 9000 family of standards. Validation of the entire process has to be completed by an independent audit. ExecuJet’s flight department and management invested considerable time and effort to develop and implement this world-class business aviation code of practice. In achieving this milestone, ExecuJet Africa has joined the list of proactive flight departments around the world that have implemented IS-BAO to manage the safety, security and efficiency of their operations.
JETBLUE SIGNS FOR 40 A320NEO
Toulouse – In a deal which formalises a commitment announced earlier, JetBlue Airways has finalised its
firm order for 40 A320neo aircraft . The airline has not yet announced its engine selection for the A320neo order. With this contract, JetBlue also converts 30 of its pre-existing orders for A320s to the larger A321 model with enhanced wingtip devices called Sharklets. In total JetBlue currently has on order 40 A320neo aircraft, 30 A321s and 22 A320s.
LUFTHANSA’S NEW SCHEDULE
Frankfurt – Lufthansa has added three new destinations to its route network – Rio de Janeiro, Aberdeen and London Gatwick – thus bringing the number of destinations it serves to 198 in 82 countries. Lufthansa’s seasonal Cape Town flight restarted at the end of October. The city is now being served
daily with a non-stop flight using the Boeing B747- 400 doubling its service to South Africa.
ETHIOPIAN CODE SHARE
Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Airlines, claimed to be the fastest growing African Airline, last month began code share operations with Singapore Airlines. According to the agreement, Ethiopian will code share on Singapore Airlines’ operating flights between Singapore and Dubai and Singapore Airlines will code share on Ethiopian operating flights between Addis Ababa and Dubai. Ethiopian currently serves Dubai 20 times a week.
ATNS APPOINTMENT
Johannesburg – The SA Air Traffic and Navigation Service company (ATNS) has announced the appointment of Percy Morokane as the external communications officer in the marketing and communications team. Morokane holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Transport Economics, an Intermediate Degree Qualification in Commerce and has undergone extensive media training at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, the Midrand Graduate Institute and the Public Relations Institute of SA.
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