Airnews Round Up February 2011
GRIPEN SUPPORT CONTRACT
Johannesburg – Saab has been awarded an interim support and services contract from Armscor in South Africa involving the South African Air Force´s growing fleet of Gripen C and D advanced fighter aircraft. The agreement covers interim support services for the time until the fleet is fully operational. The contract is an on demandbased contract with a fixed part covering the framework for the 17 months period to end of March 2012.
On demand services are typically maintenance repair and overhaul, engineering support services in Sweden or on base in South Africa and resupply of spares. Saab was also awarded a contract for delivering a multi-emitter environment simulator for Gripen. Saab in South Africa has been contracted to develop and test an interface between the Gripen mission support system and the SAAF current intelligence system.
FRENCH-RUSSIAN JOINT VENTURE
Moscow – Rosoboronexport and Sagem (Safran group) signed an agreement to create a joint venture for inertial navigation systems, at the recent session of the French- Russian inter-governmental commission on bilateral cooperation. The new company will be based in the Russian Federation, with the Russian partner holding 51% and the French partner 49% of the capital.
AVIATION SECURITY INNOVATION
Crawley – Thales UK recently showcased advances in aviation security technology as it delivered the INSTINCT Technology Demonstrator 2 (TD2) aviation security project on behalf of the British Home Office. Technology demonstrated at the event included full-body scanners trialled at Manchester Airport and a walk-through explosive detection system trialled at Glasgow Airport. These were showcased alongside more than 40 other exhibits at Thales UK’s flagship Crawley site. The site has been transformed into a simulated airport experience, from ticketing through to boarding.
Since winning the contract to lead TD2 last July, Thales has received more than 300 expressions of interest, leading to 180 submissions from small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), academia and industry
SOFIA AIRBORNE
Palmdale – A US-German infrared observatory mounted in a Boeing has flown its inaugural scientific flight, a mission to better understand how stars form. The modified B747SP jetliner completed the flight recently, returning to its base in Palmdale, in the Mojave Desert, after 10 hours of cruising at high altitude. The telescope, which is 100 inches in diameter, targeted the “star-making factory”, Orion Nebula, and a young forming star cluster 3 000 light-years from Earth. The maiden flight was the first of three initial scientific flights planned and marked the start of a 20-year observing campaign. The joint NASA and German Aerospace Centre project is called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA for short.
BAR CODED PASSES
Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced an historic milestone in passenger travel with the 100% worldwide implementation of 2D bar coded boarding passes (BCBP) which replaces the previous generation of more expensive and less efficient magnetic stripe boarding passes. “The magnetic stripe boarding passes are on their way to a history museum next to the paper ticket. After electronic ticketing in 2008, the conversion to BCBP is the next important step to provide passengers with more convenience and choice. ”Completing many tasks during the journey will now take seconds with the swipe of a bar code,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. The completion of the industry project gives passengers greater choice in checkingin at home, at a kiosk, on a mobile device or at an airport check-in counter.
BCBP also allows airlines to issue a single, printed boarding pass for multiple flights, simplifying the journey for passengers with flight connections or those travelling on different airlines. In addition, BCBP opens the door for automated access to premium services. For example, with a scan of a BCBP, eligible passengers can access fast-track security lanes or lounges. Airlines issue over two-billion boarding passes every year. The conversion to printed 2D BCBP has been a five-year project and will save the industry up to US$1,5-billion every year
AVOLON A320 ORDER
Toulouse – Ireland-based aircraft leasing group, Avolon, has announced a firm order for eight A320 aircraft from Airbus. The aircraft will all be equipped with the new fuel-saving Sharklets option. Avolon will make an engine selection for the aircraft in the near future.
AIR AUSTRAL’S B737-800S
Seattle – Boeing has delivered a Next- Generation 737-800 to Air Austral, as part of the airline’s modernisation plan for its medium-haul fleet. The aircraft is the first of two the airline has ordered to replace one 737-300 and one 737-500 in its fleet. Air Austral is headquartered in St. Denis, Reunion, a French Department island located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
CORVALIS DELIVERIES STOPPED
Wichita – Cessna has suspended deliveries of the Corvalis line of high-performance singles after the composite structure of the wing of a newly built aircraft “unbonded” during the plane’s shakedown flight. “During a production flight of a new Corvalis 400, a wing fuel leak was detected,” Cessna spokesman Doug Oliver explained. “Working closely with the FAA, we took immediate steps to understand the root cause. We now fully understand the cause and have a solution.” The FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive saying that seven feet (2,1 metres) of skin had “unbonded” from the upper forward wing spar. Cessna didn’t say what the fix was but the effect is limited to eight aircraft, none of which is yet in service. It could, however, delay deliveries.
ETHIOPIAN EYES B777 FREIGHTERS
Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Airlines was contemplating acquiring Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, the outgoing Ethiopian CEO, Girma Wake, told our correspondent, Kaleyesus Bekele, in a recent interview (see also page 58). Wake said that the surge in the amount of cargo the airline was hauling had prompted the management to acquire new Boeing 777 freighters. Talks were currently being held with Boeing and the outcome of these negotiations together with a study its officials were making, would determine how many of the aircraft the airline would order, he said. Meanwhile, Ethiopian Airlines’ flight training academy has signed an order with Diamond Simulation GmbH & Co. for its first DA40 flight simulator in the AE300 Austro diesel engine configuration. The simulator is scheduled for delivery at the end of this month.
MORE ROUTES FOR EGYPTAIR
Cairo – EgyptAir, is to open more routes in Africa, according to Hussien Massoud, the carrier’s CEO who told World Airnews that his company would inaugurate the new routes to Lusaka and Accra soon. EgyptAir has also increased its frequencies to Paris, Rome and London and is planning to launch a new flight to Toronto in the near future.
PRECISION AIR SEEKS MORE CAPITAL
Dar es Salaam – Precision Air Limited has announced that it was going to sell shares with the view of raising its capital. Alphonse Kioko, CEO of Precision, told World Airnews that his company would float shares to the public for sale in order to raise the company’s capital and to buy more aircraft. Established in 1991, Precision Air is based in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. Kenya Airways has a 49% stake in the company, the remaining shares being owned by a private investor, Michael Ngaleku Shirima. The airline serves 10 domestic and three international destinations. It operates one B737-300 and four ATR42s and five ATR72s.
FOKKER JOINS MEBAA
Amsterdam – In response to its rapidly expanding Middle East and North African customer base, Fokker Aircraft Services (FAS) has become one of the newest members of the Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA). In recent years FAS hangars have seen increasingly more Boeing and Airbus aircraft being received for a range of VIP completion, conversion and refurbishment programmes, in addition to maintenance, repair and overhaul services. FAS recently delivered of a VIP Airbus A318 completed for a Middle-Eastbasedcustomer based in the Middle East and is at present is completing the conversion of an African customer’s A320.
KOREA SELECTS C-130J
Marietta, Ga. – Lockheed Martin has signed a contract with the Republic of Korea to provide four C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for its transport fleet. Korea’s new Super Hercules will be the longer fuselage or “stretched” combat delivery variant. Deliveries will be in 2014.
NEW CARGO MANAGER
Johannesburg – Dr. Ruediger Munzert has been named Lufthansa Cargo’s new general manager for southern Africa and Senegal. Dr. Munzert will manage outside as well as inside sales functions and ensure quality ground handling at Lufthansa Cargo’s largest African hub in Johannesburg, as well as in Cape Town, Luanda and Dakar. He took up his new position in Johannesburg last month and will report to Hermann Zunker, Lufthansa Cargo’s Director for Africa, who is also based in Johannesburg.
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