Category: PRs

Northern Pacific Airways is finalizing its plans to launch a new low-cost long-haul airline on June 2nd with a fleet of 757-200 aircraft. While route plans are being firmed up, the airline plans to fly to destinations such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York city and Orlando from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The airline is planning to attract passengers embarking on weekend breaks to Las Vegas and looking for a quick and affordable mode of transport. Flights will take just one hour, while driving between the Los Angeles area and Las Vegas clocks in at over four hours.

Northern Pacific has inked a deal with TRAX to implement the web-based eMRO software system to
manage maintenance activities on its fleet. Implementing the eMRO cloud solution with its leading-
edge technology will bring many advantages to Northern Pacific. Its users will work paperless and have
maximum mobility while accessing required documentation and electronic data, viewing assigned
maintenance tasks, receiving real-time updates on planned and completed work, tapping into
integrated materials modules, and an overall increase in lowered costs, enhanced productivity, and
efficiency.

Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon (LTTS) officially opened its new Engine Parts & Accessories Repair (EPAR) facility in Shannon at the end of March. The new 2,000 m2 state-of-the-art facility brings LTTS’ total capacity for aircraft engine maintenance and repair in the region to 10,000 m2. This development enables LTTS to expand its portfolio by including Engine Manifolds among its specialist services. The primary function of Engine Manifolds is to distribute air or fluids for optimal engine performance. When manifolds become damaged or worn, they can diminsh engine performance and lead to increased emissions.  

LTTS has been operating in Ireland since 1992. In the past two years alone, the company has added an additional 106 people to its workforce and now employs more than 300 people across its operations in Shannon, Kildare and Dublin.  

 The new Shannon facility has already resulted in the creation of 25 additional jobs and LTTS CEO, Michael Malewski says that as the company continues to grow and diversify, recruitment remains a priority. “Today is a very exciting day for the business in Ireland. With this new facility we are diversifying our product portfolio and enhancing our manufacturing capabilities to better serve our customers’ needs. The diversification and expansion of our core MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) services portfolio has happened fast and the LTTS team has worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition. I believe we have some of the best people in the world working for us at each of our three locations, but we need even more as we experience rapid post-pandemic recovery.” He highlighted a particular need for more experienced aviation engineers as well as qualified mechanics and engineers from any field interested in moving into the aviation industry.  

Speaking at the launch of the new facility, Malewski paid tribute to the Irish government, the IDA, Shannon Chamber and Shannon Airport Group for their continued support in facilitating the growth of LTTS in Ireland. “As a result of strong cooperation from key stakeholders we have realised our latest ambitions for the company in Ireland and our growth path is now wide open. I believe that the opportunities for LTTS in Ireland are significant and we are in a strong position to deliver innovative solutions that will drive the aviation industry forward,” he said. 

The announcement comes on the back of the recent launch of Lufthansa Technik’s Mobile Engine Services facility in Kildare.  

Emitech, a French company in environmental testing to ensure compliance with applicable standards and regulations, announced the inauguration of its new test center dedicated to the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of electronic equipment, as well as vehicle homologation and large system qualification.

A unique testing facility in Europe
Emitech Group laboratories are specialized in environmental testing, subjecting equipment to stresses representative of real-world conditions such as extreme temperatures, high humidity, vibration, shock, dust, corrosion and other environmental factors to assess their compliance.

The new test center has the largest (27m x 18m x 10.5m) and most recent Faraday cage built in France. This facility is dedicated to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing to ensure that electronic equipment works together without interference. It is used to meet the needs of homologation (UN ECE R10) of a wide range of vehicles, as well as for the qualification of large systems.

The center has a 2 or 4 wheel drive chassis dynamometer for vehicles to be tested in running order, which can simulate speeds of up to 120km/h and wind speeds of up to 60km/h, with a wheelbase of up to 6 meters and a carrying capacity of up to 6 tonnes per axle, allowing test campaigns to be carried out on truck tractors or agricultural equipment.

The facility includes various easements to accommodate all current and future motorizations: petrol or diesel combustion engines, micro-hybrids, hybrids and rechargeable hybrids, electricity and hydrogen. It also has a heavy load area that can support up to 40 tonnes, allowing it to accommodate construction machinery and equipment of high tonnage and volume encountered in the various sectors of defence, aeronautics, rail, nuclear and industry.

Image caption: Marc Mortureux, DG de la PFA, Mathieu Cognet, PDG Emitech, Stéphane Lassausse DG Emitech, Charles Rodwell, Député de la 1ere circonscription des Yvelines.

Sustainable mobility
This new €10 million investment is part of the Emitech Group’s strategy to support sustainable mobility. It reinforces the Group’s skills in the evaluation of anti-pollution devices with Euro6 and Euro7 measures to support manufacturers and equipment suppliers in their objectives of lowering pollutant emissions. The Emitech Group’s testing and engineering solutions also extend to vehicle sub-assemblies such as lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, powertrains, etc.

https://www.emitech.fr/en/emc-testing-vehicles-emc-testing-large-systems

About the Emitech Group – http://www.emitech.fr

Emitech was created in 1989 and, with its subsidiaries Eurocem, Adetests, Environne’Tech, Pieme, Lefae, EMC, EEA and R&D Moteurs, forms the Emitech Group.
With 600 employees and an expected turnover of nearly 60 million euros in 2022, the Emitech Group has become a midcap.
The Emitech Group is a family-owned and patrimonial company whose head office is located in Montigny-le-Bretonneux (78).
The Group is present on 18 sites with test centres dedicated to the design and validation of current and future mobility solutions on one hand and, on the other, to the qualification, CE marking and marketing of products of all kinds.
Profits are fully reinvested and investments amounting to 12 to 20% of turnover are made each year to develop the range of services offered.

Several projects carried out by the Group have benefited from government support (Ademe, France Relance).
The services offered by the Emitech Group cover environmental requirements and include testing and engineering, training, bench design and metrology. These tests and engineering services are part of sustainable mobility, the safety of goods and people, the construction of product robustness, and support for the launch of products in Europe and around the world.
The Emitech Group is a major player in the implementation of standards that protect consumers and our industries. It is a notified body for several European directives.

It also contributes to national sovereignty by enabling the qualification of defence-related equipment in France. 40% of the Group’s activities are directly related to sustainable mobility.

The Emitech Group is also involved in the evaluation of anti-pollution devices with the Euro6 and now Euro7 measures in order to support manufacturers and equipment suppliers in their objectives of lowering pollutant emissions. The Emitech Group’s services cover the whole range of sustainable mobility, from electrically assisted bicycles to eVTOLs.

By Ian Harbison

While Lufthansa Technik has got over the worst of the effects of the pandemic, it still has a way to go. That was the view of CEO Soeren Stark as he announced the 2022 annual results on 7 March.

Headline figures were record-breaking revenues of €5.6 billion for Lufthansa Technik AG and its fully consolidated companies, up 41% from €362 million the previous year; adjusted EBIT with a new record at €511 million (up 39% from €4.0 billion); and 706 contracts concluded with new business worth €9.6 billion, including 28 new customers By the end of 2022, the company was looking after more than 4,200 aircraft for more than 800 customers, even with the loss of contracts with Russian operators worth €240 million covering 450 aircraft that were cancelled in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.

Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) accounted for €6.127 million of new business, with €2.373 million from the Americas region and just €1.060 million Asia Pacific, where the company sees major opportunities for future growth. In fact, it sees the global MRO market exceeding its pre-pandemic level as early as this year, with a total volume of around €96 billion and distributed evenly across the three sales regions.

The improvements came from increased flying from a recovering airline industry, which meant increased maintenance requirements and an advantageous US dollar exchange rate. Internally, the RISE cost cutting program saw the disposal of Lufthansa Technik Shannon to Atlantic Aviation Group; the disposal of Lufthansa Technik Brussels and LTMI to Sabena Aerospace; the transfer of line maintenance in Munich to the parent airline; and the closure of a wheels and brakes shop in Frankfurt.

However, the effect of the pandemic meant that around 20% of the workforce were lost through disposals and redundancies. Those staff shortages, and those suffered by suppliers, have slowed down work, a situation that is likely to last until 2024. A massive recruitment drive is now under way, including the rehiring of experienced former employees. In Germany alone, it filled more than 2,100 vacancies last year, both internally and externally, and plans to hire around 2,000 new employees in Germany this year, and a total of around 4,000 worldwide. New employees will become ‘Aviationeers’ (a combination of ‘Aviation’ and ‘Pioneers’), covering a wide range of skills and international specialists. In addition, compensation increases and profit-sharing schemes are being resumed after the crisis, as well as work-life balance solutions such as converting bonus payments into time off. Some €50 million has been allocated for training and qualifications overall.

Another financial aftershock from the pandemic is that the company is looking to secure a minority shareholder. Discussions are being held with interested parties with a decision expected by Q3 at the latest. Stark hinted that bankruptcy had been looming during the crisis. However, with improved figures, the company is significantly expanding its investment activities. While the past fiscal year saw only a slight increase of 4% in total investment to €99 million, a much higher level of capital expenditure is planned for the coming years. A total of €65 million is earmarked for the continued construction of a hydraulics workshop at the Hamburg site, which was suspended during the pandemic and is now scheduled for completion by 2025. With continuing high demand for cabin completions and maintenance for VIP aircraft, a ‘high-double-digit million’ euro investment will be made in new interior workshops in Hamburg, along with an adjoining paint center.

The company is also looking to further increase its share of what Stark called the ‘gray aircraft market, having signed letters of intent with strategic partners in the past fiscal year on the Boeing CH-47 Chinook and P-8A Poseidon. Close cooperation with the Special Air Mission Wing of the German Federal Ministry of Defense is extremely important, with medevac conversions of two Airbus A321LR handed over last year and a third A350 VIP aircraft delivered shortly after the results announcement. The company is also working with Bombardier on three Global 6000 aircraft for the PEGASUS program for the German armed forces. The company will integrate the Kalætron Integral SIGINT system developed by project leader HENSOLDT.

Over the next few years, the Aircraft Component Services division is expected to continue its recovery and a positive trend in demand is also expected in the Aircraft Maintenance Services division, which will also be accompanied by rising prices due to the global shortage of hangar capacities for major checks. In fact, to the company’s surprise, A380 demand will see a third overhaul line established at Lufthansa Technik Philippines. In the Engine Services division, Lufthansa Technik anticipates significant catchup effects from the crisis period in 2023 and 2024, while the first shop visits will become due for the LEAP-1A and LEAP-1B engines and N3, the joint venture with Rolls-Royce, has added the Trent 1000 TEN engine for the Boeing 787.

AllClear Repair Services (AllClear), a subsidiary of AllClear Aerospace & Defense, announced that it has received EASA Part 145 approval in accordance with the provisions of the agreement between the United States and the European Union on cooperation in the regulation of civil aviation safety. In addition to supporting military component repairs, this certification expands AllClear’s current and future commercial capabilities to service the greater global community by offering dual release certifications.

“We are excited about our latest accomplishment of adding EASA Part 145 certification to our repair station. This certification allows us to further expand our existing global customer base and offer more solutions to customers requiring dual release authority,” stated Nick Gimbel, director of MRO for AllClear Repair Services.

In a recent project, SPAES performed a Minor Change in a H 125 / AS 350 Airbus Helicopters which included the installation of an iPad Mount, an USB-Charger and the refurbishment of the complete cabin interior. 

For design and certification, a Minor Change was carried out in coordination with the customer and the EASA Part 21J Design Organisation of SPAES. In the next step, the installation documentation was created. After completing the installation tests, the documentation was finalized and the installation’s Minor Change was issued. The installation was performed at the customer’s own Part 145 maintenance organization. 

The iPad mount is installed on the LH instrument panel in the helicopter and improves the crew’s situational awareness. What sets the iPad mount apart from other mounts is the integrated fan blower to reduce the possibility of overheating. On the iPad, NAV-Charts such as airport diagrams and instrument departures can all be displayed. 

With the installation of the new USB Charger, the pilots can quickly and reliably charge all the required devices during the operation of the helicopter by VFR day and night,” says Joachim Kies, Head of Operations at SPAES GmbH & Co. KG. 

The existing interior was removed, and the seats and covers were refurbished with the new parts.