Category: PRs

AAR has signed a long-term, multi-million-dollar contract to provide power-by-the-hour (PBH) component inventory management and repair services to Dubai-based flydubai. The agreement represents a significant expansion of AAR’s commercial footprint in the Middle East.

 

AAR will assume nose-to-tail management of components and repairs for flydubai’s Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 fleet, starting with 53 aircraft and increasing to 60. In November 2013, flydubai announced an order for 75 737 MAX 8s and 11 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s valued at $8.8 billion at list prices in addition to purchase rights for 25 more 737 MAXs. In 2015, flydubai carried more than nine million passengers across its network of more than 85 destinations, becoming the second largest carrier, by passenger numbers, operating out of Dubai International.

 

“As flydubai continues on its robust growth trajectory, it must optimize its fleet’s performance while minimising costs and aircraft-on-ground time,” said Deepak Sharma, president, AAR international supply chain.

 

“Focusing our efforts on supporting customers in the Middle East region has paid off,” said AAR’s Rahul Shah, senior vice president, Strategic Growth and Business Development, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. “We are pleased that flydubai has entrusted AAR to provide long-term component support of its Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 fleet.”

 

Mick Hill, SVP Engineering and Maintenance at flydubai said: “We continue to invest in technologies and partnerships that strengthen our commitment to maintain the highest levels of efficiency in our operations and cost management systems. We are excited about our component inventory management and repair services agreement with AAR which will help us reduce aircraft-on-ground time and consequently contribute to the bottom line.”

Commsoft has been chosen to supply its MRO IT system, OASES (Open Aviation Strategic Engineering System) to the French business class airline, La Compagnie.

 

The contract represents Commsoft’s first direct customer in France and OASES will support La Compagnie’s operations for its current fleet of two Boeing 757-200s.

 

Commsoft signed the deal licensing the Paris-based airline for five concurrent users, starting immediately. La Compagnie’s OASES licence covers a number of engineering and maintenance modules. Its OASES site is hosted on Commsoft’s private cloud and the chosen modules include core, airworthiness, planning, materials and line maintenance control.

 

Nick Godwin, Managing Director of Commsoft, commented: “We are delighted to be awarded this OASES contract by one of France’s most exciting up-and-coming business class airlines.”

 

Yann Poudoulec, EVP Technical Director, added: “We found OASES to be a very smart system with a lot of very practical functions that are not always present on legacy systems and the human interface is very intuitive. Thanks to the great support of the Commsoft team, the implementation and transfer of the fleet was done in less than two months after signature of the contract, all changes were audited and fully approved by the French CAA.”
OASES currently serves more than 100 aviation customers worldwide, ranging from national carriers and large third-party maintenance providers to small independent operators. It is a fully integrated MRO IT system that is crucial for maintaining effective aviation maintenance and engineering operations for airlines, CAMOs and associated organisations.

Piedmont Propulsion’s Charles M. Childress has received this year’s Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

 

The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is named in honour of Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight who served as the Wright brothers’ mechanic and is credited with designing and building the engine for their first successful aircraft.

 

The Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award recognises the lifetime accomplishments of senior mechanics. Taylor Mr. Childress’s extraordinary career spans 50 years, starting with service in the United States Air Force.  Since January 1970, he has been a dedicated team member with Piedmont Propulsion Systems and predecessor firms in Winston-Salem, NC.  Childress performed maintenance on Dowty, Hamilton Sundstrand, Hartzell and McCauley propellers as a technician, crew chief, quality inspector and manager.

 

Sammy Oakley, General Manager of PPS said that Childress “has been an integral part of the success of Piedmont Propulsion Systems and his leadership has resulted in the training of generations of mechanics.  We are truly proud that Charles is part of our organisation.”  The Ceremony was held at Piedmont Propulsion Systems’ headquarters facility that is also named in his honour.

The three-airline group Amaszonas Líneas Aéreas Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay recently went through the “Go Live” phase of Seabury Solutions’ Alkym / Aircraft Management and Control System (Alkym), an integrated modular solution designed to optimize aircraft technical operations.

 

Amaszonas Líneas Aéreas group president Sergio Urioste remarked: “The requirement to create order and organise the management and control of the group inventory combined with the maintenance planning and control drove the initial needs for a new MRO IT solution.”

 

Based on that premise, the group started an assessment process of the different software solutions alternatives. “It was very important for the group to arrange and integrate the different areas of Maintenance Organisations of the group’s companies,” added Urioste. “With that purpose in mind, we started a study to evaluate the solutions. This process concluded that Alkym was the best option because of the application functionalities and the experience of the company.”

 

The project, completed during the months of June and July, was delivered by the Seabury Solutions project team on time and within budget. “Since the implementation until now, we have received assistance and the necessary support to implement Alkym with high level of professionalism and dedication,” stated Urioste.

 

“We are pleased to have Amaszonas Lineas Aereas Group among our customers. We know the thorough work and analysis they made to assess the diverse options existing in the market and we are proud to know they chose our solution Alkym,” said Seabury Solutions Vice President Sales LATAM Eng. Manuel Roché.

 

This announcement brings the Alkym customer base to more than 80 aviation clients around the globe. “It is yet another example showcasing how Alkym continually proves to be the “go-to” option in the Caribbean, Central and South America,” concluded Roché.

FLYHT Aerospace Solutions has announced that an undisclosed airline in the People’s Republic of China. has selected data services provided by the Automated Flight Information Reporting System (AFIRSTM) on its fleet of CRJ-900 aircraft. This Chinese operator receives their new aircraft with AFIRS already installed from Bombardier as a line-fit option.

 

The aggregate data services revenue on the contract is valued at just over $1 million assuming FLYHT provides services over the full term of the five year agreement. The announced contract value is based upon the current in-service quantity of AFIRS-enabled Bombardier CRJ aircraft and an initial set of enabled data services provided by FLYHT’s cloud-based UpTime products. The airline may add more aircraft to its operations in the future and may request that FLYHT provide these services to the additional aircraft as they join the airline’s fleet, further increasing the value of the service contract. Additional UpTime products are available for the operator to add to the contract, which could also further increase the contract’s value.

AeroMod International and SITAONAIR have jointly announced a partnership to install SITAONAIR wireless inflight entertainment (IFE) services on Philippine Airlines. The rapid installation programme will see AeroMod International deploy a consistent cabin experience across Philippine Airlines fleet and implement the systems in record time.

 

Installation of the SITAONAIR wireless IFE system commenced on Philippine Airlines’ Airbus A321 fleet in July. Under the program, Philippine Airlines will have one wireless IFE-installed aircraft returned to service every day.

 

“This agreement with a worldwide aircraft connectivity leader such as SITAONAIR capitalises on our growth to provide operational support to customers around the world,” said AeroMod president Gary Girard.

 

Market analysis by AeroMod reveals that only 13% of non-U.S. airlines have wireless IFE fully deployed. Despite this, a recent SITA survey of passengers worldwide showed IFE is now more commonly consumed via Wi-Fi on a personal device, rather than on the aircraft’s seat-back screen (46% vs 44%, with 10% using both). Additionally, two thirds (65%) of passengers would choose to access it via their own devices if wireless IFE was available.

 

 

“86% of passengers take a smartphone onto a plane and they would prefer to also use them to access IFE,” said David Lavorel, CEO of SITAONAIR.  “These networks therefore need to be highly robust in order to deliver HD quality video to all passengers.”

Safran Electronics & Defense announced on 30 August that it has been chosen by Airbus to modernise all data loading systems for the avionics suites on its A320 family of commercial jets (A319, A320, A321).

 

This selection gives Safran access to a market of thousands of airplanes already in service or on order, especially the new A320neo family, which incorporates this system as standard equipment. It also consolidates Safran’s long-term position as a major player in onboard maintenance, working with aircraft manufacturers, airlines and other operators.

 

Safran’s latest system, an upgrade to its line of data loading solutions, increases upload capacity, while also addressing new requirements in the air transport sector: guaranteeing the security of avionics equipment by checking the integrity and authenticity of the software to be uploaded, maintaining compatibility with the systems running on current portable data loaders, and simplifying operations.

 

Safran’s new data loading system will also accelerate uploading operations, a critical function for systems that require periodic updates, espacially the flight management system (FMS).

Universal Avionics is providing avionics for two Sikorsky S-76B helicopters operated by His Majesty the Sultan of Johor’s Royal Flight. The upgraded glass cockpit includes the installation of three EFI-890H Advanced Flight Displays (PFD-MFD-PFD) with Vision-1 Synthetic Vision System (SVS) and a UNS-1Fw Satellite-Based Augmentation System (SBAS)-Flight Management System (FMS). The Universal Avionics upgrade features the latest in avionics technologies – technologies which are often not available on new aircraft.

Design, certification and installation will take place at Universal Avionics Authorized Dealer, Heli-One Canada, in Delta, British Columbia. Induction is expected in July 2016.

“This will be a stunning transformation of these helicopters for His Royal Highness,” said Norm Matheis, Universal Avionics Regional nales manager for Canada. “This package really is the perfect fit to future-proof VVIP and special missions S-76s.”

West Star Aviation has received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Out. It meets all current ADS-B requirements as well as the required FAA mandate deadline of January 1, 2020.

 

This Approved Model List (AML) STC is applicable to CL-601-3A, CL-601-3R, Falcon 900B, and Falcon 900EX aircraft equipped with Honeywell GNSSU Global Position Sensors (GPS) and the Rockwell Collins TDR-94D transponders.

 

In addition to the ADS-B component of this upgrade, West Star also offers the Lateral Performance for Vertical Guidance (LPV) functionality as an additional option.

C&L has announced a new, $3-million-dollar expansion to its facility in Bangor, Maine. The project, supported in part by a $1.2 million grant from the United States Economic Development Administration (EDA) that was recently awarded to the City of Bangor, will refurbish a newly leased hangar, add two new buildings, increase capabilities and create 100 additional jobs over the next two years.

 

This next phase of growth will add to C&L’s corporate interiors capabilities, a quickly growing market for the company, with a newly refurbished interior hangar. Environmental efficiencies will be added throughout the facility, and the increased hangar space and new storage buildings will allow C&L to service more aircraft at once, delivering on its promise to get clients back in the air on time and on budget.

 

“Our company is always growing,” said C&L CEO Chris Kilgour. “This funding and the upcoming expansion will help fuel more growth, and we are grateful to the City of Bangor and our state’s congressional leadership for their continued support.”

Maine’s congressional delegation was critical in securing the EDA funding, and C&L’s close relationship with the City of Bangor has been beneficial to both the company and the surrounding area through multiple endeavors over the past several years.

 

In 2014, C&L completed a $5-million expansion that tripled the company’s space and included a 17,000 square-foot paint hangar. That expansion was also partially funded by a grant from the EDA and it allowed C&L to move into new markets such as interior refurbishments for executive jets.