Turkish in new 'green' initiative

Turkish Airlines is making Turkey just a little bit greener with its latest partnership deal.

The Star Alliance carrier has partnered with the General Directorate of Forestry to plant a million trees in various forests in Turkey. A sapling will be planted for each child traveling on Turkish Airlines under the age of two years.

By signing the protocol, the airline said it is helping to ensure the health of Turkish forests for future generations. "These "memory trees" will remind all our citizens of the responsibility we have to be socially responsible with our forest use," the airline said in a statement

General Director of Forestry, Mustafa Kurtulmuşlu thanked Turkish Airlines for its role in preserving precious natural forests through a programme with children--"those who will most benefit from their presence in years to come," he said.

Turkish Airlines’ CEO, Temel Kotil, said; “I believe that, this cooperation and collaboration will make our work more efficient and effective, enabling more people to enhance awareness of the importance of keeping our nation green”.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Boeing South Carolina celebrates rollout of first 787

Boeing’s North Charleston, S.C. facility rolled out its first 787 Friday. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered to Air India in mid-year.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Jim Albaugh told a crowd of nearly 7,000 employees and guests, “Today I welcome the South Carolina team into a small and elite fraternity—a fraternity of workers who have built one of the most complex machines in the world—a commercial airplane.”

The aircraft next goes to the flight line, where it will go through systems checks and engine runs in advance of taxi testing and first flight, Boeing said in a statement.

Boeing broke ground on the site in November  2009. The South Carolina final assembly facility was completed in June 2011 and production began later that same month.

"This team has shown that we can build airplanes in South Carolina that meet the high Boeing quality standards, and do so with an exceptional workplace safety record," said Boeing South Carolina  VP and GM Jack Jones.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Embraer 1Q profit falls on higher costs

Embraer announced a first-quarter net income of $62.7 million, down 40.4% from the $106.3 million net income in the year-ago period.

The regional jet manufacturer said increased financial expenses coupled with higher income taxes contributed to the poorer results.

Revenues increased to $1.16 billion, compared to $1.06 billion in the year-ago quarter.

EBIT fell to $85.7 million from $94.3 million. A 10% increase in wages in Brazil at the end of 2011 was the main factor behind cost increase to $71 million from $57.2 million. Selling expenses went up 15% to $108.7 million.

EBITDA margins decreased from 14.8% to 12.8%.

Commercial aviation business accounted for 65.7% of net revenues, equivalent to $759.7 million.

The company delivered 21 aircraft in the 2012 first quarter, one more than last year.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Republic narrows 1Q loss to $7.1 million

Republic Airways Holdings (RAH), parent of Chautauqua Airlines, Frontier Airlines (F9), Republic Airlines and Shuttle America, posted a net loss of $7.1 million in the first quarter 2012, narrowed from a $22.4 million net loss in the year-ago period.

“The [first quarter] result was negatively impacted by expenses for aircraft, which were unassigned as well as pro-rate losses,” CFO Ken Dooley said. “The loss on these sub-optimally deployed aircraft was approximately $9 million in total, which was about an $8 million improvement from our prior year’s first quarter. The majority of 50-seat aircraft that were operating in pro rate service last year are now unassigned.”

First-quarter operating revenues rose 5.8% year-over-year to $697.6 million while expenses increased 2.4% to $675.4 million, producing an operating profit of $22.2 million, up from the prior period’s $600,000 operating loss. Mainline passenger traffic decreased 8.6% to 2.30 billion RPMs on a 7.1% drop in capacity to 3.37 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 68.3%, down 1.1 points.

The company said it has engaged Seabury Advisors to assist in a comprehensive restructuring effort of Chautauqua Airlines, its loss-making subsidiary that operates 50-seat regional jets.

“Every one of our Chautauqua small jet CPA contracts is actually loss making,” RAH chairman and CEO Bryan Bedford said. “We’re targeting a $40 million to $60 million annual economic improvement by the start of 2013.” 

Dooley said that 14 of the 17 E-170 aircraft, which were flying in pro-rate service a year ago, have been reallocated to Delta CPA flying. “We continue to evaluate the use of the remaining 22 regional aircraft deployed on our Frontier pro-rate operation and we do expect to remove two E-190 aircraft by the end of the summer  flying season. Those two aircraft will be returned to their lessors,” he said.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

UAE firm denies involvement in Iranian Jumbo purchases

Sharjah-based Sayegh Group Aviation has issued a strong denial today that it has in any way been involved in the deal that has seen three Boeing 747-300 aircraft switched to an Iranian airline.

In a statement issued earlier today the company said  that the information - recently published by various magazines and news agencies - about the suspected sale of the company’s formerly owned aircrafts to unauthorized parties are highly speculative.

Reports on the deal were broken by UK-headquartered Flightglobal. News publications - including Arabian Aerospace - quoted the Reed agency in which it was claimed Iran Air had acquired the first of three Boeing 747-300s indirectly from the Kyrghyzstan operator Al Sayegh Airlines which is owned by the UAE group.

The 1986-vintage aircraft had been registered in Gambia but were shown been to have been purchased by the Sayegh Group in 2010. Flightglobal quoted the company at the time as saying: "Please note that Sayegh Group sold the three 747-300s to an aviation company, but not to Iran." but went on to say the aircraft are believe to have been sold to an unnamed Gambian company. "It looks like the Gambian entity has fronted the deal," a source told flightglobal.

With tensions mounting in the UAE over relations with Iran - members of the Iranian parliament have recently reiterated their claim over several UAE islands in the Gulf - Al Sayegh called for a thorough internal investigation into the aviation division's activities.

In today's statement the company said, "The company has retrieved all of the existing documents related to the mentioned transactions and requested the same from its customers as well. Reviewing the documents and other available information the company, it is established and confirmed that the aircrafts have not been sold nor registered in any jurisdiction what would infringe any agreements or export controls that are related to the transaction or to the aircrafts. Sayegh Group Aviation had been always consistent with the internal policies and processes. Compliance with the legal undertakings of our contractual obligations the top priority and will be at all times treated with the utmost importance."

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

Cirrus personal jet is given the go-ahead

The former Bahrain-owned Cirrus Aircraft has been given the go ahead for its Cirrus Vision SF50 personal jet programme by the company's new Chinese owners.

The company said the project is now fully funded through to certification and initial production, thanks to major investment from its new owner CAIGA – with the first customer delivery expected to take place in 2015.

Cirrus says the Vision is the first aircraft of its kind to fill the gap between high performance pistons and traditional turboprop twins and light business jets, offering the same class-leading innovation, technology and style hallmarks that Cirrus is known for in its best-selling SR20, SR22 and SR22T family of single engine piston aircraft.

Seating up to five adults and two children in a spacious and luxurious cabin, Cirrus says the Vision is designed for performance, affordability and safety.

“Today is simply a tremendous milestone for Cirrus," said Dale Klapmeier, CEO and Co-founder of Cirrus Aircraft. "We revolutionized general aviation with the introduction of the SR20 just over a decade ago. With more than 5,100 SR-series aircraft delivered to date, pilots, entrepreneurs, families and aviators of all kinds have embraced our dream. Today, that dream is renewed as we are on the cusp of an even bigger leap with the Cirrus Vision. Cirrus customers, employees and partners around the world are rightfully proud of this moment.”

The first flight of the Vision concept aircraft was in 2008. Detail design, systems verification and full flight envelope testing have been ongoing since that time. Today's investment, however, significantly increases the pace and momentum of the programme and allows the company to bring the jet to the market. In an effort to ramp up to certification and production, Cirrus Aircraft will accelerate hiring of engineers, designers and other related technical disciplines critical to the completion of the programme.

The Cirrus Vision development team, working with global design and vendor partners, is based at Cirrus Aircraft company headquarters in Duluth, Minn., and Vision jets will be assembled right alongside the SR20, SR22 and SR22T in the same Minnesota and North Dakota Cirrus Aircraft production facilities. Garmin (avionics and flight deck), Williams International (turbofan engine) and Triumph Group (trailing link landing gear) are just three of the strongest brands in aerospace that are members of the Vision supplier team.

Until 30th June 2012, the list price for a well-equipped Cirrus Vision SF50 is $1.72 million, with list price moving to $1.96 million from 1st July 2012.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

RSAF F-15S fighters to get upgrade

Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) F-15S fighter jets will receive electronic upgrades courtesy of BAE Systems which has secured a $367m contract to deliver 70 Digital Electronic Warfare Systems (DEWS)/Common Missile Warning Systems (CMWS).

John Nyilis, product line director at BAE Systems said: "BAE Systems looks forward to providing the Royal Saudi Air Force with this superior electronic capability.

“Through these efforts the Kingdom’s existing fighter F-15 fighter aircraft will match the capabilities of the next generation of F-15 SA fighter jets currently in development."

DEWS is a state-of-the-art integrated digital electronic warfare system which provides advanced radar warning and countermeasure capabilities to legacy and new platforms. The system protects aircraft by providing situational awareness, offensive targeting support, and self-protection.

Nyilis said: "Our DEWS/CMWS product can be modified for a wide variety of platforms, providing our customers with the ability to ensure system commonality.”

BAE Systems will deliver the DEWS/CMWS system to Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia under a Foreign Military Sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The work will be performed in Nashua, N.H., Totowa, N.J., and Austin, Texas and is scheduled to be completed by November 2018.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace

China Eastern commits to 20 777-300ERs

China Eastern Airlines (MU) has agreed to buy 20 Boeing 777-300ERs as the airline expands capacity to meet growing demand in Asia-Pacific and China, according to a Boeing statement. The agreement must be approved by the Chinese government.

"We are delighted that China Eastern has decided to add the 777-300ER to its expanding fleet," Boeing Commercial Airplanes VP sales and marketing-Greater China and Korea Ihssane Mounir said.

In March, Airbus said China was blocking a potential MU deal to purchase A330s in protest of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme carbon tax that was imposed on airlines at the beginning of this year.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

SSJ100 gains certification for Far North flights

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) aircraft has been certified to operate in the high north latitude area, after undergoing trials at Yakutia’s Tiksi Airport (IKS), located at the 71.7 degree of the north latitude.

The SSJ100 flight prototype MSN95005 performed 11 flights including a nonstop flight from Zhukovsky, Moscow Region to IKS (4,380 km.), eight flights from IKS and a final flight on the IKS–Krasnoyarsk–Zhukovsky route.

Russian carrier Yakutia Airlines (R3), which will take delivery of two SSJ100s this year, plans to operate them on the routes inside the Yakutia republic (Eastern Siberia), part of the Russian Far North territories.

The flight tests verified avionics’ performance—most notably the inertial reference system and the satellite navigation systems—during operations in high north latitude area (up to 78 degree).

The aircraft gained its type certificate A-176 from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in February for meeting airworthiness and environmental requirements.

The report on the additional high north latitude trials will be submitted to the Aviation Register of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC AR) to supplement to the SSJ100 type certificate.

Yakutia will become the second Russian SSJ100 operator. Aeroflot (SU) was the first carrier which took the delivery of the SSJ100 last year. SU has seven aircraft of that type.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

ANA 1Q income rises on cost controls, improving economy

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) reported first-quarter net income of ￥28.1 billion ($348.3 million), up 20.6% compared to ￥23.3 billion last year.

Operating income rose 43% to ￥97 billion and recurring profit increased by 85% to ￥68.4 billion.

ANA attributed its strong performance to an economic gradual recovery following the Japan earthquake and its decisive action in dealing with the rising oil prices, exchange rate fluctuations and euro zone problems, which included implementing cost improvement measures and bringing forward initiatives scheduled for this year into the second half of last year.

Looking ahead, the carrier expressed optimism about the coming years although it acknowledged there will be some issues.

“Despite a number of potential headwinds in the coming 12 months, ANA expects to make further progress in the current fiscal year ending March, 2013, using its strength as a network carrier and the launch of low-cost airline operations to improve overall group performance,” it said in a statement.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

SESAR examines UAS airspace integration

Europe’s SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking has begun a study into the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into non-segregated airspace in a SESAR air traffic management scenario.

The study will help define the capabilities and equipment that UAS users will need to operate safely and efficiently in a SESAR environment.  It will enable the SESAR JU to understand, for example, how UAS will be able to implement new flight separation modes. The study will also examine how the shift from airspace-based operations to trajectory-based operations will influence UAS operations.

SESAR believes that some of its new concepts are already candidates for furthering the development of unmanned flight operations. SESAR advances in remote control tower technologies and operation, for example, could support the UAS community in the development of “detect and avoid” concepts.

The deployment of new SESAR systems, procedures, technologies and standards requires a high degree of synchronization among all stakeholders, including the rapidly expanding UAS community. Military use of UAS has grown exponentially in Europe over the past few years, but this trend has so far not been mirrored in the civil sector, despite significant potential benefits offered by a wide range of applications.

As a result, the European Commission last year launched its 2011 UAS initiative aimed at creating a regulatory framework that will help accelerate development of their civilian use. The SESAR study is due to be completed in the autumn.

The study, known as ICONUS, will be carried out by the ATM FUSION Consortium of Associate Partners to the SJU. The Consortium is led by France’s ONERA, and includes AVTECH (Sweden); CIRA and Deep Blue (Italy); ENAC (France) and INTA (Spain).

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Engine spare parts boost Safran Q1 earnings

A 15.1% increase in the civil jet engine aftermarket has helped French aerospace, defense and security supplier Safran post a 15.9% year-on-year (7.3% organic) revenue increase for the first quarter, bringing the total for the period to €3.1 billion ($4.1 billion).

That civil aftermarket boost was driven by the CFM56 and global CFM International spare parts revenue was up 24.2% for the quarter. This was largely in line with the trends of 2011, which were up 1.3% from the 2011 fourth quarter, and driven by second-generation engines. The estimated total number of shop visits in the first quarter for civil aircraft equipped with the CFM56 increased slightly to 586 from 581 in the year-ago quarter.

OEM CFM56 engine deliveries were up by 56 units to 378 units compared to the same period last year. The total CFM56 and LEAP orders and commitments reached 695 engines as of April 19, the backlog staying at about seven years of production.

Overall, first-quarter revenue for the propulsion division was up 11.4% to nearly €1.6 billion compared to the same period in 2011 (3.5% on an organic basis).

The aircraft equipment activity reported a 21.1% (17.1% organic) first-quarter revenue increase of €883 million compared to the same period in 2011.

Together, the propulsion and equipment activities generated double-digit growth. However, because of “the variability in airline behavior inherent to a troubled economic context,” Safran’s full year civil aftermarket guidance remains unchanged at high single-digit growth.

Article Source : ATW Daily News

Emirates pushes Boeing for the upgraded B777 decision

Emirates Airline is pushing US manufacturer Boeing to progress its plans for an upgraded B777.

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said: “"As the largest customer and operator of the 777, and the only airline in the world to operate all six variants of the 777 family, it comes as little surprise that Emirates is pushing Boeing to firm up plans for a new 777X family. At present, the 777X comprises of two airplanes - a longer range 777-8X aimed at replacing the 777-200LR and a slightly stretched 777-9X that would replace the hot-selling 777-300ER.”

Emirates president Tim Clark was speaking in a conference in Barcelona yesterday and was quoted by news agency Bloomberg as saying: ““We want it done now so they have the plane in 2019.”

Boeing has been mulling over the upgrade for the popular triple seven – Emirates took the one thousandth aircraft to have come off the line earlier this year – and it is understood that the Commercial Airplanes division will be taking a proposition to the Boeing board next year.

But Clark, and other airlines, claim they need the replacement sooner.

According to Ahmad Emirates has been badly burned by Airbus' delays to the A380 and with recent revelations about cracks to the wing ribs and costly repairs that are needed, the airline is also going to be the biggest A380 customer affected when these airplanes have to be withdrawn from service to be repaired.  “Emirates therefore is hedging its bets and wants something it knows that is less risky to enter service and integrate seamlessly into its fleet,” Ahmad said.

In his interview with Bloomberg, Clark said “Boeing had a hugely enthusiastic response when they spoke to all operators of the 777, so in terms of the business case that has to go before the board, I believe they’ve got what they need.” He said he remained concerned that Boeing’s struggles with the 787 Dreamliner, which was more than three years late entering service, would stall a 777 decision.

“They screwed up badly on the non-recurring costs on the 787,” Clark said.

Ahmad argues that Boeing could benefit from rival Airbus’ delays and deliberations over its A350XWB programme.

“Emirates has one key advantage, in that it still has plenty of 777-300ERs on order, the airline is keen for a quick 777X launch for service entry by the end of the decade. And with questions swirling about whether Emirates intends to stick with the poor-selling A350-1000, it's no surprise to see them leading the charge for Boeing's next new widebody airplane," he said.