WORLD NEWS Qantas CEO disposed to look on the bright side Heavy losses at Australia’s flag carrier but buoyant for a turnaround “There is never a shortage of views on Qantas,” was the reacon of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce following the release of the airline’s finan- cial results last week. Qantas an- nounced an underlying loss before tax of $646 million and a statutory loss aſter tax of $2.8 billion for the 12 months ended 30 June 2014. Despite the eye-watering troubles at Qantas, Joyce used the plaorm to focus on his ongoing transformaon plan for the airline. “I recognise that the headline losses for the last financial year are confronng. But we are through the worst of a tough pe- riod, and we are working towards a brighter future,” he stated. He was quick to stress that the re- leased figures represented the year that is past. “We have now come through the worst. With our accel- erated Qantas Transformaon Pro- gramme we are already emerging as a leaner, more focused and more sustainable Qantas Group. “There is a clear and significant eas- ing of both internaonal and do- mesc capacity growth, which will stabilise the revenue environment. We expect a rapid improvement in the Group’s financial performance – and a return to underlying PBT profit in the first half of FY15, sub- ject to factors outside our control,” said Joyce. The airline reports that the vast majority of last year’s headline loss comes from an accounng change, or write-down, to the value of Qan- tas’ internaonal aircraſt. “In real- ity, Qantas hasn’t ‘lost’ a single cent as a result of this change,” Joyce pointed out, adding that costs are down, thanks to the big changes in the way the airline is doing busi- ness. Not surprisingly, the soaring price of fuel was also a contribung fac- tor. “The price we pay for jet fuel in Australian dollars was higher than ever and compeon was fierce, as it is in so many other Australian industries, “Joyce added. Qantas is already trimming the fat More targeted use of Qantas Domesc’s bigger A330-200s to reflect demand. Photo: Airbus WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES ISSN 1718-7966 SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 / VOL. 454 The disappearance of Malaysia Air- lines flight MH370 in March 2014 connued to impact the airline’s second quarter financial results reporng a net loss of RM307 mil- lion (USD95 million) for the three months ended 30 June 2014. The Malaysian flag carrier is expecng more steep losses for the second half of 2014 as it tries to recover from the unprecedented twin trag- edies of MH370 and MH17. “We expected the impact of MH370 on the performance in quarter two. Given that, our team put in much hard work and effort to regain mar- ket confidence and rebuild sales. Tragically, just as we were beginning to see signs of recovery in all re- gions, we were dealt with the blow of MH17”, said Malaysia Airlines Group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. Tragedies dent Malaysian results “There is never a shortage of views on Qantas.” Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO Thai joins STAR party at T2 Thai Airways took its place along- side fellow Star Alliance partners on August 28 during a recepon at London Heathrow’s brand new Terminal 2 (T2) which serves only Star Alliance airlines. Mr. Wit Kit- chathorn, General Manager of Thai Airways Internaonal, UK, said, “It was great to be present at this seamless move into T2, auguring a new era of travel in the UK. We are very proud to now be housed with our other Star Alliance members in the state-of-the-art terminal. The check-in area is conveniently lo- cated next to the tax refund coun- ter making it even smoother for our passengers.” THAI will connue to operate two aircraſt types on its London to Bangkok route: 747-400 and A340- 600 operaons. Connued on page 5 Read by thousands of aviaon professionals and technical decision-makers every week www.avitrader.com
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WORLD NEWS
Qantas CEO disposed to look on the bright sideHeavy losses at Australia’s flag carrier but buoyant for a turnaround
“There is never a shortage of views on Qantas,” was the reaction of Qantas CEO Alan Joyce following the release of the airline’s finan-cial results last week. Qantas an-nounced an underlying loss before tax of $646 million and a statutory loss after tax of $2.8 billion for the 12 months ended 30 June 2014.
Despite the eye-watering troubles at Qantas, Joyce used the platform to focus on his ongoing transformation plan for the airline. “I recognise that the headline losses for the last financial year are confronting. But we are through the worst of a tough pe-riod, and we are working towards a brighter future,” he stated.
He was quick to stress that the re-leased figures represented the year
that is past. “We have now come through the worst. With our accel-erated Qantas Transformation Pro-gramme we are already emerging as a leaner, more focused and more sustainable Qantas Group.
“There is a clear and significant eas-ing of both international and do-mestic capacity growth, which will stabilise the revenue environment. We expect a rapid improvement in the Group’s financial performance – and a return to underlying PBT profit in the first half of FY15, sub-ject to factors outside our control,” said Joyce.
The airline reports that the vast majority of last year’s headline loss comes from an accounting change, or write-down, to the value of Qan-tas’ international aircraft. “In real-ity, Qantas hasn’t ‘lost’ a single cent as a result of this change,” Joyce
pointed out, adding that costs are down, thanks to the big changes in the way the airline is doing busi-ness.
Not surprisingly, the soaring price of fuel was also a contributing fac-tor. “The price we pay for jet fuel in Australian dollars was higher than ever and competition was fierce, as it is in so many other Australian industries, “Joyce added.
Qantas is already trimming the fat
More targeted
use of Qantas
Domestic’s bigger
A330-200s to reflect demand.
Photo: Airbus
WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES
ISSN 1718-7966 SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 / VOL. 454
The disappearance of Malaysia Air-lines flight MH370 in March 2014 continued to impact the airline’s second quarter financial results reporting a net loss of RM307 mil-lion (USD95 million) for the three months ended 30 June 2014. The Malaysian flag carrier is expecting more steep losses for the second half of 2014 as it tries to recover from the unprecedented twin trag-edies of MH370 and MH17.
“We expected the impact of MH370 on the performance in quarter two. Given that, our team put in much hard work and effort to regain mar-ket confidence and rebuild sales. Tragically, just as we were beginning to see signs of recovery in all re-gions, we were dealt with the blow of MH17”, said Malaysia Airlines Group CEO, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.
Tragedies dent Malaysian results
“There is never a shortage of views on Qantas.”Alan Joyce, Qantas CEO
Thai joins STAR party at T2Thai Airways took its place along-side fellow Star Alliance partners on August 28 during a reception at London Heathrow’s brand new Terminal 2 (T2) which serves only Star Alliance airlines. Mr. Wit Kit-chathorn, General Manager of Thai Airways International, UK, said, “It was great to be present at this seamless move into T2, auguring a new era of travel in the UK. We are very proud to now be housed with our other Star Alliance members in the state-of-the-art terminal. The check-in area is conveniently lo-cated next to the tax refund coun-ter making it even smoother for our passengers.”
THAI will continue to operate two aircraft types on its London to Bangkok route: 747-400 and A340-600 operations.
Continued on page 5
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GECAS delivers leased Airbus A320 to new customer VietJet Air
GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the com-mercial aircraft leasing arm of GE, announced de-livery of a leased Airbus A320 aircraft to its new airline customer VietJet Air. VietJet Air, a private, low-cost carrier, operates a fleet of 15 aircraft to destinations in Vietnam as well as Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
JAL orders CF34-engines to power EM-BRAER E-Jets
JAL Group (JAL) ordered CF34-engines to power their EMBRAER E-Jets. Maintenance, repair and overhaul services for the new CF34 engines will be provided through multi-year OnPoint solution agreements. The engine order and OnPoint solu-tion agreements are valued at more than $550m over the life of the contract.
BOC Aviation selects GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777s
BOC Aviation agreed to purchase two GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The en-gine order is valued at close to $140m list price. Snecma of France and IHI Corporation of Japan are revenue-sharing participants in the GE90 pro-gram. The GE90-115B engine is part of GE’s “eco-magination” product portfolio — GE’s commit-ment to implementing innovative, cost-effective technologies that enhance the customers’ envi-ronmental and operating performance.
Atlas Air expands CMI service
Atlas Air will provide expanded operating service for DHL Express’ North American route network, using four additional Boeing 767-200 freighter air-craft owned by DHL. Atlas Air expects to start flying
the first incremental aircraft in December 2014, and to operate all four by the end of January 2015. The operation represents a continued expansion of Atlas Air’s non-asset-intensive CMI (Crew, Main-tenance and Insurance) service solution, as well as its Boeing 767 platform. With the addition of the aircraft to Atlas Air’s operating certificate, the com-pany’s fleet of B767s will increase to 15 aircraft, including nine operated for DHL in North America and two for DHL in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan Airlines to add up to 27 E-Jets to its fleet
Embraer S.A. has signed a firm order with Japan Airlines (JAL) for a total of 15 E-Jets comprising the E170 and the E190 jets models, as well as for an additional twelve E-Jets family options. The value of the firm order is estimated at US$677m, based on 2014 list prices. The order will be included in Embraer’s 2014 third-quarter backlog. All aircraft
BOC Aviation places order for 80 Boeing 737 aircraft
BOC Aviation announced an order for a total of 80 Boeing 737 series aircraft for delivery from 2016 to 2021, as the company builds on its pipeline for the next seven years. The order comprises 50 737 MAX 8 and 30 Next Genera-tion 737-800 aircraft. The company also ordered two 777-300ER aircraft, which have already been placed with an existing customer. As of June 30th, BOC Aviation’s fleet of 251 delivered aircraft included 118 Boeing aircraft operated by 27 airlines, of which 95 aircraft were 737 NGs.
BOC orders 50 737 Max 8 & 30 NG 737-800 aircraft. Photo: Boeing
White Stag announces lease and sale/lease back of two Airbus A-320 aircraft
White Stag Aircraft Leasing announced the placement of one Airbus A-320 Aircraft, with a second delivery scheduled during fourth quarter 2014. Both units shall operate long term lease contracts in agreement with the same domestic operator.
Vietjet takes delivery of A320 from GECAS. Photo: Airteamimages
will be operated by Japan Airlines’ wholly owned subsidiary, J-Air, which has headquarters at Osa-ka’s Itami Airport. This order is added to the exist-ing 15 E170s that the airline currently flies. New deliveries of E-Jets are scheduled from 2015.
AerCap delivers Royal Jordanian’s first 787 Dreamliner
AerCap has delivered a Boeing 787-8 Dream-liner on lease to Royal Jordanian. This is the first Dreamliner in the airline’s fleet. AerCap will de-liver two more 787-8s on lease to Royal Jordanian later this year.
Turning to a new design and material for the GE9X fan blade
The GE9X engine for the Boeing 777X aircraft will feature fewer and thinner composite fan blades than any GE widebody engine in service. To do this, GE is designing a new composite fan blade using next-generation carbon fiber com-posite material. “It has been a decade since GE designed a new composite fan blade for the GEnx engine,” said Bill Millhaem, general man-ager of the GE90/GE9X engine programs. “Car-bon fiber composite material has advanced in those 10 years, and the advancements enable GE engineers to design a thinner GE9X blade, which is just as strong as our current composite fan blades. Fewer, thinner blades will enhance the airflow and make for a lighter, more efficient fan that will help with the GE9X engine’s overall performance and fuel burn.” The new material incorporates a higher stiffness carbon fiber and a new epoxy resin. The leading edge material will also be modified from titanium to a steel al-
loy to further enhance the blade’s strength. Last year, GE engineers received positive results from material testing on full-sized GEnx blades. Test-ing of the new material continues this quarter
in preparation for next year’s testing on the new GE9X blade design. The GE9X fan blades are the fourth-generation composite fan blade design, built on the success of the GE90-94B, GE90-115B and GEnx engines. GE engineers continue to work the final design of the GE9X fan blade that will incorporate improved aerodynamics.
GE will spend $300m in 2014 on technology maturation testing for the new GE9X engine. Tests include the Universal Propulsion Simulator (UPS) fan performance tests as well as testing of ceramic matrix composite components in a GEnx engine. The GE9X engine will be in the 100,000 lbs. thrust class. Key features include a 133-inch diameter composite fan case and 16 composite fan blades; a next-generation 27:1 pressure ra-tio 11-stage high pressure compressor; a third-generation TAPS (twin annular pre-swirl) com-bustor for greater efficiency and low emissions; and ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material in the combustor and turbine. Almost 700 GE9X engines have been ordered by customers since it was launched on the Boeing 777X aircraft last year. The first full core test is scheduled for 2015. The first engine will test in 2016 with flight test-ing on GE’s flying testbed anticipated in 2017. Engine certification is scheduled for 2018. IHI Corporation, Snecma and Techspace Aero (Sa-fran) and MTU Aero Engines AG are participants in the GE9X engine program.
GE 9X purpose-designed for Boeing 777x Photo: GE
Aegean Airlines adds two additional aircraft to previous A320ceo order
Aegean Airlines, Greece’s largest airline, has signed a firm contract with Airbus for two ad-ditional A320ceo aircraft, adding to a previous order for five A320s aircraft placed in Septem-ber 2007. All aircraft will be equipped with Air-bus “Sharklet” fuel saving wing tip devices and will be powered by IAE V2500 engines. The aircraft will also be the first A320s in Aegean’s fleet to feature the enhanced take-off weight capability of up to 78 tonnes, thus enabling the carrier to expand its route network with even longer range operations.
Aegean Airlines orders two more A320ceo aircraft. Photo: Airbus
from its operations and tying the knot with other carriers to remain competitive. However industry analysts, like Carlos Ozores from ICF International believes the Emirates-Qantas al-liance for instance, “has thus far failed to de-liver the promised revenue benefits, leading many in the industry to question the move.”
Also key to the airline’s survival is the fleet and network strategy for FY15 and beyond. Since 2009 the Qantas Group has taken delivery of more than 140 aircraft and retired or returned leases for 80 aircraft, resulting in an average fleet age of 7.7 years. The Group’s focus now is on maximising the advantages of a young, competitive fleet, and completing the retire-ment of older aircraft types.
“We are using our fleet more efficiently to help deliver the goals of our accelerated Qantas Transformation Programme,” Mr Joyce said. “Of the $2 billion permanent cost reductions we are seeking over three years, $600 million will come from fleet and network initiatives. At the same time, we continue to invest in new and upgraded aircraft to help our people deliv-er the fantastic service that has earned record customer satisfaction over the past year.”
Fleet and network changes completed or an-nounced during FY14 include gradual replace-ment of B747s with A330s on routes to Asia, with all Sydney-Singapore and Brisbane-Singa-pore services now operated by A330s.
Early retirement of four B747-400s, as the Group works towards the retirement of all non-reconfigured B747-400s by early 2016. This will leave nine, newer B747-400s fitted with A380-standard interiors. Four B787-8s delivered to Jetstar, allowing the transfer of three-A330-200s from Jetstar to Qantas Do-mestic.
For the domestic operation, reduction in aver-age ‘turn time’ for Qantas Domestic aircraft to increase utilisation is to be implemented next year. All the Group’s B737-800s will be refurbished from mid-2015, expanding total B737-800 capacity by 3 per cent, along with improvements to inflight entertainment sys-tems. The retirement of all older Boeing 737-400s was completed in February 2014.
Early retirement of seven B767-300s, with all aircraft of this type to go by the end of 2014, there are currently 10 aircraft in the fleet.
The airline also intends to make more targeted use of Qantas Domestic’s bigger A330-200s to reflect demand, with a focus on East-West routes to Perth and peak East Coast services. All of Network Aviation’s seven Brasilia turbo-prop aircraft have been retired (effective Au-gust 2014). Network Aviation now has a single fleet of 12 Fokker F100 jets.
5
‘We are through the worst’ - Joyce Photo: Qantas
...continued from page 1
fastjet steps closer to Pan-African op-erations
Pan-African low cost carrier fastjet could be one step further in achieving its pan-African aspirations. This time around the airline has incorporated a company in Kenya (fastjet Kenya) as part of its goal to launch a Kenyan base. Further, fastjet Kenya has submitted its Air Service Licence (ASL) application to the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority.
In order to comply with local airline owner-ship rules in Kenya, 51% of the equity of fastjet Kenya must be owned by a Kenyan national. The balance of 49% is ultimately held by fastjet plc.
The ASL application process requires all air-lines to formally submit a detailed business plan incorporating its proposed operation, network, aircraft specification, operational plan and commercial strategy. The ASL is a sig-
nificant step toward obtaining a full Air Operating Certifi-cate which will allow the commencement of operations do-mestically within and internationally from Kenya.
“This is an impor-tant step for fastjet” said Ed Winter, CEO of fastjet. “We have submitted a compre-hensive application to the authorities who have confirmed that fastjet Kenya has entered the ap-proval process.
We look forward to bringing the fastjet opera-tion to Kenya, offering our market stimulating fares, our excellent on time performance and friendly service. We are excited at the pros-pect of extending the footprint of the fastjet operation through greater penetration of the African market with a Kenyan-based air-line. This is in addition to the application for fastjet Tanzania to operate services into Kenya from Tanzania. The process for designation of fastjet Tanzania is ongoing.”
The application in Kenya comes soon after the start of fastjet’s first flight between Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Harare, Zimbabwe in early August. This is the low-cost airline’s third international route across Africa. fastjet oper-ates internationally from Dar es Salaam to Jo-hannesburg, Lusaka and now Harare, and has a significant Tanzanian domestic network in-cluding flights from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza, Kilimanjaro and Mbeya.
“Affordable air travel is key to the growth of economies across Africa,” Winter says. “It is expensive and time-consuming to build roads to connect cities, inconvenient for people to travel over land, and if there are existing air-lines flying any particular route, they still ex-clude the majority of a country’s citizens due to the high cost of those flights.”
“Affordable air travel is key to the growth of economies across Africa,” Winter says. Photo: fastjet
HAECO Cabin Solutions awarded FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval
HAECO Cabin Solutions, a subsidiary of the HAECO Group, has received Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The PMA designa-tion authorises the facil-ity to produce and sell ap-proved PMA parts directly to aircraft operators and aircraft parts distribu-tors. John Mansfield, Pro-gramme Manager at the San Antonio facility, said: “This approval enables HAECO Cabin Solutions to fulfill market demands for safe, efficient and reliable aftermarket products and kitting solutions. We can now provide our customers with more cost-effective and timely cabin solutions utilising FAA PMA approved products.
AJW Aviation signs ten year power-by-the-hour contract with Avion Express
AJW Aviation has signed a ten year PBH exten-sion with Lithuanian airline, Avion Express. “The continuation of this agreement recognises the dependable on-going power-by-the-hour support that AJW provides for this part of our European operation. It covers all twelve A320 aircraft; offer-ing full ATA coverage and on-site stock” said David Masson, Chairman of Avion Partners. Headquar-tered in Vilnius, Avion Express is the largest seat capacity fleet operator within the Baltic States and specialises in providing capacity to other air-lines worldwide under the ACMI concept using its fleet of A320 family aircraft.
Pilatus announces partnership with TATA Advanced Systems
Pilatus Aircraft announced its partnership with TASL, a Tata Group Company, for the assembly of PC-12 aero structures at its facility in Hyderabad, India. The long-term contract between Pilatus and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has been signed for a ten-year period and provides for delivery of the first complete PC-12 NG aero structure during the second half of 2016. The project includes tooling, jigs and training of TASL’s personnel at Pilatus facilities in Switzerland. The training will enable TASL to supply PC-12 NG aero structures for the Pilatus global supply chain. TASL replaces an existing Pilatus supplier who was for-merly responsible for producing PC-12 aero struc-tures in Eastern Europe.
Air Services receives renewal of Cessna Au-thorized Facility
Air Services, a Directional Capital company spe-cializing in off-wing services, announced the completion of the requirements for the Cessna Citation NDI Certification Program and was again named an Authorized Independent NDI Facility. With this certification, Air Services has access to all equipment and materials needed to perform NDT inspections and testing on all models of Cessna Citation aircraft. “We are able to provide our customers competitive downtimes and cost associated with each inspection. Our NDT team has the ability to travel anywhere to support cus-tomer testing needs,” said Shawn Ehrhart, NDT Manager of Air Services.
Pietro Rosa TBM partners with Rolls-Royce
Pietro Rosa TBM, a leading manufacturer of com-pressor airfoils for jet engines and complex aero – structural components, has signed a long term contract with Rolls-Royce for the production of a new concept airfoil for the Trent XWB engine. This
contract is the result of more than three years research and development joint effort between Pietro Rosa TBM R&D team and Rolls-Royce ad-vanced manufacturing team.
FL Technics to support Ural Airlines in Ar-menia, Russia and Tajikistan
FL Technics, a global provider of tailor-made air-craft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, is further developing its cooperation with CIS-based air carriers by signing a Line Maintenance agreement with Ural Airlines. According to the documents, FL Technics engineers will be provid-ing on-call support to the carrier’s aircraft in 5 airports across Armenia, Russia and Tajikistan. Under recently signed contracts, FL Technics specialists will be providing comprehensive on-call line maintenance services to Ural Airlines’ Airbus A320 Family aircraft at Khudjand Inter-national Airport (LBD), Kulob Airport (TJU) and Qurghonteppa International Airport (KQT) in Ta-jikistan, as well as at Khrabrovo Airport (KGD) in Russia and Zvartnots International Airport (EVN) in Armenia.
MRO & PRODUCTION NEWS
HAECO Cabin Solutions awarded FAA Parts Manufacturer Approval. Photo: HAECO
FINANCIAL NEWS
GA Telesis provides $100m asset financing for major European airline
GA Telesis announced the closing of a new as-set financing for a major European airline. The ten-year $100m transaction marks the third as-set based financing transaction the company has closed in the last twelve months. Asset financing becomes yet another service that GA Telesis can provide operators and other investors in aviation assets, along with its widely known expertise in leasing, trading, acquisition, asset management,
International Aero Engines achieves certification of V2500-E5 engine
IAE International Aero Engines has achieved Federal Aviation Administration certification of the V2500-E5 engine for Embraer’s KC-390 aircraft. The KC-390’s launch customer is the Brazilian Air Force. The V2500-E5 engine, rat-ed at 31,330 pounds of thrust, was selected in July 2011 by Embraer Defense & Security and the Brazilian Air Force, which established the KC-390 requirements. While Embraer and its customers desire maximum commonality with the V2500 engine, changes have been made to optimize installation with the new airframe
MILITARY & DEFENSE
Embraer’s KC-390 aircraft Photo: Embraer
parts, and MRO services. Over the next three years, GA Telesis has budgeted up to $1bn for asset financing in various structures to meet its customers’ needs for innovative financing solu-tions. The transaction was financed jointly with GA Telesis’ shareholder, Century Tokyo Leasing, under undisclosed terms.
WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014 / Vol. 454
• Mike Campbell, Executive Vice President – Human Resources & Labor Rela-tions, has informed Delta’s Board of Directors of his decision to retire on Oc-tober 1st, 2014. He will be replaced by Joanne Smith as Executive Vice Presi-dent and Chief Human Resources Officer. Joanne has served as Senior Vice President – In-Flight Service, capably leading over 20,000 flight attendants and administrative staff.
• Benjamin Smith, previously Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, is appointed to the new role of President, Passenger Airlines. In addition to his current responsibilities, Mr. Smith will now have cost as well as revenue oversight for passenger airline activities, with a view to optimizing the op-erating profitability of Air Canada, consistent with organizational structures at other large U.S. and European airlines. Mr. Smith continues to report to Mr. Rovinescu in this role.
Business Aircraft Europe ExpoBiggin Hill Airport, London, UK, 10-11 Sept, 2014. (Event brochure)
After more than two years of direct talks with Southwest Airlines, the International Associa-tion of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced it will file for mediation with the National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that oversees contract negotiations in the airline industry. If the IAM’s application for fed-eral mediation is granted by the NMB, the agency then begins the process of attempting to resolve the differences between the parties via mediat-ed discussions. If no agreement can be reached through mediation, the Railway Labor Act (RLA)—the federal law that governs collective bargaining in the airline industry—has several mechanisms to bring both sides together, including arbitration and a possible strike.
Gogo, a leading global aero-communications ser-vice provider, has signed a definitive agreement with Aeromexico, Mexico’s global airline, to pro-vide in-flight Internet and wireless in-flight enter-tainment service on at least 58 Embraer and Boe-ing 737 aircraft operated by Aeromexico. Gogo previously announced, in December 2013, that it had agreed on the principal terms and condi-tions with Aeromexico related to the service. As part of the definitive agreement, at least 20 of Aeromexico’s 737 aircraft will receive Gogo’s next generation in-flight connectivity solution – 2Ku. Aeromexico is the first airline to commit to 2Ku.
GuestLogix, a leading global provider of ancillary-focused merchandising, payment and business in-telligence technology to airlines and the passenger travel industry, signed a 4-year renewal agreement for the continued use of the Company’s retailing technology, including platform and POS handheld device upgrades, onboard a flag carrier in Asia Pacific. The Company’s Ancillary Insights platform will also be deployed to improve transparency and optimize the airline’s onboard store performance.
INDUSTRY PEOPLE
Jeppesen, a part of Boeing Commercial Aviation, recently signed a new three-year service contract with Gulf Air, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s national car-rier, to provide the airline with Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro electronic flight bag (EFB) services on iPad. The agreement allows Gulf Air to continue its digital transformation by eliminating paper-based flight information on the ground and in the air. “Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro provides all essential flight informa-tion and operations materials on iPad, which allows our crew to complete essential preparation tasks where convenient and increases situational aware-ness in flight,” said Captain Nasser AlSalmi, Gulf Air Chief Operating Officer. “We look forward to going completely paperless in our operations and Flit-eDeck Pro will allow us to reach this goal.”
Mike Campbell to retire October 1st. Photo: Delta
Ben Smith Photo: Air Canada
OTHER NEWS
WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES
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