Aeroflot to buy Transaero in tie-up of Russia's biggest airlines

Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline by passenger traffic, agreed to take over its closest competitor Transaero Airlines as the country’s economic woes shake the industry.

A government commission backed the “consolidation” in a meeting led by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, Transaero said in an e-mailed statement Tuesday. The board of state-controlled Aeroflot will vote to buy 75 percent plus 1 share of Transaero, according to a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The combined airline will probably fly more than half of all domestic passengers, according to Andrei Rozhkov, a transportation analyst at Moscow-based IFC Metropol.

“Weak airlines are leaving the market or reducing their business, on the one hand,” he said by phone. “Aeroflot is getting a boost from the Transaero deal, on the other hand.”

Transaero blamed a “sharp” devaluation of the ruble for reduced sales of international flights and increased payouts on foreign-exchange denominated loans, according to an Aug. 21 statement on its website. The company borrowed in 2010 to 2013 to expand its fleet, it said.

“In an economic situation that has been fairly described as a perfect storm, Transaero Airlines no doubt is experiencing difficulties,” the company said in the statement.

Transaero had debt of 64.8 billion rubles ($990 million) as of Dec. 31, Vedomosti reported. About 31 percent of it was foreign-exchange denominated at a time when the domestic currency plunged amid international sanctions over Ukraine and slumping oil prices, according to another Vedomosti report. Airbus Group SE last month announced it postponed the delivery of its A380 superjumbo to the Russian carrier.

Russian airline passenger traffic rebounded year on year in the January to July period, according to the Federal Agency of Air Transport. Transaero carried 2.7 percent more passengers during these seven months from a year earlier, the data showed.
Passenger numbers fell 2.3 percent to 17 million in the first quarter, the first decline since 2009, the air transport agency said.

FL Technics receives EASA Part 145 certificate for Sukhoi Superjet 100-95

FL Technics, a global provider of one-stop-shop aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, is delighted to announce the extension of its EASA Part 145 certificate by adding Sukhoi Superjet 100-95 aircraft type to its capabilities.

From the 31st of August, 2015 onwards, FL Technics engineers are ready to offer both scheduled and unscheduled checks, defect rectification, minor component replacement and other line maintenance works on SSJ100 airplanes.

Also, the newly received certificate means that FL Technics will now provide 24/7 AOG support for SSJ100 operators throughout its Line Maintenance network in Europe and Asia.

“Mexico, Belgium, Italy, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and others – this is the geography of SSJ100’s current and upcoming operations. Being a technologically advanced aircraft, step-by-step SSJ100 is growing in popularity and trust amongst international airlines. However, any airplane is not just a flying machine. It’s an integrated product which also comprises a pool of qualified pilots and engineers, a wide technical support andtraining network, flexible finance, etc.,” explains Zilvinas Lapinskas, the CEO of FL Technics.

“We are glad to be able to contribute to the development of SSJ100’s aftermarket support. In addition to line maintenance, we are planning to add base maintenance, engineering and technical training services for SSJ100 operators. With our own MRO centres in Lithuania and Indonesia as well as almost 30 line stations across the globe, we are ready to offer airlines our support for both commercial and VIP versions of SSJ100,” adds the CEO of FL Technics.

Boeing debris found at Reunion Island washed up 3 months ago

A blue 'plane seat' washed up three months ago on Reunion Island where wreckage thought to be a part of the wing from flight MH370 was found, it has been claimed. Man walking on beach reportedly claimed he found suitcases but set them alight after mistaking them for rubbish.

Nicolas Ferrier reportedly said he was on his daily patrol of La Reunion picking up debris from the beach, when he spotted what he thought looked like a bus seat.The island native said he found the seat in early May - along with suitcases which he burned after mistaking them for rubbish.

Malaysia said on Sunday the piece of debris, a 2-2.5 meter (6.5-8 feet) wing surface known as flaperon, had been identified as being from a Boeing 777, the same model as the missing Malaysian plane. Investigators in France are expected to determine whether the piece came from MH370 or not by Wednesday.

The investigators in France would also be on the lookout for other organisms such as tube worms, coralline red algae or shellfish that could also provide clues.
Marine archaeologists study barnacles for clues about shipwrecks but this was believed to be the first time they will be studied to determine the fate of an airliner.

Two bottles found washed up on Friday, with special drinking water given to the pilots to keep them awake during long flights.

For the past four days the beach has been abuzz with activity; on Friday around a dozen police patrolled the beach, while helicopters hovered overhead. Local people took it upon themselves to fly drones over the waves, in the hope of spotting more debris.

Iran plans to buy 90 planes to revamp ageing fleet

Tehran plans to purchase around 90 Boeing and Airbus planes in a bid to upgrade its ageing fleet of commercial airliners, a senior aviation official said.

"We need to add 80 to 90 airplanes (to the fleet) each year in order to have 300 young and active airliners by the next five years," Mohammad Khodakarami, deputy head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told in Tehran.

Back in April, Iranian Minister of Roads and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi announced preparations for major investment in Iran's civil aviation industry as soon as the international sanctions are lifted under a comprehensive nuclear deal.

According to the minister, Tehran is in extensive talks with foreign companies to refurnish its air fleet and develop its airlines.

On July 14, Iran and the 5+1 Group of international mediators (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) finalized the text of an agreement on Iran’s nuclear energy program in Vienna.

Later, the 15-memebr United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the text of the deal.

Boeing has revised plane's performance specifications

     Boeing updated the technical specifications of its jetliners to reflect the way airlines use them and also the trend toward heavier passengers, seats and cargo. The world's biggest plane maker stressed that the airplanes themselves have not changed. Instead, the specifications were altered a few days ago to better reflect their actual performance, a shift industry experts called long overdue.

Boeing increased the seat count on its main widebody planes, the 787 and 777, which makes the cost per seat lower for airlines. Seat counts for the narrow-body 737s remain unchanged. Boeing cut the range for all of the planes, with the recently introduced 787-9 falling the most, by 665 nautical miles (1,230 km).

Those changes reflect the fact that the new premium seats, often lie-flat beds, are about 100 pounds heavier than in the past. Assumptions for passenger and luggage weights also are higher, but Boeing declined to say what assumptions it uses.

"That weight gain, coupled in a slight uptick in the average weight that airlines allocate for passengers and their luggage, means we’ve made slight adjustments in the average range figures for our products: about 600 nautical miles less on average for twin-aisle airplanes, and 100 or so nautical miles less for our single-aisles", says Boeing.

The larger seating capacity on its widebody jets was not an effort to show better operating economics, the company said.

Rather it reflects the fact that many airlines are flying with two-class configurations in widebody planes, rather than three-class.

However, industry sources said decisions about standard seat counts can give broad clues to the way planemakers want their products to be perceived by airlines and lessors.

Boeing's changes were first reported by industry publication Flightglobal. They come after Europe's Airbus made similar revisions to its aircraft performance figures, also showing more seats on some of its widebody jets. Under the new measurements, Boeing's biggest plane, 747-8, is no longer its largest in terms of standard capacity.

Embraer projects 2,060 new deliveries in North America by 2034

Embraer has released its 20-year Market Outlook for the North American market in which it forecasts 2,060 new jet deliveries in the 70 to 130-seat segment. It represents nearly 35% of the total worldwide demand for aircraft in this particular segment and is valued at US$ 96 billion at list prices. Some 47% of the region’s new deliveries are expected to support market growth while 53% will replace ageing aircraft that will be retiring by 2034.

“Despite higher growth rates in other parts of the world, our projections show the US market continuing to dominate the segment because it has such a large volume of existing 70 to 130-seat jets,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “However, we foresee room for growth as network airlines look for alternatives to reduce the capacity gap between regional and mainline operations.”

Further growth is expected as full-service carriers restructure their intra-regional hub-and-spoke operations and deploy larger-capacity regional jets with premium seating in markets traditionally flown by 50-seat jets. The E175 has become a best-seller in its category with an 80% share of net orders in North America since 2013.

Embraer’s 2015 Market Outlook identifies the 90 to 130-seat jet segment as another cornerstone in a new era that is expected to deliver healthier financial results. Favorable crew costs in a mainline carrier cost structure now make those jets an even more attractive economic alternative for domestic operations. The aircraft provide more seats on regional routes while right-sizing capacity in markets currently served by larger narrow-body aircraft.

The E-Jets family has logged more than 1,560 orders and over 1,100 deliveries to date. Since they first entered revenue service in 2004, Embraer E-Jets have achieved a global market share of around 50% of orders and 60% of deliveries in the 70 to 130-seat segment. In North America, Embraer has more than 50% market share among aircraft in its segment with over 400 E-Jets delivered.

Avionics upgrades to drive the current generation aircraft MRO

As the global trend toward next-generation air traffic management systems evolves, and parts obsolescence issues increase, airlines operating aging fleets are considering upgrading cockpits with modern avionics as replacements for legacy systems. ICF SH&E estimates the avionics upgrade market for air transport to reach $1 billion by 2023 for a CAGR of 6.1%. In fact, avionics upgrades are projected to increase faster than the overall MRO market, which is growing at a 3.9% CAGR for the period.

As aircraft get more sophisticated, so does the technology behind the avionics systems they use. Needless to say, the availability of a cost-effective solution that enhances the product life-cycle becomes very important to aircraft operators. However, as technology advances and OEMs tend to increase their focus on what's new, the coming of next generation air traffic management is forecasted to become the major driver behind commercial airliner avionics upgrades. In turn, this will mean a significant amount of retrofitting on older aircraft, to include upgraded flight management systems, autopilots and primary displays.

“System obsolescence is an increasingly prevalent problem with mature avionics. Naturally, it is frustrating operators as they deal with potentially long spares lead times from avionics OEMs, while trying to secure scarce parts for equipment manufactured in the 1980s or early 1990s. Needless to say, these are all sound reasons for completing appropriate system upgrades,” says Kestutis Volungevicius, Head of Engineering and Training at FL Technics. “For instance, there are thousands of aircraft operating with vintage CRT displays, and with them, increasing reliability and maintainability issues for the airlines. CRTs are very expensive to repair or replace, and for products with built-in CRTs, repair costs escalate more quickly than average.”

One of major Canadian providers is currently experiencing a growing demand for modern avionics installations. According to the company, 80% of its avionics business is focused on cockpit upgrades. Moreover, Innovative Solutions & Support predicts that the avionics retrofit market could total $10 billion over the next 10 years. Analysts say the MD-80/90 series, as well as Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft will account for most of the business, with North American and European carriers generating 80% of the market.

“These upgrades improve airline operations and safety, while the increases in reliability improve both the operations and reduced life-cycle maintenance costs. However, the decision to install new cockpit displays must also be based on a bigger-picture view. Ultimately, airlines have to weigh upgrade costs against the increasing maintenance costs generated by the aging engines and airframe,” explains Kestutis Volungevicius, the Head of Engineering ant Training at FL Technics.

For instance, current discounts available to purchase new airplanes may encourage some to opt for new equipment, rather than to make the investment to update legacy aircraft such as Boeing 737 Classic. However, for other aircraft such as the 757, which performs well as a freighter, upgrades may be a realistic option to extend in-service aircraft life.

“Of course, with more aircraft being retired in favour of newer, more fuel-efficient models, the avionics upgrade market could take a hit. However, while this could reduce the market's size, operators purchasing new aircraft will have to wait years for delivery—and make do with their existing fleets in the interim. As a result, airlines should be prepared to look at innovative solutions from other avenues, rather than just relying on OEMs and the status quo,” concludes the Head of Engineering and Training at FL Technics.