Air Madagascar orders ATR 72-600 fleet for $77m

Air Madagascar orders ATR 72-600 fleet for $77m

Today ATR and Air Madagascar, Madagascar's national airline, announced the signing of a contract for the purchase of three ATR 72-600s for a total of approximately 77 million dollars. The first aircraft will be delivered as from 2017. At the same time, the airline has recently signed an agreement with the Irish leasing company Elix Aviation Capital to add two new ATR 72-600s, the first having been delivered today and the second being delivered next month.

The arrival of all these five ATRs of the latest generation will enable Air Madagascar to renew its fleet of ATRs, which currently consists of one ATR 42-500 and two ATR 72-500s, significantly increasing seat capacity on the main domestic routes, while offering passengers the highest levels of comfort.

Air Madagascar is a long-time customer of ATR. It introduced its first ATR, an ATR 42-300, in 1996 and has operated the ATR -500 series since 2005.

Henry Rabary-Njaka, Chairman of the Board of Air Madagascar, was "very pleased to be among the first African operators to fly the new ATR -600 series. These aircraft have become a veritable benchmark for regional airlinesaround the world. The performance of the ATR 72-600s notably on short and unprepared runways, along with their strong reliability, make these aircraft a real asset in the expansion of our regional transportation network. In addition, their low operating costs will allow us to offer the most attractive airfares. The new ATR -600 series are also at the forefront of technology in terms of comfort, and we are pleased to offer these new standards in modernity to our passengers." He added: “In the long term, we will increase our fleet of latest generation ATRs up to seven aircraft”.

FL Technics to provide Base Maintenance support to Turkmenistan Airlines

FL Technics to provide Base Maintenance support to Turkmenistan Airlines

FL Technics, a global provider of integrated aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, is pleased to announce the signing of a Base Maintenance agreement with Turkmenistan Airlines. Under the agreement, FL Technics will provide C-Check support for the carrier’s fiveBoeing 737 NG aircraft.

The first Boeing 737-800 operated by the national airlines of Turkmenistan has already reached FL Technics premises in Vilnius, Lithuania. According to the contract, FL Technics engineers will provide a comprehensive set of maintenance works covered by the C-Check program. The scope of works will include, but not limited to functional and operational systems checks, repair, overhaul and exchange of internal components, inspection and repair of structure and composite elements, NDT, seat repairs, defect rectification, etc. In addition to the already delivered aircraft, FL Technics will serve four other Boeing 737s operated by Turkmenistan Airlines which are to reach Lithuania later this year.

“Having won the public tender held by Turmkenistan Airlines in 2014, we are extremely glad to welcome the carrier's first aircraft in our hangars under the contract to service its fleet,” shares Zilvinas Lapinskas, the CEO of FL Technics. "We see this cooperation as yet another proof of exceptional quality of our MRO solutions as well as the trust carriers from different world regions place in our services. We endeavour to both meet and exceed our customer’s expectations, and hope to expand our cooperation in the future.”

Turkmenistan Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkmenistan. Based at Ashgabat International Airport, the carrier flies to over 20 domestic and international destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. At the moment, Turkmenistan Airlines operates an all-Boeing commercial passenger fleet as well as several Challenger-605 and Hawker-125/1000 business jets. The company also operates a fleet of helicopters and transport airplanes.

Flymojo to purchase up to 40 Bombardier CSeries airliners worth $1.5 billion

Flymojo to purchase up to 40 Bombardier CSeries airliners worth $1.5 billion

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Fly Mojo Sdn Bhd announced today that the parties have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) for the sale and purchase of 20 CS100 aircraft with options for an additional 20 CS100 aircraft.

The announcement was made in parallel with the Government of Malaysia’s announcement at LIMA on a new airline, flymojo, which will be based out of Johor Bahru, Johor and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Upon execution of a firm purchase agreement, flymojo is expected to become the first customer and operator of the CS100 aircraft in the region.

Based on the list price of the CS100 aircraft, a firm order would be valued at approximately $1.47 billion US, and could increase to $2.94 billion US, should flymojo exercise all its options.

At the LOI signing ceremony, flymojo was represented by Managing Director, Janardhanan Gopala Krishnan and Bombardier Commercial Aircraft by Regional Vice President, Sales, Asia-Pacific, Frank Baistrocchi.

In attendance were the Right Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Tun Razak, the Honorable Minister of Transport, Liow Tiong Lai, the Honorable Deputy Minister of Transport, Aziz Kaprawi, Canada’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Her Excellency Judith St. George, flymojo Chairman, Alies Anor Abdul and Vice President, Sales, China and Asia-Pacific, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, Andy Solem.

“The announcement of a new airline in Malaysia is an exciting way to kick off LIMA. With flymojo’s primary hub at Senai International Airport, Johor and secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, the airline’s ultra-modern fleet of CS100 aircraft will play a key role in improving connectivity between the Peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, as well as other parts of the region,” said Deputy Minister of Transport, Aziz Kaprawi.

FL Technics Jets supports Grafair with Hawker base maintenance solutions

FL Technics Jets, a global provider of tailor-made maintenance, repair and overhaul services for business aviation, is delighted to announce that recently it has provided comprehensive Hawker aircraft base maintenance support to its latest customer Grafair, a Swedish business jet and FBO operator.

The agreement with the Swedish carrier was signed in the beginning of 2015. Since then, FL Technics Jets has already provided the first set of MRO works on the Grafair’s Hawker 800XP business jet. The agreed upon service package comprised such maintenance works as a 12 Months’ Check of engines, APUs and other aircraft systems as well as defect rectification and other. All services were provided in the FL Technics Jets own MRO centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. Following the successful completion of the aforementioned works, the Grafair’s aircraft has returned to its base at Stockholm-Bromma Airport in Sweden. Additional scheduled maintenance works on the aircraft are to be conducted later this year.

”It‘s a real pleasure to support Grafair, one of the most prominent business aviation players in Europe, with our services. The fact that the Swedish carrier has placed its trust in our company and has since expressed full satisfaction with our services explicitly speak for the quality and reliability of our business aviation MRO solutions,” comments Darius Saluga, the CEO of FL Technics Jets. “We are proud to add Grafair to the map of our customers worldwide, and look forward to expanding our cooperation in the future.”

Grafair is a Stockholm-based international aviation company engaged in business, air ambulance and air taxi charter flights as well as Fixed-Base Operations (FBO). The company operates Cessna and Hawker aircraft. In 2014 European Business Air News (EBAN) awarded the company as the best FBO in Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.

Flying private literally pays – business travellers show increased productivity

A recent study conducted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has revealed that more than 20 % of allbusiness aviation users felt more productive while onboard a private jet compared to working in their offices. Moreover, their counterparts using the services of traditional carriers have reported experiencing a 36% drop in productivity. With that in mind, it seems that time saving and unchallenging accessibility are not among the main reasons to choose business aviation anymore - its increased productivity that stands out the most.

Driven by the growing interest from CEOs and top managers, the global business aviation fleet keeps expanding at an unprecedented rate and is expected to comprise 22 650 aircraft by 2023, according to the recent Bombardier market forecast. In addition, studies reveal that apart from time saving and unchallenged accessibility, private flying contributes to increased productivity, which is actually reflected on the company's balance spreadsheet.

For instance, one Oxford Economics report estimates that around 10% of the revenue generated from business-related trips can be attributed to business aviation. In addition, private jet users are more successful at delivering value to their shareholders. In fact, according to the NBAA Business Aviation Fact Book 2014, business jet travellers generated 245% higher return for their shareholders (dividends plus stock price appreciation) than those travelling by other means of transportation.

"Currently, over 6 500 private aircraft are equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, enabling CEOs, managers and entrepreneurs to perform their day-to-day tasks. It allows them to remain highly efficient during their flights, thus saving valuable time. Moreover, there is way less distractions whilst being on board of a private jet, as opposed to working in a busy office," shares Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet. "Interestingly enough, even professional baseball teams are said to be 60 % more likely to lose their games due to the discomfort and hassles of a long commercial flight. Of course, while a lost game may leave thousands of fans with their hearts broken, losing time or efficiency in a vibrant business sector can accumulate millions of dollars in losses over a failed deal.”

In addition to the enhanced performance, business passengers report that they spend twice less time sleeping or resting in a private jet than those travelling with commercial carriers. Thus, according to the survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates, with more time on their hands, business aviation users devote nearly half of their time (48 %) onboard to work-related meetings, conferences and discussions with other employees in person, on the telephone or via Wi-Fi.

“While business aviation is often commended for the increased time efficiency and flexibility it offers, there are way more benefits it actually provides. What was once just a flexible and convenient way to get from point A to point B, flying private now grants enhanced connectivity and work-friendly environment that wins over the majority of business passengers. With more and more users each day, no wonder that in 2014 alone business jet shipments increased by 6.5%,” concludes Vitalij Kapitonov, CEO of KlasJet.

Source and image: KlasJet

ALC firms up order for 55 A330neo and A321LR models

Air Lease Corporation (ALC), the Los Angeles based aircraft leasing company, has firmed up its order for 55 Airbusaircraft, comprising 25 A330-900neo and 30 A321LR - the very latest members of Airbus’ modern, fuel-efficient aircraft family.

ALC was first to sign up for the newest member of Airbus’ market leading widebody family, the A330neo, announcing a commitment for 25 A330-900neo during the launch at the 2014 Farnborough International Airshow. ALC was also the first to commit to the A321LR, the newest variant of the A321neo, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding for 30 at the launch in January 2015, increasing its commitment made for 60 A321neo at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow to 90 firm A321neo aircraft.

“We are proud to be adding these newest generation Airbus aircraft to our portfolio and to have played a part in launching these latest generation, efficient aircraft,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Air Lease Corporation’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “We see significant market appetite for Airbus’ A321LR and A330neo models, offering operators exactly what they want - even more range, even better economics and superior level of passenger comfort.”

“ALC is always ahead of the game and we are very happy to have them on board from the start with our latest A321LR and A330neo models,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “We listen very carefully to our customers and are clearly seeing that our strategy to constantly improve our products through incremental innovations means we are able to not only meet but exceed their highest expectations.”

Including today’s announcement, ALC’s total firm orders for Airbus aircraft stands at 258, comprising 53 A320ceo Family, 140 A320neo Family, 15 A330 Family, 25 A350 XWB Family and 25 A330neo Family.

Source and image: Airbus

Aviation MRO in Africa in need of overhaul

Despite the fact that aviation industry creates around 6.7 million jobs and $6.8B for African GDP, it still remains an area for concern. There are a lot of factors to blame for such a performance, including limited technology, poor policing, cumbersome airport fees and taxes on jet fuel (which are about 20% higher than elsewhere on the globe), as well as the lack of political will. Nevertheless, first and foremost in order to start moving forward, the region has to properly address its MRO capabilities in both short and long term perspectives.

Currently African commercial aviation is a market with less than 400 aircraft. Nevertheless, one has to keep in mind that it has a huge population and major natural resources, allowing African economies to grow more than 5% in 2014 alone. Based on that, experts forecast that with the middle class on the rise over the next few decades the industry can achieve growth comparable to that of the Middle East, given, of course, it is managed correctly. At the same time, however, the continent’s safety record is still about eight times worse than enjoyed by any other of the five continents in the world, which makes improvements in the area a top priority.

“Political interference with technical aviation is widely regarded as one of the principal threats to aviation safety, be it in developed or less-developed markets. Therefore, to achieve the growth objectives, it is vital for African states to have effective and autonomous civil aviation authorities. Another challenge is increasing the pool of skilled and qualified maintenance labour, especially since more and more new aircraft models are introduced to replace the old ones, as the carriers grow their current fleets. Adding up to the issue is the brain drain affecting the future of African aviation. And then there are also numerous component logistics issues to address,” comments Aldas Juronis, the Head of FL Technics Components and Materials Sales Department.

Pressing challenges to developing appropriate aircraft maintenance capabilities in Africa include huge distances, sparse infrastructure and transferring parts between countries, especially since there are operations in remote Africa. Having tools and parts shipped into some areas is also very difficult because of many borders and different governmental policies, resulting in various customs obstacles. For instance, it may take several days to clear African customs, which naturally adds significantly to maintenance-related downtime during AOG situations. Meanwhile, Kenya charges a non-refundable railway tax of 17%, which has even resulted in a practice of shipping components to other areas to be installed.

“Currently much of the main drivers of African aviation MRO costs are component-related, creating many challenges, long delays and additional expenses. One of the possible solutions to this problem could be building up stock levels to mitigate the delays, enabling airlines to solve AOG situations rapidly and get the customers flying with minimal downtime,” states Aldas Juronis, the Head of FL Technics Components and Materials Sales Department. “At the same time, continuous challenges provide reasons to welcome new companies that might bring new solutions to old issues through strong relationships and constant examination of shipping problems. Much of these can be supplied by third-party providers that want to expand their operations on the continent. In any case, currently African aviation industry requires immense investments as well as a highly innovative and creative approach in order to tackle its problems and realize full potential.”

Source and image: FL Technics