Southeast Asia – a challenge of maintaining the fastest growing rotorcraft fleet in the world

Part of the thriving Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia will remain home to the fastest growing civil rotorcraft fleet in the world this year. Its CAGR is expected to top 21 % and the region will account for 33 % of the global spending on military and 20 % on civil helicopters. Naturally, such a rapid expansion comes with a set of challenges. One of the major ones is related to fleet support, especially in remote areas of the region. Unfortunately, OEMs and independent MROproviders are yet to arrive at a unanimous decision with regard to the most effective solution to the problem.

In 2014, the civil rotorcraft fleet in Southeast Asia maintained an upward trend as the region experienced an increase of 9% and recorded a total of 2463 helicopters by the end of the year (acc. to Asian Sky Group). The region is made up of a large mainland peninsula and more than 20 000 separate islands, so it comes to no surprise that air travel is the most convenient method of commuting for both locals and visitors. However, it is not the only reason driving the aforementioned fleet growth.

According to different studies, more than a third of the region’s helicopter fleet is used for serving the expanding offshore oil and gas industry in Southeast Asia. For instance, the Asian Sky Group report states that the majority of the Myanmar’s 13 helicopters are used for offshore activities. Moreover, keeping in mind that by 2011 offshore had already accounted for 80 % of oil and gas production in the region and since then has remained on a growing projectile until today (acc. to GEOExPro study), it is clear that comprehensive (and fast-responding) service for helicopter maintenance is a must in the region with so many islands, drilling sites and isolated locations.

“The geographical characteristics of the region, namely its remoteness, are certainly a challenge to overcome. The vast geographic spread of Southeast Asia means that your fleet can be thousands of kilometres away from one of around only 80 major service stations in the entire region. Naturally, it translates into a whole new set of challenges for both MRO providers and component suppliers," comments Anatolij Legenzov, the CEO of Helisota. “The main issues that originate from the specific geographic environment include insufficient consumables, long waits and uncoordinated handling of AOG situations. However, despite the fact that all of these problems have been well known for quite a while now, local providers are yet to come up with an effective solution.”

Instinctively, as a reaction to such growth, manufacturers and MRO providers are trying to meet the ever-growing demand for new rotorcraft by establishing their support centres. However, despite the fact that Airbus Helicopters, AugustaWestland, Bell and many others have set up support facilities in the region’s hub Singapore, many experts note that it has done little good when it comes to tackling the issue of remote areas. In fact, what it unintentionally does is spur the problem of maintenance personnel, which is already a hot topic in the region, as Southeast Asia is also well known for its lack of maintenance professionals. The demand for technicians in the region is expected to reach 30 000 by the year 2033, according to Boeing. This shortage, alongside insufficient and out-of-date maintenance equipment definitely adds to the stack of growth-related issues.

“It is important to understand that the helicopter market growth means value only if it is followed by the appropriate solutions in the areas of maintenance, spare parts supply and the technical training for the scattered region. Considering the environment, such services as deployed teams, components exchange or logistics support can really raise some MRO providers above the rest in the region. And as manufacturers tend to ramp up their presence in central hubs only, operators are left to decide between flexible services of independent MROs and the ones provided by manufacturers. Needless to say, finding a reliable provider offering all of the aforementioned services is on top of every operator’s priority list,” concludes Anatolij Legenzov, the CEO of Helisota.

Source and image: Helisota

SWISS to take first Bombardier CS100 series in 2016

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) announced today that SWISS will be the first customer to take delivery and operate the CSeries aircraft when the CS100 aircraft enters service in the first half of 2016. Bombardier also confirmed today that the CSeriesaircraft will make its world debut at the International Paris Air Show being held at Le Bourget, France and will fly directly to Zürich, Switzerland in June as part of a demonstration organized for SWISS’ local stakeholders. 

SWISS was previously announced as the launch customer for the CSeries aircraft program after parent Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Lufthansa) signed a firm purchase agreement in 2009 for 30 CS100 single-aisle aircraft for SWISS.

“Following the performance results and flight test data, we are pleased that the CSeries aircraft is very much in line with our performance expectations and sustainable fleet requirements. Therefore, we are looking forward to being both the launch customer and the first airline that will operate the CS100 aircraft,” said Harry Hohmeister, Chief Executive Officer, Swiss International Air Lines. “It’s an honour to mark this occasion with the confirmation that theCS100 aircraft will make an appearance at our hub in Zürich mid-June.”

“SWISS has long been an interactive and highly engaged customer; participating in the many development aspects of Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft - it’s only fitting that our friends from SWISS be the first to operate the CS100 aircraft in service,” said Fred Cromer, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft.

“SWISS and its parent Lufthansa are known for their cutting-edge technical and operational excellence and we look forward to supporting them as our first operator.”

Source and image: Bombardier

Managing the unique: a jet owner’s nightmare

According to Forbes, currently there are 1 741 members of the ultra-wealthy club around the world. Moreover, analysts at Global Retail Solutions Group forecast the number of luxury consumers globally to reach 400 million by 2020. Needless to say, it is they who, according to Bombardier, are expected to drive the number of business aircraft purchases to 22 650 by 2023. In addition, seeing a business jet more than just a means for transportation, the new owners, especially those from the emerging markets, are driving the demand for unique interior refurbishments as well. However, while the urge for unique in the segment is understandable, the real challenge usually comes after the actual design work is done.

Reacting to the ever-growing demand for more cost-efficient aircraft, Airbus recently announced plans to offer clients a 3-5-3 cabin configuration on its Airbus A380, creating rows with 11 seats on the largest commercial jet on the planet. In the meantime, in the world of private travel many “new-born” jet owners seem to be moving closer and closer to having a truly home-like experience in their machines.

“With the luxury market heating up, a lot of what was predominantly seen in the West is now permeating to the emerging markets. For instance, as the economic powers shifted their base towards the east, China emerged as the new market for luxury brands to expand their market after most avenues in the west had either slowed down or been saturated. What this translated into was a considerable amount of spending on luxurious products by the Chinese, such as the $88 000 Korean anti-aging treatment at the Ritz Carlton, Seoul, or even the purchase of a private island by one Chinese millionaire,” comments Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet. “Naturally, in such a scenario, buying a private jet and making it truly unique isn’t something impossible. In fact, it was recently revealed that there are quite a few people in the emerging markets, who spend considerable sums of money to redo their jets at regular intervals.”

As sales of private jets continue to grow, many international companies (such as Talcao Aviation, Aeria Luxury Interiors, Delta Interior Design), as well as the local ones are busy meeting the demands from private jet owners to customize their jets. Needless to say, refurbishing a plane comes at steep prices. For example, it may cost more than $30 000 to do as little as install a new carpet for a large-cabin in a Gulfstream G550. Moreover, installing entertainment systems and other elements like selection of rare fabrics for the upholstery could push the price even higher than what it is.

“Although most private jet owners are new to owning an aircraft, design and quality are both important elements for them. Many customers of design companies do not change the engine, power generators and avionics of a jet, but they tend to redecorate the interior every three years. Many clients use their aircraft for doing business, so the jet needs to reflect who they are and the image they wish to project to the world. In the meantime, although these kinds of investments truly make an aircraft unique, the expenditure on private jets does not end with purchase, design and equipment. The costs continue on wards with aircraft maintenance, service and other expenses,” explains Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet.

According to General Aviation Services, 350 to 400 hours of flight time per year should usually justify full ownership of a private jet. Conversely, Business Jet Traveler’s Reader’s Choice Survey unveils that the majority (58, 9%) of frequent flyers only flies 100 or less hours a year. In addition, crew salaries, required training costs, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, hangar rent, insurance, avionics software updates, and many other expenses including taking care of the luxurious interiors must be paid to keep the aircraft ready to fly when you need it. Basically, this means most of the jet owners are constantly experiencing losses.

“We observe a great deal of owners losing money over untapped aircraft and this situation is extremely unpleasant. People invest millions, sometimes billions to make their flying home exclusive and unique; however, the potential of such an aircraft is literally wasted if a plane is not used constantly. As the cost of managing your own aircraft can vary between $700 000 to $4 million per year, putting this job into the hands of a third party provider can be an answer to the issue, as the customer would be protected from unanticipated losses while the provider is enabled to make an honest profit to maintain the upwards growth,” concludes Vitalij Kapitonov, the CEO of KlasJet.

Source and image: KlasJet

Cost control on the Boeing 787

Cost control on the Boeing 787 programme showed some improvement on a unit basis in the first quarter, but the company remains far from break-even.

If deferred production, unamortised tooling and other costs are factored in, Boeing lost an average of $30 million on each of the 30 787s delivered in the first quarter.

That represented an 11% decline from a $34 million unit loss on each of the 35 787s delivered in the fourth quarter of last year.

Boeing still plans to reach break-even on a unit basis by the end of this year on the 787 programme.

“The programme continues to make improvements on unit costs,” Greg Smith, Boeing’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, said in a first quarter earnings call with analysts on 22 April. “We’ve still got a long way to go, but we’re making a lot of progess.”

The unit accounting losses on each 787 do not show up directly on Boeing’s quarterly balance sheet.

Instead, Boeing’s programme accounting method defines a block 1,300 aircraft expected to be delivered and builds in a predetermined cost and operating margin for each aircraft delivered within the block.

Actual losses on each aircraft delivered so far are added to the programme’s deferred production cost. Boeing also has a separate line item for unamortised tooling and other costs.

The combined deferred production and amortised tooling costs rose by $905 million in the first quarter to exceed $30 billion.

Although overall costs are still rising, the first quarter represented the first three-month period that the figure was held under $1 billion since Boeing started delivery 787s in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The unit cost improvement in the first quarter could have been greater if not for supply chain problems. Zodiac Aerospace has fallen behind on deliveries of premium cabin seating. GE Aviation also discovered a quality problem with a component that delayed shipments of 29 GEnx engines. Both issues are expected to be resolved in the second quarter.

“We do have a high confidence in the plan to resolve” the Zodiac seat issues, says Boeing chief executive and chairman James McNerney. “”It’s not going to disrupt our production plans.”

A400M crashes on take-off from Seville airport

An Airbus A400M airlifter crashed shortly after take-off on 9 May from the San Pablo Airport inSeville, Spain, according to reports.

Airport officials tweeted that the airport was closed as firefighters attended to an accident beyond the facility’s enclosure. Spain’s prime minister also reportedly confirmed that an A400M crashed, killing a crew of eight to 10 people on board.

Pictures of the accident scene on social media located the wreck about 1nm (1.9km) north of the airport near a Coca Cola facility.

That would place the crash site on a direct bearing with diagonal runway at San Pablo airport, but it is not known which runway was used by the A400M for take-off.

The crash marks the first fatal incident involving the A400M in the programme’s 5.5-year flight history.

It comes as Airbus has recently restructured the programme following a series of production delays. In January, Airbus replaced the head of the military division that produces the airlifter with Fernando Alonso, formerly head of flight test operations. One month later, Airbus announced taking a €551 million ($620 million) fourth quarter charge due to the production problems.

American inaugurates 787 in latest step of fleet renewal

American Airlines introduced its first Boeing 787-8 between its Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago O’Hare hubs today, the latest in a string of new aircraft types at the US mainline carrier.

Flight AA2320, the Fort Worth, Texas-based Oneworld Alliance carrier’s first revenue Dreamlinerflight, departed Dallas/Fort Worth International airport at 07:31 local time bound for Chicago O’Hare International airport with a water cannon send off.

The 787 operating the first flight (registration N801AC and MSN 40619) is one of five that American has taken delivery of since January. It was delivered in February.

“This is really is just another testament to what American is becoming,” says Fern Fernandez, vice-president of global marketing at American, ahead of departure at the gate in Dallas. “The 787 represents the transformation that’s happening at American…the fact that we have the youngest fleet in the industry right now and we’re taking two new airplanes a week this year.”

The airline anticipates having 13 787-8s in its fleet by the end of 2015, many of which will replace older Boeing 767-200ERs and 767-300ERs that are being retired. It plans to remove 13 767s this year.

“American is now the first carrier to take delivery of all of Boeing’s jets that have ever been built, from the 707 all the way to the 787,” says Al Smolinski, sales director for the Americas at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, at the event.

The 787 introduction is the latest in a string of new aircraft types for American. The carrier’s legacy operation, including regional, has introduced the Bombardier CRJ900 in August 2014, the AirbusA321 in January 2014, the Airbus A319 in September 2013, the Embraer 175 in August 2013 and the Boeing 777-300ER in January 2013.

“It’s a phenomenal fleet renewal programme,” says Fernandez.

American will add 787 international service in June. The aircraft will replace a Boeing 777-200 on flights from Dallas/Fort Worth to Beijing on 2 June, to Buenos Aires on 4 June and to ShanghaiPudong on 26 June.

The 787 will take over the carrier’s flights between Chicago O’Hare and Tokyo Narita on 19 August.

“It’s just a perfect airplane for the type of rotation that we do here in Dallas between Asia and South America,” says Fernandez.

American has outfitted its 787s with 226 seats, including 28 lie-flat business class seats, 57 extra legroom economy seats and 141 economy seats. This compares to the 260 seats on its 777-200s and 209 seats on its 767-300ERs.

American is the second US carrier after United Airlines and fourth in North America after Aeromexicoand Air Canada to operate the 787.

The airline has firm orders for 16 more 787-8s and 21 787-9s with deliveries through 2018, the Ascend Fleets database shows. It has options for another 58 aircraft.

The atmosphere was jovial on the inaugural flight to Chicago, as the majority of passengers were onboard primarily to experience the aircraft, rather than to get to the Windy City. Passengers milled about during the flight, checking out the premium cabin and new features on the Dreamliner.

AA2320 arrived 4min early at 09:23 local time in Chicago.

FAA orders new 787 electrical fix to prevent power failure

All Boeing 787 operators will be required to periodically deactivate the electrical system to avoid a problem with a newly-discovered software bug that could cause the aircraft to lose alternating current (AC) power, the US Federal Aviation Administration says in a new airworthiness directive.

The agency adopted the final rule after Boeing reported the results of a laboratory test showing a total loss of power is possible if the generator control units run continuously for eight months, says the FAA’s 30 April notice in the Federal Register.

The binding airworthiness directive is being published less than two weeks after Boeing privately alerted operators about the problem, the company says in a statement to Flightglobal.

It is rare for a commercial aircraft to remain powered on for eight months with no interruptions.

So far, no 787 operator has experienced the software problem that causes four onboard generators to stop working at the same time, Boeing says.

Boeing is working on a software update to fix the problem that should be ready in the fourth quarter, the company says.

The 787 relies on electric power more than previous commercial aircraft. In addition to powering onboard avionics, the 787’s electrical generators also are used to pressurise the aircraft cabin and de-ice the leading edge of the wing.

Two 250kVA generators are installed on each of the 787’s pair of turbofan engines. Another two back-up generators each rated at 225kVA are connected to the auxiliary power unit. If all six generators fail at the same time, a lithium-ion main battery keeps power running to the flightdeck systems for about 6s until a ram air turbine can deploy and begin generating enough power to help the pilots navigate while attempting to restart the engines or glide to an unpowered – or “dead-stick” – landing.

All six power generating systems are managed by a corresponding generator control unit (GCU). Boeing’s laboratory testing discovered that an internal software counter in the GCU overflows after running continuously for 248 days, according to the FAA. The overflow causes all four GCUs on the engine-mounted generators to enter failsafe mode at the same time.

The software overflow problem is the latest in a string of reliability bugs to surface in the 787’s electrical system. The FAA grounded the 787 fleet for four months in 2013 after two batteries overheated, leading to a redesign of the battery system installation. Last June, the FAA approved an exemption to allow the 787-9 to enter service on schedule despite a substandard reliability record on the GCU for the RAT. The agency approved the exemption because it was deemed extremely improbable that all six power generators on board could fail at the same time.

A redesigned RAT was cut into the 787-9 production line on schedule in February and Boeing is continuing to retrofit previously delivered aircraft, a company spokesman says.