Bombardier cements Q400 deal with South Africa's Cem Air

At an event in Johannesburg last night, Bombardier confirmed this orderfollowed a letter of intent signed at the Paris Airshow, earlier this year and is valued at $66million at list price.

"CemAir has enjoyed significant growth in the last few years and this has come from our focused approach on selecting the right aircraft for our operation", said Miles van der Molen, the airline’s CEO. "The Q400 is a fantastic performer especially in our environment of high altitudes and hot operating temperatures. It is really an unbeatable turboprop that brings so many jet-like features to ensure a competitive and operational advantage in our market. We see the Q400 as the ideal growth solution for our scheduled and charter operations as we continue to strengthen our relationship with Bombardier. We are working to expand our scheduled operations beyond South Africa and continuing to support new opportunities across the continent."

With these Q400 aircraft, CemAir sees an increase its current fleet of Bombardier aircraft to 17 - including five Q Series turboprops and 12 CRJ Series aircraft. CemAir recently added a used CRJ900 aircraft to its fleet, the first in South Africa.

The company has operating and leasing experience throughout Africa and the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Gabon, Ghana, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Sudan, Zambia, as well as South Africa.

Speaking at the event, Bombardier’s Jean-Paul Boutibou, vice president, sales, Middle-East and Africa said: "The Q400 is the next natural step in the growth of CemAir's fleet as it brings more flexibility to increase the capacity on key routes. The Q400 will open several market opportunities to CemAir on domestic and future regional routes." 

Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens to develop hybrid-electric aircraft power

Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens have formed a partnership which aims at developing a near-term flight demonstrator which will be a significant step forward in hybrid-electric propulsion for commercial aircraft.

The three companies together announced the groundbreaking collaboration, bringing together some of the world’s foremost experts in electrical and propulsion technologies, at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. 
 
The E-Fan X hybrid-electric technology demonstrator is anticipated to fly in 2020 following a comprehensive ground test campaign, provisionally on a BAe 146 flying testbed, with one of the aircraft’s four gas turbine engines replaced by a two megawatt electric motor. Provisions will be made to replace a second gas turbine with an electric motor once system maturity has been proven.
 
“The E-Fan X is an important next step in our goal of making electric flight a reality in the foreseeable future. The lessons we learned from a long history of electric flight demonstrators, starting with the Cri-Cri, including the e-Genius, E-Star, and culminating most recently with the E-Fan 1.2, as well as the fruits of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration with Siemens, will pave the way to a hybrid single-aisle commercial aircraft that is safe, efficient, and cost-effective,” said Paul Eremenko, Airbus’ Chief Technology Officer. “We see hybrid-electric propulsion as a compelling technology for the future of aviation.”
 
The E-Fan X demonstrator will explore the challenges of high-power propulsion systems, such as thermal effects, electric thrust management, altitude and dynamic effects on electric systems and electromagnetic compatibility issues. The objective is to push and mature the technology, performance, safety and reliability enabling quick progress on the hybrid electric technology. The programme also aims at establishing the requirements for future certification of electrically powered aircraft while training a new generation of designers and engineers to bring hybrid-electric commercial aircraft one step closer to reality.
 
As part of the E-Fan X programme, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Siemens will each contribute with their extensive experience and know-how in their respective fields of expertise:
 
-       Airbus will be responsible for overall integration as well as the control architecture of the hybrid-electric propulsion system and batteries, and its integration with flight controls.
-       Rolls-Royce will be responsible for the turbo-shaft engine, two megawatt generator, and power electronics. Along with Airbus, Rolls-Royce will also work on the fan adaptation to the existing nacelle and the Siemens electric motor.
-       Siemens will deliver the two megawatt electric motors and their power electronic control unit, as well as the inverter, DC/DC converter, and power distribution system. This comes on top of the E-Aircraft Systems House collaboration between Airbus and Siemens, launched in 2016, which aims at development and maturation of various electric propulsion system components and their terrestrial demonstraion across various power classes.
 
Paul Stein, Rolls-Royce, Chief Technology Officer, said: “The E-Fan X enables us to build on our wealth of electrical expertise to revolutionise flight and welcome in the third generation of aviation. This is an exciting time for us as this technological advancement will result in Rolls-Royce creating the world’s most powerful flying generator.
 
“Siemens has been driving innovation in core technology fields at full speed,” said Roland Busch, Chief Technology Officer of Siemens. “In April 2016 we opened a new chapter in electric-mobility with the collaboration with Airbus. Building up electric propulsion for aircraft, we are creating new perspectives for our company and also for our customers and society. With the E-Fan X partnership, we now take the next step to demonstrate the technology in the air.”
 
Among the top challenges for today’s aviation sector is to move towards a means of transport with improved environmental performance, that is more efficient and less reliant on fossil fuels. The partners are committed to meeting the EU technical environmental goals of the European Commission’s Flightpath 2050 Vision for Aviation (reduction of CO2 by 60%, reduction of NOx by 90% and noise reduction by 75%). These cannot be achieved with the technologies existing today. Therefore, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens are investing in and focusing research work in different technology areas including electrification. Electric and hybrid-electric propulsion are seen today as among the most promising technologies for addressing these challenges.

Airlander returns to the skies

All objectives of the planned flight were accomplished and the aircraft is now safely back at its masting site. The Airlander was taken off its mooring mast at 17:20 last night and took off at 17:28. It flew for a total of 180 minutes before landing at 20:15 and was secured safely on the mast at 20:20. 

“It was truly amazing to be back in the air. I loved every minute of the flight and the Airlander itself handled superbly. I am eager to get back into the cockpit and take her flying again,” said chief test pilot, Dave Burns.

Also on board was experimental test Pilot, Simon Davies.

This marks the return to the skies of the world’s largest aircraft, the Airlander 10, and draws a line under the heavy landing it experienced last August.  

The Airlander has now flown three times in addition to a successful flight as HAV-304 during the US Army’s Long Endurance Multi-intelligence Vehicle program in 2012.  There were considerable modifications since it was the HAV-304 and the Hybrid Air Vehicles team have made a number of additional modifications since last August, the main ones visible today being a new more powerful and more manoeuvrable Mobile Mooring Mast (MMM), and the additional “landing feet” of the Auxiliary Landing System (ALS).

Lufthansa Technik sign contract with Mango Airlines

Lufthansa Technik AG and Mango Airlines from South Africa have signed an exclusive contract for the maintenance of CFM56-7B engines, which power the airline's fleet of ten Boeing 737NG aircraft.

Within the framework of the agreement, Lufthansa Technik will provide overhaulservices for the engines at its German locations until 2022.

Mango Airlines' parent company, South African Airways, has been receiving exclusive support from Lufthansa Technik for the CFM56-7B engines of its Boeing 737NG fleet for more than 15 years already.

This new agreement now comprises at least 19 overhaul events over the next five years, with billing on a power-by-the-hour basis.

"We are very pleased to expand our footprint in South Africa by adding Mango Airlines to our customers," said Robert Gaag, Vice President Corporate Sales Europe, Middle East & Africa at Lufthansa Technik. "Lufthansa Technik has a long lasting presence in thisregion and this agreement is a further proof that our services can betailor-made to the different needs of this market."

The newly signed contract with Mango Airlines means that Lufthansa Technik is adding another South African customer to its base and now has long-term maintenance contracts with all major airlines in the country. Besides South African Airways (SAA) and SAA-Technical, its customers also include the airlines Comair and Safair.

Cargolux increases market presence in Africa

Cargolux Airlines has introduced two new destinations in Africa, Douala in Cameroon and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The first Cargolux cargo plane to Lubumbashi will take off on 15 September, while Douala will be served from 3 October.

Flights to Lubumbashi leaving Luxembourg every Friday night and come in the DRC on Saturday morning at 05:25 at. The return flight via Johannesburg, Nairobi and Stansted in the UK. Arrival in Luxembourg on Sunday at 13:25 (both local time).

The Douala flights lift every Wednesday at 16:15 of Luxembourg and passed over Bamako. You arrive at 01:55 in Cameroon on Thursday. The return flight lands on Friday at 10.55 am in Luxembourg.

Lubumbashi is, after the capital Kinshasa, the second largest city of the DRC and acts as a hub for the mining industry of the country. The city is an important commercial and industrial center known for the production of textiles, food and beverages as well as copper processing. It is also home to one of the largest banks in the country. In Lubumbashi estimated that more than 3 percent of the world's copper and cobalt half its inventory is produced.

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the home to the largest port in Central Africa. The town is economically and commercially seen the capital of the country, because that's where most of the country's exports are handled, including oil, cocoa, coffee, fruit, metal and wood. The European countries are the main export and import partner for Cameroon, followed by Asia.

Cargolux looks promising growth potential in the region. With its own feeder services, the company is also capable of fast and efficient connections to Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital and the second largest city to offer. To Cargolux imports are high-tech products, agricultural products and machinery, while especially perishable goods such as fruit and vegetables for European consumers, are exported.

Douala and Lubumbashi be added to the existing 33 destinations Cargolux on the African continent. This extensive network has a long history and Cargolux enjoys the continued loyalty and support of carriers and shippers in this market. The carrier is a proven expert in a number of different shipments of perishable goods such as fruit and flowers to heavy equipment for the oil and gas industry on the continent.

"Africa has been and will always be an important market for Cargolux, and we are pleased to be supporting the trade routes of the continent to Europe, the US and Asia as well as the global Cargolux network," said Jonathan Clark, Regional Director Africa at Cargolux.

Nigeria zones in on drone regulation

Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) targets 2018 to publish standards and recommended practices (SARPs) for the certification and operations of drones, interest in their civil and military use in Nigeria has continued to increase.

The level of interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) gained prominence when, in December 2013, Nigeria’s then president, Goodluck Jonathan, unveiled the country’s first indigenous UAV, codenamed GULMA.

It was designed and constructed by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) at the base in Kaduna. 
Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, he congratulated the air force, saying that the achievement marked a turning point in indigenous technological development in Nigeria. He urged the private sector to key into the NAF breakthrough in order to achieve a high level of mass production and the highest and best commercial use of the prototype UAV.

The need for UAVs has increased for Nigeria at a time the nation is diversifying its economy. Drones can be deployed for disaster management, power line survey, telecommunication, weather monitoring, news coverage, oil and gas exploration, aerial imaging and mapping.

“The development of the use of RPA nationwide has emerged with somewhat predictable safety concerns and security threats. Therefore, with the preponderance of these operations, particularly in non-segregated airspace, there has to be proactive safety guidelines,” said Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) spokesman Sam Adurogboye.

He revealed that, by early 2016, some RPA/UAVs had been deployed for commercial and recreational purposes in the country without adequate security clearance, stating that the NCAA had put in place a regulating advisory circular to guide the certification and operations of civil RPA in its airspace.
“No government agency, organisation or individual will launch an RPA/UAV in the Nigerian airspace for any purpose whatsoever without obtaining a requisite permit from the NCAA and the office of the national security adviser (ONSA),” he said.

“In addition, operators must ensure strict compliance with the condition stipulated in their permits and the requirements of Nigeria civil aviation regulations (NCARs).” 

Adurogboye added that violators would be sanctioned according to the dictates of NCARs.
Engineer Ifeanyi Ogochukwu, of the safety directorate of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), said the regulation of drone operations in the country had become an emergency because of the security threat capabilities of the technology.

Another expression of the government’s commitment to UAV regulation occurred on November 21, 2016 when ONSA, in collaboration with the NCAA, held a one-day stakeholder meeting to articulate the use of UAV/RPA in Nigerian airspace. 

Discussions centred on safety implications, risk assessment, oversight, regulations and certification.
NCAA director general, Captain Muhtar Usman, recently took steps to establish an RPA/drones safety team, which will help to develop recommendations to assist his organisation in creating an RPAS registration system in the shortest possible time. This would also help connect an RPAS with its operators in cases where people were not following the rules. 

The RPAS advisory committee, to be overseen by NCAA’s Directorate of General Aviation, is also to help prioritise RPA integration activities, including development of future regulations and policies.
The first regulation for routine RPA use took effect in 2015. According to the NCAA, a new regulation that will put a limit of 25kg as the allowable weight limitation for civil drones in the country will be made public by 2017, providing an important regulatory foundation for allowing additional weight categories in future, to be followed by proposed rule on RPA operations over populated areas.

The announcement by the United States military, in September 2016, for plans to build a $100 million drone base near Nigeria, particularly in Agadez, central Niger, to help the west African country combat militant groups and protect its borders, could be an added emphasis on the importance of strengthening UAV regulation in Nigeria.

Kenya Airways Limited advised on financial restructuring

Global law firm White & Case has advised Kenya Airways Limited on its US$2 billion financial restructuring.

Key features of the restructuring include a reprofiling of payments owed to operating and finance lessors, a conversion of debts into newly issued equity in the company and the provision of a new multi-purpose facility from Kenyan banks. Following the transaction, Kenya Airways has been repositioned for long term growth and is around 90 percent owned by the Government of the Republic of Kenya and a group of 11 local banks.

“Our cross-practice team advised on a significant and multi-faceted transaction involving multiple jurisdictions that ultimately required the agreement of creditors, shareholders, the Kenyan government and other key stakeholders to the business,” said London-based White & Case partner Christian Pilkington, who led the Firm’s deal team. “The leadership and participation of US EXIM Bank was also instrumental to the success of the restructuring.”

“White & Case delivered the combined strength of its experience in African restructurings and aviation finance to successfully execute a complex transaction that ensures the stability of a strategically important national transport resource,” said London-based White & Case partner Justin Benson.