Textron has closed its acquisition of Beech Holdings, LLC, the parent of Beechcraft Corporation, and that it will bring together its Cessna business and Beechcraft to form a new segment called Textron Aviation. Cessna and Beechcraft together produced about $4.6bn in revenues during 2013. The acquisition brings together three iconic brands, each pioneering many of
Fokker Elmo, part of Fokker Technologies, has signed a contract with Snecma (Safran) valued at $60m for the delivery of Engine Build-up Units (EBU) electrical harnesses for the LEAP engine, a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. The LEAP engine was selected by Airbus for its A320 Neo,
Air Lease Corporation announced a long term lease agreement with KLM (The Netherlands) for a new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with two General Electric engines, scheduled for delivery in 2016. ALC already leases Airbus A330-200, A330-300, Boeing 777 and 737-800 aircraft to KLM.
Honeywell and Safran have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with GoAir, one of India’s leading low-cost carriers, to support the advancement of the EGTS electric taxiing system, a technology that can save airlines up to 4% block fuel consumption per flight. EGTS uses electric motors on the main landing gear to enable the aircraft
JetBlue Airways has agreed to sell its wholly owned subsidiary LiveTV to Thales Group for $400m. The sale which is subject to regulatory and other approvals is expected to be completed in mid-2014. LiveTV is a leading provider of live in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems for commercial airlines. In 2013, LiveTV and its partner ViaSat
Etihad Regional announced a multi-million dollar agreement to lease four ATR 72-500 aircraft, which will see the carrier boost its regional fleet to 12 and support its rapidly expanding network. All four aircraft are scheduled for delivery between April and June 2014, with the first touching down at Geneva International Airport on April 1st. The
GE Capital Aviation Services signed a purchase-and-leaseback agreement with TUI Travel for two new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery in May and June 2014 and will become the first 787 models in the GECAS fleet.
Comlux America, the completion and service center of the Comlux Group, located in Indianapolis, IN, launched a new Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) project on the Bombardier Challenger CL-600 series. The STC project installs and certifies the equipment required for operation in airspace requiring Cockpit/Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC). The system incorporates equipment from Universal Avionics
Panasonic Avionics will double the size of its connectivity-equipped fleet by the end of 2014 following FAA certification of a bird strike compliant radome for B777-200 aircraft. The STC (supplemental type certificate) for the B777-200 radome paves the way for approvals on other aircraft types. Panasonic currently has more than 150 B777-200 aircraft scheduled for
Additive manufacturing technology is rapidly spreading from one industry sector to the next. In the field of aero engine construction, Munich-based MTU Aero Engines has achieved a breakthrough: As one of the first companies to use the new technique, MTU produced components for production engines this past May. These parts – borescope bosses for the
