AgustaWestland released that the first production AW189 8 tonne class twin engine helicopter performed its maiden flight at Vergiate plant (Italy) on October10th. The aircraft is expected to be delivered to Bristow Helicopters by year end to carry out offshore transport missions in the North Sea, with operational readiness planned in early 2014. Additional two
Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines signed an agreement to double wire harness production at Ethiopian Airlines’ Wire Harness Facility. The Wire Harness Facility, based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, opened in 2009 and currently supplies seat-to-seat wire harnesses for all Boeing commercial airplane programs. Following this latest announcement Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines will place additional
Aeroflot Group now includes a budget airline named Dobrolet. Originally, it was the name of the joint-stock company established in 1923, a predecessor of today’s Aeroflot. Dobrolet will be based in the Moscow region. The fleet of the new airline will consist of Boeing- 737-800NGs in one class configuration. It is assumed that the low-cost
Weststar Aviation Services reported that KKR, a leading global investment firm with more than US$83.5bn in assets under management, has invested approximately RM642m (US$200m) for a substantial minority equity stake in the Company. This will be KKR’s first investment in Malaysia. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2003, Weststar is a
BOC Aviation has agreed to lease six Boeing 737-800 aircraft to SpiceJet to expand its routes in the Indian domestic market. SpiceJet has just taken delivery of the first of the six aircraft, with the balance to be delivered in 2014.
Etihad Airways confirmed its equity stake in Virgin Australia Holdings had reached 19.9%. This follows a series of on-market purchases of Virgin Australia shares over recent weeks. The Abu Dhabi-based airline now holds more than 515 million shares in its equity partner airline. At 19.9%, Etihad Airways has reached the threshold approved by Australia’s Foreign
FL Technics, a global provider of integrated aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul services, is further extending its cooperation with Asia-Pacific carriers by signing a PBH-support agreement with Jakarta-based cargo operator Cardig Air. Under the agreement FL Technics will provide spare parts supply for the carrier’s Boeing 737-300F fleet. According to the three-year long agreement, FL
Lufthansa LEOS, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, will deploy electrically powered hybrid towbarless aircraft tugs. A development contract for the project was signed with Kalmar Motor AB from Sweden on October 9th, 2013, on the occasion of the inter airport Europe exhibition in Munich. The electrically powered tug, or eSchlepper, is capable of moving
Pentastar Aviation has become the launch customer for the hosted version of Commsoft’s OASES maintenance management software, having utilized the system for several months, in a previously-unannounced deal. Pontiac, Michigan-based Pentastar Aviation has been able to access a version of OASES hosted by a data centre on behalf of Commsoft itself, meaning that it avoided
As part of its eco-efficiency programme, airberlin has developed a new measuring tool aimed at optimising air flow. No such software has ever appeared on the market before; this innovation demonstrates once again the pioneering work of airberlin in the field of fuel efficiency. Small blemishes, rough paintwork or even a one millimetre gap between
