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LATEST NEWS
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Friday, December 2nd, 2022
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For the past year, Airbus – representing German interests – and Dassault – representing French interests, had been unable to reach agreement over the workshare for the new Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The new aircraft, intended to replace the Eurofighter and Dassault’s Rafale, will be a combination of manned and unmanned aircraft and are projected to enter into service in 2040.
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However, while Dassault had been given the role of project leader, Airbus had lodged several objections over what it saw was an unfair division of the work involved in the FCAS. Consequently, while the current stage is still only preliminary studies, the project - originally meant to unify Europeans after the migration crisis and Britain's decision to leave the European Union - has created tension while France and Germany struggled to agree on the next stage of FCAS' development. Certain sources blamed Dassault, which had stood firm over a long-running row over intellectual property rights, while others blamed Airbus for pushing for a bigger workshare, demanding that it should be given "equal footing" with Dassault.
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Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said in a statement: "This overall industrial agreement represents a big step forward for this European defence flagship programme". "Today, yes, it is done. We have an agreement with Airbus," said Eric Trappier, Chief Executive of Dassault Aviation which is heading the fighter jet programme.
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United Airlines has named Maria Deacon Senior Vice-President Technical Operations, overseeing the carrier's maintenance operations, ground service equipment and facilities maintenance, supply chain, technical services and planning and strategy. Deacon will also shape the continued growth and investment in United's Calibrate apprenticeship programme, helping the airline expand and diversify its next generation of maintenance employees.
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Most recently, Deacon served as GE Aerospace's General Manager of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul. In her new role at the airline, Deacon will report to United's Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer Greg Hart.
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At the helm of GE Aerospace's extended MRO network, Deacon was responsible for delivering revenue across a mix of more than two-dozen global GE and partner sites worldwide. As General Manager of CFM Services at GE, she managed the financial aspects of the largest in-service fleet in commercial aviation and the joint venture relationship for all CFM and LEAP engine services. In her role as General Manager of Supply Chain at GE, Deacon led the ramp-up of critical helicopter, fighter jet engines and spare parts for U.S. military operations among other key responsibilities.
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Jackson Square Aviation has announced the closing of a sale-and-leaseback financing to Iberia, with the delivery of a second Airbus A350-900 aircraft to the airline.
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“This delivery is a testament to the strong relationship that we have built with Iberia and its teams over the years,” said Christophe Million-Rousseau, JSA SVP Marketing & Capital Markets EMEA, adding, “We are excited to play a part in Iberia’s fleet renewal plans as it continues to strengthen and expand Spain’s prominent airline market.”
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Belonging to the IAG group, Iberia is Spain’s largest airline and a member of the oneworld airline alliance. Along with Iberia Express and Iberia Regional Air Nostrum, it flies to some 50 countries around the world from its Madrid hub. In addition to carrying passengers, Iberia has diversified into the air freight, aircraft maintenance and airport handling services business.
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Alaska Airlines became the first airline in the United States to launch an electronic bag tag programme, which will enable guests to tag their own luggage through the airline’s mobile app before they even reach the airport.
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Last week 2,500 Alaska Mileage Plan members began receiving their electronic bag tag. Those elite-status members included in the first wave of the programme were guests who have travelled in the last 12 months, checked-in at least one bag and who were among the first to register to use the device.
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The three-by-five-inch devices are updated with a guest’s flight information through the Alaska Airlines mobile app during check-in; essentially allowing travellers to head straight to the bag-drop area once they arrive at the airport.
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The Alaska Airlines electronic bag tag is estimated to reduce the time guests spend in airport lobbies by about 40%, including reducing lines and the use of paper bag tags. In addition to the device’s impressive lifespan and durability (Alaska Airlines employees tested it by running it over with a truck), the devices don’t require charging or batteries.
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Along with the hardware, the software for the device is provided by BAGTAG, a Dutch company that is a pioneer in the field of baggage technology solutions.
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easyJet has released that, following a comprehensive process, David Morgan has been permanently appointed as Chief Operating Officer, sitting on the airline's Management Board.
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Morgan has been an integral part of the easyJet leadership team since he joined the company as Chief Pilot in 2016. He has a wealth of experience in the industry and the airline having undertaken the role of interim COO since the beginning of July 2022. During this time, he has provided strong operational leadership and achieved an operational performance which has been better than the equivalent period in 2019.
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Quebec-based Meloche Group, a leader in developing and manufacturing aero structure and aircraft engine components for the aerospace sector, has acquired Hemmingford Aerospace, a key player in the aircraft engine part machining industry. This acquisition is part of Meloche Group’s growth strategy, which aims to double its sales by 2026, increasing it to CA$200 million (£121 million).
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“We are pleased to welcome the Hemmingford Aerospace team into our group, bringing the number of employees at our five centres of excellence to 500,” stated Hugue Meloche, President & CEO of Meloche Group. “This acquisition consolidates our position in the market while opening the door to new possibilities with our engine manufacturer customers. By increasing our manufacturing space to over 150,000 ft², it also enables us to significantly expand our production capacity in order to continue more effectively meeting the growing needs of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 suppliers in the industry.”
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A family business founded in 1963, Hemmingford Aerospace specializes mainly in manufacturing components for Pratt & Whitney engines, including high-precision machining, assembly, validation testing and inspection of parts. Despite the upheavals of the past few years, the company has succeeded in maintaining its rate of production thanks to its position in major programmes such as the Pratt & Whitney’s GTF™ engine, which powers the Airbus A320neo family, Airbus A220 aircraft and Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft.
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Meloche Group aims to pursue its growth both organically and through strategic acquisitions in Canada and the United States. In keeping with this, the group made its first acquisition in 2019 with Techniprodec, a manufacturer of machined components and complex assemblies for the aerospace industry located in Montreal East, Canada.
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GA Telesis (GAT), the pioneering leader in integrated aviation services, has released that its MRO Services Component Repair Group has acquired new equipment that will allow it to introduce main engine fuel pump capabilities to its ecosystem.
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The repairs will be completed at its existing FAA/EASA/CAAC-certified component repair facility at Miami International Airport. With the introduction of new team members and equipment, the company will have the capability to repair, overhaul and test main engine fuel pumps for the most common engines in commercial airline operation, including all variants of the CFM56, CF6-80, V2500, PW4000 and CF34 jet engines.
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This new capability is the first step in major fuel component repair. In addition, it encompasses a continued investment in the people and machinery required to become the most formidable MRO solutions provider for jet engine fuel systems.
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The UMILES Next air taxi, Concept Integrity, equipped with FlyFree technology developed by the TECNALIA research centre, was presented on November 30, in Brussels during the Drone Days organised by the European Commission as part of the Drone Strategy 2.0, an initiative aimed at promoting the development of new sustainable drone services and transport solutions that is backed by the European Commission.
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During these Drone Days, experts from the industry and European politics explored the key strategic areas for the future of innovative urban air mobility and emergency services, and the strength of the synergies between European civil and defence drone capabilities.
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Through the flights conducted in Toulouse, Jaén and Lugo, TECNALIA and UMILES Next presented the technologies that had been validated during these tests, which will represent the future of safe and sustainable urban air mobility within the European Drone 2.0 strategy. Technologies such as:
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- Automatic flight altitude control.
- Automatic landing and take-off.
- Urban airspace integration tests (U-Space).
- In-flight tactical conflict resolution scenarios.
- Dynamic geofencing: The geofencing system is integrated into the drones and uses GPS positioning and other navigation satellite signals to warn or restrict drone operators from entering locations which pose national security or aviation safety concerns. In this case, it provides anti-invasion monitoring in flight areas.
- Detect and avoid systems for other drones in flight.
- Dynamic re-routing (in the absence of a vertiport), which consists of changing flight plans due to tactical conflict resolution.
- Cruising operations.
- Coordination of flights with other drones and manned vehicles through the AIRUS U-space platform.
- Integration testing, including aircraft simulation, drone identification and registration, geopositioning, flight mission plan conflict resolution, flight tracking and monitoring, interface with ATC (Air Traffic Controller) and emergency management.
The validation of these technologies have represented a great step forward for the airspace integration of these types of aircraft, with the goal of validating future urban air traffic management with unmanned aircraft (U-space).
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The aim is to make the mobility of the future more intelligent and sustainable. These new systems and developments will mean that there are alternative transport solutions in increasingly crowded cities. UMILES Next and TECNALIA have set their sights on this with their urban air and ground mobility solutions, which are expected to become a real alternative by around 2028.
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UMILES Next is the UMILES Group company that focuses on developing advanced air and ground mobility solutions. A pioneer in offering operators the innovative capacity to safely and sustainably handle the transport of passengers and cargo thanks to its proprietary technology synergies. Along this path, UMILES Next is accompanied by Tecnalia, its main technology partner. Their goal is to be leaders in air and ground mobility, to compete globally with nothing but Spanish capital and technology.
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TECNALIA is the largest applied research and technological development centre in Spain, a leader in Europe and a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance. It works in tandem with companies and institutions to improve their competitiveness, people's quality of life and achieve sustainable growth, which is made possible by a team that is passionate about technology and committed to building a better society. Its core areas of activity are: digital transformation, smart manufacturing, energy transition, sustainable mobility, urban ecosystems and personalised healthcare.
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