17 December 2008 | |||
 Uzbekistan's national carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, signed a firm contract for the purchase of four A320 aircraft as part of the modernisation of its medium range fleet. In addition to six A320s already acquired by the airline in June 2007, this order will further enlarge the airline's A320 orders up to ten aircraft.Uzbekistan Airways' A320s will feature the all-new cabin, which provides more passenger comfort in a modern and brighter environment. The aircraft will be operated on the airline's extended network of international and domestic destinations. Uzbekistan Airways currently operates three A310s on the routes to Europe and East Asia. "We are pleased that Uzbekistan Airways, one of the leading carriers in CIS, has one more time confirmed its confidence in the A320 Family, by increasing its orders portfolio with Airbus. This best selling single-aisle aircraft, which benefits from the most advanced technology and highest cost effectiveness, will undoubtedly contribute to the airline’s further growth," said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. Uzbekistan Airways was founded 1992, starting out on international routes to London, Frankfort, Delhi, Karachi, Kuala-Lumpur, Tel-Aviv and Beijing. In recognition of its performance, the airline has already received the International Fund for Aviation Safety Diploma and a Certificate from Airports International Association and "Euromarket-2000". Uzbekistan Airways operates regular flights to more than forty cities around the world such as America, Europe, Middle East, Southeast, Central Asia and the CIS and plans to increase the number of destinations in the coming years. The A320 Family, which includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, is recognised as the benchmark single-aisle aircraft family. Each aircraft features fly-by-wire controls and all share a unique cockpit and operational commonality across the range. With proven reliability and extended servicing periods, the A320 Family has the lowest operating costs of any single aisle aircraft. Uniquely, the A320 Family offers a containerised cargo system, which is compatible with the worldwide standard wide-body system. Around 6,300 Airbus A320 Family aircraft have been sold and more than 3,600 delivered to more than 280 customers and operators worldwide, making it the worlds best selling commercial jetliner ever. Twelve carriers in the entire region currently operate some 120 Airbus aircraft with over 160 aircraft still to be delivered in the near future. Airbus is an EADS company. | |||
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| Read the press release in French. | |||
| Read the press release in German. | |||
| Read the press release in Spanish. sources: www.airbus.com/en/ |
AVIATION MAX - Headlines
Uzbekistan Airways orders four A320s
AgustaWestland Tackles CH-149 Issues
Dec 23, 2008
| By Graham Warwick/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report |
 The availability of Canada’s CH-149 Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters is improving after manufacturer AgustaWestland took action to improve spares provisioning, and inspection requirements were changed. Earlier this year, an official report revealed availability of the 14 helicopters was less than 50 percent, well below the 75 percent expected when Canada purchased the EH101-based Cormorants in 1998. The study said minimum operational requirements could only be met by buying more aircraft or reducing maintenance inspections. Canada purchased 15 Cormorants, but lost one, and the helicopters equip only three of the originally planned four operating bases. The Department of National Defence (DND) denies Canadian media reports it is considering buying or leasing up to five more Cormorants, but says it is still evaluating the effectiveness of AgustaWestland’s recovery plan. An operational availability improvement program instituted with Canada has made “genuine inroads” into overcoming the issues, says Jeremy Tracy, AgustaWestland’s head of region for Canada. The program involves more attention to spares provisioning and the return of repaired and overhauled items, he says. Suppliers are being held to the provisioning times offered, and inspection intervals have also been adjusted to reduce maintenance downtime. “As the aircraft matures we are able to reduce the maintenance burden,” Tracy says. Canada has now begun inspecting tail-rotor hubs for cracks every 200 flight hours, in common with other EH101 operators, instead of every 100 hours. Working with the DND and maintenance prime contractor IMP, AgustaWestland has been able to get a better understanding of spares provisioning requirements, he says. “We have provided as many as we can against the target threshold.” “AgustaWestland has recognized the need to improve the situation regarding aircraft spares, which has had a very significant impact on the operational availability of this aircraft [the EH101] worldwide,” DND says. “Recently, AgustaWestland implemented a plan to increase parts availability for the Cormorant...over the next year and into the future. Spare parts are already coming in at a higher rate.” Tracy says the program already has improved the availability of the Cormorants, citing recent statistics showing nine aircraft out of 14 available. This is an improvement over the 50 percent rate, but still short of the 75 percent target. Availability varies day to day, the DND says, adding that “while the trend appears to be improving, the availability rate for the Cormorant has recently averaged six to seven aircraft available out of the total of 14.” The DND intends to evaluate the effectiveness of the recovery plan over the next several months. The department is looking at several options to increase the availability of SAR helicopters, but says there are no plans to lease or buy additional Cormorants. AgustaWestland Tackles CH-149 IssuesPhoto: Canada National Defence Department sources: www.aviationweek.com |
Harsh Economy Leads To Delta Route Pushbacks
Dec 24, 2008
| Andrew Compart andrew_compart@aviationweek.com |
 Citing "worldwide economic conditions," Delta is postponing the start of some of its recently announced new international services, including flights from Raleigh-Durham, N.C., to Paris that had been scheduled to begin in June. Other economic casualties, a Delta spokesman said Dec. 23, include two other services also scheduled to begin in June: New York Kennedy to Gothenberg, Sweden, and a second flight four times a week from Kennedy to Tel Aviv. Earlier this week Delta subsidiary Northwest asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. for permission to delay the start of its Seattle-Beijing service until March 2010, a year later than scheduled, without losing its route rights, because of economic conditions in that market. The news of Delta's Raleigh-Durham to Paris postponement, initially reported by Raleigh-Durham Airport Dec. 23, came on the same day as Continental announced it will end its seasonal service from Cleveland to Paris because of "economic challenges." Delta said its service postponements are "based on efforts to continue to demonstrate capacity discipline in light of tough worldwide economic conditions." Delta announced the Raleigh-Durham to Paris route Nov. 6. For now, Delta is saying publicly only that it will "reassess the timing" of the start of the route during the second half of 2009, but Raleigh-Durham Airport officials said Delta told them the route will not start before 2010. "We are obviously disappointed by Delta's decision as Paris service would have opened many new and efficient international travel opportunities for the citizens of our region," said Teresa Damiano, the airport's director of marketing. "These are unpredictable times for the aviation industry." Delta 777 photo: Delta Air Lines sources: www.aviationweek.com |
System Upgrade For 2,000 F/A-18s
Dec 24, 2008
| By Lee Ann Tegtmeier and Michael Bruno |
 Boeing will upgrade the mission systems in 2,000 F/A-18s operated by eight countries through a $905.3 million system configuration set contract awarded by the U.S. Navy.F/A-18 A/B, C/D, E/F and EA-18G aircraft from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Spain, Kuwait, Switzerland, Finland and Malaysia will receive the enhancements scheduled to be finished in December 2013. The upgrades are part of an effort to keep the fighters "in front of developing threats over the next three decades," said Boeing spokesman Philip Carder. This is a big win for Boeing, which has been on a campaign to pitch the F/A-18 as a gap-filler or even alternative fighter to U.S. and allied air forces while they await the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and European contenders like the Saab Gripen Next Generation. Customers from the Royal Australian Air Force to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have wrestled with how to fill so-called fighter gaps expected in coming years. Boeing will upgrade the mission systems with software and hardware, including distributed targeting processors and active electronically scanned array radar improvements, and ensure the enhancements integrate, according to Carder. It will complete 95% of the upgrades at its St. Louis, Mo., facility and the rest will be done at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif., the latter of which is responsible for the contracting activity. Contract funds for this big project will not expire at the end of the fiscal year. Photo credit: U.S. Navy sources: www.aviationweek.com |
Airbus undertakes Blended-Winglet evaluation on A320
| 17 December 2008 | |||
 Airbus has started flight-testing of Blended Winglet devices on an Airbus A320. The Blended Winglet technology, developed by Aviation Partners Inc. (API), has been specially adapted for these tests on the A320 Family.The objective of these tests and the subsequent evaluation is to identify both the performance and economic benefits that these devices could offer for Airbus aircraft. In conjunction with follow-up analyses, they will provide data on the overall viability of the devices and help to determine whether API's technology could be considered for an integrated Airbus programme. Furthermore, this evaluation is being carried out as part of our wider goal of extending the market-leading eco-efficient credentials of Airbus aircraft. Research flight testing of two different winglet designs was performed two years ago and valuable experience was gained. Since that time, Airbus has been working to absorb and build on these lessons. Patrick Gavin, Airbus' Executive Vice President Engineering says, "We continue to work on further improving the eco-efficiency of all our aircraft. These early evaluation tests are a milestone that need to be achieved long before implementation. The A320 Family is the most efficient in its class, and we continuously study potential improvements to keep it unmatched for the years to come." In this latest initiative, tests will be performed on the flight test A320, MSN1 - the same aircraft that hosted flight tests of previous winglet proposals. In this way, Airbus continues its work on evaluating wing-tip designs for the A320 Family and assessment of innovative ways of reducing the impact of the higher structural loads, without incurring major structural weight increases. Airbus leads the way in wing-tip design with every current Airbus product, including the A320, fitted as standard with drag-reducing wing-tip devices. | |||
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| Read the press release in Spanish. sources:www.airbus.com/en/ |
Boeing Current Market Outlook 2008-2027
The Transformation of Air Transport
Air transport is in a highly dynamic period. Challenges include a slowing world economy, high oil prices, and in some markets, slowing traffic growth. Current Market Outlook 2008-2027 is rooted in today's realities. It goes on to show how air transport will be transformed over the next 20 years.
Resilience
Over the past 20 years, air travel grew by an average of 4.8 percent each year. This was despite two major world recessions, terrorist acts, the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 and two Gulf wars. During 40 years of producing the Current Market Outlook, we have learned that the resilience of air transport growth comes from its intrinsic importance to the livelihood of people around the world.
On average over the next 20 years, passenger travel will grow at 5.0 percent and cargo at 5.8 percent. The fastest growing economies will lead the transformation into a more geographically balanced market. More productive, new airplanes will play a greater role, and there will be relentless pursuit of further environmental progress.
Asian Bussiness Aviation Conference Cancelled
Dec 24, 2008
| Christopher Fotos christopher_fotos@aviationweek.com |
 The 2009 Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE), scheduled to take place Feb. 11-12 in Hong Kong, has been canceled by the National Business Aviation Association. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen said his group recognizes the importance of Asia to the industry and will continue to work with the Asian Business Aviation Association to promote growth there. "But ABACE requires a huge commitment of resources - from our Member Companies, from Exhibitors and from NBAA. And, at a time when our economy is moving into its second year of a recession, NBAA is not in a position to provide ABACE with the attention and resources required to make the show the success it needs to be for our Attendees and Exhibitors." Last year's ABACE attracted 50 exhibitors and about 800 attendees. Bolen said NBAA will work to resume the show in future years. Image: ABACE screen grab sources: www.aviationweek.com |
