April 15, 2019 - No. 030 In This Issue Million Air/CJet JV looks ahead to Daxing FBO Lufthansa Technical Training boosts aviation industry with top-level maintenance training Bombardier Strengthens its World-Class Service and Support Capabilities for Business Jet Customers Cash-Strapped Jet Airways Cancels All International Flights, Now Operating With Only 9 Planes China's Daxing International On Track for September Opening KF Aerospace expanding Gama Aviation Eyes Asian Expansion AFI KLM E&M Signs Airframe Component Support and Logistics Services Agreement with Viva Air Fund management firm invests in AIRE Beijing opens service sector wider to foreign capital Delta Wants to Use Drones on the Airfield for MRO Honeywell uses blockchain and startup approach to digitize aircraft parts SpaceX Falcon Heavy to Launch Cutting-Edge NASA Space Tech Million Air/CJet JV looks ahead to Daxing FBO With Beijing's new Daxing International Airport (ICAO code ZBAD) due to debut in September, Million Air Beijing, the joint venture between the US-based FBO chain and Capital Jet (CJet), is currently at work on what will become its new flagship facility, which it expects to open in summer 2020, as a second general aviation (GA) access point to Beijing. Million Air/CJet (Booth B212) opened its first facility at Beijing Capital Airport (ZBAA), one of the world's busiest, in January 2016, and serves as the lone FBO there, handling all the GA traffic into the city. Indeed, the company claims a domestic market share of more than 60 percent of all business aviation traffic within mainland China. The location, which expects to achieve Stage 1 registration under the International Business Aviation Council's (IBAC) International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH) soon, averages about 47 arrivals a day, according to John Bridi, Million Air's vice president of international operations. "A strong market is coming from the U.S. in N-registered tail numbers, and also we have seen a strong increase in head-of-state flights from foreign countries." Given the facility has 50 GA parking stands, distributed across five ramps, that translates to near capacity every day. As a comparison, the under-construction FBO at Daxing will have more than 90 parking stands, all consolidated on the dedicated general aviation ramp adjacent to the private aviation terminal. Of those stands, more than half will allow aircraft to taxi in and out of their spots under their own power, while the remaining stands will require tugs to push them in. "It will operate more like a North American ramp, where you don't need ground clearance to move the aircraft a couple of spots over," said Bridi, noting that this freedom will help streamline the GA operations at the new airport. "A lot of the hiccups that we've had at [Beijing Capital Airport], we've been able to design around for Daxing to make those go away." The new airport will also have eight stands that can accommodate Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) or Airbus Corporate Jet (ACJ)-sized aircraft compared with just two at Beijing Capital. In addition, the FBO at Daxing will have two stands to handle private aircraft up to Boeing 747 or Airbus A350 sized aircraft, which the FBO at ZBAA cannot accommodate. Those lessons learned at Beijing Capital Airport are being applied at Daxing in a big way. Despite the high demand for aircraft shelter, the former has no dedicated hangar space for private aviation, leaving the FBO to form relationships with some of the airport's maintenance providers to locate available space for its customers in the maintenance hangars. At Daxing, however, current plans call for more than 700,000 sq ft of dedicated general aviation hangar space, enough to accommodate 20 Gulfstream G650s, along with a 75,000 sq ft maintenance facility. The private aviation terminal at ZBAA is approximately 20,000 sq ft, with in-house CIQ facilities, three private VIP lounges with hosts, and concierge services. That is dwarfed by what will soon rise at Daxing. According to Bridi, the new terminal will be four times larger with vaulted ceilings. "We'll have the standard amenities," he told AIN, " but to go above and beyond that, [it will also feature] an atrium garden, pilots lounge, press hall, conference rooms, onsite CIQ, and many private rooms." Bridi expects that with these improvements, ZBAD will supplant ZBAA for the majority of the business aviation traffic in Beijing, as both facilities will remain operational. "We don't want to limit the amount of GA activity or available use, so keeping both locations active and going is the key to that." https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-04-14/million-air-cjet-jv-looks- ahead-daxing-fbo Back to Top Lufthansa Technical Training boosts aviation industry with top-level maintenance training Asia's burgeoning aviation industry is approaching higher levels of capacity and efficiency with a strong backing from Lufthansa Technical Training (LTT), whose expertise and know-how are fully accessible across the region to fortify maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities. Wholly owned by MRO giant Lufthansa Technik, LTT is a technology and innovation leader in maintenance training with about 20 years of engagement in Asia. Expert technicians with German quality standards stand ready across LTT training hubs in Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan and mainland China. "We know the core business of our customers and focus on their needs in order to sustain the MRO training benchmark, which is quality based on experience," says Rubin Siddique, CEO and managing director of LTT. With a Part-147 approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency, the maintenance organisation has equivalent certifications from aviation authorities allowing it to provide MRO training worldwide. Backed by long-standing partnerships with aerospace leaders such as Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier, LTT provides the full range of vocational training, basic training, type training and competence training. Virtual reality software and maintenance device simulators are accessible on its online platform. Practical training is likewise enhanced in all LTT facilities with a full jet aircraft on site. Forming a strategic cooperation with Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing (SAMC), LTT is deepening Asian ties that already involve joint ventures with Hainan Airlines, Air China and Singapore's Temasek. SAMC is honing its assembly, fabrication and MRO capabilities to advance China-made aircraft. Alongside LTT, it is establishing a modern platform for maintenance training that also supports long-term education. "A global demand for this know-how compels us to create opportunities for more people - whether in Europe or Asia - to acquire top-level training. We are very strict on quality because aviation safety is what we contribute to society," Siddique says. LTT welcomes new partnerships to pursue component-based digitalisation and technology transfer to other industries as it approaches its 25th anniversary. https://www.scmp.com/country-reports/country-reports/topics/germany-business-report-april- 2019/article/3005123/lufthansa Back to Top Bombardier Strengthens its World-Class Service and Support Capabilities for Business Jet Customers in China MONTREAL, April 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier is proud to announce significant enhancements to its customer support capabilities for business aircraft customers in China on the eve of this year's Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE). Bombardier's centrally located Service Centre in Tianjin has received Authorized Service Centre status from engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce, GE and Honeywell. This authorization demonstrates the confidence these renowned companies have in the abilities of this facility's world-class technicians. Our customers can now have the engines of their business jets serviced in China by the team who knows their aircraft best. Bombardier is also pleased to announce new line maintenance services at its Tianjin Service Centre. This new team offers AOG mobile repair as well as unscheduled and scheduled maintenance services on various Challenger and Global aircraft registered with the following regulatory bodies: EASA, FAA, Canada, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Aruba, Qatar, Isle of Man, San Marino and Guernsey. Bombardier's Tianjin Service Centre has obtained approvals from a growing number of aviation authorities since opening two years ago and can now offer a full scope of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance services for Global, Challenger and Learjet aircraft registered in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Certification is in progress for further expanded capabilities under FAA and EASA. "It's important for Bombardier to be close to our customers in the Greater China region so as to ensure they have access to excellent service," said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "That's why we are committed to expanding our services in this market, where we see a bright future for our growing aircraft portfolio." Bombardier's Tianjin Service Centre was inaugurated in April 2017 in collaboration with the Tianjin Airport Economic Area (TAEA). Two years later, the facility's expanded services are a testament to Bombardier's dedication to growing business aviation in the Greater China region and to strengthening its relationship with TAEA. Bombardier also has two regional support offices in Hong Kong and Beijing and two regional parts depots in Hong Kong and Tianjin. Enhancements to customer support capabilities in China are part of Bombardier's commitment to providing exceptional service worldwide. In February, Bombardier announced the expansion of its Singapore Service Centre, which will more than quadruple its footprint. In October 2018, Bombardier announced it will more than double its customer service footprint in Florida with a new service centre. This is in addition to the entry-into-service of a Challenger 300 support aircraft stationed in Europe. Bombardier is proud to be participating at ABACE 2019 and displaying its flagship Global 7500 aircraft, its exceptional large-cabin Global 6000 aircraft, as well as its best-selling Challenger 350 aircraft. About Bombardier With over 68,000 employees across four business segments, Bombardier is a global leader in the transportation industry, creating innovative and game-changing planes and trains. Our products and services provide world-class transportation experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety. Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in 28 countries across the segments of Transportation, Business Aircraft, Commercial Aircraft and Aerostructures and Engineering Services. Bombardier shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, Bombardier posted revenues of $16.2 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2019/04/15/1803663/0/en/Bombardier- Strengthens-its-World-Class-Service-and-Support-Capabilities-for-Business-Jet-Customers-in- China.html Back to Top Cash-Strapped Jet Airways Cancels All International Flights, Now Operating With Only 9 Planes The once-leading airline, Jet Airways now seems to be drawing close to its end as, on April 11, the airlines grounded its services to and from the East and Northeast regions and suspended its international operations for a day. This measure was taken after the airline informed that it was forced to ground 10 more flights owing to non-payment of dues to the lenders. Industry sources suggest that Jet will be operating with only nine planes -two Boeing 737s and seven regional Jet ATRs - on Friday. Deepening Jet Crisis As of April 11, the airline operated only 14 aircraft which is much lesser than 123 planes in operations at the peak. Jet in a statement said, "Jet flight 9W 615 Mumbai to Kolkata and 9W 675 from Kolkata to Guwahati on April 12 are cancelled due to operational reasons. Similarly, 9W 676 from Dehradun to Kolkata via Guwahati has also been cancelled until further notice." Business Today reported that the airline owes more than Rs 3,500 crore to passengers for flight cancellations alone. Aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said that the ministry is seeking a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to decide whether Jet can continue to fly internationally. As per government rules, an airline must have at least 20 planes for operating internationally. Union Minister Suresh Prabhu on April 12 directed aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola to review issues concerning Jet Airways. "Directed Secretary MoCA to review issues related to Jet Airways. Asked him to take necessary steps to minimise passenger inconvenience and ensure their safety," he Tweeted. Jet Airways is saddled with more than $1bn of debts and is looking for financial assistance to stay afloat. Ending months of uncertainty, Etihad has finally officially communicated to its intention of raising stakes in Jet Airways. Economic Times reported that Etihad submitted its expression of interest (EoI) on April 11. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier presently owns a 24% stake in Jet and was reluctant to increase the amount. Meanwhile, SBI-led consortium of domestic lenders is setting in place a debt resolution plan for Jet Airways. SBI Capital Markets said, "The qualified bidders will be expected to submit their respective binding bid(s) latest by April 30, 2019 subject to the terms set out under the bid document," reported The Economic Times. Naresh Goyal steps down After days of nail-biting drama, Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal stepped down from the board of the cash-strapped airlines on March 25. The couple had set up the airlines 25 years ago in 1993. In a notification, the airlines said that Goyal would cease to be the chairman of the airlines. Jet, India's second-biggest airline by market share, is facing the worst financial crisis in its 25-year existence, with mounting losses and debt. It has grounded planes, laid off staff and trimmed unviable flights to stay afloat. And due to these reasons, the company is offering leave without pay to its employees and employees have received requests for extended time off due to changes in operational requirement including leave without pay for some pilots says a communique from Jet to its Boeing 737 pilots titled "invite request for leave without pay." The flight operations department has proposed changes to the crew duty pattern. Due to the reduced number of flights, crew will be assigned five-day work and three-day off pattern from April 11-26. At present, pilots have a six-day work and one-day off pattern. According to the agreement between the airline and the union, pilots can be assigned duty for 22 days each month and will be paid salary and allowances accordingly. A source said duty allowances would not be cut due to changes in work pattern. According to media reports, the company has not given the salary of last three months to pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and senior management, the pilots and AMEs have threatened to go on work strike from 15 April if their salaries are not cleared, recently jet airways cleared 87% of the salary for the month of December to its employees. https://thelogicalindian.com/news/jet-grounds-plane/ Back to Top China's Daxing International On Track for September Opening Workers at Beijing's upcoming mega-airport, Daxing International, have completed the development of a high-pressure gas supply station and are finishing construction of the airport's sprawling 7.5 million-square-foot terminal building, bringing it one step closer to operational readiness by September 30. Due for completion this month, the terminal will serve 45 million passengers annually by 2021 and 72 million by 2025. Billed as the world's largest airport upon completion, Daxing will initially feature four runways before expanding to seven, 150 passenger aircraft parking bays, 24 freighter aircraft parking bays, and 14 maintenance parking bays. Planners expect Daxing to eventually accommodate 880,000 aircraft movements and 100 million passengers annually. A consortium consisting of low-cost carrier Beijing Capital Airlines, HNA Technic, and Beijing General Aviation Company (BGCA) will provide third-party aircraft maintenance at the new $13.1 billion airport. Future plans call for the new joint venture (JV) company to gradually expand the scope and scale of its maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities. Under the Civil Aviation Administration of China's resource allocation plan, foreign carriers, including airlines based in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, can choose to operate from Beijing's existing Capital International Airport or Daxing or both. The new airport, recently granted the IATA code PKX, will serve as a hub for Skyteam alliance members including Delta and Air France-KLM. Plans call for Star Alliance airlines Air China, United Airlines, and Air Canada to remain at Capital International. State-owned China Southern Airlines will employ a dual-hub strategy from Daxing and its current base, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. The carrier predicts 40 percent of its traffic to flow through its $2.4 billion, 153-acre Daxing hub and plans to station over 200 aircraft there by 2025. China Eastern Airlines harbors similar plans to route 40 percent of all its passengers through Daxing and will eventually base a fleet of 200 aircraft at the new mega-hub. The state-owned airline has begun its second phase of building a base at Daxing and has allocated $1.97 billion as part of a larger investment plan exceeding $17.8 billion. Meanwhile, plans call for the new Beijing-Daxing International Airport Expressway to open in June. China's National Development and Reform Commission is reviewing plans to develop an airport economic zone, speculatively worth $13.4 billion. The initial plan focuses on establishing regulations and policies as well as platform development and workforce recruitment for the 58-square-mile designated area. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-04-12/chinas-daxing-international- track-september-opening Back to Top KF Aerospace expanding Kelowna's largest private-sector employer is getting bigger. KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft) is in the midst of a $3-million hangar enlargement and is looking to hire 75 more staff to bump its number of workers up to 800. "We're at capacity and we need more room," said KF vice-president of corporate services Grant Stevens. "Putting an extra 21,000 square feet onto the South Hangar allows us to get another line going." Stevens held the news conference Thursday in the sun on the tarmac at Kelowna airport with the hangar construction in the background. A line refers to an aircraft in the hangar being maintained or retrofitted. KF has five hangars - South, Main, Central, North and West - each with two or three lines. That means at any one time, KF has 13 aircraft under cover undergoing routine maintenance, repairs or upgrades. During the tour after the news conference, media saw a Twin Otter search-and-rescue plane and a Buffalo search-and-rescue aircraft undergoing heavy maintenance in the South Hangar. The planes belong to the Royal Canadian Air Force and Department of National Defence, respectively. In the Main Hangar, a WestJet Encore Q400 turbo-prop plane and an Aloha Air Cargo jet were getting regular maintenance. "Over the last year, we've quietly signed or extended maintenance contracts with WestJet, WestJet Encore and (WestJet's ultra-low-cost airline) Swoop," said Stevens. "Some of the contracts extend to 2030. We do 80 per cent of WestJet's scheduled maintenance and WestJet is our single-biggest customer." KF also maintains planes for Icelandair, the Canadian Department of National Defense, Linden Air Cargo from Alaska, Northern Air Cargo of Alaska and Aloha Air Cargo from Hawaii. Over the past four years, KF has grown by 45% and expects 20% annual expansion over the next few years. The reasons for KF's success are two-fold. It's well-known in the aviation world and has a 49-year history of doing quality work. Aviation, both passenger and cargo, is a boom industry. Keeping up with KF's growth isn't easy. There's a shortage of aircraft maintenance engineers and KF struggles to hire enough. It's dealing with the shortfall by working with Okanagan College to graduate more aircraft maintenance engineers, training entry-level workers to be aircraft maintenance assistants and painters, recruiting from schools across Canada, hiring skilled foreign workers and hiring qualified staff from other aviation companies. KF also offers competitive wages, from $18 an hour for apprentices to $40 an hour for experienced engineers and mechanics. 737 Max 8s at local hangar Six of WestJet's 13 grounded Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft are currently sitting outside of the North Hangar at KF Aerospace at Kelowna airport. Last month, all 350 of the 737 Max jets in the world were taken out of service after a safety software glitch was linked to two fatal crashes. On Oct. 29, Indonesian airline Lion Air's flight 610, operated with a 737 Max, plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board. On March 10, Ethiopian Airline's flight 302, also on a 737 Max, slammed into the ground outside Addis Ababa, claiming the lives of all 157 on board. Since the planes are grounded anyway, WestJet decided to have interior modifications scheduled for later this year done early at KF. The work KF is doing is not related to the safety-related software updates that need to be done before the planes can fly again. KF vice-president of corporate services Grant Stevens expects that work will have to be done by the manufacturer, Boeing. While 737 Max planes cannot be flown commercially with passengers, they can be flown to facilities for maintenance. http://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/business_news/article_b02dac40-5d38-11e9-afdc- 53cea3a67efa.html Back to Top Gama Aviation Eyes Asian Expansion Farnborough, UK-based Gama Aviation has started to build up its general sales agent (GSA) network in the Asia-Pacific region aimed at getting more aircraft owners in the region using its management services, as it eyes opportunities to grow its footprint out of Hong Kong, particularly into Mainland China. Sergio Oliveira e Silva, managing director of Gama Aviation Asia (Booth B523), told AIN, "The Chinese government is doing very good things that in the mid- to long term will be very good for China." He continued: "They appreciate international companies that respect compliance," and suggested, "small Chinese companies will struggle." And of Gama's plans? "We'll try to replicate in China in the next couple of years what we'd done in Hong Kong [with Hutchison Whampoa]. We're hoping to identify strong local partners around Asia to act as our GSAs. If that allows us to grow the fleet, it could lead to acquisitions at a later stage. So we want to expand our footprint in Asia, but Hong Kong will always be the regional office for Gama." In terms of its regional fleet so far, Oliveira e Silva said, "We now have six aircraft under our management and are going to bring two Globals-a 6000 and an XRS-to the region, fully dedicated to charter." He confirmed the aircraft belong to a "customer." "They should be here ready for the summer time. They are currently parked at Bournemouth [Gama's new facility in the UK]. Charter is getting very busy." However, he said, "the market is still very fragmented in Asia, but we know we'll see bigger companies" through consolidation. "There are still 30-plus companies offering [business aircraft management] in Hong Kong/China. All believe it's a great idea to open a management company, but they're finding it's not as easy as it sounds if you don't have the knowledge and reach [outside the region]." Now he says "more and more people are liking the idea of consolidation, but still, clients want a local touch." For now, however, Gama plans to "grow organically day-by-day, tail number-by-tail number." He said this is partly because, "For acquisitions, today there are so many opportunities in the market, but expectations are much too high." He said Gama was approached by one company that thought it was making money "and when we showed them they weren't, they fired the CFO!" But if "something turns up that makes sense," he acknowledged that Gama is ready, noting "there is always a risk when you buy a company." So he prefers to focus on growing organically. "The GSA concept and evolving the organization is my favored option." Oliveira e Silva says the priority countries for Gama are China and Australia, "but most likely the first ones will be Japan and South Korea. We'll reveal the GSAs at ABACE, hopefully." He added that "the three main bases" for business aviation in the region today are Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai "so our focus will be on northern China," as the south is covered by Hong Kong. MAINTENANCE & SUPPORT On the maintenance side, Gama established a foothold at Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok in late 2017 when it signed a collaboration agreement with China Aircraft Services Ltd (CASL) as the exclusive GSA to sell CASL's business maintenance capability in Asia. Oliveira e Silva said, "We are also looking at opportunities in China. If we developed line maintenance in China as we did in the U.S., that would be very useful. I'm a strong believer that China needs a line maintenance network, and we have already started talks. There is a fleet of 300 aircraft based in China with thousands of hours of maintenance required per year, so the market is there." He noted that at present the majority of aircraft have to go out of China for maintenance. "People have to go to Singapore, or even the U.S., even for a small check. Even in Beijing there are very limited facilities. Or they have to pay a premium for someone to meet them somewhere in China." At present, he said, "We work into China from CASL. We run the private jet Part 145 at CASL and it's something we want to develop further." GREATER BAY AREA Closer to home, Hong Kong's only international airport has become an easier place to operate for Gama's customers and other business aircraft operators, said Oliviera e Silva. "Three years ago there were no parking slots; and then there was parking, but no landing slots! It's easier for us now, but it's still not like normal airport operations. There are still lots of restrictions." He noted fresh impetus at Macau Airport following the Chinese government's recently published development plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. China's plan identifies Macao as "one of the core engines for regional development," the aim being "to develop a world- class airport cluster [including] the expansion of Macau International Airport (MIA)...to strengthen the function of MIA and Zhuhai Airport and pursue differential development and positive interaction of airports in the Greater Bay Area." Relating to business aviation development, it notes that with TAG Macau, MIA now has two FBOs which "have brought a slight increase to the business jets movement of MIA." Oliveira e Silva said, "Developments [in Macau] will take five or 10 years...Macau is very [bureaucratic]." "So we need to find a solution [to Hong Kong's congestion issue] given that Hong Kong's third runway will be coming at the same time." So there is a gap. Regarding Zhuhai, he said, "For many years there was a big question over which airport of the two would be the private jet airport-now we know it will be Macau. It's a nice airport with lots of opportunities [in the longer term]." There are two bridges to the runway and the plan is to fill the gap to create a large apron for 20 parking slots-this won't be for some time, but it is the first step in Macau's expansion. The proposal was in the 1994 Master Plan for the airport, but still hasn't happened. At present, aircraft are still not permitted to park for more than three days at Macau due to parking limitations. He said a large maintenance hangar was built but has not yet been signed off as usable, so in the end, Jet Aviation, which had been awarded a contract to run it (around five years ago), "pulled the plug after two years of waiting. So the hangar is still waiting now, and there will eventually be another tender. In the next six-to-10 months, there are no plans to issue it. You could put 10 G550s in that hangar!" However, there is fresh impetus from the China plan. Given the new bridge/tunnel to Hong Kong (that also connects Zhuhai) "is now functional." But the border crossing and other factors mean business jet travelers still "prefer Hong Kong." He said he believed the Government Flying Service (GFS), which has a large apron next to the HKBAC at Chek Lap Kok, and the expansive firefighter training area in the middle of the airport, would be ideal for freeing up business aircraft parking. But if the Chinese government decides it really wants Macau to become the GBA business aviation airport, it could change in "two-to-three years" and business aviation will have a new home. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-04-13/gama-aviation-eyes- asian-expansion Back to Top AFI KLM E&M Signs Airframe Component Support and Logistics Services Agreement with Viva Air AFI KLM E&M in partnership with Barfield, its subsidiary in the Americas, enters into an agreement with Viva Air to provide a complete service support program of all their current fleet repairable airframe components. Paris, Amstelveen, Miami, 11 February 2019 - Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) a major aviation industry player, has entered into an exclusive maintenance agreement with Viva Air Group, a low cost airline based in Colombia and Peru that includes the support of airframe components and logistical services. "AFI KLM E&M provides the solutions for the unique operational and logistical challenges we often face in the region. Setting up the program within a very short time period to meet our deadlines and budget. Their quality of service that has come from several years of experience supporting LCC operations makes AFI KLM E&M the right partner for our airline. This partnership will bring even more consistency to our operation, and will allow Viva Air to maintain its very high On Time Performance level's." says Nicolas Takahashi, Viva Air's VP of Engineering & Maintenance. The component support agreement takes advantage of AFI KLM E&M strategic location in the Americas through its Miami-based subsidiary, Barfield, as well as its component and logistical expertise. "We are very proud of the services we will be providing to Viva Air. Our main focus is to provide Viva Air with the best program services available," says Franck Becker, AFI KLM E&M's VP of Sales in the Americas. https://www.aviationpros.com/aircraft/maintenance-providers/mro/press-release/21076197/afi- klm-em-afi-klm-em-signs-airframe-component-support-and-logistics-services-agreement-with-viva- air Back to Top Fund management firm invests in AIRE Spanish independent fund management firm, GED Capital has made the first investment from its new fund GED VI España with the acquisition of a majority stake in Aircraft Interior Refurbishment España (AIRE), an aircraft cabin interiors MRO specialist. AIRE was founded in February 2000 and its portfolio of services currently includes the maintenance of seats, galley elements, stowages and panels; the modification and reconditioning of cabins; the manufacture of covers, carpets and adhesive labels; and the certification of modifications to aircraft cabins and its components. AIRE's clients include aviation companies such as Airbus, Air Europa, Wamos and Vueling. AIRE is certified by EASA as Part 145 rating C6, Part 21G and Part 21J, allowing the company to be present during the full life cycle of aircraft (design and production of pieces, maintenance and reconfiguration of cabins, delivery and devolution of aircrafts and dismantling). With annual sales of 14 million euros in 2018 and bases in Madrid and Palma de Mallorca, AIRE currently has a workforce of 120 employees. The investment of GED will strengthen the financial capacity of AIRE, with the aim of supporting its international expansion in Latin America, an emerging market where a significant increase in air traffic is expected in the coming years. Following the transaction, the current shareholders of AIRE will continue to be involved in the future development of the company and, in addition, will maintain their current managerial positions in order to take advantage of their extensive knowledge of the sector and their capacity to generate new business. "There are strong trends in the aeronautical sector that support the rationale of our investment in AIRE, such as the positive growth prospect of air traffic and the consequent increase in the number of aircraft both in Europe and Latin America," stated Enrique Centelles Satrústegui, managing partner of GED. "Other underlying factors that will contribute to the development of the company are the increase in the popularity of low-cost airlines and strong trends towards outsourcing of services on the part of large airlines as well as towards the customization of aircraft cabins," he added. https://www.aircraftinteriorsinternational.com/news/industry-news/fund-management-firm-invests- in-aire.html Back to Top Beijing opens service sector wider to foreign capital At the Beijing Capital International Airport, maintenance workers were busy conducting a thorough check on the tires, engines and body of an Air France airplane, before giving it a go-ahead for a flight to Paris two hours later. They are employees of Beijing Line Maintenance International, China's first foreign-controlled joint venture in aircraft maintenance, which was launched by Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance and Beijing General Aviation Co Ltd (BGAC) in 2017. "The key technology, personnel and management of the joint venture all come from the European side," said Li Wei, vice general-manager of the joint venture. "A foreign-controlled joint venture has given full play to foreign expertise in management and technology." Air France-KLM, a major global air transport player, entered the Chinese market after establishing a repair workshop in the 1990s. But over the years, it has struggled to find a local partner to expand its business in the country, partly due to China's restrictions on foreign capital. After the central government allowed Beijing to pilot policies of opening the service industry wider in 2015, Air France-KLM jumped on the opportunity and partnered with BGAC to found the joint venture two years later. Last year, the joint venture provided 1,400 maintenance services for four foreign airliners, compared with more than 600 in 2017. "We enjoy the same policy on taxes and talent recruitment as domestic firms, which helped the growth of our business," Li said. "This year, we plan to start business in the new airport in Daxing district." In recent years, a growing number of foreign-funded firms have benefited from the pilot program to settle in Beijing. In 2018, the world's three major rating agencies -- Fitch Ratings, S&P Global and Moody's -- registered wholly-owned subsidiaries in the capital. "The service industry has become more open, attractive and competitive," said Sun Yao, deputy director with the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau. With the widening opening-up measures, Beijing's service sector has been contributing more to the capital's economic growth. In 2018, the sector's value-added output accounted for 81 percent of local GDP, up 3.1 percentage points on 2014. Last year, Beijing's service trade grew about 10 percent year on year. Building on the experience from the pilot program starting in 2015, Beijing is well-positioned to pursuit all-round opening up and high-quality economic development. In January this year, the central government approved another three-year pilot program for Beijing to continue opening up its service sector wider to the world. The capital should intensify efforts to streamline administration, delegate power to lower levels and improve regulation and services, seek to open the service sector wider, and create a sound business environment, the State Council said in a statement. According to the pilot program, market access to the Beijing's service sector will be relaxed in fields including leasing and business services, information technology services and financial services. The municipal government is encouraged to take bold measures to gain a more replicable experience for opening up the service sector and developing an open economy. The new round of opening-up policy and widening market entry in the service sector has encouraged more foreign firms to invest in Beijing. In March, Bank of Beijing said it planned to join hands with ING Bank N.V. to invest 3 billion yuan (447 million U.S. dollars) in setting up a banking joint venture, in which ING Bank would hold a 51 percent stake. The joint venture will gain experience from ING Bank's direct banking service and take advantage of financial technology to build itself into a new digital banking brand. Bank of Beijing said it would strive to make the joint venture a model in implementing China's major opening-up policies for the financial sector. Similar efforts in major Chinese cities to relax market entry rules for foreign capital in the service sector have made the country an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investment. In 2018, China advanced to a global ranking of 46 in terms of ease of doing business, up from 78 in 2017, according to a World Bank Group report. http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1145750.shtml Back to Top Delta Wants to Use Drones on the Airfield for MRO ATLANTA--Delta Air Lines through its Delta TechOps is working on being able to use unmanned aerial vehicles on the airfield--outside of a hangar--to conduct inspection work on its air transport aircraft at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and others. "It's coming," David Piotrowski, senior principal engineer at TechOps, told a MRO Americas 2019 panel April 11. "It's going to happen, I just don't know on what timeline." "It's still probably a few years before it gets accepted" by regulators, agreed Josselin Bequet, CEO and cofounder of Donecle. He predicted a regulator-approved operation will arise somewhere in the world within a "couple of years." Donecle provides drone-based inspection services inside hangars now. Some companies have announced these projects, for instance AFI-KLM, Avianca, Airbus and El Al Israel Airlines. Like Delta, it also is pushing for unscheduled maintenance tasks such as post-lightning and hail damage inspections done outside hangars on the ramp. Bequet told Aviation Week Network's MRO Americas that regulators--he did not specify who--are most concerned with so-called flyaway risk with drones; the fear that the UAVs get loose and interfere with airport operations or worse, run into a flight. One obvious near-term solution may be tethering the UAVs. Donecle started testing and showing regulators 2-3 years ago, including at least one yearlong experiment. "Part of the issue is that regulations are very different in different countries at different airports," he said, slowing regulatory adoption. Piotrowski said Delta envisions several, specific locations having the capability. Another idea could include having a deployable field unit that can go to an airfield where aircraft are parked for inspection after experiencing hail or lighting strikes. The airline is talking with regulators over how to go about getting approval, including possibly a blanket waiver of some kind. "At Delta we absolutely want to fly outside," Piotrowski said. Delta aircraft experience 1,800-2,000 lighting strike events each year, spurring inspections including at airfields without adequate hangar space. https://www.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/delta-wants-use-drones-airfield-mro Back to Top Honeywell uses blockchain and startup approach to digitize aircraft parts Modern startup thinking is to start small, try it, and build from a solid foundation. In December Honeywell Aerospace launched the GoDirect Trade aircraft parts e-commerce portal. Before then only 2.5% of used plane parts were sold online. So that in itself was an innovation. One aspect of the new offering was the use of blockchain to verify parts documents and images. It turns out that feature is part of a much bigger vision for digitizing aircraft parts. Honeywell had revenues of $41.8 billion in 2018 of which $15.5 billion came from its aerospace division. Counterfeit aircraft parts As a traveler, the first blockchain motivation that springs to mind is the need to guard against counterfeit aircraft parts. The U.S. NBC news network reviewed the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data. For the years 2010 to 2016, it found that unapproved aviation parts played a role in nearly two dozen accidents that claimed seven lives and injured 18 people. And counterfeiting also happens with commercial airlines. One can imagine someone trying to copy a tag from a good part onto a bad or counterfeit one. Lisa Butters, Honeywell's General Manager of GoDirect Trade has a pragmatic view. "Blockchain itself isn't a technology that's going to solve counterfeit parts," she said. But Butters can see blockchain being used in combination with other measures such as magic ink from Secure Marker or laser etching barcodes from iTrace. Ground zero: dismantling To get the parts initiative off the ground, the starting point was using Honeywell's blockchain solution when dismantling an aircraft. At best the dismantling process takes between two and two and a half months. Parts are cleaned and tagged as "as removed" and some might then need to be repaired or re-certified which takes more time yet. Then they need to be listed for sale. But often the parts sit in a warehouse for a long time. Typically the aircraft owner seeks an ROI on dismantling over a six-month timeframe. With the new system, the dismantler takes a photograph of the part and generates an as-removed quality tag and it's immediately listed on the blockchain and the GoDirect Trade store. With the immediate listing process, it's possible to get the data for all the dismantled aircraft parts listed on the store within 48 hours. However, if a part is no longer usable, the fact that its "retired" will also be logged, preventing it being used in the future. Antiquated documentation But that's only part of the digitization process. "You would be shocked at how antiquated the Aerospace industry is when it comes to documentation," said Butters. She acknowledged that there are varying degrees of digitization, with some players reasonably advanced. "What you see either within airlines or dismantlers or repair and overhaul facilities, there really is just not one consistent way in which people are storing all their data and then making it highly accessible." And Butters pointed to Honeywell's own digitized systems for their 30 OEM shops and 20 repair and overhaul facilities. The data is stored in one centralized system, but it's not easy to extract, because much of the information is in pdf documents. "The way that we're trying to design the blockchain is to take all the physical documents, digitize them, and then catalog them in a consistent standard way across the industry," said Butters. One of the critical pieces of paperwork is the 8130 airworthiness form which confirms any work done by an approved maintenance facility. Butters continued: "So that if an enterprise wants to go in and they're authenticated, and they say: 'what I want to see is all the 8130 tags issued across all of the aircraft that I own', that would be possible. And it's not going to shoot back 30,000 PDF documents for them to sift through." Instead, the information will be in a user-friendly format. Potential for analytics Accessible data enables analytics and pricing analytics in particular. Currently, market-based pricing is done manually or with homegrown systems, even for parts traders with a billion dollars of revenue. But with the combination of parts details and transaction pricing from the blockchain, there's the possibility of powerful pricing analytics. Another analytics area relates to when a part retires. Honeywell already has predictive analytics tools unrelated to blockchain. Based on wear and tear knowledge it suggests whether a piece should be replaced at the next service. But the blockchain system will help to connect the dots by making granular parts data available which is easily accessible. That potentially can be matched up with separate flight history data to provide another layer of information and analytics potential. Where next? Dismantling aircraft is just the first step in Honeywell's blockchain journey. Butters has her sights on running proofs of concept with other industry players. More than 50% of global aircraft are leased. After eight or ten years when the lessee returns the plane, there's a 1 to 4-month handover process to go through the documentation ensuring the airline performed all the maintenance work required under the lease. One alternative is for all the parts to be logged on the blockchain at the start of the lease. All repair work is recorded as well. Then at the end of the lease, the handover is comparatively simple. But Butters is taking a startup-style approach. Rather than targeting a proof of concept she and her team are visiting leasing companies to understand their processes and more importantly their pain points. If leasing companies use the blockchain, that gets parts data loaded at the start of an aircraft's life and dismantling at the end. The in-between part is the maintenance provided by repair and overhaul facilities. And Honeywell is keen to conduct proofs of concept with some of the more significant players to record maintenance data. But looking at the leasing side, if only some of the repair facilities use the blockchain there will be a gap in the data. "Most everyone has to be on the blockchain so that you have the full part pedigree," said Butters. "But in order for this to work, we have to take those really small steps to do the proof of concept to start showing people the value of it." Technology Honeywell Aerospace's Chief Digital & Information Officer, Sathish Mutukrishnan said they experimented with Ethereum but chose Hyperledger Fabric as the blockchain technology. He was previously with American Express which was a founding member of the Hyperledger enterprise blockchain community, so he's witnessed the progress from the beginning. Mutukrishnan likes Hyperledger's pace of innovation and quality of code. Many members are from large industries which experience similar issues. Fabric provides privacy controls which give a granular ability to manage data. And he likes the support. But Mutukrishnan was keen to emphasize that the Honeywell solution is being built to be platform agnostic. So the bottom layer is built on top of the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. Then there's a middleware layer that's Honeywell's "secret sauce". But applications are built to be able to work across multiple chains whether that's Ethereum or R3's Corda. "You cannot build something and force everybody else to adopt it," said Mutukrishnan. But to get different chains to work together, you also need standards otherwise the data will be incompatible. Standards The aircraft parts industry has existing standards in the form of the ATA's SPEC2000 which Honeywell is adopting. But blockchain adds another layer, and at this nascent stage, there are numerous initiatives. Mutukrishnan gave examples of five different standards bodies. It's part of the SAP group that's driving blockchain requirements. It's a member of Hyperledger and monitoring the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. Within the Aerospace sector, it's part of the Society of Aerospace Engineers consortium focused on technology standards including blockchain. And Airlines for America has a specification that covers digital information security which aligns with how blockchain needs to evolve. Get things done Ultimately it's all about execution. Butters' commented that "I'm just happy that we kind of started small, took the leap. And I can't tell you how much we've learned from it week over week, just by doing". With all the hype around blockchain and all the proofs of concept, Honeywell has a solution that's in production. And Butters' number one positive take away? "We've actually done something. That's it!" https://www.ledgerinsights.com/honeywell-blockchain-aircraft-parts/ Back to Top SpaceX Falcon Heavy to Launch Cutting-Edge NASA Space Tech An epic SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch - only the second trip to space for this rocket line - brings a set of NASA technology one step closer to getting its own ride into orbit. Falcon Heavy made its first operational flight yesterday (April 11), sending communications satellite Arabsat-6A aloft while successfully landing all three of its rockets - including the core and two boosters. "We are pleased with the success of yesterday's Falcon Heavy launch and first-stage landings," Jim Reuter, NASA's acting associate administrator for its space technology mission directorate, said in a statement. "We have important technologies that are ready to fly, and this success helps put us on that path." NASA is planning to launch several experiments into space simultaneously, all of which aim to improve the design and performance of future spacecraft. The missions will blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as part of the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission. The current targeted launch date is sometime in June, according to Spaceflight Now; in the same statement, NASA said the Air Force and SpaceX will prepare for the launch in the next few months. One of the NASA experiments involves a pair of cubesats, small and relatively cheap satellites about the size of a breadbox. These devices together comprise the Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment (E-TBEx) and will measure how "bubbles" (or distortions) in the upper atmosphere interfere with radio signals and GPS. The agency hopes to better forecast these disturbances to improve future communications technologies. The Falcon Heavy will also loft NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission, which will test an alternative to the traditional chemical propulsion used in rockets. It will test a new fuel/oxidizer blend called hydroxyl ammonium nitrate, which, according to NASA, is safer to handle and better for the environment than hydrazine, a popular but toxic rocket engine fuel. Rounding out NASA's planned cargo for the mission is the Deep Space Atomic Clock, which is a highly accurate timepiece that is expected to improve navigation, and the Space Environment Testbeds device, which examines how solar radiation near the Earth affects hardware on the spacecraft. The nonprofit Planetary Society has also arranged to fly a payload on the STP-2 Falcon Heavy launch. That device, called LightSail, will test whether a cubesat can navigate into Earth orbit using a 344-square foot (32-square meter) solar-powered sail. https://www.space.com/next-falcon-heavy-rocket-carries-nasa-payloads.html Curt Lewis