Category: PRs

easyJet has selected AJW Group to be the primary provider of the airline’s requirements for component maintenance and the provision, storage and distribution of spare parts. The new multi-year contract will support the airline’s growing fleet of Airbus aircraft. The award of the contract to AJW was the result of a thorough and comprehensive tender process.

AJW will be responsible for component repair and overhaul, supply of consumable parts such as filters and lubricants and management of the airline’s spares inventory including the storage and distribution of easyJet’s own extensive component inventory throughout its European network of 30 line stations.

The contract, which will start in October 2015, will cover easyJet’s fleet of 241 aircraft. During the course of the contract easyJet plans to take delivery of over 100 Airbus A320 family aircraft including 51 Airbus A320neos taking the fleet to 304 aircraft by 2020.

“This deal is the first stage of a program to re-tender easyJet’s engineering and maintenance contracts worth over £200 million annually and is an important part of the drive to deliver sustainable cost savings under easyJet Lean,” Warwick Brady, COO for easyJet, explains. “This new partnership with AJW will enable easyJet to realize significant savings compared to our current arrangements as well as support the airline’s aim of outsourcing its technical supply chain requirements. AJW are well known for their innovation and dynamism and the new partnership with them provides easyJet with a combination of value and cultural alignment which we believe will bring continuous improvement and high service levels.”

Boris Wolstenholme, CEO of AJW Aviation, comments: “This contract cements AJW’s position as the leading independent provider of component support program worldwide. We now have a global fleet of more than 900 aircraft under contract, which demonstrates the confidence that leading airlines like easyJet place on our capabilities and can-do approach. This is a ground-breaking achievement for AJW Group and I am justifiably very proud of our team.”

Singapore Technologies Engineering’s (ST Engineering) aerospace arm Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aerospace) has signed a joint venture agreement with Tenryu Holdings to set up ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats (ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats). The joint venture will have a planned investment of $29.8 million. ST Aerospace will own 90 percent of ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats’ shares, with the remaining 10 percent to be held by Tenryu.

Based in Singapore, ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats will be responsible for the end-to-end design and manufacturing of a range of aircraft seating solutions. The company’s long- term business roadmap will include a series of economy class, business, as well as first class seats. It will be marketed as part of ST Aerospace’s global network, working in tandem with the other network members to deliver an integrated cabin interiors offering.

ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats says it will leverage both ST Aerospace’s and Tenyru’s experience in the aerospace industry, to produce innovative seating solutions which are both aesthetically and technically viable.

“With the addition of ST Aerospace Aircraft Seats into our global network, this new joint venture will allow us to strengthen our foothold in the aircraft product development sphere and add a new dimension to our integrated cabin interiors offering,” says LIM Serh Ghee, president, ST Aerospace. “Through a single trusted provider, airline customers will experience streamlined aircraft downtime during cabin interior reconfiguration, resulting in enhanced operational efficiency.”

Having arrived in Hamburg as a former German government aircraft, this Airbus A310 has now left Hamburg again in a completely new role. Lufthansa Technik has delivered the new Zero-G aircraft to its French owner, Novespace, following extensive modifications. The former 10+21 “Konrad Adenauer” bearing the registration F-WNOV will operate in the future as a parabolic aircraft in the name of space exploration and technology – in true reflection of the spirit of Franco/German friendship.

Some 1,300 modifications were required in the framework of the conversion program in order to convert the aircraft back to its original factory default state as required by the European aviation authority EASA. The cabin refit then commenced, with the approx. 20 meter long “test area” proving particularly challenging.

This is the area where prospective astronauts will experience weightlessness for the first time and experiments will take place. Powerful light installations were required in particular for this purpose, with care being taken to ensure that these would not pose a hazard for the “weightless” passengers. Novespace will use the aircraft from its home airport in Bordeaux beginning in May.

Clay Lacy Aviation’s FANS 1/A+ solution for the Gulfstream GIV and GIVSP has received FAA STC approval (STC – ST03423CH). The company says this comprehensive upgrade provides a feature-rich, low-cost solution with minimal downtime. Now accepting orders, the company will install the new technology at its Van Nuys, Calif. FAA repair station, as well as make the STC available to Universal Avionics authorized dealers.

“Our FANS program is designed to provide Gulfstream owners the most cost-effective and convenient solution with increased functionality and ease of operation to meet current and future worldwide mandates,” said Jim Lauer, director of Avionics for Clay Lacy Aviation. “It is the only certified upgrade that gives the client the option of using the existing Honeywell MCS-6000/7000 or an Iridium based solution that meets the current TSO-c159A.”

All Metal MS has announced the release of custom maintenance stands for the UH72/EC145.

Utilizing feedback from their client, The National Guard, All Metal says it enhanced its existing MS-414/415 maintenance stands to better accommodate the EC-145 and UH-72 aircraft. The stands were lengthened, both fore and aft, to provide safe access to the hydraulics and avionics as well as the engines and exhaust sections. The decks were uniquely contoured to the aircraft to give a safer work surface. With the new design, multiple mechanics can now work in separate areas of the aircraft while utilizing the same maintenance stand at the same time. These new stands (part number MS-426/427) are another innovation, in a long line of innovative enhancements All Metal has made through cooperative engineering with clients.

JSfirm.com released their 6th Annual Hiring Trends Survey. “This year’s results show that our industry is continuing to trend in the right direction. There will be more hiring in 2015 than any of the past 6 years,” says Jeff Richards, JSfirm.com manager.

Some highlights from the report:
• 342 aviation companies across various sectors were surveyed
• 92% will hire in 2015
• 78% are projecting growth in 2015
• 72% did not cut jobs in 2014 (up from 68% in 2013)
• 55% experienced an attrition rate of less than 5% (up from 48%)
• Skilled maintenance technicians remain the most in-demand hiring need
• April, May, and June will likely be the busiest hiring months
• Companies report that lack of experienced candidates is their biggest hiring challenge

The entire results of the survey can be seen at jsfirm.com

GKN Aerospace has been selected by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to supply the wing skins for its latest G500 and G600 ultra-long range business jets. In a long term contract GKN Aerospace is to produce the upper and lower wing skins for the development and production aircraft.

The G500 and G600 upper wing skins are constructed in a single piece, eliminating fasteners and joints, lowering weight and reducing maintenance. The lower wing skins are comprised of several panels and incorporate a number of complex design features. All skins are being manufactured at GKN Aerospace’s advanced machined structures facility in Wellington, Kansas, USA, using the country’s longest multi-spindle gantry machining center.

“Our success here is founded on the depth of expertise we have in long bed machining and wing skin manufacture. At the latest count we have produced over 5000 wing skins at our Wellington facility, including skins for Gulfstream’s award-winning G550 aircraft,” Daniele Cagnatel, CEO, GKN Aerospace – Aerostructures North America said. “This important new contract reinforces our relationship with Gulfstream and this is a relationship we aim to foster and grow for the long term. This contract also represents a major development in our strategic drive to increase our presence in the business jet market.”

All Metal MS has delivered a custom “Pitch Adjustment Tool” (PAT), designed for the United States Coast Guard’s fleet of MH-60 Jayhawks. PAT is All Metal’s approach to providing a solution that replaces the commonly used Trammel Tool and minimizes the time it takes to complete a track and balance.PAT attaches to the Pitch Control Link (PCL) and/or various tie rods located on the aircraft.

The PAT can be set at a nominal measurement to adjust a new PCL/Tie Rod. Moreover, it can be used to center older rod ends to achieve a 1:1 ratio to match original dimensions of the worn PCL/Tie Rod. By centering the rod ends, a mechanic is able to virtually eliminate the redundant process of setting and testing the new PCL/Tie Rod until they’ve achieved a perfect match.Insert adapter blocks and an adjustment slot allow for the tool to be used on various sizes and types of PCL/Tie Rods as well as tie rod ends.

According to All Metal, this saves tremendous man-hours and test flight hours, thereby, saving time, money and energy when completing a track and balance for the aircraft.“We worked side by side with the mechanics at United States Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater, Fla. to improve the design of our existing PAT making it more versatile for the various linkages on the MH-60J,” Johnny Buscema, All Metal’s president and CEO stated. “The PAT provides efficiency for the mechanics while dramatically decreasing liability.”

easyJet has selected AJW Group to be the primary provider of the airline’s requirements for component maintenance and the provision, storage and distribution of spare parts. The new multi-year contract will support the airline’s growing fleet of Airbus aircraft. The award of the contract to AJW was the result of a thorough and comprehensive tender process.

AJW will be responsible for component repair and overhaul, supply of consumable parts such as filters and lubricants and management of the airline’s spares inventory including the storage and distribution of easyJet’s own extensive component inventory throughout its European network of 30 line stations.

The contract, which will start in October 2015, will cover easyJet’s fleet of 241 aircraft. During the course of the contract easyJet plans to take delivery of over 100 Airbus A320 family aircraft including 51 Airbus A320neos taking the fleet to 304 aircraft by 2020.

“This deal is the first stage of a program to re-tender easyJet’s engineering and maintenance contracts worth over £200 million annually and is an important part of the drive to deliver sustainable cost savings under easyJet Lean,” Warwick Brady, COO for easyJet, explains. “This new partnership with AJW will enable easyJet to realize significant savings compared to our current arrangements as well as support the airline’s aim of outsourcing its technical supply chain requirements. AJW are well known for their innovation and dynamism and the new partnership with them provides easyJet with a combination of value and cultural alignment which we believe will bring continuous improvement and high service levels.”

Boris Wolstenholme, CEO of AJW Aviation, comments: “This contract cements AJW’s position as the leading independent provider of component support program worldwide. We now have a global fleet of more than 900 aircraft under contract, which demonstrates the confidence that leading airlines like easyJet place on our capabilities and can-do approach.”

Hartzell Propeller has appointed American Propeller Service as a Recommended Service Facility. American Propeller, of Redding, Calif., covers a large area of the western United States with its fleet of transport vehicles offering propeller pickup and delivery services.

“American Propeller and its parent company, Ameritech Industries, have excellent reputations and we are delighted to welcome American Propeller as a Hartzell Recommended Service Facility,” said Joe Brown, Hartzell Propeller president. “We have complete confidence that American Propeller’s professional capabilities will meet the needs of aviators who fly Hartzell props on their airplanes.”

“American Propeller is elated about its new status as a Hartzell Propeller Recommended Service Facility,” said Kerry Dawes, Ameritech president. “By teaming with Hartzell Propeller we are bettering American Propeller and the services it can provide through utilizing Hartzell’s excellent training programs,” he added.