ISSUE 3, VOLUME 5: AUGUST – OCTOBER 2013 THE MAGAZINE FOR AEROSPACE PROFESSIONALS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA AND TURKEY www.arabianaerospace.aero BROAD SHOULDERS AT IRAN AIR FLAG-CARRIER RAISES THE STANDARD IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY PAGE 18 SPECIAL REPORT FOCUS ON SAUDI ARABIA AIRPORTS Supreme 56-page Dubai challenge special faces up to in on the resurfacing Afghanistan kingdom problems PAGE 61 PAGE 71 PAGE 144 V2_OFC_ARA AS i3_SP [email protected] 1 31/07/13 6:47 PM comment ISSUE 3 VOL 5 | AUGUST 2013 – OCTOBER 2013 Published by Leading the world… but still storms abound TIMES Aerospace Limited Regional Office 3-4 Rumsey House PO box: 371391 Locks Hill, Rochford Dubai Airport Free Zone Essex, SS4 1BB Building 6EA, Suite 222, UK Dubai Tel: +44 (0)1702 53 0000 United Arab Emirates Fax: +44 (0)1702 53 3088 Tel: +971 4 603 3364 Website: www.arabianaerospace.aero Directors: Mark Brown & Kevin Sammon Publisher: Mark Brown [email protected] Display Advertising: Nick Hutchins [email protected] Dave Winship-Evans [email protected] Production Coordinator: Afghanistan offers great opportunities for our region as Arabian Aerospace discovered on our tour. Claire Silva [email protected] he Middle East airlines were the main talking the EU blacklist, a move that IATA’s director general Circulation Dept: point at the IATA AGM in Cape Town in June. Tony Tyler described as “absurd”. Ryan Everitt [email protected] TOn stage, as members of various key panels, the Arabian Aerospace joined the airline to visit both leaders of the region’s main airlines were relaxed and bases in Kabul and Dubai. This is not a big airline like EDITORIAL confident. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar but it shares that same Editor: Alan Peaford What a change from two years ago. passion for quality, for operational excellence and for [email protected] Instead of being pilloried as unfair competitors, safety. It deserves so much more. Deputy Editor: Marcella Nethersole there is recognition that the relationship between In this issue we also look at supply chain operations [email protected] Defence: Jon Lake Governments and airlines can benefit nations – and in Afghanistan ahead of the military withdrawals by Air Transport: Alan Dron everyone wants a slice of the Arabian airline pie. the American and NATO countries and we also pay a Business Aviation: Liz Moscrop The carriers’ drive for safety and operational visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – the region’s Helicopters: Paul Derby standards, as well as top-level service, is the envy of largest market. General Aviation: Liz Moscrop airlines around the world. And Qatar Airways – the Again there are positive messages and ambitious Space: Steve Nichols first airline to achieve IOSA recognition – will have a plans. Aircraft Interiors: Marcella Nethersole MRO & Propulsion: Geoff Thomas chance to demonstrate its capabilities first hand when The whole aerospace industry in this region is Business: Ian Sheppard it hosts next year’s AGM. developing despite external pressures and sometimes Airports: Keith Mwanalushi But there is one Middle East airline that may rightly protectionism. The success of the MENA region is the Picture Editor: Ian Billinghurst question the value of the IOSA certification. That is envy of the world – and now is the time to build on that Photographers: Paul Merritt, the Dubai-based Afghan airline Safi. Tom Gordon, Mark Wagner success. Design: Chris Murray As you will see from our story on Page 66, Safi has Safe landings. Production Editor: Rick Haden achieved the highest safety standards and systems in Alan Peaford, editor-in-chief Sub-Editors: Steve Knight IATA and has the IOSA certification. But it is still on Arabian Aerospace Regional Editors: Jill Stockbridge (UAE), James Wynbrandt (USA) COVER: Iran Air chairman Farhad Parvaresh. Picture: Billypix. Contributors: Mohammed Ali Alia, Claire Apthorp, Kelly Clark, Rob Coppinger, Jeffrey Decker, Kelly Green, Champion Door Ltd 148 NEXUS 92 Ian Goold, Jamie Hunter, Martin Rivers, Terry Spruce. Advertisers Comlux Middle East 129 Pan Am International Flight Academy 143 Dassault Falcon 50 Ramco Systems Ltd. 150 Editorial head office: Airbus 2, 3 Donaldson 37 Sabeti Wain Aerospace 126 Aerocomm Ltd, The Gatehouse, 104 Lodge Lane Albihery Lawyers & Legal Advisors 121 Dubai Airshow 2013 154 Safewrap Saudi Arabia 121 Grays, Essex, RM16 2UL UK. 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Bombardier IBC Merlin RAMCo, Inc. 40Partner’ of: Printed in the UAE by Emirates Printing Press. Printed in the UAE by Emirates Printing Press. CAE 30 Middle East Business Aviation CFM International 33 Association (MEBAA) 65 1 SPECIAL REPORT FROM AFGHANISTAN The old adage says that an army marches on its stomach. That is as true today as in the days of the Charge of the Light Brigade. And one freight and logistics company is making sure that the armed forces in Afghanistan are getting their daily rations. Marcelle Nethersole reports from Afghanistan. MY SUPREME CHALLENGE he Supreme Group has been providing critical, life- sustaining services to defence, government, and Tcommercial sectors across the globe in challenging environments since its beginning in 1957. Its current clients include the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and leading military forces, including the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). Since 2005 the company, which has its Middle East operations hub in Dubai, has been operating in Afghanistan delivering food, water and other supplies to around 250 forward operating bases (FOBs) for up to 130,000 troops. It is the only company to do so. Its expertise extends to fuel supply and full life-support services for military clients in the country. Its facilities within Afghanistan include 21 bulk fuel installations; nine food, chilled, frozen and dry goods warehouses with an area of 801,705sqm, 27 dining facilities (DFACs) that serve around 3 million meals per month; and a state-of-the-art water bottling plant with the capacity to produce 8,000 litres of drinking water Continued on Page 62 per hour. 61 SPECIAL REPORT FROM AFGHANISTAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 61 Aviation plays a vital role in its missions and it was with a certain trepidation, matched by a fascination about how this logistical challenge is achieved, that I joined Supreme on a two-day trip from its warehouse hub in Sharjah to Camp Bastion and Kandahar in Helmand Province to see how the operation worked. I was flying to Camp Bastion on a 747-200 loaded with food. Before the 10am departure, work had already been going on throughout the night. The company operates two warehouses, one of which is a chilled store, alongside the UAE’s fourth largest airport. “We get goods in from all over the world with most of it being fresh fruit and vegetables,” said Stuart Peacock, Supreme’s Sharjah Airport operations manager. “It’s a huge supply chain that is purely for the military. We also fly dry cargo, which literally can be anything from cans of drink, sheets of cling-film, pillows, and piping, but the food produce always takes priority. Any room left over on the aircraft we load with dry cargo to make sure we utilise all the space.” As a lot of the food is chilled or frozen, the importance of keeping it to the right temperature is paramount. The whole process starts with food companies putting temperature loggers on a sample of the tri-wall boxes of packed food.