ISSN 1718-7966 February 26, 2018/ VOL. 629 WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES Read by thousands of aviation professionals and technical decision-makers every week www.avitrader.com WORLD NEWS Spirit Airlines adds to Caribbean network Spirit Airlines, beginning May 24, 2018, will connect Fort Lauderd- ale-Hollywood International Air- port (FLL) with a nonstop service to St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX). The service will run three times per week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The Carib- bean island will become Spirit’s 65th destination, following a re- cent addition of Columbus, OH, and upcoming new service to Rich- LHR posted mond, VA; Guayaquil, Ecuador; a record and Cap, Haiti. 78 million passengers last year. Bangkok Airways and EL AL Photo: sign codeshare Heathrow Bangkok Airways and EL AL have Airport announced a new codeshare partnership to strengthen their Landmark year for Heathrow respective route networks. This codeshare agreement will cover 9 As airport reports its best full year results routes on both domestic and inter- Europe’s busiest airport London lion up 2.7% and Adjusted EBITDA liament this summer and the CAA national. Codeshare flights oper- Heathrow (LHR) grew at its fastest of £1,760 million up 4.6% reflecting progressing the expansion regula- ated by Bangkok Airways include rate in five years in 2017, helping lower operating costs and strong tory framework. roundtrip routes on Bangkok-Sam- Britain’s economy to thrive by wel- retail growth while passenger ui, Bangkok-Chiang Rai, Bangkok- coming a record 78 million passen- charges decreased by 2.0%. John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Lampang, gers (+3.1%) while Officer of Heathrow, Bangkok-Trat, Bangkok-Sukhothai, retaining its position said: “Heathrow had a Bangkok-Danang, Bangkok-Phnom “For Britain to thrive post-Brexit, the as Europe’s top-rated fantastic 2017 – wel- Penh and Bangkok-Siem Reap. major airport for the Government needs to crack on with coming a record 78 Brussels Airlines Cargo receives third year running. Heathrow expansion.” million passengers, CEIV certificate giving our best service John Holland-Kaye, CEO, Heathrow IATA has awarded Brussels Air- Heathrow continues ever and offering bet- lines Cargo with its CEIV Pharma to deliver for the ter value for our pas- certificate, IATA’s excellence la- UK with a 10.2% increase in cargo Over £1.0 billion in debt financing sengers with lower airport charges. bel for pharmaceutical transport. volumes promoting more British completed, enhancing resilience CEIV, the Centre of Excellence for trade growth, support for British and simplifying Heathrow’s debt “But while we are squeezing out Independent Validators, have re- jobs with close to £700 million in- financing arrangements. small bits of growth, our rivals in viewed the airline’s processes in vested in the airport over the year France and Germany are overtak- recent months and has assessed and new services to Portland and Significant progress on expanding ing us – for Britain to thrive post- Brussels Airlines as showing great Santiago. Heathrow, with the airport’s first Brexit, the Government needs to reliability, expertise and quality in planning consultation underway, crack on with Heathrow expansion its pharma processes. Transporting Strong financial performance un- a shortlist of logistics hubs around as quickly as possible with a vote in healthcare products by air requires derpins Heathrow’s expansion Britain to help build it, the govern- Parliament before the summer.” a rigorous logistical approach. plans, with revenues of £2,884 mil- ment committing to a vote in Par- 3 WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES AIRCRAFT & ENGINE NEWS Twelve stopovers in three weeks provides high visibility for the latest A350 XWB jetliner version NAC delivers one new ATR 42-600 on lease to Stobart Air Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has delivered one new ATR 42-600, MSN 1213, to Stobart Air, on lease. Stobart Air, the regional franchise flying partner to leading airlines, operates up to 940 flights weekly across 43 routes throughout 11 European countries from bases in the U.K. and Ireland. Stobart Air operates under the Aer Lin- gus Regional brand as part of a franchise agree- ment with Ireland’s national carrier, Aer Lingus, and operates Flybe routes from London South- end Airport and the Isle of Man. Headquartered in Dublin, the airline employs over 570 people. Safran contributes to Boeing ecoDemon- strator Safran Electrical & Power is participating in the Boeing 2018 ecoDemonstrator, a campaign launched to improve commercial aviation’s en- vironmental performance throughout an air- A350-1000 demo-tour Doha, Muscat Photo: Airbus plane’s lifecycle. After decades of successful partnership with Boeing on electrical wiring in- Airbus’ flight test A350-1000 jetliner is back home after a demonstration tour to Middle East terconnection systems, Safran Electrical & Power and Asia-Pacific destinations, a three-week trip that underscored all the attributes this larg- is demonstrating its capabilities in power gener- est A350 XWB version brings in upsized efficiency, maximum reliability and unique passenger ation, distribution, electrical motors, and power comfort for fast-growing regions of the global airline marketplace. electronics by supplying a complete electrical More than 10,000 people had the opportunity to visit the A350-1000 during its 12 stopovers channel to the Boeing 2018 ecoDemonstrator. which formed a tour that logged 87 hours aloft while covering 64,000 kilometers – the equiva- To date, Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program, lent to traveling around the Earth 1.6 times. which began in 2011, has tested more than 60 The demonstration tour provided airline customers, VIPs, journalists, social media personali- technologies using four airplanes as flying test ties, industry influencers and enthusiasts alike, the opportunity to discover the latest member beds. In 2018, Boeing and FedEx will work to- of the A350 XWB Family ahead of its upcoming entry into service. gether to test more than 30 new technologies Retaining significant commonality with the successful in-service A350-900 version, the aboard a FedEx-owned 777 Freighter, equipped A350-1000’s fuselage has been stretched by seven meters – providing greater capacity (40 with Safran Electrical & Power’s electrical chan- more seats in a typical three-class cabin configuration) and perfectly matching airlines’ nel. The flight test campaign is planned to start needs on their busiest long-haul routes while giving the flexibility to provide a larger pre- this month. Safran Electrical & Power will equip mium seating area. the 2018 ecoDemonstrator with a comprehensive The A350-1000’s demonstration tour began on January 26, with Doha, Qatar as its first desti- electrical channel, encompassing electric power nation. This visit was highly appropriate, as Doha-based Qatar Airways will be the first airline generation and distribution systems, engine and to introduce the new aircraft, joining the airline’s growing fleet of A350-900s. aircraft wiring, and specific electrical loads (elec- Next on the tour were visits to Oman, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Hanoi and Singapore, where tric fans). Through strong collaboration with the the aircraft was displayed at the 2018 Singapore Airshow. After an extended stopover, the jet- Boeing team, Safran Electrical & Power has de- liner then flew to Bangkok, Sydney, Auckland, Tokyo and Manila, before returning on February signed and developed one of the fastest flight- 16 to Airbus’ headquarters operation – and location for the A350 XWB final assembly line – in worthy electrical channel for civil aircraft. This the Toulouse region of southern France. solution is unique in the market and allows future Followed by Thousands of Industry Professionals e-magazine Industry insight, analysis and news Free subscription straight to your inbox every month Get latest edition>> Contact us about Advertising Opportunities Jenny Vogel, Sales Director [email protected] +49 (0)8761 346007 January 2018 Edition 5 WEEKLY AVIATION HEADLINES AIRCRAFT & ENGINE NEWS Launch customer Qatar Airways takes delivery of first A350-1000 optimization of the full aircraft electrical system. The 2018 ecoDemonstrator flight test campaign will demonstrate multiple benefits: overall elec- trical system efficiency, reduction of energy loss- es, and weight and operating savings. GE Aviation opens pneumatics laboratory GE Aviation, Rockford has commissioned a world- class facility that enables the company to test jet engine components under a full range of tem- peratures, pressures and other conditions. The Advanced Engineering Pneumatics Test Labora- tory, known as AdEPT, represents a US$13m in- vestment, and will help fuel continued growth at the Rockford plant. The new facility is dedicated to the testing of complex, high-precision compo- nents including engine pneumatic valves, starter systems, turbo machinery, heat exchangers, and A350-1000 and A350-900 Qatar formation-flight Photo: Airbus bleed air systems. The 20,000-ft² AdEPT lab is ca- Airbus has delivered the world’s first A350-1000 wide-body airliner to launch customer Qatar pable of replicating a wide variety of conditions, Airways at a delivery event in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the first of 37 A350-1000s -or combining pneumatic temperature, pressure and dered by the carrier and is the first ever Airbus aircraft fitted with the revolutionary new Qsuite flow to simulate real-world conditions. seat, offering a double bed for the first time in Business class. Qatar Airways is the world’s larg- The Rockford facility is expanding as produc- est A350 XWB family customer with 76 aircraft on order and the largest A350-1000 customer. tion of GE Aviation’s jet engines reaches record “Qatar Airways always demands the very best for its customers, so it is right that we are the levels. The 150,000-ft² facility employs a total first airline in the world to fly the Airbus A350-1000,” said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, of 220 people, including nearly 100 hourly pro- His Excellency Mr.