Vallair leases Airbus A321F to SmartLynx Malta: Vallair, the mature aircraft asset and cargo conversion specialist dedicated to the support of both operators and lessors, has delivered its second Airbus A321 freighter conversion. This is the first A321F to be operated by a European based carrier. Having received its STC from the FAA in April 2021, the aircraft bearing MSN 891 has been prepared for delivery at Vallair’s specialist MRO & Painting facility in Montpellier, France immediately following its conversion in the USA. MSN 891 has been leased by Vallair to SmartLynx Malta who will now operate the aircraft on behalf of DHL. “We are delighted to see the successful delivery of our second A321 freighter conversion,” says Patrick Leopold, director of Trading & Leasing at Vallair. “This is, of course, another significant milestone for Vallair and serves to showcase the full remit of our capabilities.”
Sabre partners with GOPASS Global: Sabre has partnered with travel risk management platform GOPASS Global to help deliver its COVID-19 biosecurity risk analytics capabilities to the travel industry. GOPASS Global solutions support both corporate and leisure travellers to recommence travel with confidence through the use of advanced analytics to deliver a single view of all of the biosecurity risk elements of a trip. Joining the Sabre Developer Partner platform will help GOPASS Global to further improve its competitive position in the global travel marketplace, while further expanding Sabre’s innovative open platform, which sits at the intersection of supply and demand. GOPASS travel risk management capabilities are now available to travel agents across the globe. By integrating with Sabre’s shopping APIs, GOPASS populates a quantifiable risk score onto each travel option and displays the information to agents, who are then able to better advise their customers. Powered by Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, GOPASS Travel Risk Optimizer provides travellers with an end-to-end analysis of all aspects of travel and their risk exposure in the cycle of travel, including arrival and exit restrictions, flight routes and transit, airports, airline and aircraft type, seat class and travel advisories. GOPASS Global data also looks at country conditions such as infection rates, government policies and data reliability. Putting this all together, agents can obtain a risk score out of ten per flight itinerary, enabling them to clearly identify the lowest risk rates overall.
Airbus launches rotary-wing safety award: The “Civil Helicopter – Innovation in Rotary-wing Safety Award” was launched at Rotortech in Australia to encourage, recognise and celebrate Australian-based rotary wing organisations, groups, and agencies who have made a significant contribution to improve safety performance. To be eligible, nominees must be an Australia Pacific based rotary wing organisation, group, company or agency, and submit the Call for Nominations Form to enter. Awards will be issued for nominations which demonstrate successful development and implementation of a programme, act, effort, contribution or service that has had a significant and positive impact on rotary-wing safety in Australia Pacific. Airbus Australia Pacific Managing Director, Andrew Mathewson said “This award highlights the ongoing commitment that Airbus Helicopters has to support flight safety for the thousands of women and men around the world who are transported in our aircraft every day. Our local helicopter community in Australia and New Zealand has some of the best operators in the world, and we look forward to celebrating the safety performance of all nominees.” Nominations are open now and will be awarded at Avalon Airshow later this year. All submissions will be judged by the Airbus AP Integrated Safety Management System (iSMS) Working Group, and representatives from our Ethics and Compliance team.
Travelport and Amazon Web Services team up: Travelport announced a strategic, long-term collaboration with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to use advanced cloud technology to accelerate the digital transformation of retailing in the travel industry. The collaboration, which unites globally renowned expertise in travel technology, cloud technology, and hyper-personalised retailing, will focus on optimising Travelport’s recently launched next-generation platform, Travelport+. It will also drive innovation in travel merchandising with the launch of a new accelerator program that will incorporate talent from the tech startup community. As part of the long-term collaboration, Travelport will migrate its global platform that connects travel agencies and travel suppliers to AWS. It will also use AWS technologies, including High Performance Compute (HPC), storage, security, analytics, machine learning and databases to deliver a faster, easier, and more personalized travel booking experience. In addition, Travelport will use AWS Managed Services (AMS) to provide trusted operational expertise to help optimize platform efficiency and security.
ALSIM sells simulator to University of Waterloo: ALSIM Simulators announced the sale of the special AL250 simulator with Engineering Pack to the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. The AL250 simulator will be utilized by researchers within the nascent Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA). WISA was established to be a hub of sustainable aviation and aerospace research, technology, and education. To foster transdisciplinary studies and cross-sector partnerships, focused on innovating the air transport sector and informing public policy, in support of a more sustainable future.
CPaT signs deal with Luke Air: CPaT Global announced it has been awarded a new contract with Luke Air, operated by Blue Panorama (Luke Air), for initial and recurrent training on the B737NG, and A330 fleets. CPaT will be providing Boeing and Airbus Aircraft Systems courses, CPaT’s General Subjects library and Interactive Diagrams to Luke Air’s training curriculum, which will be used for training pilots. CPaT will also be providing Learning Management System (LMS) licenses to Luke Air’s Cabin Crew, giving them the ability to upload and distribute their own custom-developed Cabin Crew training courseware. “We look forward to our new partnership with Luke Air,” said Capt. Greg Darrow, CPaT’s vice president of sales. “Luke Air is dedicated to providing their pilots with in-depth, interactive and engaging training that allows their pilot and cabin crews to train anytime, anywhere on any device.” Founded in 1998 and based in Rome, Italy, Blue Panorama airlines operates 32 routes among three countries.
VINCI Airports welcomes easyJet’s new base at Faro airport: Nicolas Notebaert, CEO of VINCI Concessions and president of VINCI Airports, celebrated the opening of easyJet’s new base and the launch of Faro airport’s solar plant, the first in-airport solar plant in Portugal. The base is a new illustration of VINCI Airports’ commitment towards Portugal and the Algarve region. Thanks to the 32.8 million euro modernisation program it delivered at Faro airport, VINCI Airports has been strongly enhancing the airport’s attractiveness towards airlines and passengers, since the beginning of the concession. The airport has become a central element in Algarve’s tourism strategy and a key asset for the future, as Portugal is preparing for the recovery of tourism. The opening of this base, which is the result of a joint effort between easyJet, VINCI Airports and the Portuguese tourism authorities, will contribute to keep opening new routes in Faro. VINCI Airports also gives new momentum to its partnership with the Algarve region by launching Faro airport’s solar plant. It will have a capacity of 3 MWp and will supply Faro airport with 30 percent of its electricity needs, generating an annual saving equivalent to more than 1,500 tons of CO2. The solar plant is financed, developed, built and will be operated by VINCI Airports through its photovoltaic subsidiary SunMind. It will be operational in 2022.
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