Virgin Australia expands Sabre relationship: Sabre announced an expanded and enhanced agreement with Virgin Australia. The carrier will be using Sabre’s Dynamic Availability solution to identify ways to unlock greater value as it continues to scale up its operations. This new deal is another step in Virgin Australia’s technological advancement journey, following an earlier agreement between Sabre and the airline which will see the carrier also migrate to Sabre’s Revenue Optimizer tool enabling a 360-approach to forecasting, analysing, and optimising revenue streams by providing real-time visibility into the total revenue of every flight, market, and departure date. Dynamic Availability empowers airlines to gain better control of their pricing position by leveraging shopping data, automating fare changes and enabling dynamic pricing capabilities. It begins by capturing traveller behaviour and price competition from the Sabre marketplace and other shopping data. Machine-learning models then use this data to generate recommendations that help drive incremental revenue opportunities.
Signature Aviation opens private terminal: Signature Aviation has announced the opening of its newly constructed private aviation facility at Birmingham Airport (BHX) in the United Kingdom. The opening marks the full revival of Signature Birmingham following a flood affecting its previous 1930’s era terminal building. The entirely new site represents Birmingham’s newest and best-appointed Fixed Base Operator (FBO) facility, featuring a 222 sq. m. building with traveller lounge space, refreshment area, and a passenger security screening checkpoint. The terminal also includes a dedicated pilots lounge and an electric vehicle charging station. “Signature rapidly mobilised to operate from a temporary facility immediately following the damage to our previous FBO; however, this opening solidifies our ongoing commitment to our customers and to Birmingham Airport as we look to the future,” said John-Angus Smith, Managing Director for Signature EMEA. “We are thankful for the support of Birmingham Airport Ltd in helping to re-establish Signature’s presence at the airport.”
Neste and United sign SAF deal: Neste and United Airlines announced that they have signed a new purchase agreement that provides United the right to buy up to 160,000 metric tonnes (52.5 million gallons) of Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel over the next three years to fuel United flights at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and potentially other airports, as well. With this agreement, United became the first U.S. airline to make an international purchase agreement for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Neste will provide United with 7,500 metric tons (2.5 million gallons) of SAF in Amsterdam in the first year. United will also have the right to purchase up to 60,000 metric tons (20 million gallons) in the second year, and up to 90,000 metric tons (30 million gallons) in the third year, at Amsterdam or other locations that Neste can supply throughout the globe, as Neste increases its SAF production globally. This supply agreement is enabled by Neste’s ambitious growth strategy, which will see the company producing 1.5 million tons (515 million gallons) of SAF per annum by the end of 2023. Neste has been producing and delivering SAF since 2011 and has a proven track record of supplying SAF to customers in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Meggitt signs contract with JACOM Trading: Meggitt, a specialist in high-performance components and subsystems for the aerospace, defence and selected energy markets, has signed a three-year SMARTSupport contract with JACOM Trading for the supply of spare parts to the Rolls Royce Spey engine. The contract covers valves and flow control solutions in the APAC region and is valued at $3.9 million. The Spey engine has been in widespread service for over 40 years and with over 50 million hours of operating time, is now classified as a legacy platform. JACOM is headquartered in Japan and is a leading supplier of engine repair services for both civil and defence applications. Darren Wiggins, SVP General Manager APAC for Meggitt’s Services & Support division, said, “Jacom is a highly valued customer of ours and we are delighted to sign this contract, which further strengthens our position in the APAC region as a major supplier of aftermarket services to engine shops, integrators and airlines.”
SmartKargo joins Cargo iQ: Provider of cloud-based air cargo solutions to the global air cargo industry SmartKargo has joined cross-stakeholder organisation Cargo iQ. SmartKargo offers a suite of scalable applications including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), a booking portal, and its end-to-end e-commerce shipping solution for global airlines. It joins Cargo iQ as part of a long-term objective to bring key quality enhancements to the air cargo industry. “Establishing consistent quality management standards requires transparency and collaboration among supply chain partners who bring a variety of perspectives to the conversation,” said Milind Tavshikar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SmartKargo. “We joined Cargo iQ to bring our unique experience to this important interest group and look forward to contributing as well as being inspired by our industry colleagues. Together, we can ensure that standards of quality management evolve steadily in this industry that is so important to the world.”
Iridium names new director: Iridium Communications announced that Kay Sears has been elected to the Iridium board of directors. As a director on the Iridium Board, Sears will play a role in helping shape the strategic direction of Iridium’s business. Sears currently serves as Vice President and General Manager of Autonomous Systems for the Boeing Defense, Space and Security (BDS) unit of The Boeing Company, which she joined in February 2022. At BDS, Sears oversees development of cutting-edge autonomous technologies, intelligence capabilities and networking solutions for government and commercial customers. Prior to this, Sears held senior positions with Lockheed Martin Space, Intelsat General Corporation, PanAmSat Corporation and has been a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee since 2009. With her background in the space industry combined with expert knowledge of government and commercial trends, Sears’ experience will help guide Iridium’s entry into growing and new markets. This includes the growing defence satellite business, for which Iridium is well known and continues to expand its role in providing reliable satellite services to government customers.
Pegasus Airlines names CCO: Onur Dedeköylü, who has been working as Senior Vice President for Marketing at Pegasus Airlines since 2010 and has made significant contributions to the company’s ancillary product management, digital transformation and to building the Pegasus brand, has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer. Dedeköylü will manage the Commercial division, consisting of the sales, network planning, marketing, revenue management and pricing, guest experience and cargo departments. Dedeköylü is a graduate of Industrial Engineering from Boğaziçi University and holds an MBA degree in marketing and finance from Georgia State University in Atlanta. He began his career at Gillette working in the fields of sales and marketing. After working at the global headquarters of Kimberly Clark’s health products division in Atlanta, USA, he continued his career in the UK. He worked in the fields of market research, product development and brand management at Hasbro’s European headquarters in the UK. He continued his career at the Coca-Cola Company, managing the Coca-Cola brand in Turkey.
Astronautics sells product line to Extant Aerospace: Astronautics Corporation of America announced the sale of its legacy electromechanical product line to Extant Aerospace. The agreement includes production, repairs, and spares activities associated with the company’s electromechanical horizontal situation indicator (HSI), attitude director indicator (ADI), and bearing distance heading indicator (BDHI) products. The sale is effective immediately and ongoing transfer activities that will transition the product line from Astronautics to Extant will continue throughout summer 2022. Customers seeking information regarding production, repairs, or spares for any of the listed products should continue to work directly with Astronautics’ sales operations team during the early stages of the transition. Astronautics and Extant are working together closely to ensure customers are fully supported during the product line transition.
BOC Aviation delivers first Max 8 to Turkish Airlines: BOC Aviation Limited announced that it has delivered the first of seven new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft for lease to Turkish Airlines. All seven aircraft are part of the Company’s existing order book and will be powered by CFM LEAP-1B engines. “We are delighted to build on our 18-year relationship with Turkish Airlines and to support the airline in its fleet development plans with the most fuel-efficient, technologically advanced aircraft,” said Robert Martin, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BOC Aviation. “This transaction illustrates our strategy of long-term, sustainable growth by building a portfolio of latest technology aircraft.” Turk Hava Yollari Anonim Ortakligi, also known as Turkish Airlines, is a company incorporated in Turkey and its shares are listed on the Borsa Istanbul. Its principal business is the operation of scheduled airline services, which is conducted from its primary hub at Istanbul Airport. Turkish Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance and currently operating a fleet of 372 aircraft.
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