AAV News in Brief 18 February 2021

AAR named to Forbes ‘America’s Best Midsize Employers’: AAR has been named to Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Midsize Employers” for 2021. This is the third time that AAR has earned this honour, which is based on an independent survey conducted by Statista polling over 38,000 US employees. “We are very proud to have once again been named by Forbes as one America’s Best Midsize Employers. This honour means even more to us this year given the current challenges the aviation industry is facing,” said John Holmes, AAR president and CEO. “Our amazing team has made many sacrifices this past year and thanks to their efforts, our Company has never been in a stronger position.” In the United States, AAR currently employs over 3,000 people, primarily aircraft maintenance mechanics, and approximately 5,000 people in total around the world. RECARO Aircraft Seating signs contract extension with Airbus: Recaro Aircraft Seating has signed an extension contract with Airbus for the delivery of SWIFT economy class seats. Since 2016, the premium seat provider has been equipping Airbus A320 Family aircraft with predefined economy class seats BL3530. This contract extension aims to enlarge the supplier furnished equipment (SFE) catalogue with the latest RECARO products. The SWIFT program was created to target lessors and airlines that require a short lead-time of four months or less via a SFE process. The last-minute flexibility without compromising seat quality has resulted in a popular solution for airlines in a post-pandemic environment. Recaro currently offers predefined and pre-certified versions of its BL3530, BL3710, and CL4710, and provides various dual-class cabin configurations of the SWIFT family of seats. Optional seat features range from comfort packages and in-seat power solutions to tablet holders and ELeather colours. The SL3710 is the lightest seat in the market, and is slated to join the Airbus SFE catalogue soon. FEAM partners with Sunaero: FEAM announced that it has signed a partnership with Sunaero-Americas. FEAM is a provider of airline line maintenance and engineering services to a variety of domestic and international air carriers flying transport planes throughout the country. Sunaero, the premier fuel tank and fuel systems repair specialists, will provide on-site fuel system repair services at the new FEAM MRO hangar located at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) International Airport that caters to the growing air cargo fleet. FEAM opened the 103,000-square-foot and US$19 million hangar at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) early last year. The facility created the need for more than 100 high-paying aircraft mechanic jobs and supports the growing global logistics network at the airport. The hangar accommodates all narrow-body aircraft, as well as the Boeing B747 aircraft. Sunaero utilizes helium tracer gas technology to pressurise the fuel system which allows for rapid identification of the leak point with the use of helium leak detection sensors. Repairs are then conducted timely and once completed, helium tracer gas is again used to re-pressurize the fuel system and confirm the leak point is repaired. This is accomplished without re-fueling the aircraft until after the leak point is confirmed repaired and therefore saves time and money to return the aircraft to service. Accelya partners with Hawaiian Airlines: Accelya, a leading global provider of technology to the travel industry, announced that Hawaiian Airlines is investing in comprehensive omnichannel retailing, enabled by Accelya’s full suite of offer management products and New Distribution Capability (NDC) API. Since 2014, Hawaiian has been using FLX Merchandise to sell ancillaries such as its Extra Comfort main cabin seats and branded fares through direct channels. For greater control and reach of Hawaiian’s offers in its third-party (Agency and Meta) channels, the carrier has now licensed the full suite of offer engines from Accelya – FLX Shop & Price, FLX Availability Calculator, and FLX Schedule Builder – to enable efficient shopping and pricing, independent availability calculation, and dynamic schedule building. Hawaiian is also implementing an omnichannel retailing approach with FLX NDC API and FLX Open Connect which will allow for new and exciting content from Hawaiian to be available in indirect channels. MAAS Aviation opens new paint shop in Lithuania: MAAS Aviation has opened a new purpose-built paint shop at Kaunas Airport (KUN). The facility, which is the first of its kind in Lithuania, grows MAAS Aviation’s global footprint to eleven best-in-class paint shops and increases their overall MRO capacity in Europe by 40 percent. Designed to achieve the highest industry quality standards, the facility features the very latest technologies, including systems to ensure safe and secure operations and to manage the environmental impact of the company’s activities. Following a multi-million Euro investment by MAAS Aviation, the ultra-modern Lithuanian facility is a twin-bay narrow body paint shop capable of accommodating up to two A321 sized aircraft simultaneously. All MAAS Aviation facilities are certified to EN9100, ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards and the Kaunas shop will operate to these standards from the outset. Uganda Airlines opts for Geven seats: The first A330-800neo of Uganda Airlines has been delivered with Geven’s Piuma AQ Economy and Comoda AQ Premium Economy Class sustainable seats. Uganda Airlines selected Piuma AQ (Alta Quota) and Comoda AQ (Alta Quota) for their renowned comfort, functionality and aesthetics features which enhance passenger experience while their efficient design focused on durable and reliable parts minimise fuel consumption and maintenance costs. “We are delighted to be Uganda Airlines’ choice for the outfitting of the long haul Economy and Premium Economy Class on such a rare aircraft, says Alberto Veneruso, Managing Director of Geven. “Working together with Uganda’s team for the first time was a huge inspiration for Geven. 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