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Aviation News in Brief 21 March 2020
Boeing, Longview Aviation, AirAsia, Air Astana, HAECO, EHang, DARTeC.
Boeing announces actions to navigate COVID-19 crisis: Boeing announced several decisions to support the company as it navigates through the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring the company is positioned for the industry’s recovery. The company said CEO Dave Calhoun and board Chairman Larry Kellner will forgo all pay until the end of the year. The company will suspend its dividend until further notice. Boeing will extend its pause of any share repurchasing until further notice. The company previously suspended its stock buyback program in April of 2019. Boeing is drawing on all of its resources to sustain operations, support its workforce and customers, and maintain supply chain continuity through the COVID-19 crisis and for the long term. Longview Aviation Capital announces temporary suspension of production: Longview Aviation Capital, parent company of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada and Viking Air, announced the immediate suspension of manufacturing operations for new production Dash 8-400 aircraft at De Havilland’s Downsview facility in Toronto, and new production Series 400 Twin Otter aircraft at Viking’s facilities in Victoria, BC and Calgary, Alberta. Production on these aircraft will be paused until further notice. Approximately 800 employees or 65 percent of De Havilland’s current workforce, and 180 employees or 40 percent of Viking current workforce will be affected. The suspension applies only to new aircraft production. Both De Havilland and Viking will continue to provide full product support and technical services to all in-service De Havilland and Viking aircraft. All other Longview business activities will continue as usual. AirAsia says Fernandes back in after report on bribery allegations: Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia said it has conducted a full investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by founder Tony Fernandes and said the charges that aircraft procurement by AirAsia from Aibus were incorrect and all plane purchases were within the company’s guidelines. “The process was complied with and AirAsia’s aircraft acquisition was justifiable and at prices favourable to AirAsia”, the company said. Air Astana suspends most flights: Most of Air Astana and FlyArystan’s scheduled flights are now being suspended until 15 April 2020 following the lockdown of Almaty and Nur-Sultan as a result of progressive government restrictions intended to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. International flights will now only be carried out for the purpose of repatriating the citizens of Kazakhstan and providing foreign citizens with the opportunity to leave the country. The Air Astana Group of airlines will continue to operate domestic flights as long as it is possible with the intention of returning passengers to their place of permanent residence. HAECO attains 787 landing gear overhaul capability: HAECO Landing Gear Services, a member of the HAECO Group, announced the company has attained Boeing 787 landing gear overhaul capability, providing timely support for the fast-approaching landing gear overhauls due on regional and international Boeing 787 fleets. EHang Partners with Llíria of Spain: EHang Holdings announced that it has established a strategic partnership with Llíria in Spain as its fourth urban air mobility (UAM) pilot city globally following Seville in Spain, Linz in Austria and Guangzhou in China. EHang will collaborate with the Llíria City Council to develop a 3D air mobility solution for smart cities and launch a pilot operation programme of passenger-grade AAVs designed to explore different application scenarios including tourism. In addition, EHang and Llíria City Council will work together with the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency to establish relevant systems and standards to support this new transportation ecosystem. Boeing joins UK digital aviation research project: Boeing has joined the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC), due to become operational this summer at Cranfield University. The centre is spearheading the UK’s research into digital aviation technology and will include an experimental airport terminal and a ‘hangar of the future’, fully instrumented for advanced digital maintenance repair and operations.
TAGSAir AstanaAirAsiaBoeingDARTeCEHangHAECOLongview Aviation
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Matt Driskillhttp://www.matt-driskill.com
Matt Driskill is the Editor of Asian Aviation. He has been an Asia-based journalist and content producer since 1990 for outlets including Reuters and the International Herald Tribune/New York Times and is a former president of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Hong Kong. He appears on international broadcast outlets like Al Jazeera, CNA and the BBC and has taught journalism at Hong Kong University and American University of Paris. In 2022 Driskill received the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Aerospace Media Awards Asia organisation for his editorials and in 2024 received a “Special Recognition for Editorial Perspectives” award from the same organisation. Driskill has received awards from the Associated Press for Investigative Reporting and Business Writing and in 1989 was named the John J. McCloy Fellow by the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York where he earned his Master's Degree.
马特·德里斯基尔（Matt Driskill）是《亚洲航空》（Asian Aviation）的主编。他自1990年起，担任驻亚洲的记者和内容制作人，曾为路透社、国际先驱论坛报/纽约时报等媒体工作，并曾任香港外国记者协会会长。他也曾多次在半岛电视台、新加坡广播公司（CNA）和BBC等国际媒体担任嘉宾，并在香港大学和巴黎美国大学教授新闻学。2022年，德里斯基尔因其评论获得了航空媒体奖（Aerospace Media Awards Asia）颁发的“杰出成就奖”，2024年又因其编辑观点获得同一组织颁发的“特别表彰”。他曾获得美联社的调查报道和商务写作奖，并于1989年被纽约哥伦比亚大学研究生新闻学院授予约翰·J·麦克劳伊学者（John J. McCloy Fellow）称号，获得硕士学位。