Aviation News in Brief 28 August 2020

HKIA awards Terminal 2 expansion deal: Balfour Beatty’s Gammon joint venture has won its largest single contract so far, after being awarded a four-year £1.27 billion (US$1.67 billion) contract for the expansion of Terminal 2 at Hong Kong International Airport, by the Airport Authority Hong Kong. Gammon, a 50:50 joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Asian-based conglomerate Jardine Matheson, will be responsible for the expansion of the main Terminal 2 building and construction of interconnecting bridges, mechanical and electrical works as well as associated viaducts and roads. The expansion of Terminal 2 forms part of the three-runway system project at Hong Kong International Airport, which on completion will allow for both arrivals and departures from one terminal and increase overall passenger capacity. The latest contract award follows a £760 million major tunnel contract win at Hong Kong International Airport earlier this year, to deliver tunnels and associated works for an automatic people mover and baggage handling system on behalf of Airport Authority Hong Kong. Recaro Aircraft Seating inks deal with Wizz Air: Recaro Aircraft Seating has secured a deal with Wizz Air for 31,767 passenger seats. The SL3710 Economy Class seat will be installed on 146 Airbus aircraft starting in 2021. This partnership is a part of a larger deal with the Indigo Partners portfolio of airlines for nearly 100,000 passenger seats, which is the largest order of seats in the history of Recaro. Recaro worked closely with Wizz Air to develop a sustainable seat for the carrier, as the airline already has numerous sustainable initiatives in place. Wizz Air has reduced its carbon footprint by utilising efficient Airbus aircraft and prioritizing lightweight products for its cabins among all Airbus 320 family operators. The newest and lightest member of the Recaro Economy Class seat lineup, the SL3710 Economy Class seat weighs approximately eight kilograms. Its efficient design is comprised of durable and reliable parts, which makes it a cost-effective choice for airlines focused on minimising fuel and maintenance costs. Kerry Logistics wins APAC award: Kerry Logistics Network has been conferred the titles of the Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Best Practices Awards for the fourth consecutive year, winning the “2020 Asia-Pacific Logistics Services Provider of the Year Award” and the “2020 Asia-Pacific Road Transportation Services Provider of the Year Award”. Organised annually by global business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the awards recognise outstanding achievements in the Asia-Pacific region covering various sectors. The recipients are selected through a rigorous measurement-based methodology that encompasses industry trends analysis and research interviews, according to parameters including revenue growth, market share in specific category and growth in market share, demonstrated leadership in new product introduction and innovation, breadth of products and solutions, major customer acquisitions, subscribers and growth in subscriber base and business/market strategy. Etihad working on ecoDemonstrator programme: An Etihad Airways 787-10 Dreamliner decked out with special equipment that can enhance safety and reduce CO2 emissions and noise has commenced flight testing this week for Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator programme. A series of flights will gather the most detailed information to date about aircraft acoustics from some 1,200 microphones attached to the outside of the 787 and positioned on the ground. The collaboration between NASA and Boeing will improve the agency’s aircraft noise prediction capabilities, advance ways for pilots to reduce noise and inform future quiet aircraft designs. Two flights are being conducted during in which pilots, air traffic controllers and an airline’s operations centre simultaneously share digital information and use a NASA system called tailored arrival management. These tools enhance safety by reducing workload and radio frequency congestion, optimise routing efficiency to lower fuel use, emissions and noise, and support the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System. All scheduled test flights are being flown on a blend of up to 50 percent sustainable fuel, which includes the largest volume of 50 percent blend biofuel commercially produced. Flight testing at Boeing’s facility in Glasgow, Mont., is expected to last about 10 days before the aircraft is delivered to Etihad in late September. ACI and Amadeus announce partnership: Airports Council International (ACI) World and Amadeus announced a strategic partnership to deliver this year’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) awards. The annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards recognize and reward the best airports in the world according to ACI’s ASQ Departure Survey and the ASQ Arrivals Survey. These awards are an opportunity to celebrate the commitment of airports worldwide to continuously improving the passenger experience. “The partnership with Amadeus will improve the recognition of the ACI ASQ awards as the world’s leading programme assisting airports to deliver the best customer experience for our passengers,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. “The ASQ awards represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world at a time when the voice of the passenger needs to be heard as our industry begins the long recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic.” Sabre advances NDC in collaboration with airline and travel agency partners: Sabre has announced two milestones on the road to enabling NDC capabilities and creating the leading global marketplace for personalised travel. Achieved in collaboration with travel agency Flight Centre Travel Group and an airline partner, Sabre is now Level 4 certified as an aggregator under the International Air Transport Association (IATA) NDC Certification Program. The achievement will help Sabre in its aim to increase access to leading content for all participants in the travel value chain and constitutes one of many enabling elements of the Sabre platform. The certification confirms Sabre’s technical ability to support a set of criteria related to full offer and order management capabilities. It also demonstrates additional progress for Sabre in going beyond the NDC standards – to facilitate omnichannel retailing and distribution of intelligent airline offers and develop scalable capabilities for travel intermediaries. TracPlus partners with Airborne Mission Systems: TracPlus and Airborne Mission Systems have signed a deal to launch AFDAU-T1, the world’s first automatic bucket calibration and digital data collection tool, simplifying data collection and reporting for aerial firefighters. Designed to meet the National Aerial Firefighting Centre of Australia’s (NAFC) OPS-14 Standards, AFDAU-T1 is the first automatic bucket calibration and digital data collection tool for aerial firefighters. The new NAFC new standard stipulates that operators must accurately collect and report volume collected/dropped, engine start/stop and take-offs/landings and proof of substantive flow from an aircraft. The product offers unique benefits for rotary and fixed-wing operators. For rotary aircraft, AFDAU-T1 removes the need for manual calibration/recalibration of a bucket, meaning that no pilot interaction is required, even when swapping buckets in a slung load configuration. For fixed-wing operators, the device automatically and accurately detects operational data for accurate reporting – including proof of substantive flow from a hopper, as outlined by the new NAFC standard. AAR partners with Corporation for Skilled Workforce and Lumina Foundation: AAR announced a new partnership with Corporation for Skilled Workforce (CSW) to grow and diversify the talent pool of aviation maintenance technicians and reduce future labour shortages. The initiative, powered by a grant from Lumina Foundation, will also raise awareness of lucrative aircraft repair jobs and career pathways in aviation. Through October 2021, AAR and CSW will engage community colleges and technical training providers in strategic locations to develop competency-based programs, curriculum and stackable credentials that meet FAA Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) requirements. Next month, AAR is launching a pilot program to mentor and develop a cohort of up to 20 women in aviation maintenance at its aircraft repair facility in Miami. The initiative also will expand Skillbridge programs to provide job opportunities for military veterans and active duty personnel who are transitioning to civilian aviation maintenance careers. Texel Air welcomes Boeing 737-700 Flexcombi: Texel Air has welcomed the arrival of its new FlexCombi B737-700. The aircraft, which will be based in Bahrain, is unique in its ability to be configured in seven different ways for multiple purposes in a remarkably fast 48-hour time frame. The FlexCombi can switch seamlessly to operate humanitarian, government, express integrator and commercial flights from major airports to smaller remote runways with configuration flexibility achieved without compromise in cargo volumes and customised mission capability. In addition to cargo, the aircraft is able to transport up to 24 people as well as offering the option for medical evacuation flights using two speciality medical beds installed on the aircraft. The aircraft is able to load both civil (PAG) and (463L) pallets. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]