Asian Airlines & Aerospace - Sep / Oct 2016 MRO Edition

A GBP PUBLICATION

VOL 25 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 MCI (P) 110/01/2016 SINGAPORE $10, REST OF THE WORLD US$20

Maintenance Repair Overhaul BY

22 Getting Personal

12 Price Takers

26 Staying Ahead

36 Making a Mark

How BYOD is getting

Maintenance of

A look at ATR’s way of

Mitsubishi MRJ’s efforts to

more important

composite components

staying on top

meet delivery sked

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@AFIKLMEM

a f i k l m e m . c o m

CONNECT YOUR A350 TO OUR MRO-AIRLINE ADAPTIVENESS®

AFI KLM E&M is the only MRO to form part of an airline group that has ordered A380s, 787s and A350s.

On the strength of this unique expertise, AFI KLM E&M has been shaping its industrial development program ever since the A350’s maiden flight. As a result, your own A350 can now reap the benefits of AFI KLM E&M ADAPTIVENESS®. ADAPTIVENESS® is our response to the changing MRO business environment. It means partnering with you and providing vital support through change and daily challenges, in a spirit of continuous improvement. If you seek efficient MRO solutions for your A350 leading to optimized MTBRs and overall performance, talk to us about ADAPTIVENESS®.

CONTENTS

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06 | Transformational Change 10 | Forward Looking 12 | Price Takers 16 | Interview: Safran Aircraft Engines 18 | Connected to the Future 20 | Interview: Rockwell Collins

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22 | Getting Personal 26 | Staying Ahead of the Pack

22 32

30 | Growing Pains 32 | Show Preview Japan Aerospace 36 | Mitsubishi Regional Jet 38 | Turkish Technic 40 | Opinion: Triple Impact 42 | Interview: CAE 44 | Unshakable Themes 48 | Change is in the Air 52 | Interview: MTU Maintenance Zhuhai

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53 | Interview: Pratt & Whitney 54 | MRO NEWS 56 | Opinion: Electric Flight Takes Off 58 | Column: Lessen the Gender Gap WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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EDITOR’S NOTE

CREDITS

The Next Big Thing for MRO

Editor Vittorio Rossi Prudente vittorio.prudente@gbp.com.sg

The Asia-Pacific Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) market is expected to double in size by 2025 to approximately US$ 32 billion. However, the increasing sophistication of modern jetliners will create significant challenges for MRO operators in having access to trained manpower. While the region will continue to demonstrate a strong annual MRO growth rate of approximately six per cent; lack of sufficient numbers of trained and qualified technical personnel, could literally be a ‘spanner in the works’ for MRO operators in the region looking to rapidly scale-up their operations. Over the last 10 years a new technology has matured to a level, where Virtual Reality (VR) technology is now being considered as something that could be a real game changer for MRO training. It has real potential to transform the way technicians are trained. VR training, as it matures, will likely be the default option for training tasks such as, familiarisation, repetitive and recurrent training.

Virtual training will also remove the physical constraints of requiring large spaces to conduct training on equipment and systems, which is of importance to the bigger MRO firms, which will need to conduct new or recurrent training for large batches of technicians and personnel. It will also lead to a reduction of the losses that are incurred when expensive physical assets are kept away from service for training purposes and of course reduce the possibility of damage to in-service equipment/assets. “Virtual reality-based distance training reduces the travel and relocation expenses typically associated with bringing together students and large training assets, such as aircraft,” says Alan Prowse, vice president and managing director, The Americas, for Rockwell Collins. “This immersive environment provides a highly reliable and realistic training experience for a fraction of traditional training costs.”

3D Virtual Trainers will provide a seamless transition from classroom training to practise, for tasks such as flight procedure training. Unlike a traditional PC-based trainer, a virtual reality training simulation tool using VR goggles will provide a far more immersive environment in which to practise aircraft check-list procedures. In the near future, VR trainers will also offer the option of not using a handheld controller, but use basic hand and finger gestures for improved learning. A VR training model can easily be modified to reflect a variety of situations, whereas physical mock-ups are more cumbersome to reconfigure.

It can also be of unmatched value when training personnel in handling and usage of hazardous substances, where realistic training is of the highest importance for quick and efficient handling of a situation where time is of the essence. In a VR environment it would be possible to show the extend of the spread of hazardous material and safe areas. Studies have shown that VR-based training results in improved performance of participants as compared to those real world training. It will also be possible to challenge participants with higher-workloads, which will result in better real-world performance when the actual task is performed.

Editor Asian Airlines & Aerospace

Associate Editor Jay Menon jay.menon@gbp.com.sg Special Correspondent Atul Chandra atul.chandra@gbp.com.sg Operations Director Siva Sachi siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg Art Director Arthur Chan arthur.chan@gbp.com.sg Web Director Elmer Valencia elmer.valencia@gbp.com.sg Circulation Manager Khairul Naem khairul.naem@gbp.com.sg Advertising Contacts: marketing@gbp.com.sg Europe – Canada and all other countries: Global Communications sas Tel: +39 049 723548 Helen@global-communications.it USA Contact: Josh Mayer Tel : +1 972 816-6745 / Fax : +1 972 767 4442 jm@mayeradvertising.com Israel Contact: Tamir Eshel Tel : + 972 544 508 028 / +972 989 117 92 Fax : +972 989 199 65 eshel_tamir@yahoo.com China Contact: Xu Yixin 徐一新 Mob: +8613811688955 Tel: 86-10-58354055 / Fax: 86-10-84043033 xuyixin@cannews.com.cn South East Asia Contact: Siva Sachi Mob: +6012-905 6825 siva.sachi@gbp.com.sg

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FEATURE MRO

Transformational Change Big Data has the potential to fundamentally change the MRO industry and 3D printing technology has now matured to a point where it is adding concrete value

By Atul Chandra What next? is a question that is often heard in the aerospace world and often enough the answer is hard to find.

It is now abundantly clear, however, that two technologies that will drive a transformational change in the industry are Big Data and 3D printing (additive layer manufacturing). Aero-engine manufacturers have been quick to seize on the potential offered of predictive analytics to monitor engine performance, and are now investing millions of dollars along with the time and resources necessary to leverage the power of ‘Big Data’. According to General Electric, “The Industrial Internet is poised to outpace the consumer internet by 2020 – weighing in at US$ 225 billion in potential market size – bringing the world’s biggest machines online and helping them communicate is the 6

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

next industrial revolution.” 3D printing and additive manufacturing on the other hand are delivering on the promise to deliver tangible savings in manufacture of aircraft parts.

Pratt & Whitney is now using predictive analytics to monitor engine performance, which uses sophisticated software algorithms to deliver data or ‘intelligence’ that can greatly help operators optimise engine reliability, fleet operations and reduce maintenance costs. More importantly, the information is being used in an increasingly proactive approach towards planning of maintenance requirements for an airline.

This can deliver real benefits in terms of savings. Leveraging its deep engine design understanding with a depth of operational, maintenance and environmental data, Pratt & Whitney is using the combined impact of

these factors to improve the predictability of average time between maintenance shop visits. Predicting when an engine needs to be removed in exact terms has thus far been extremely difficult, even for airline’s that manage their data well. As an example; Japan Airlines (JAL), which has an approximate fleet size of 170 aircraft and an inventory of 500 engines, performs an estimated 60-70 engine removals annually. A large portion of its engine maintenance costs each year, are the result of unpredictable engine maintenance costs. These costs are the result of operational events such in-flight engine shutdowns and unscheduled engine removals. Advanced predictive modelling when combined with innovative maintenance practices, will now allow Pratt & Whitney to help operators reduce unplanned engine WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

FEATURE MRO

removals and optimise engine time on wing.

In-fact Pratt & Whitney’s revolutionary Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines have been collecting data from day one of entry into service. “Our eFAST system captures more than 20,000 parameters of full-flight data (engine and aircraft data) per flight. eFAST is an on-board, near real-time integrated data acquisition and transmission unit that is available on GTF-powered C Series aircraft,” Liping Xie, Vice President of Sales, East Asia Pacific Region, Pratt & Whitney tells Asian Airlines and Aerospace. eFAST which can automatically download, process and store data, has the potential to be applied to current operational engines as well. All data is securely uploaded to a customer portal, allowing operators to be far better informed in their efforts to optimise airline flight WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

operations and maintenance costs.

Safran Aero Engines has also made extensive use of predictive analysis during the design and development of the LEAP aero-engine. “In the LEAP engine design a specific focus has been made on the ability to deploy predictive maintenance actions through extensive analysis of operating data,” François Bastin, CFM Programs Director at Safran Aircraft Engines and Executive Vice President of CFM tells Asian Airlines & Aerospace. New generation aeroengines such as the LEAP are far more sophisticated than the older generation engines, which were developed in the infancy of the digital era. For eg. The highly sophisticated engine processing control system on the LEAP allows it to optimise engine performance. “The ability to transmit

TOP: Predictive analysis and additive layer manufacturing will transform the MRO industry in the coming years MIDDLE: 24/7 support MRO support centres such as the one pictured, will have access to more data than ever before with predictive analysis. It remains to be seen how the increasing situation of only a single OEM for major jetliner technologies, will affect the information flow between the OEM and MRO provider SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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FEATURE MRO

and analyze a significant amount of engine data should allow us to optimize the engine MRO actions through Pronostic and Health Monitoring developments and associated preventive maintenance actions.” It is this data analysis capability that will be key to customisation of the LEAP Family engine maintenance programme and in-shop engine workscope to the actual individual engine operating conditions and the approach has been a key contributor to the optimisation of the LEAP maintenance costs. The data generated will also be vitally important during the development of follow-on engine variants and is expected to substantially reduce the time needed for such efforts.

The benefits of predictive analysis or Big Data can be realised when one considers that Safran analysed the experience of 800 hundred million flight hours on the CFM56, to make sure that all the lessons learned were built in the LEAP design. The company also spent years before design freeze to prove technologies on component, module and engine tests and extensive flight test campaigns were used to perform engine stress tests typical airline operations.

Predictive analysis will allow the data from

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years of testing to be collated and analysed, faster than ever before.

GE has quickly moved ahead in the application of data analytics and earlier this year, announced the creation of a new Digital Solutions business within GE Aviation to bring all of its digital expertise from across Aviation into one business. An estimated 35,000 GE and GE partner engines are monitored daily, and the quantum of data generated by a modern large turbofan can be gauged from the fact that two GEnX engines can generate 1 TB of data per day! In July, GE announced that one of the first customers for digital solutions built on GE’s Predix platform was flydubai. GE’s Network Operations Insights solution at flydubai aimed to help the low-cost carrier to minimize the impact of unavoidable delays, enhance pilot operational understanding, while optimally protecting schedules and revenue. The realtime tools allow flydubai to understand the impact of potential operational disruptions and the ability to minimise any such impact on their network.

Zurich based, SR Technics a leading component MRO services provider for A320 and B737 Family operators and also an MRO

provider for A320neo and B737MAX, is clear on the future of Big Data, “Big Data has the potential to fundamentally change the MRO industry, but this will require significant investments and time,” Jeremy Remacha CEO SR Technics told Asian Airlines & Aerospace in an email response, “Access to data and the ability to analyse information can lead to improved reliability, greater predictability, and ultimately, improved safety,” he observed. SR Technics recently announced, that its shareholder Mubadala had agreed to sell 80 percent of its shares in SR Technics to HNA Aviation and retain a 20 percent stake in the company. Further expansion into the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market is one of the company’s key priorities, says Remacha.

SR Technics opened its 160,000 square foot facility in Kuala Lumpur two years ago and the Malaysian entity has the capability for over 750 part numbers with a focus on the Airbus A320 family, the A330, the A340 and the Boeing 737NG.

3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing 3D printing (additive layer manufacturing) has made giant strides in the past few years.

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FEATURE MRO

In August, the Guinness World Records, granted the title of largest solid 3D printed item to a 3D printed trim-and-drill tool, that was developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for evaluation by Boeing.

“The existing, more expensive metallic tooling option we currently use comes from a supplier and typically takes three months to manufacture using conventional techniques,” said Leo Christodoulou, Boeing’s director of structures and materials. “Additively manufactured tools, such as the 777X wing trim tool, will save energy, time, labor, and production cost and are part of our overall strategy to apply 3D printing technology in key production areas.” The 17.5ft long x 5.5ft wide x 1.5ft tall, 3D printed structure is comparable in length to a large sport utility vehicle and weighs approximately 1,650 lb. The lower cost trim tool was printed at ORNL in only 30 hours using carbon fiber and ABS thermoplastic composite materials and will be tested during the manufacture of the Boeing 777X. The tool will be used to secure the jet’s composite wing skin for drilling and machining before assembly and following completion of verification testing

by ORNL; Boeing plans to use the additively manufactured trim-and-drill tool in the company’s new production facility in St. Louis and provide information back to ORNL on the tool’s performance.

“3D printing technology has developed to WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

the point that it had begun adding concrete value to the business,” says Remacha. “As costs continue to drop and quality rises, 3D prints can significantly help companies introducing innovative solutions without huge investments or inventory expenses,” he adds. GE’s most sophisticated turbine blade design concepts are now on test in two weeks, not the nine months it once required, thanks to rapid prototyping and 3D printing.

MRO provider MTU is already well prepared for MRO activities with additive layer manufactured parts. “At MTU Maintenance, we have an industrial engineering department that concentrates solely on improving our repairs, processes and technologies. Among other things, they are currently exploring additive manufacturing technology, for instance in blade tip restoration,” says Frank Bodenhage, President and CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. “On a broader company group level, MTU Aero Engines already uses additive manufacturing to produce boroscope bosses for the PW1100G-JM that powers the A320neo. Another example is a new seal carrier that was designed for a demonstrator engine based on Pratt & Whitney’s PW1500G,” he adds.

Airbus is presently undertaking work on its Testing High-tech Objectives in Reality (THOR) mini aircraft project; a testbed for 3D-printed structural parts and advanced aerodynamics. “This mini aircraft does not represent an actual airliner design Airbus

is considering, rather it is a platform to enable low-risk and fast-track development of different technologies in real flying conditions,” explained Detlev Konigorski of Airbus’ Emerging Technologies & Concepts activity in Germany, who oversees the THOR project. “The first version was to test whether the slogan ‘Print me an airplane’ can be converted into reality.” The short lead time of 3D-printing, is a major advantage for THOR and significantly reduced development time for producing the technology demonstrator compared to traditional manufacturing methods. It took approximately seven weeks to print the THOR aircraft’s 60 structural segments, approximately one week for assembly and three days to fine tune the electrical systems before it was flight-ready.

OPPOSITE PAGE: 3D printed trim tool co-developed by ORNL and Boeing which achieved a Guinness World Record title for the largest solid 3D printed item. The 3D printed trim-and-drill tool weighs approximately 1650 lb ABOVE: Detlev Konigorski, Gunnar Haase and Andreas Poppe (from left to right) with individual printed parts of the four-metre-long Airbus THOR project aircraft SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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FEATURE CHANGI

Forward Looking

Changi Airport in Singapore to be MRO centre

By Our Special Correspondent

A massive expansion plan is underway for Changi Airport that involves building a fourth and fifth terminal as well as a third runway. But it also includes additional land for Singapore’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector.

“The whole of Changi East, which is the area under-development for expansion, is 1,080 hectares,” says Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) director transport engineering, Tan Kong Hwee.

He says: “This includes land set aside for terminal five and for core airport related activities such as baggage handling facilities.

But a large part of the 1,080 hectares is designated for industrial. This is because we see growth for MRO and for logistics.”

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“The exact amount [of land set aside for MRO] we can’t disclose,” he says, adding that the land made available for MRO will be released and developed in phases. He also says there will be some flexibility in terms of usage of land. The amount set aside for MRO is subject to change, he adds.

Tan says the plan is for MRO at Changi to be mostly commercial MRO – because it is next to terminal five, which is a commercial terminal – but the authorities are also open to allowing business aviation MRO companies to be there. “I don’t think we have discriminated in that way and said business aviation must all be at Seletar Airport,” he adds.

Changi’s terminal five will be a ‘mega terminal’ that can handle 50 million passengers

per annum. The Singapore Government has announced it is due to be completed in the mid-2020s.

Changi currently has three terminals with a fourth due to open next year that will increase the airport’s total passenger capacity to 85 million passengers per annum.

It could be argued another reason for the expansion of Changi, is not just so Singapore can cater to more air travellers, but because the air force and the country’s main commercial and military MRO provider Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aero), has to vacate Paya Lebar air force base (AFB).

The government has announced that Paya Lebar AFB will be demolished, including the runway, and the land redeveloped into WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

FEATURE CHANGI

something more conducive for the residents living there.

“The exact dates [for the closure of Paya Lebar AFB] have not been announced, but we know it will be post 2030,” says Tan. “The runway dependent bits of industry around Paya Lebar will have to move, because the airport there will close. But it’s not so clear about the non-runway dependent industrial businesses,” says Tan, adding that “they may stay.”

ST Aero chief operating officer, Jeffrey Lam, says the expansion of Changi Airport is really about catering to the forecast increase in passenger traffic. “It is good that the government is forward looking. It thinks so far ahead, sometimes it is hard for some of us to WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

keep up with our government,” he quips.

Lam says: “We know we will need to vacate Paya Lebar and moving to Changi is one option – depending on what is available – but our business is a global one. We already have capacity in China and the US.” He says ST Aero will make its decision on where to expand in accordance with market demand.

He says ST Aero is still waiting to hear from the authorities about how much land could possibly be made available at Changi for ST Aero and how much the land would cost.

Labour costs in Singapore is another important factor that ST Aero needs to take into consideration, says Lam, adding that “we’re not tied to any one single location.”

One of the key challenges Singapore’s MRO industry faces is labour costs, because often it is competing for MRO work – particularly airframe heavy maintenance work – against lower cost countries.

ST Aero’s main MRO base is at Paya Lebar, where it has hangars that can accommodate four widebodies and four narrowbodies simultaneously. Its engine and component MRO businesses are also at Paya Lebar.

But it already has airframe MRO facilities at Changi and Seletar. Its hangars at Changi can accommodate five widebodies and two narrowbodies simultaneously.

And the hangars at Seletar can handle seven narrowbodies and 24 business aviation aircraft simultaneously.

Lam rules out expanding at Seletar because the runway there is too short to accommodate widebodies.

He also says there is no land available for ST Aero to expand its existing facility at Changi. If it were to expand at that airport, it

would need to be at the new site at Changi and it would need to be a site with runway access, he adds. Lam also says their current site at Changi is not ideal, because aircraft need to cross one of the runways in order to access their facility.

The benefit of Paya Lebar is ST Aero’s airframe maintenance facilities there are next to its engine and component overhaul facilities. But the benefit of Changi is you are at the main commercial airport and there may be synergies having airframe heavy maintenance located near line maintenance, says Lam. Lam says ST Aero sees the increased passenger traffic forecast at Changi, to be an opportunity for its line maintenance business.

SIA Engineering dominates line maintenance at Changi with more than 80 percent market share. Lam says ST Aero has less than 10 percent market share, but it is making inroads and anticipates that its line maintenance business will grow significantly.

“We are taking a bit of market share off them,” but it is hard competing against a SIA Engineering because there is a lot of reciprocity involved, says Lam. Sometimes SIA Engineering wins line maintenance work, for example, from European carriers because Singapore Airlines promises to use the European carriers’ line maintenance company when in Europe.

ST Aero is an independent MRO, so this is something it is unable to do.

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FEATURE COMPOSITE MRO

Price Takers

MRO industry is gearing up to service an increasing number of airliners employing a much higher share of composite materials

By Jay Menon With the advent of Airbus A350 and Boeing 787, MRO service providers are investing in new equipment and in training technicians. However, the changes, according to MRO service providers, are “evolutionary rather than revolutionary.”

The large commercial aircraft with predominantly composite components have made it necessary for attention to be focussed on the development of new and effective maintenance strategies.

“Boeing’s new 787 and Airbus’ A350 introduced quite a few new technologies to the industry, not the least because of predominant use of composite materials in their structures. As a result, considering the pace of new developments, the capabilities that MROs need to win business in the next 5 to 10 years will clearly differ from those needed today. For instance, with hundreds of the new wide-bodies in use, and over 1600 more in production, there is a growing demand for relevantly qualified maintenance staff with skills aligned to the emerging needs of the industry,” says Kestutis Volungevicius, the Head of Engineering and Training at FL Technics.

The aerospace MRO market for composite components is a developing market primarily driven by increasing acceptance of composites in aerostructures, especially in primary aerostructures such as fuselage, wing structure, and empennage.

The increasing fleet of newly acquired aircraft across the globe and greater penetration of composites in aircraft such as the Airbus A350, Airbus A380, and Boeing B787 is expected to further aid the market.

A latest MRO Survey, conducted by Oliver Wyman, indicates that over 34 percent of MRO providers plan to invest into development of composite repair capabilities in the next 5 years.

Firm orders for the A350 as of end July 2016 is 810 aircraft for 43 customers across the globe. With these many A350 aircraft 12

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on order, and about 850 additional 787s projected to join the current fleet of 450, there is a growing base of customers who will need aftermarket support for the full range of their newly acquired technologies.

MRO Firms are Ready Already MRO service providers have seen a real change in where the repairs will have to be performed.

Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) says the company already performs repairs on wing, without taking down a component or panel.

“We choose to do so to make logistics easier and shorten the turnaround time,” says James Kornberg, products and business development manager for aerostructures.

In 2012, the Helios project was launched with the aim of upgrading AFI KLM E&M’s industrial base and offering enhanced performance to its clients. All the aerostructures facilities at Le Bourget in Paris are being brought under a single roof to ensure an optimized aerostructures offering.

Late last summer AFI KLM E&M completed the construction of its new shop providing cutting-edge technologies and innovative processes brought by the MRO Lab. “Innovation is central to our development,” says Franck Terner, Executive VicePresident AIR FRANCE KLM Engineering & Maintenance. “Developing our MRO Lab in the new facility means, for example, we will be able to deploy new, less environmentally aggressive sanding tools, with less abrasive stripping methods based on pressurised cornstarch blasting, for composites and metals alike.” The use of scanning tools will be developed to check the various surfaces to be treated or repaired. Hélios will also equip with state-of-the-art machining tools for complex work on composite materials, with a hitherto unrivaled degree of precision,” Terner adds.

The Airbus A350 XWB is indeed a quantum leap in technology, from the large share of carbon fiber composites and titanium alloys used in its structure to its highly advanced turbofan engines. Most of

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FEATURE COMPOSITE MRO

LEFT: The Airbus A350 XWB is indeed a quantum leap in technology, from the large share of carbon fiber composites and titanium alloys used in its structure to its highly advanced turbofan engines OPPOSITE PAGE: OEMs continue to increase their presence in the aftermarket and take market share from established, independent MROs

its system technologies such as the solid state power control, variable frequency generators and high-pressure hydraulics are derivatives of the larger A380.

Lufthansa Technik has been significantly contributing to the development and design of the A350 XWB over the past years.

Lufthansa Technik, which has already gained substantial experience with the new systems and their specific features, says its component shops know the technology and have the tools and experience to handle and repair it.

“So in addition to an established supply chain, A350 XWB operators find in Lufthansa Technik an MRO provider with the full competence required to provide all-around spares support from day one. The same readiness applies to the dedicated diagnostic and repair processes established by our renowned Airframe Re-lated Component (ARC) services, which draw from decades of experience in operating and repairing commercial aircraft with major composite components,” Carsten Wortmann, Corporate Product Manager, A350 Lufthansa Technik Market Entry.

Lufthansa Technik, which holds the approval of the European airworthiness authority European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) as Maintenance Organisation for the new aircraft type (Part 145 approval) is on track to provide broad A350 component services, offering single-source services that WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

greatly reduce the complexities associated with the provision of spare parts.

“Overhauls and repairs, including warranty handling, are part of the available package. The combination of strong in-house repair capabilities and supply chain options, ranging from Single Component Maintenance to Total Material Operations (TMO), means that A350 fleets of any size will enjoy cost benefits normally only achievable by the largest fleets,” Wortmann says.

“Through our intensive, long-standing cooperation with Airbus, our participation in all the expert symposia related to the A350, and our ongoing experience with the first commercial customers for this aircraft type, we are also able to offer all the engineering, completion and technical services for the ACJ350 at the highest possible level,” Wortmann adds.

A dedicated “Entry-into-Service” Team is currently preparing the phase-in of the company’s own Lufthansa A350XWB aircraft, planned to arrive in November 2016, being the first out of 25 orders joining Lufthansa’s fleet.

French maintenance provider Sabena Technics has also been certificated to support the Airbus A350. Sabena Technics airframe maintenance sales head Alain Leboucher says, “We have been studying the aircraft [A350] and its connectivity systems so we could come up with solutions especially designed for the Airbus A350 operators.”

Sabena Technics’ services for the A350

will cover airframe maintenance, advanced composite repairs, modifications and airworthiness management, says the Parisheadquartered MRO provider.

Nascent Stage MRO observers opine that even though the A350 is at a nascent age in its lifespan, MRO leaders will need to think carefully about whether they can profitably compete for service contracts for the fleet, since there is only limited overall size of the market for these aircraft, and the aircraft are used by a relatively small number of carriers. High capital costs associated with retooling a shop to gain the capabilities necessary to service these radically different airframes, components and engines are other factors, they say.

Aircraft parts made from composite materials, such as fairings, spoilers, and flight controls, were developed during the 1960s for their weight savings over aluminum parts.

Aircraft designed in the 1970s used composite sandwich honeycomb structure for lightly loaded secondary structure, but new large aircraft use thick solid laminates for primary structure instead of sandwich honeycomb. These thick solid laminate structures are quite different from the traditional sandwich honeycomb structures used for flight controls, landing gear doors, flaps, and spoilers of today’s aircraft.

New generation large aircraft are SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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designed with all composite fuselage and wing structures, and the repair of these advanced composite materials requires an in-depth knowledge of composite structures, materials, and tooling. The primary advantages of composite materials are their high strength, relatively low weight, and corrosion resistance.

“They present a challenge to repair and are difficult to repair with a bonded repair method,” says an official of a leading MRO service provider. He also had a word of caution when he says: “Whenever possible, replace, rather than repair.”

“Currently the repair of composite parts is either prohibited, leading to an extensive replacement programme, labour intensive and therefore expensive, time consuming or executed with traditional metal materials, such as aluminium or titanium,” he adds.

Commercial MRO Market The 2016 Global Fleet & MRO Market Assessment prepared by Oliver Wyman for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA) reveals that in 2016, the worldwide market for commercial aviation maintenance is expected to be nearly US$68 billion.

Steve Douglas, VP of CAVOK, a division of Oliver Wyman, notes that the industry,

which currently employs 350,000 people worldwide, will approach US$100 billion – four percent annual growth – by 2026.

“With the new generation aircraft coming into the global market over the next 10 years, MROs worldwide will need to adapt to new technology to maintain profitable margins,” Douglas adds.

The industry also is putting some effort into training. “Airframers have been working with specialist schools and MROs to train technicians on the latest bonding and bolt repair techniques,” Terner of AFI KLM E&M says.

Service Manual from OEMs Airbus recently released a new ASR (Air vehicle or Aircraft Structural Repair) manual for managing in-service damage on A350 aircraft.

The OEM stated the ASR documentation was evolved from the former SRM (Structural Repair Manual) for the widebody.

The Toulouse-based airframer says the reason for the new manual is due to the A350 being a completely new programme with a high use of composite material, new design principles and associated methods had to be adopted.

A350 operators will take delivery of the new manual in two stages: first at service

entry for allowable damage definition and temporary repair solutions, and then two years later, when data related to internal structure allowable damage, repairs and permanent repair is added.

OEMs continue to increase their presence in the aftermarket and take market share from established, independent MROs. The sheer number of new aircraft deliveries is accelerating OEM growth. Small MROs particularly are feeling the squeeze, as OEMs maintain a firm grip on the newer technology and the older technology components retire with the increase in parked aircraft. The year ahead will pose a growing problem for owners of small MRO businesses.

Examples are carriers such as Cathay Pacific Airways, which has selected Airbus to provide Flight Hour Services (FHS) components’ support for its new fleet of 48 A350 XWBs on order (22 A350-900s plus 26 A350-1000s). The long-term agreement covers guaranteed spare parts availability, maintenance and logistics services at Cathay Pacific’s main base and selected outstations, as well as flight simulator support.

The agreement also covers Integrated Material Services (IMS) – whereby the purchasing and planning of the airline’s A350 XWB expendables inventories are outsourced to Airbus’ dedicated materials management subsidiary, Satair Group.

Boeing’s 787 MRO Market The 787’s 2016 MRO market is projected to be US$1.1 billion. In 2025, the figure is forecast to swell to US$8.3 billion, nearly 20 percent of the total for the entire decade.

Boeing has targeted its high-margin services work—everything from pilot training to MRO support—as a growth opportunity.

Boeing’s special “quick repair” kit enables certain types of damage to be fixed outside the hangar. The kit includes 10 types of adhesives, various patches, sanding disks and special protective gear.

Boeing has sold 1,154 787 wide-bodied aircraft till May this year. According to Boeing 787 reflects a completely new approach.

The Boeing 787 makes greater use of composite materials in its airframe and primary structure than any previous Boeing commercial airplane.

According to a Boeing spokesperson, the 14

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FEATURE COMPOSITE MRO

B787 reflects a completely new approach to onboard systems. Virtually everything that has traditionally been powered by bleed-air from the engines has been transitioned to an electric architecture. The affected systems include: Engine start, Auxiliary power unit (APU) start, Wing ice protection, Cabin pressurization, and Hydraulic pumps.

“While much can be said regarding the efficiency gains achieved by changing the means of extracting power for airplane systems from the engines, the 787’s nobleed architecture brings with it some significant maintenance cost and reliability advantages as well. By eliminating the pneumatic systems from the airplane, the 787 will realize a notable reduction in the mechanical complexity of airplane systems,” the spokesman explains.

Aviation Week’s latest Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast data puts the financial ramifications of the 787’s advanced design in perspective. Projected total airframe maintenance costs for the entire 787 family for 2016-25 are just under US$1.5 billion—a minuscule 3 percent of the US$44.6 billion WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

in total MRO costs in the 10-year period.

Component maintenance is projected to be $15.6 billion—the largest share of the 787 aftermarket pie—at 35 percent.

Line maintenance, at US$14.0 billion, is a close second, at 31 percent. Engine work is expected to set operators back US$9.9 billion, or 22 percent of the total, while modifications will account for US$3.8 billion, or 2 percent.

The market is set to mushroom as 787s continue to enter service, bolstered by planned production ramp-ups that will take monthly rates from the current 10 to 14 by the end of the decade. The 787’s 2016 MRO market is projected to be US$1.1 billion. In 2025, the figure is forecast to swell to US$8.3 billion, nearly 20 percent of the total for the entire decade.

According to a study by Lucintel, a leading global management consulting and market research firm, opportunities for composites in aerospace MRO can be visualized in three segments such as primary aerostructures, secondary aerostructures and engine components. The use of composite materials

is continuously increasing in aerostructures and other components and this indicates that MRO market is expected to have a significant opportunity in the future.

OEMs will also try to dominate the aftersales market for the new aircraft generations. Hence, the other MRO providers will have to find new business models and also new ways in their relationship with the OEMs to survive in the long-term.

TOP: A dedicated “Entry-intoService” Team is currently preparing the phase-in of the company’s own Lufthansa A350XWB aircraft, planned to arrive in November 2016 OPPOSITE PAGE: The aerospace MRO market for composite components is a developing market primarily driven by increasing acceptance of composites in aerostructures, especially in primary aerostructures such as fuselage, wing structure, and empennage SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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INTERVIEW SAFRAN AIRCRAFT ENGINES

Ready for Deployment

Safran Aircraft Engines Brussels is the first Part145 certified LEAP-1A engine MRO The first LEAP-1A engines will soon be in revenue service and Safran Aircraft Engines is working hard to ensure that MRO facilities will be ready in time. “SAESB had to work for nearly two years to get ready for the LEAP-1A, including a site reorganization, installation of a dedicated maintenance line, a redefinition of MRO processes and investment in machinery and equipment adapted to the size and materials of the new engine, Pierre Schroer, Services Business Development General Manager for Safran Aircraft Engines, tells Asian Airlines & Aerospace. Edited excerpts from the interview.

What are the latest updates on the LEAP – in terms of MRO activities?

Safran Aircraft Engines is putting a lot of energy and investments to be ready to give airlines all the overhaul services they need. Safran Aircraft Engines Brussels (SAESB) will be the first Safran shop to earn Part145 certification on LEAP-1A after a stringent qualification process.

SAESB had to work for nearly two years to get ready for the LEAP-1A, including a site reorganization, installation of a dedicated

Pierre Schroer, Services Business Development General Manager, Safran Aircraft Engines

maintenance line, the acquisition of the necessary tools, a redefinition of MRO processes and investment in machinery and equipment adapted to the size and materials of the new engine (composite fan blades and case, titanium aluminide lowpressure turbine blades,..). Saint Quentin MRO shop will be the next Safran Aircraft Engine maintenance facility to get LEAP

LEAP-1B Engine for the Boeing 737 MAX

François Bastin, CFM Programs Director at Safran Aircraft Engines and Executive Vice President of CFM The LEAP-1B engine is now certified (since May, 4th, 2016), both by the European EASA and U.S. FAA. The certification test program went smoothly with results in line with the expectations, paving the way for entry into commercial service in 2017.

The LEAP-1B engine flew for the first time on the Boeing 737 MAX on January 29, 2016. So far four 737 MAX are in test and more than 800 hours of flight tests have been logged on over 300 flights (as of July). Measurements show that the engine is fully on track to meet the desired specifications.

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Part145 certification, in addition to the GE Lafayette site. On-Site Support to airlines is also available on multiple locations all over the world, to ensure that technicians can be at the operators’ base in less than 24 hours.

Some of these sites will be able to perform quick turns (light shop visits). To ensure the most effective support as soon as the entry into service, stress tests have been carried out to check that all the employees know what tasks they have to do, in which order, if they have the proper set of tools and if the logistic is in place.

In addition, several operators have already undergone training at Safran Aircraft Engines to handle the modules under their responsibility. Besides the OEM MRO capability, we expect airlines MROs shops and also independent MROs to propose their services for the LEAP overhaul.

Please provide an update on CFM-56 engine MRO services as production slows down?

Even if CFM56-5B and -7B engine production will slow down with the rampup of the LEAP engine models, the CFM56 engine installed base will generate in the coming years an increase of MRO activities in terms of number of engine shop visits.

Let’s focus on some figures to better illustrate the CFM56 MRO market for the next decade: at the end of 2015, 50 percent of the CFM56-5B and -7B fleet in service was less than 10-year-old, and more than 60 percent of the engines have never had a shop visit. In addition, more than 27000 CFM56 engines will be in operation in 2018. There is consequently no reduction foreseen on CFM56 engine MRO in the next coming years.

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Shaping tomorrow’s regional aviation

atr-aircraft.com

ATR is the worldwide reference for regional aircraft, flying in almost 100 countries with 200 operators. The unique versatility and flexibility together with the ability to serve challenging airports, make ATRs the right tools for creating new routes and consolidating existing markets.

FEATURE IFE MRO

Connected to the Future

The need for a connected in-flight experience is driving growth in IFE

By Atul Chandra Wireless connectivity is rapidly emerging as a preferred addition and a key differentiator, along with state-of-the-art incabin In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) for many of the world’s airlines today. No more a luxury in the air, deploying wireless connectivity on First and Business Class cabins is of vital importance to premium passengers who expect to stay in touch with their work 24/7.

In-flight wireless connectivity, when married with the IFE on-board premium cabins which are fine-tuned to customer preferences, could be the deciding factor in a customer choosing a particular airline over another.

State-of-the-art IFE systems and Wi-Fi connectivity are now also the latest trend on narrow-body aircraft especially for flights lasting over four hours, with even budget conscious travelers now being swayed by availability of in-flight Wi-Fi

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Finnair, which had announced in 2015 that it would soon offer wireless network connectivity across the majority of its wide and narrow-body aircraft fleet, said in August that it would complete the installation of Wi-Fi systems on all its aircraft by May 2017.

Finnair’s new Airbus A350 XWB jetliners, were the first to make use of in-flight wireless connectivity, when they commenced operations at the end of last year. Finnair will begin the installation of Wi-Fi on its long-haul Airbus A330 aircraft in October this year, and the installation is estimated to be ready in May 2017. “In May 2017, our customers will be able to enjoy wireless network connection onboard all of our long-haul fleet. In addition to Internet access, we will have a broad offering of inflight entertainment, shopping opportunities, real-time news content and other additional services in Finnair’s free of

charge Nordic Sky portal,” says Piia Karhu, SVP, Customer Experience Development.

Ku band satellite technology, will be used to deliver a working global network connection during flights and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC Panasonic), has been chosen by the airline to supply the wireless connection. PAC Panasonic already supplies the connection for the A350 fleet.

Earlier this year, Turkish Airlines awarded a contract for 44 of its jetliners (B737 and A320) to be fitted with the “SKYFE” wireless IFE system, jointly developed between Havelsan and Turkish Technic.

The airline awarded the contract for two important IFE products: Wireless Inflight Entertainment System and Tablet Based Inflight Entertainment System to Havelsan and Turkish Technic, who will supply their SKYFE-W Wireless Inflight Entertainment

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FEATURE IFE MRO

OPPOSITE PAGE: In-Flight Connectivity with high speed internet and availability of bandwidth will transform IFE in aircraft over the coming years RIGHT: IFE upgrades are complicated as is the retrofit of wireless connectivity systems onboard aircraft

System and SKYFE-T Tablet Based Inflight Entertainment System respectively. With the SKYFE-W platform passengers will have access to Google Play and Apple Store and be able to download applications to their own personal electronic devices (tablets, laptops, smart mobile phones) during preflight and access wireless an entertainment system which provides Audio and Video on Demand, Flight Map, Electronic Publications, Surveys and other services during the flight. Meant to be deployed on aircraft which do not have an IFE system, the SKYFE-T System provides a high resolution tablet, with pre-loaded films, music, magazines, documentary, surveys etc.

When used in conjunction with SKYFE-W, which will provide wireless connectivity, the SKYFE-T devices can then automatically connect to the existing server on the airplane and access 1.8 Tbyte of media content while at the same time providing access to maps and flight information (height, speed exterior temperature etc.). The importance of both of the above systems from Havelsan and Turkish Technic, can be gauged from the fact that they allow for an airline to provide a seamless IFE experience, regardless of the airline network, flight length or aircraft type. In particular this applies to regional aviation flights where even though the flight duration is shorter, the trend is going towards providing similar services on regional flights. “IFE is clearly moving into PEDs and passengers’ expectations WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

are fast evolving on short-medium haul activity. In parallel, more and more airlines are flying longer distances with turboprops.

A high-quality on-board IFE becomes a key differentiator since it improves passenger comfort and impacts positively the flight duration perception,” says Tom Anderson ATR’s Senior Vice President Commercial & Customer Support.

Challenges A major achievement with regards to IFE for airlines will be the ability to deliver ‘Over the Top’ content which is streamed into in-cabin IFE and Personal Entertainment Devices (PEDs). Such an approach would free the airline from having to guess what content its passengers require, and more importantly paying license fees for content its passengers do not consume. While the sustained efforts of industry Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are likely to overcome the technical challenges of delivering sufficient bandwidth to stream data for thousands of passengers in the air; regulatory issues related to licensing and management of content are likely to take longer to resolve, though not impossible. Airlines are also likely to explore the possibility of offering lower fares to passengers, while having them pay for IFE content on the aircraft, once all challenges related to ‘Over the Top’ content is resolved.

Airline operators will also need to factor

in when and what type of in-flight connectivity they require to be fitted on their new and existing fleets. While new IFE systems are now emerging on an average every three to four years, the life of a typical IFE system once installed is anywhere between seven to ten years. A wrong choice of system could affect customer acquisition and retention as passengers may choose to fly on another airline and the inability to keep pace with technological changes may again result in giving way to a competitor airline.

Upgrading the IFE and connectivity options are also expensive and time consuming efforts that are typically tackled only when the aircraft goes in for replacement of seats or refurbishment of the cabin. SR Technics’s Zurich-based Center of Excellence for Cabin Modifications which offers comprehensive services for cabin refurbishment and reconfigurations is wellpositioned to help airlines upgrade their IFE systems and according to Jeremy Remacha CEO SR Technics, “When it comes to the IFE upgrades, one of the key challenges is to integrate the existing aircraft system with the new firewall and other system requirements, as well as to increase the level of security to prevent any unauthorized interference.” He adds, “Wireless technology helps overcome many cabling issues, but requires an extensive T-PED (Transmitting Portable Electronic Device) testing to make sure that it is not affecting flight systems, ensuring a safe flight.

The IFE upgrades are complex and require detailed planning.”

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INTERVIEW ROCKWELL COLLINS

Immersive Entertainment

In-Flight Entertainment leader Rockwell Collins is focussing on delivering IFE and connectivity solutions that maximise efficiency and effectiveness for its airline customers IFE systems in the future will have far greater levels of technology and ‘intelligence’ that will be able to deliver a user experience far in excess of what is available currently. At the same time Rockwell Collins is strongly focussed on delivering the best value in terms of the balance between technology, reliability and cost. ““We are very pleased with the roll-out of our PAVES seat-centric IFE solution thus far and we are continuing to innovate and improve. We will have another generation of monitors that comes out next year and we will continue to have more storage and better resolution displays for our IFE systems,“ says Jeff Sare, Vice President, Air Transport Cabin Solutions Sales and Marketing at Rockwell Collins, in an interview with Asian Airlines & Aerospace.

His area of focus at Rockwell Collins spans the complete portfolio of PAVES IFE and connectivity solutions including seat-centric IFE, broadcast and wireless IFE, high-speed broadband connectivity. Edited excerpts from the interview.

What are the latest trends you are observing for IFE on single aisle aircraft?

Today’s single-aisle jetliners are more fuelefficient, have longer range and greater seating capacity than their predecessors.

Hence airlines are now flying these aircraft on more diverse route structures and the result of the increased flight times is the need for airlines to find more ways to enhance the travel experience for the customer, than was available on the more conventional 1.5 hour to 2-hour flight segments. What this is doing with regards to IFE is that it is making an airline choose IFE equipment for a single-aisle

Jeff Sare, Vice President, Air Transport Cabin Solutions Sales and Marketing, Rockwell Collins

aircraft more like that which was traditionally selected for widebody aircraft. Today’s IFE systems are also smaller, lighter, thinner and easier to install in aircraft and are more reliable and efficient; resulting in a greater take-up rate across all forms of IFE. So we are seeing contrary to what we expected, in all honesty, and that is a greater take-up rate of all forms of IFE, including in-seat on narrowbody aircraft. This is not something that we were necessarily expecting to be happening in the marketplace.

What are the latest developments related to PAVES IFE? PAVES seat centric is doing very well and is a path-breaking product for the industry. We are very pleased with the roll-out thus far and we are continuing to innovate and improve.

We will have another generation of monitors that comes out next year and we will continue

to have more storage and better resolution displays for our IFE systems. PAVES on demand since its launch on the aircraft it is flying on has got a 99.97 percent availability rate. As an eg. After a half year of service on a couple of different airplanes, we have literally had only one monitor failure in total.

What are the Rockwell Collins cabin and IFE products that would be of interest in the region?

Right now, today’s low cost carriers are very interested in wireless IFE and everybody is interested on hearing about and considering connectivity. This remains the case even if they are not ready as yet to commit to connectivity solutions and the costs involved. Everybody is trying to figure how to drive ancillary revenue from having Wi-Fi onboard aircraft. I think that the wireless and connectivity play extends to all airlines at some degree. Legacy

We are very pleased with the roll-out of our PAVES seat-centric IFE solution thus far and we are continuing to innovate and improve. We will have another generation of monitors that comes out next year and we will continue to have more storage and better resolution displays for our IFE systems 20

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INTERVIEW ROCKWELL COLLINS

and traditional mid-tier and top tier carriers are now also looking more and more at our PAVES on demand systems. In Asia there is still significant demand for broadcast for the overhead retractable systems for narrow bodies. This is driven by operational needs to do safety demos and to be able to do them consistently and in multiple languages every single time. It is also driven by the need to reconfigure seating configurations on aircraft rapidly. We are seeing upticks in every category; wireless, PAVES on demand, in-seat and overhead systems. The most surprising aspect to us has been the take-up rate in inseat video for narrow-body airplanes.

What are the developments related to highspeed Wi-Fi on commercial jetliners?

High speed Wi-Fi on aircraft is critical to unlocking the future potential of IFE on jetliners. People talk about connectivity a lot and it gets a lot of press. But it is very important to understand that connectivity does not operate without Wi-Fi on the airplane. You can receive band-width from a satellite on the airplane, but you need a device to distribute the bandwidth inside the airplane and this is the really important aspect. We made a significant acquisition in this space two years ago, and are continuing

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to develop a number of products in the WiFi space. We have 2 customers that have already selected our systems. We will also be flying the systems for a number of other customers that we are actively working with going forward. In terms of technical challenges for Wi-Fi – the bigger technical challenge is the bandwidth requirements, which are growing so rapidly that the technology struggles to keep up. We can put WAPS on an airplane today, that can support effectively all of the seats available on an airplane, based on average usage rates, that we see now. However, a year from now, these average usage rates will be larger by a factor of 10. So keeping up with this is the bigger technical challenge.

What are the maintenance and logistic requirements for IFE systems?

It is not as much as the maintenance of an IFE system on a day to day basis, as it is the logistics of managing the IFE systems fleet wide. When an airline is looking at choosing in IFE system today, they are looking more carefully at how content can be loaded on the device. This is because loading content on an in-seat system or loading large volumes of content is even more complicated on a singleaisle aircraft as compared to twin-aisle

airliners. When dealing with a narrowbody fleet, typically you have more tails to deal with and these tails are scattered over a larger geographical area when they are on the ground, as they are not always parked overnight at the same place as widebody jetliners do. Narrowbody fleets also fly more segments every day, so there is not only greater wear and tear, but loading of content on these aircraft becomes quite challenging.

The airline needs to make sure that it has a content loading capability that optimises usage of the system and doesn’t penalise the customers. With PAVES On-Demand, which is a seat centric IFE system, the content is loaded directly onto the device on the seat, this provides a much more responsive system as all the data is not being pulled over from a network. Customers also obtain dramatically greater storage capability for dramatically less cost because all the data is being stored on SD cards. This is also makes PAVES On-Demand, considerably more future proof, as the SD cards can be changed for higher capacity. It also eliminates the problems associated with a single point of failure and PAVES On-Demand delivers in terms of redundancy, cost, reliability. This is unlike our two competitors who are still head end centric with their IFE systems.

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FEATURE IFE

Getting Personal

How BYOD is influencing the passenger experience

By Subodh Agarwal Passengers who want much more choice and personalisation from their inflight experience are increasingly switching to use of their own devices during flights.

New findings from SITA’s annual Passenger IT Trends reveal that passengers are enjoying their inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C), but are more likely to connect through the increasing number of devices they have brought with them.

The increase in popularity of ‘binge watching’ and the increasing number of portable electronic devices (PEDs) being brought on board – a trend known in the industry as ‘Bring Your Own Device’ (BYOD) – are shaping airlines’ IFE&C strategies now and impacting how they will look in the future India’s Jet Airways has launched its new ‘JetScreen’ IFE&C system, to offer passengers the ability to stream content on their own devices.

The airline has been working with Global 22

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

Eagle Entertainment Inc. to bring this service to passengers. The library features over 225 hours of video and audio content, including leading Hollywood films and TV shows.

Gaurang Shetty, Whole-time Director of Jet Airways, said, “Streaming of content on personal devices has become extremely popular globally, and we are confident that this initiative will appeal to all our guests, especially the millennials who prefer to access content on the move.”

Saudia, also known as Saudi Arabian Airlines, recently said it will be installing KIDSysteme’s SKYfi Club wireless platform on its aircraft to bring a variety of IFE content to passengers.

The platform is coming to the the airline’s A330 and A320 fleets and it allows passengers to access content such as movies, magazines and books from their own devices. It is part of the ‘Saudia SKYfi’ brand, which also features solutions for passengers

and crew to make in-flight phone calls, browse the web, see their location and much more.

SKYfi is based on the Airline Network Architecture connectivity platform, which is currently installed on more than 650 aircraft with various airlines across the world.

There can be no doubting the value that a high-quality IFE offer adds to the wider passenger experience. Recent developments – ranging from Singapore Airlines’ launch of the Companion App to provide second screen technology on its new A350s, to Air Transat’s introduction of pre-flight downloads for its Boeing 737 services – aptly highlight this point.

As the needs and demands of passengers continue to change, airlines are constantly adapting their IFE & C systems to ensure they stay relevant. While it is widely accepted that embedded IFE screens are here to stay – at least on long-haul services operated WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

FEATURE IFE

app, Tan Pee Teck, Senior Vice President Product and Services, Singapore Airlines, said: “With the proliferation of personal mobile devices and the arrival of our new Airbus A350 fleet, this latest innovation will help enhance the in-flight entertainment experience for our customers. It offers more information and greater control both on the ground and in-flight, and we are excited to be the first airline in the world to offer such an application to our customers.”

Emerging Trends

by legacy carriers – the likes of Norwegian Air Shuttle and Lufthansa, in addition to a number of North America-based carrier, now offer live TV to complement stored content.

Many others, including the likes of XL Airways, Iberia Express, Estonian Air and Transavia, offer portable, scalable IFE solutions, giving passengers the ability to stream content directly to their PEDs. Singapore Airlines, which has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 in March, has now launched the Companion App, which will allow passengers to use their PED as a second screen on the aircraft.

The app is initially available on iOS and Android tablets, with a mobile version expected soon. The airline plans to roll out for Boeing 777-300ER services.

As well as synchronising the saved list of favourites with the seatback IFE system, the app allows passengers to use their device as a remote control, so they can pause, play or skip through the content using their own device. The app can also be used to peruse content and flight progress on the tablet without interrupting the viewing experience on the embedded monitor.

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A trend for a second screen is also emerging, with 10 percent of passengers who took part in the SITA survey switching between their own devices and seat-back screens during their flights.

And it’s good news for the passenger experience – with 92 percent of the total passengers polled being positive about their experience with content onboard.

Looking to the future, 65 percent of passengers would prefer to access entertainment via their own devices – providing a real opportunity for airlines to increase connectivity with passengers via the medium in which they prefer to communicate, according to SITA. Joe Leader, Chief Executive Officer of the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) said, “The IFEC industry is undergoing a transformative revolution.”

“In-flight entertainment is no longer just about the screen in front of the passenger, but also the passenger’s personal device.

The passenger experience is becoming more

and more important and airlines are thinking about how they can give passengers the best experience possible so they will keep coming back. It’s about creating value and allegiance,” Leader said.

Innovation Airlines have always looked at ways to keep passengers entertained and engaged during their flights, and have been playing inflight movies for more than 90 years, with the first inflight movie shown on Aeromarine Airways in 1921.

There was an explosion of interest in personal devices with the launch of the iPhone in 2007 - pushing airlines to move forward their inflight connectivity projects - and in 2014 GSM, Wi-Fi and W-IFE inflight were in service on the same flight. Since then, the popularity of BYOD and passenger connectivity has been growing.

Airlines are increasingly aware of the changing needs of the digital traveller – as well as their desire to be constantly connected - and are building this into future investment programmes. About 75 percent carriers are now planning to invest in inflight Wi-Fi services for passengers, and 70 percent are investing in wireless services to enable their crew.

Airline passengers are showing an increasing preference towards having access to streaming media on their own personal device, while in the aircraft

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FEATURE IFE

Unsurprisingly, the SITA survey also revealed that the move to BYOD accompanies a rise in the number of passengers travelling with smartphones. Of those polled, 86 percent said they take at least one onboard, a rise of more than a third in 12 months.

Inflight Connectivity The shift to BYOD is a major game changer for the airline industry. Seat-back screens add both weight and cost to an aircraft fit.

Indeed, some national carriers have even begun to remove seat-back screens from some of their fleets.

BYOD also improves the potential for better inflight connectivity and a more tailored passenger experience. Passengers can interact directly with an airline social media team and information can be passed to cabin crew, who can then respond accordingly – whether that be offering a service or solving a problem.

This joined-up thinking also carries through to building brand loyalty through tailored offers made to passengers based on their online behaviour. Passenger safety can also be improved with reports of potential turbulence alerts being sent straight through to personal devices.

This understanding of what will be relevant to a specific passenger at a specific time, will ultimately deliver a more relaxing and enjoyable experience during

the flight and build brand loyalty. BYOD is a key enabler, so it’s great to see both its rise and acceptance.

As the digital revolution gains pace, airlines are increasingly digitizing their crew. Once connected, the next phase for airlines is to develop innovative apps and communication channels, such as SITAONAIR’s CrewTab that allow cabin crew with tablets to differentiate the passenger experience, enabling more choice and personal and interactive connections.

Boeing’s vCabin Boeing recently announced the testing of its new technology demonstrator, ‘vCabin’, which could revolutionise the way passengers interact with their surroundings when onboard an aircraft.

Engineers in Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ Product Development division have created an interior mock-up of an airplane cabin with an advanced, wireless network behind the scenes through which new technology concepts can be connected and made functional.

Engineers testing the concept have been able to control personal lighting, for example, using a smartphone. Other possibilities include ordering food and drinks, checking lavatory availability and accessing entertainment content using personal electronic devices. So far, vCabin

has made use of small chips embedded near each feature so no Wi-Fi service is need.

Deborah Regan, Principal Investigator in Product Development at Boeing, said: “The vCabin is a great tool to test the inventive ideas we come up with for future cabin improvements. We can get them working, put the ideas through their paces and get a realworld evaluation of the innovations in action.”

Regan also added that the network is not connected to flight-critical airplane systems nor to the traditional in-flight entertainment system.

Airbus ALNA To respond to the growing market demand for on-board connectivity, Airbus has developed an aircraft connectivity “platform” that delivers the full breadth of new connectivity services and that is a generation beyond any other available system.

Airbus pioneered connectivity and was the first manufacturer to receive certification for its on-board mobile phone system in June 2007. Since winter 2010, Airbus operators have been able to offer worldwide broadband connectivity services via internet and mobile telephony. The Airbus platform, called Airline Network Architecture (ALNA), is the first connectivity solution available as line fit on Airbus aircraft and can be retrofitted to Airbus and other manufacturers’ aircraft.

With this, passengers can use their own wireless communication devices such as mobile telephones, smart phones, tablet or laptops to send and receive SMS messages, e-mails with their attachments, access the

LEFT: Boeing’s vCabin could revolutionise aircraft cabins, with the possibility of the IFE system being used by passengers to order food and drinks, check lavatory availability and accessing entertainment content using personal electronic devices OPPOSITE TOP: High-definition video is now becoming a reality with high-bandwidth fibre optics.

Airlines are already beginning to upgrade their IFE systems to cater for the demand for highdefinition video 24

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FEATURE IFE

internet or make and receive phone calls.

Both WiFi and mobile telephony services are praised by passengers especially when travelling for business purposes.

Cabin crew can easily manage the service and have the option of selecting a “voice-off” mode to restrict cell-phone usage to data services only (SMS, email, mobile internet).

Passengers’ feedback shows the service is a tremendous success, further consolidated by the very rapidly expanding market base of the Airbus connectivity solution.

The scope of connectivity applications enables airlines to reach passengers personally in flight and to generate ancillary revenues. Thanks to its unique communication management, it also serves airline administrative and operational communications, as illustrated by crew mail, digital cabin logbook, documentation viewer, telemedicine, credit card authentication, on-board rescheduling of traveller flight connections, with more applications to be accessible wirelessly from cabin crew devices in the near future.

Airbus officials claim that by far the airframe offers the most comprehensive combination of connectivity solutions with different in-flight entertainment suppliers.

“The A350 XWB native connectivity for instance is illustrated by its standard SBB satcom and by the unique freedom of choice it offers to customers: ALNA, Thales TopConnect (Ka Band) and Panasonic Global Communication Suite (Ku Band),” says an official.

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The latest Evolution Airbus’ A350 XWB is the first jetliner to integrate fourth-generation in-flight entertainment systems from the beginning.

Incorporating high-bandwidth fibre optics, high-definition video becomes a reality for all passengers on the A350 XWB, with individual seat monitors upgraded to new standards – beginning with screens of up to 12-inch in economy class.

“In addition to delivering an unmatched viewing and listening experience, fourthgeneration in-flight entertainment systems do away with bulky under-seat control boxes that many times block passenger legroom – while combined data and power cables are accommodated under a now-flat cabin floor,” the Airbus official says.

Virtual Reality and Netflix All of the big players in the connectivity space – the likes of Gogo, GEE, Panasonic Avionics, Inmarsat and ViaSat to name just a few – are making significant investments in providing the infrastructure for the next generation of in-flight connectivity, which will enable airlines to satisfy this demand for an online experience akin to what they’re used to at home or in the office.

Virtual reality and streaming content from sites like Netflix is the future of IFE, replacing tiny screens in the back of chairs.

During the Farnborough Airshow several companies had showcased virtual reality stations around their stands highlighting what the inside of their jets look like and how

it feels to fly in one of their planes.

While these are mainly for airlines to experience what a manufacturer’s plane is like, aircraft makers are predicting virtual reality technology will be incorporated within cabins soon.

“The consumer market is taking off and people who are keen on this tech expect people like Airbus as industry leaders to be aware of this, and I do foresee in the near future an opportunity for our customers to potentially have this in their cabin,” Andy Anderson, deputy chief technology officer at Airbus, told CNBC in a recent interview.

“For a passenger inside the plane, imagine being able to put on the headset and project a whole world across the roof of the cabin and allow them to fly underneath the stars, or allow them to see a movie, it’s a new platform for innovation,” CNBC quoted Anderson as saying.

The technology has already been tested by one airline, the CNBC report said.

Last year, Australian airline Qantas tested providing VR headsets to its first class passengers on select routes. New movies were shown as well as Qantas products for passengers to look at.

Virtual reality is taking off with a number of electronics makers from Samsung to HTC all releasing headsets recently. Total shipment of virtual reality hardware is expected to reach 64.8 million units in 2020, up from 9.6 million this year, according to IDC. Sales of VR hardware are expected to generate $2.3 billion of revenues in 2016.

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FEATURE ATR

Staying Ahead of the Pack Continuous improvement is ATR’s way of staying ahead

By Atul Chandra

Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) specialist ATR forecasts that over the next 20 years, 38 percent of the demand for its aircraft, totalling 2800 turboprop deliveries, will be delivered into the Asia-Pacific region and China (27 percent and 11 percent respectively). ATR also expects that in excess of 600 routes could be created in AsiaPacific (excluding China); with the average annual fleet growth at 4.2 percent, this would be eight times greater than mature markets.

It is in this context that preserving its existing partnerships with airline customers in the region and providing them with timely solutions to meet their requirements, is of vital importance to ATR, if it is to retain its lead in the face of increasing completion in the RTA space.

Important developments are underfoot at the Toulouse, Southern France based turboprop aircraft manufacturer, that was established 35 years ago in November 1981.

The airframer is deeply involved in several 26

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

efforts that will see fruition in the midterm, “We are evaluating the business case as well as the technical developments for a 100-seater,” Tom Anderson ATR’s Senior Vice President Commercial & Customer Support, tells Asian Airlines & Aerospace.

Having already certified a new ‘High Density’ HD cabin for up to 78 passengers, he says, “We understand that the amount of the investment for a larger capacity turboprop may focus our attention to the development of a 100-seater rather than a 90-seater aircraft.”

ATR is also working closely with aircraft engine manufacturers to further optimise operating costs. “Our aim is to decrease by at least 15 percent the operating costs per seat with new engine on the current platform.”

The current powerplant available on ATR 72600s and ATR 42-600s is the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M turboprop engine which was certified in 2008. The PW127M delivers five percent additional power, compared to the older PW127F engine. Another key

improvement for Asian customers, as it will further enhance operations on airfields surrounded by high terrain, is RNP-AR 0.3 (Required Navigation Performance with Authorization Required). The technology will also lead to a reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. RNP-AR 0.3 systems are currently under development, and its certification is expected by mid-2017. ATR is also offering customers its ClearVision (Enhanced Flight Vision System) which will enable reduced minima for landings up to a distance of 50 feet; it will be an alternative to CATIII in airports without ILS and according to ATR officials is a ‘First’ in commercial aviation. Civil approval for the technology is forecasted soon and it is already in service in military aviation. Once certification is obtained, ClearVision will create business opportunities for airlines (increase service regularity, optimise operations), at the same time bringing about a significant reduction of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

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FEATURE ATR

ATR has also been hard at work delivering new variants of its aircraft; having already delivered the first high density ATR 72-600 with 78 seats, to launch customer CEBU Pacific. Certified just over a year ago in August 2015, the HD 78 seat configuration was developed by the company to meet requests especially from ATR’s Asian customers. The high-density seating configuration option makes use of the existing airframe and is achieved by optimising the pitch and adjusting the forward cargo compartment. The changes have led to increase in the aircraft maximum seat capacity from 74 to 78, further enhancing an operator’s revenue potential.

The option will also be available as a retrofit and ATR expects that the HD variant will be very popular in the Asian market. Other new developments that have recently been certified by ATR are: ‘Smart Galley’ an easy galley configuration change available as a retrofit solution which was certified in June 2016 and the ‘Cargo Flex’ cabin which provides greater storage capacity (almost 20 m3 instead of 10), while retaining comfort levels for passengers (up to 44 seats) and was certified in October 2015. The first Cargo Flex ATRs are already in service with PNG Airlines in Papua New Guinea.

Training & MRO July saw the launch of ATR’s ‘Mobile Classroom’, a new travelling Training Center system, that aims to make a mark in a training market that is now extremely competitive.

ATR’s Mobile Classroom allows the company’s airline customers, the cost and time-benefit of training on their premises.

“Customers have always wanted to be able to train people on their own premises,” says Luigi Baldini, Head of Maintenance Training.

“But until now, that was only possible for a

ABOVE: ATR CEO ATR CEO Patrick de Castelbajac during the inauguration of the new and state-of-the-art maintenance facility at Toulouse-Francazal airport. ATR will shift prototype testing of new aircraft to this facility OPPOSITE PAGE: ATR has ensured that continuous developments to the ATR regional transport family have led to a strong order book for the turbo-prop aircraft. There is increasing competition on the horizon however, with newgeneration regional transport aircraft (albeit jet powered) preparing for entry into service

ATR MRO Activity in the Region From an interview with Tom Anderson ATR Senior Vice President Commercial & Customer Support MRO activities are quickly developing in the region reflecting the rapid growth of ATR fleets. As for the airframe maintenance, both operators and independent MRO shops are developing and certifying specific capabilities on the ATR products, in order to support the increasing volumes of heavy checks expected in the coming years. The operators which have now certified capabilities in the region through their maintenance branches are: Air New Zealand, Bangkok Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Garuda among many others. Independent MROs approved by EASA, such as Fokker Services Asia in Singapore and Sepang Aerospace in Kuala Lumpur among others, are well established in the region as well.

Fokker Services Asia in particular is directly part of the recommended ATR MRO

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Network. In parallel, the components MRO activity is also very dynamic, as the vast majority of the OEM’s have dedicated shops and many independent MRO shops are based in the region.

With regards to Big Data, data proceeding from heavy maintenance activities and from components reliability are considered by ATR. A two-folded action plan is here being deployed. Firstly, we use the technical analysis of data in order to determine corrective actions to maintenance procedures and practices and, the need be, product improvement and corrective actions. Secondly, data are used to improve our forecast and provisioning system in order to better assess the future requirements and ensure an even more effective and timely availability of parts and technical support.

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FEATURE ATR

the classroom has to be deployed, there are two set-ups available; 13 laptops (one spare), headphones and all cables are part of the ‘Lightweight’ version, while the ‘Heavyweight’ version includes twelve auxiliary screens and an HD video projector with its own screen.

Since only eight trainees (or at most twelve), are required for a mobile classroom session, the cost of actual training per trainee is lower than at a Training Center, even though the training material is the same as that provided at ATR’s Training Centers.

ATR also inaugurated its new aeronautical maintenance facility at Toulouse-Francazal airport in July, where it has made substantial investments to set-up a comprehensive MRO site dedicated for the long-term. ATR’s Part 145 maintenance activities for all of its customers worldwide (maintenance, servicing and repairs plus related training activities), will now take place at the new site. “Technicians from around the world will come to train at ToulouseFrancazal airport thanks to these Part 145 and 147 certifications. For ATR, this new facility was vital for supporting our growth,” said Patrick de Castelbajac, ATR CEO while inaugurating the facility. ATR’s ‘prototype’ activities will now also be based at Francazal and two prototype aircraft, an ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600, will shortly be available for the testing new technologies. The hangar at the ToulouseFrancazal facility will be able to accommodate two aircraft and construction of a 1,200 m² building able to accommodate up to 80 people is also underway.

few theory courses. Mobile Classroom has changed all that; it’s a high-performance, totally mobile training system.” Now training leading to official qualifications (in particular licences B1 and B2) can be provided directly on the customer’s premises. “We are head and shoulders above the competition in terms of teaching technique and learning results, notably on the ATR-600, thanks to the expertise of our Training Centers,” Baldini confidently asserts. The Mobile Classroom offering took-off in March with Bahamasair and in May, Thailand Aviation Industries 28

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had 12 of its trainees make use of the new travelling classroom. In June, to meet a training requirement from the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force), the mobile kit was sent to the NATO base in Sicily to train 16 people (in two groups). ATR is already investing in additional resources to keep up with demand and four complete Mobile Classroom kits will be available by autumn 2016. The Mobile Classroom essentially, is package that contains all of the teaching material necessary for a dozen trainees.

Depending on the type of premises where

TOP: Pratt & Whitney Canada and GE are said to be in contention for a proposal to re-engine the ATR family. Such an effort will have lower risk and a faster time to market, with the end result of ATR delivering an even more efficient aircraft to customers sooner than they expect MIDDLE: Significant investments are being made to upgrade ATR MRO and training capabilities.

ATR’s ‘Mobile Classroom’ which is a new travelling Training Center system, is the latest instance of such efforts WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

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FEATURE SELETAR

Growing Pains

Many of MRO companies that moved to Seletar do airframe heavy maintenance, so they need land with runway access

By Our Special Correspondent The general consensus in the aviation industry is that Seletar Aerospace Park has been hugely successful.

Big name players in the aviation industry, such as Airbus Helicopters, Bombardier Business Aircraft, Fokker Services, Hawker Pacific, Jet Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce have facilities there. Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), which manages the park, says there are more than 60 companies at Seletar employing nearly 5,000 people.

But there is no getting away from the fact that Singapore is land-constrained. This is particularly the case at Seletar, a relatively small airport on the north of the island that is difficult to expand because it is locked in by

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the sea on two sides and surrounded by roads and an expressway on the other two sides.

Many of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) companies that moved to Seletar do airframe heavy maintenance, so they need land with runway access. But the land at Seletar with runway access is in short supply.

This is a concern because some of the MRO companies at Seletar want to expand.

JTC in December released land under phase-three of the aerospace park’s expansion plan and this includes some land with runway access. “First two phases are already developed or the land is reserved.

But there is still phase-three that accounts for 40 percent of the total land at Seletar

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FEATURE SELETAR

Aerospace Park. This includes land with runway access,” says Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) director transport engineering, Tan Kong Hwee.

“JTC is the industrial landlord and they have seen strong interest, so there is a need to balance and see which projects better fit the interest that Singapore has going forward. So we have to be selective,” adds Tan. Seletar Airport is primarily a business aviation airport, but it is also home to some commercial MRO companies such as Fokker Services Asia. And it is set to also become a commercial airport. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced that commercial turboprop operators at Changi Airport will have to re-locate to Seletar by the end of 2018 when a new passenger terminal opens at Seletar. The new terminal, located on the east side of the airport, will cater to both commercial and business aviation passengers.

The decision has angered both the commercial turboprop operators and those involved in business aviation. Turboprop operators such as ATR operator Firefly want to stay at Changi Airport, so their passengers can use Changi as a hub to connect to other international flights. If they are forced to fly to Seletar, then they will be restricted to being purely a point-to-point carrier with no transit traffic.

The CEO of Firefly, Ignatius Ong, has also said publicly that the other reason he is reluctant to fly to Seletar is the lack of public transport to Seletar.

JTC argues that Seletar Aerospace Park is well connected by expressways. It says a new public bus service was introduced end of last year that connects Seletar to the neighbouring northern areas of Punggol, Yishun and Sembawang. JTC also says it has introduced a shuttle bus service that connects Seletar to train stations in the north and east of the island.

First two phases are already developed or the land is reserved. But there is still phase-three that accounts for 40 percent of the total land at Seletar Aerospace Park. This includes land with runway access Tan Kong Hwee, Director Transport Engineering, Singapore Economic Development Board

While turboprop operators such as Firefly are reluctant to move to Seletar, business aviation companies are also angered by CAAS’ decision. They are already concerned there is too little land at Seletar with runway access and they also complain there is too little parking space for aircraft. So they fear that turning Seletar into a commercial airport, will make the problem worse.

Another issue for business aviation companies at Seletar is that some of the larger business jets, such as the Gulfstream G550, are unable to take off with a full load of fuel and passengers because the runway is too short. In 2011, the runway was extended by 250m to 1,840m. It was announced at that time that this length of runway was sufficient to handle aircraft as large as a 737.

But what was not made clear in the announcement, was that they were referring to 737s going to Seletar for maintenance work. Such aircraft fly in and take off with no passengers and less than a full tank of fuel.

When asked about the runway and

parking issue, JTC says its top management is speaking with CAAS and Changi Airport Group about these matters, as it is “under their purview.”

Singapore is arguably the number one centre in Southeast Asia for business aviation by virtue of the fact that it has the largest fleet of business jets in the region and many of the top business aviation MRO companies have facilities at Seletar serving the region.

According to Asian Sky Research, the number of business jets based in Singapore in 2015 was 63, making it the largest fleet of business jets in Southeast Asia. But it also interesting to note that the number of business jets based in Singapore last year did not grow. Meanwhile, the number of business jets in Indonesia grew 16 percent to 52.

EDB and JTC went to enormous effort to attract these business aviation companies to Seletar. One can only hope that they – along with CAAS and Changi Airport Group - make as much of an effort to keep them.

Recent Investments into Seletar Aerospace Park

16 February 2016

Sabena Technics opens component repair facility primarily to serve ATR operators in Asia Pacific

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17 April

Airbus Asia Training Centre opens, a joint venture between Airbus and Singapore Airlines to serve Airbus operators in the region

24 May 2016

Safran Helicopter Engines opens regional headquarters and engine MRO facility

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A GBP Publication

SHOW PREVIEW JAPAN AEROSPACE 2016

Japan: Preferred Aerospace Partner It has been a long journey since 1965, when Japan’s aviation industry commenced production of the 60 seater YS-11 twin-engine turboprop aeroplane, the island nation’s first indigenous civilian aircraft. 180 of the type were eventually built and in the following decades, the Japanese aerospace industry has grown to become a global powerhouse and an integral part of the international aviation supply chain. When one looks at aircraft production figures by demand, the break-up in aircraft production between the defence sector and civilian aircraft sector is 32 percent and 48 percent respectively. The heavyweight trio of the Japanese aerospace industry are Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) and Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI). These companies along with Panasonic Avionics, JAMCO, Sumitomo, Bridgestone, ShinMaywa, GS 32

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Yuasa/Thales, are amongst a large number of companies in Japan, that are on the cuttingedge of aviation technology. Japanese firms have also benefited from international joint development of next generation commercial jetliners, allowing them to play a central role in the development of aircraft such as Boeing’s 767, 777, 777X and 787 and engines such as V2500, Trent 1000, GEnx, GE9X, PW1100G-JM etc.

As the fifth largest helicopter user in the world, Japan has also built a strong manufacturing and skill base for development and manufacture of fuselages, engines and all other helicopter components. Japanese firms will also manufacture approximately 21 percent of the main structural components on the new Boeing 777X and are also suppliers to Airbus programmes such as the A320, A330, A350XWG and A380. They will

also be in charge of the low pressure turbine components used in the Boeing 777X and are also participating in the development of the PW1100G-JM. The increasing development costs and risks associated with engine design, coupled with high-end Japanese aero-engine capability means that it will handle a greater share of development of the next-generation of aero-engines currently under development. Japan is also the global leader for the carbon fiber products for carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) and accounts for 70 percent of the world’s supply.

This makes Japan a key partner for nextgeneration aircraft development as the use of CFRP is rapidly expanding. MHI and KHI supply the main-wing box and centre-wing box respectively for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, which is made up of 50 percent composite materials.

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SHOW PREVIEW JAPAN AEROSPACE 2016

JAMCO Reveals Space X Premium Class Seats A novel approach to premium class aircraft interiors has been revealed by JAMCO Corporation with its new Space X premium class seat concept. The Space X concept joins JAMCO’s Galley X (a futuristic aircraft galley) and Galley X (a futuristic aircraft galley). The new premium class seat concept has been developed with noted Japanese designer Satoshi Wada of SWdesign. The design concept for the New First Class Seat and New Business Class Seat concepts, focusses on comfort and privacy. There is direct aisle access provided to all business class seats. SPACE X premium interiors and seats can be installed on all Boeing and Airbus wide-body jetliners. An extensive focus given to the materials used and new construction techniques, has resulted in a modular design with shared components that has reduced costs. In addition to SPACE X, JAMCO’s Galley X was unveiled in April and features a number of innovations such as cart lifters that maximise available space and touch panel controllers.

Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions Commences Operations Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions has commenced operations, that will bring Saab’s revolutionary remote air traffic control products and services into the market. Johan Klintberg was appointed in September as the CEO of the company, which is a joint venture between Swedish Air Navigation Service Provider LFV and Saab which is the majority owner. The partnership between Saab and LFV had initiated - Remote Tower, the world’s first system for remote-controlled, digital air

traffic control and by 2017, a total of three Swedish airports (Örnsköldsvik, Sundsvall Timrå and Linköping City Airport) will be connected to the LFV Remote Tower Centre in Sundsvall. Remote Tower ATC systems will be able to provide digital and integrated traffic control; independent of geography, with the attendant benefits of increased flexibility and higher safety, while reducing the costs associated with creating expensive physical infrastructure at smaller airports or lesser used airfields.

First JAL B777 Completes Overhaul from HAECO Xiamen Leading MRO services provider, Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company (HAECO) recently completed a comprehensive overhaul, concluding with the return of the Boeing 777 200ER jetliner to Japan Airlines.

This is the first Boeing 777 MRO activity that has been contracted out to HAECO Xiamen by JAL and the aircraft underwent a heavy maintenance check along with cabin reconfiguration and Wi-Fi modifications, which were completed on schedule. JAL is in the midst of a cabin re-configuration of its entire B777 200ER fleet, which is slated for completion in 2017.

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Vietnam Airlines Signs Up for More A350XWBs Vietnam Airlines first airline operator of the A350 XWB in East Asia and second in the world has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 10 more A350­900 aircraft. The carrier will use the new aircraft on non­stop flights to the U.S. West Coast, carrying 305 passengers in a three class premium layout. Initial services will be

on the Ho Chi Minh City - Los Angeles sector.

“The intention to acquire these additional aircraft reflects our excellent experience with the A350 since it entered service with Vietnam Airlines last year,” said Duong Tri Thanh, President and CEO of Vietnam Airlines.

The airline already has four A350s in service with an additional 10 already on order.

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SHOW PREVIEW JAPAN AEROSPACE 2016

JAL Expands Routes with Sky Suite Japan Airlines will continue to expansion of routes with its JAL Sky Suite configured aircraft. JAL’s 767s, 777s and 787s are configured with the new cabins. The new offering from JAL offers full-flat seats in Business Class which offer unobstructed aisle access from every seat. It also offers more spacious Economy Class seating. befittingly named “New Spacious Economy.”

Currently JAL’s Boeing777-200ER, 777300ER, 787-8, 787-9 and 767-300ER operate approximately 28 flights and more sectors will be added. The cabins of JAL’s Boeing will be configured with Sky Suite in stages.

Bombardier Halves C Series Delivery Forecast for 2016 Bombardier has announced a cut in its C Series production forecast for the year from 15 to 7 aeroplanes, as a result of delivery delays by engine supplier Pratt & Whitney, whose PW1500G engine powers the aircraft. Fred Cromer, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft said, “We are working very closely with Pratt & Whitney to quickly address this supplier ramp-up issue and to ensure we have a strong supplier base to support our longterm growth objectives.” Bombardier remains confident of meeting its production rampup plan targets which call for an increase in aircraft production from 90 to 120 aircraft per year by 2020. The C Series has now completed almost two months of operational service. The two CS100 aircraft in service with SWISS have collectively flown nearly 400 revenue-generating flights, with almost 600 flight hours being completed. SWISS is scheduled to take delivery of its third CS100 in October and the another airline operator, airBaltic is slated to start operations with the larger CS300 in the fourth quarter.

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Japanese Operator Adds Airbus Helicopters H135 Japanese air services operators, Tohoku “We are very pleased to introduce the new Air Service (TAS) recently took delivery of H135 variant in Japan. Having been operating its first brand-new H135 (formerly known helicopters produced by Airbus Helicopters as EC135 P3) from Airbus Helicopters in over the last 25 years, we are convinced that Japan. TAS will be the first Japan operator, this fuelefficient and eco-friendly aircraft to introduce the H135 into service in the is ideal to serve our missions,” said Hisashi country. It will join two EC135 P2+s, already Nagahama, President of TAS. There are 85 operational and used mainly for power line H135s operating in Japan, operating in roles patrols. The addition of the new helicopter as diverse as emergency medical services, will allow the company to expand its police work, electronic news gathering, VIP operations to aerial photography and survey. transport and business aviation.

Irkut MC-21 Fuselage at TsAGI for Static Tests Irkut Corporation has announced that the MC-21 fuselage undergo static tests, the at the Central Aero Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI). The test fuselage was delivered in an An-124 freighter, in August. The test fuselage will now

undergo static tests to confirm the strength characteristics of the new aircraft and to provide certification of the type for static strength. The commencement of static testing of the aircraft fuselage is an important part of a comprehensive test plan, that will be undertaken prior to the first flight of MC21 and its subsequent certification. As part of the tests, the airframe will be subjected to a leak inspection, following which tests will be initiated at TsAGI to simulate the structural loads in all flight modes with register the stress-strain state of the aircraft structure.

Assembly of a second MC-21 aircraft is also underway at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant.

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SHOW PREVIEW JAPAN AEROSPACE 2016

Ukraine and China Collaborate on An-225 Programme

Domestic Debut for 4th ANA Star Wars Jetliner ANA’s 4th jetliner in Star Wars livery, the C-3PO ANA Jet is planned to be introduced to Japan domestic routes starting from March 2017 and serve mainly Tokyo - Osaka, Sapporo, Okinawa and Fukuoka sectors. The new aircraft which was announced recently is the

fourth in a series of unique Star Wars liveried jetliners, which include the R2D2 ANA Jet, STAR WARS ANA Jet and the BB-8 ANA JET. The C-3PO motif decorated Boeing 777-200, has detailed body parts and wiring decorated onto the aircraft’s fuselage.

Ukroboronprom SC and Aerospace Industry Corporation of China (AICC) has concluded an agreement wherein both entities and the Antonov company will collaborate on the An-225 programme. The first stage of this interaction consists in construction of the second modernized AN−225 Mriya at ANTONOV Company and delivery of this aircraft to AICC. The second stage of the cooperation will result in the commencement of joint series production of the AN−225 in China under licence of ANTONOV Company. Pictured is the fuselage of the second AN−225 at ANTONOV Company’s production facility. The massive six engine transport aircraft is the heaviest airlifter on the planet. The heaviest cargo carried by the An-225 is 253 tonne. The single heaviest piece of cargo carried by the aircraft weighed 186.7 tonne.

ANA Adds 50th Boeing 787

AVIC Completes Final Assembly of World’s Largest Amphibious Aircraft The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) recently completed final assembly of its AG600 large amphibious aircraft at company facilities in Zhuhai, Guangzhou. The giant amphibious aircraft, joins three other large aircraft that have been developed in China; the Y-20 heavy lifter and C919 commercial jetliner. The AG600 is China’s first large, specialized multi-purpose civilian aircraft and a major WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

piece of aviation equipment that will serve the national emergency rescue system.

Similar in size to a Boeing 777, the AG600 is aircraft is 37 meters long, 12.1 meters high, with a wingspan of 38.8 meters and can take off with a maximum weight of 53.5 tonnes. It is powered by four domestically manufacturedWJ-6 turboprop engines and will be able to draw 12 tonnes of water in just 20 seconds.

Japan’s largest carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) recently took delivery of its 50th Boeing 787 Dreamliner, becoming the first airline in the world to operate 50 aircraft of the type. ANA was launch customer for the 787, when it placed orders for 50 jetliners in 2004. The first airline to introduce the revolutionary widebody jetliner into service in 2011; ANA today has more than 11 percent of all 787s flying globally, with an estimated 125,000 flights being completed. ANA has placed orders for the 787-10. ANA has an additional 33 787s on order, including the longest and newest member of the family, the 787-10.

The airline also has 20 777-9 airplanes on order.

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FEATURE MRJ

Waiting to Make a Mark Mitsubishi’s MRJ regional jet has had a difficult gestation, and now needs to build momentum to meet the promised delivery date of 2018 for launch customer ANA

By Atul Chandra The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) is a next-generation regional transport aircraft (RTA) that is targeted at the 70-90 seater market for a jet engine powered RTA. The Japanese effort to design and develop the MRJ is being handled by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The MRJs makers are aiming at a market size for 70-90-seat regional transport that could be as high as 3,500 aircraft over the next 20 years. In many ways the MRJ effort is similar to that of Bombardier’s C Series, a clean sheet design packed with the latest advances in design and material technology, with a revolutionary engine and an all-new cabin. Such an effort, though fraught with risks and with strong potential for cost- overruns, was the only way that Japan’s considerable aerospace might, could be harnessed to develop a highly efficient aircraft offering a compelling enough operating efficiency advantage over aircraft from established competitors such as Bombardier and Embraer. Eight years have now passed since the MRJ’s maiden flight in 2008 and the development timeframe has crossed Mitsubishi’s initial estimates.

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Flight Testing Acceleration of developmental testing is of vital importance for completion of certification related tasks and have the MRJ ready for delivery to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) in 2018. Issues related to the MRJ’s air management systems in August, have resulted in the postponement of the long-ferry to the U.S., where Mitsubishi Aircraft and MHI planned to commence flight testing at the Moses Lake Flight Test Center in Washington State, with local partner AeroTEC. According to Mitsubishi Aircraft the result of the cancellation of flights was an issue with the monitoring function of the air management system that needed to be inspected during the flight. “We will work with related parties to promptly move forward with the ferry flight, after completing the inspection and necessary measures. We will decide the date to resume the ferry flight based on the results of inspection,” the airframer announced. Earlier flights that took place on August 27 and 28 were aborted due to anomalies in the two air management

systems, left and right, installed in the aircraft. The malfunction was detected in sensors monitoring the air management systems on the left side. Once these issues are resolved, the MRJ is expected to make the flight to the Moses Lake Flight Test Center. Mitsubishi Aircraft, MHI and Aero TEC had conducted a “dry-run” from midMay to mid-June to simulate flight testing and actual flights using a small aircraft were conducted in a rehearsal of all operations from preparation to takeoff and landing, including implementation of the test mission with data acquisition.

Design and Development More than 50 flight tests with the First & Second Flight Test Aircraft (FTA-1 & 2), have been completed by the MRJ programme in July. The flight envelope of FTA-1 has been expanded to the extent of design specifications (maximum operating Mach number of Mach 0.78, maximum operating altitude of 39,000 ft., about 11,900m). FTA2 is being used to mainly carry out MRJ performance flight testing. Flutter testing WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

FEATURE MRJ

is also underway. On an average two flight tests per day, were being done in July and once the aircraft makes its ferry flight to the U.S., multiple flight tests on a daily basis will take place. FTA-3 & 4 will move forward with engine tests, aiming for first flights this summer. The aircraft that have been involved in flight testing thus far are MRJ FTA-1 and FTA-2, which took to the air for the first time in November 2015 and May 2016 respectively.

Flight Test Aircraft 5 (FTA-5) was transferred to the MRJ Final Assembly Hangar, on August 20, where it will undergo engineering and functional tests. Various tests will be underway for FTA-5 Ferry flights to the United States, which was scheduled to start in August. Meanwhile the first aircraft that will be delivered to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) was declared ready for final assembly towards the end of June at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)’s Tobishima Plant. This was marked by MHI’s first shipment of the fuselage section for the MRJ’s first delivery aircraft. The MRJ fuselage section has been transferred to the MRJ Final Assembly Hangar next to Nagoya Airfield. MHI is now working through the final assembly process including the fuselage joint, looking forward to the first delivery to launch customer ANA in mid-2018.

Order Book The latest customer for the MRJ, is U.S.

based aircraft lessor Aerolease Aviation, which placed firm orders for ten MRJ90s (and ten options) and is the first aircraft leasing company to conclude a definitive agreement for the purchase of the MRJ. Deliveries of the MRJ to Aerolease are slated to commence from 2018. “We have won a high evaluation from Aerolease Aviation not just of the asset value of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), but also for Japan’s monozukuri (manufacturing) capabilities to produce the first domestically-developed jetliner…,” says Hiromichi Morimoto, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation. Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has now notched up a total of 447 orders for the MRJ (243 firm, 180 option and 24 purchase rights), this number however, will be achieved when Mitsubishi Aircraft signs a definitive agreement with Rockton for the 20 aircraft it has on order. Sweden based regional aircraft leasing company Rockton became the first European company and second lessor to select the MRJ, when it placed firm orders for 10 MRJ90s and options for 10 more at the Farnborough Air Show. Niklas Lund, President, Rockton says, “The MRJ is a game changer. Efficient clean-sheet design, unrivalled passenger comfort and new state-of-the-art Pratt & Whitney PW1200G engines herald the future of regional air travel. This new aircraft will provide crucial economic benefits to airlines looking to operate in the 70-90 passenger size segment, especially in comparison

with current products.” Deliveries are to commence in 2020.

Performance Characteristics The MRJ family of 70~90-seat nextgeneration aircraft benefits from its cleansheet design to deliver a greater than 20 percent fuel-efficiency improvement over current designs. Amongst the highlights of the MRJ for its operators will be its fuel-efficiency, range and noise levels. This will make the MRJ especially attractive in developed markets where noise and emission requirements are stringent. The MRJ’s Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1200G engine generates high power at slower engine speed and hence lower noise. The noise reduction is quite noticeable at or near an airport. Current regional jets reach a decibel level of 70 dBA at a distance of around 9 km away after brake release (the point at which the plane starts to accelerate for takeoff). By contrast, the noisiest element of the MRJ’s flight occurs at about 6 kilometers, closer to airport property and farther from abutting neighbours.

The smaller noise footprint gives the MRJ a distinct advantage at environmentally restricted airports, allowing it to operate airports nearer to city centers. Its long range capability will allow regional airlines to open new routes from local airports. The MRJ has a maximum range of around 3,300 km, allowing it to fly from Tokyo directly to Shanghai/ Guam and cover almost all of North America with Denver at the center. This will allow operators of the type to expand the number of direct flights they can operate from connecting local airports.

OPPOSITE: The MRJ programme now needs to increase the pace of developmental testing to be able to deliver the first MRJ regional transport aircraft to ANA in 2018 LEFT: Final assembly of the first MRJ for launch customer ANA is underway. The MRJ is also winning customers in the U.S.A. and Europe and currently has a healthy order for 243 firm orders and 180 options WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

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COMPANY MRO NEWSPROFILE TURKISH TECHNIC

MRO News and Updates

Perfect 10!

Amid many economic and political changes in the region, Turkish Technic completes a decade-long service in the maintenance, repair and overhaul industry

By Jay Menon As Turkish Technic, one of the leading aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services providers to the aviation industry completes 10 years of service, significant investment plans are on the anvil including setting up new facilities at the Istanbul Grand Airport.

“Turkish Technic is proud of its ten-year track record of MRO services and sustained profitability amid many economic and political changes in the region,” says Ahmet Karaman, General Manager of Turkish Technic. ”At the same time we are forwardfocused on the next decade and have significant investment plans such as new facilities at İGA (Istanbul Grand Airport).”

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, Turkish Technic was formally established on May 23, 2006.

The roots of Turkish Technic go back to the founding of Turkish Airlines. In 1957, the journey started with maintenance of three DC-3 aircraft, within the fleet of 28.

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During this initial period the company has grown and added over 15 aircraft types to its maintenance and overhaul capabilities. Since the establishment, Turkish Technic expanded its capacity with 6 new hangars, located in various cities of Turkey.

Presently, Turkish Technic family, consists of TCI, TSI, TEC and Goodrich Turkish Technic Services that manufacture aircraft seats, galleys and provides engine and turbine services.

A new maintenance and repair center of Turkish Airlines; HABOM entered service in 2014, adding additional momentum to the region’s aviation sector growth.

HABOM represents an investment of about US$550 million by Turkish Airlines’ industry-leading subsidiary. It was designed to create a world-class facility at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport to increase the technical maintenance and repair capacity and capability available to both Turkish Airlines and third party customers.

HABOM’s location makes it a convenient MRO option for 39 per cent of the world’s civilian aircraft and has 55 countries lying within a 3,5 hour flying radius. HABOM facilities have about 7.000 personnel and is expected to produce annual revenue of US$1,5 billion.

Turkish Airlines has, in the past decade, become one of the world’s fastest growing and most influential players in global aviation.

The airline has steadily grown its network and now has service to more cities than any other carrier. Its fleet has expanded and now the airline is set to take delivery of a record number of airplanes this year. In total, the carrier will take delivery of six 777-300ERs and 20 Next-Generation 737-800s in 2016.

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OPINION GRAHAM GROSE

Triple Impact

The three technologies that will disrupt civil aviation MRO

By Graham Grose Emerging technology is no stranger to the civil aviation industry – airline operators and manufacturers are constantly looking at new technologies to reduce costs, improve efficiency and help them keep up with rising passenger numbers. However, new and emerging technologies have the potential to completely disrupt the industry, especially if they threaten to undermine airworthiness and safety standards.

A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the MRO market stands to save US$3.4 billion annually in material and logistical costs alone. The ROI is clear – AM has the potential to save millions of dollars in manufacturing costs across the A&D sector. However, product quality is the Achilles’ heel of every production technology, and as with all new technologies there are issues that need to be addressed.

3D Printing – Spare Parts on Demand

Countering the Threat of Counterfeiting

The complex nature of civil aviation equipment makes for a vast supply chain.

The thousands of constituent parts required to assemble an aircraft are typically sourced from manufacturers and suppliers around the world. With utilization of spare parts a key to keeping assets operational for the maximum amount of time, 3D printing offers a solution.

Part demand is hard to calculate at the best of times as most spares must be kept in stock or within reach of procurement at short notice. Production units and spares could be produced on demand, avoiding expensive set-ups and large quantities of stock - streamlining the entire supply chain.

Instead of ordering in specialty parts from any given corner of the globe, 3D printing could allow civil aviation operators to access the design electronically and manufacture the required part quickly, cost-efficiently and crucially, on-site.

With the threat of operational downtime negatively influencing revenue, 3D printing offers savings on both fronts.

The threat of counterfeit parts from easily accessible 3D printers, coupled with the endless amount of designs available on the Internet, could fuel a black market of counterfeit parts. This has the potential to severely impact the supply chain, enabling anyone with the technology to sell counterfeit parts at a discount and leave unsuspecting businesses at risk of poorly performing and dangerous parts.

The International Chamber of Commerce predicted the value of counterfeit goods globally to exceed $1.7 trillion last year.

3D printing will require key changes in ERP systems. Every element of the manufacturing and maintenance process will need to be visible and controllable in order to stop counterfeit parts entering the supply chain. This is crucial in an industry as heavily regulated as civil aviation, and where safety is paramount.

3D printing is just the start of a technology that could revolutionize the civil aviation industry, but only if it can be controlled.

Graham Grose

Wearable Technology – Expertise on Demand Research and input from our customers shows that there is often a shortage of qualified maintenance engineers that can act quickly as the need arises at various locations around the world. Civil aviation organizations will have to look at how technologies can help engineers be more productive and how their skills can be ‘augmented’, for use in locations where they are not physically present.

One challenge the aviation industry continuously struggles with is how to reduce aircraft turn-around times on the ground. This is one area where there is a lack of qualified engineers to carry out the appropriate maintenance as quickly as possible before getting the airplane up in the air again.

New technology, like wearable devices, can help address that with ‘expertise on demand’ provided remotely.

One example is Japan Airlines, which has trialed Google Glass in the maintenance process. The glasses are worn by engineers working around

New and emerging technologies have the potential to completely disrupt the industry, especially if they threaten to undermine airworthiness and safety standards.

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OPINION GRAHAM GROSE

the aircraft on the tarmac. Images of the aircraft are sent to maintenance specialists for assessment - feeding any issues they see back to the engineer on the ground, who can carry out the work promptly, resulting in quicker turnaround times. Google Glass may have needed some rethinking for the consumer market, but wearable technology offers substantial business potential.

Another example is EasyJet, which equipped its engineers uniforms with wearable tech to make them more effective.

LEDs were equipped in jacket hoods to illuminate work areas and leave both hands free for aircraft inspections and maintenance.

In-built video cameras on uniforms allow remote diagnosis of technical issues - along with surround sound and a microphone for instant communication.

IFS is working with XM Reality™ to bring forward a remote expert to assist in complex maintenance to broaden the WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

capabilities of maintenance engineers on the ground - ‘augmenting’ flightline workers’ skills. IFS believes adding cognitive applications and voicecontrolled intelligent agents, similar to Siri, to wearable devices would further augment such workers’ skills, helping them identify and act on specific problems with more autonomy.

Air quality sensor and barometer features help engineers monitor their work environment and create a map of air quality in different cities for passenger information.

on-site to manage maintenance – it can be taken care of by using new technology.

Civil aviation organizations can achieve realizable benefits by integrating these emerging technologies into their business and maintenance processes, which can only be achieved with an agile software infrastructure in place that can adapt to new business processes.

(Graham Grose is Industry Director for IFS A&D)

Maintenance Drones We are now also seeing civil aviation organizations exploring the use of drones for maintenance. Drone technology can be used for damage inspection, scheduled maintenance, spare parts delivery or automating detection or defects.

The common factor here between drones and wearable technology is that there doesn’t have to be a human engineer

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INTERVIEW CAE

Training Pipeline Canadian training solutions provider CAE, is faced with a problem of plenty Already the world leader in commercial flight simulators, leading Canadian training solutions organization CAE, is now looking at growing its training solutions business. “We see ourselves growing as a training solutions provider and becoming more important and desirable to our customer base and we see more airlines outsourcing their training to us,” says Nick Leontidis Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions in an interview with Asian Airlines and Aerospace. CAE is also facing a situation where it is being requested to deliver more trained pilots and aircrew by airframers, who are seeing aircraft orders being deferred as airlines are unable to come up with the pilots and crew to fly their new aircraft. Edited excerpts from the interview.

What are CAE’s market prospects for simulator training in the region and your priorities for Asia and Asia-Pacific?

Asia is obviously a very important market for us. We not only sell our simulators to airlines that want to own their own training centres, but also deploy simulators in our own network for airlines that want to outsource their training. Out of the approximately 250 full-flight simulators that we operate as part of our training business, 60 of them are in Asia. Over the last few years, approximately 30-40 percent of the simulators we sell have been to Asian customers.

A lot of our investments in the commercial training business right now are going into Asia, which has led to the creating of a number of facilities and Joint Ventures (JVs), that we operate. Asia is big market that is growing and has lots of needs, because there are many new airlines or old airlines that are rapidly expanding and we are participating quite a bit in this. Our focus is to find a partnership with an airline and give them the anchor benefit of the investment, while allowing us to leverage that relationship into a successful business.

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ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

have a training operation and partnership with Japan Airlines. We are well positioned in South-East Asia and have a partnership with Air Asia in Malaysia, Cebu Pacific in the Philippines and have a training operation in Singapore. We continue to look at ways to expand our presence in Indonesia and Thailand, where there are some growing airlines. India is an important market as well and we have a partnership with Jet Airways and IndiGo.

Nick Leontidis Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions, CAE

What requests are you receiving from airframers and airlines with regards their training requirements?

From airframers, one interesting trend that we are seeing these days is that airframers are being asked by airlines to provide not only aircraft but also the pilots as well.

Because there is such a shortage of trained professionals, many airlines have deferred decisions to buy aircraft because they don’t

believe that they can find the pilots. In the last year we have seen airframers come to us and say – we have a sales campaign for an aircraft and the potential airline customer is cautious about making that decision because they don’t believe that they can get the pilots.

We have put together programmes that span across years, where we can develop a cadre of pilots that we hand over to the airlines that can support a sales campaign for an airframer. This is new and I’ve never seen something like this before. We like this as we are well positioned for this, as we have businesses that can recruit experienced pilots, we have a business that can train abinitio pilots and we have a simulator training network that can type-rate the pilots and induct them into the airline. We are well setup for this kind of demand and hopefully this kind of demand will grow and be positive for us. We have a broader reach to access people who are looking to become airline pilots, we have the ability to assess them and do a lot of things for them, that airlines aren’t necessarily equipped to handle and there is now a lot of turn-over in pilots.

What are the latest developments at CAE with regards to training solutions?

We have recently announced an initiative that we are calling the Next Generation Training System, which basically involves CAE creating a data- driven, evidencebased training programme, that airlines can use to train pilots and monitor pilot skills.

This programme is not a replacement to existing programmes but rather a way to measure the effectiveness of the training programmes and therefore the skills of the pilots. This is going to be beta tested

We see ourselves growing as a training solutions provider and becoming more important and desirable to our customer base and we see more airlines outsourcing their training to us WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

INTERVIEW CAE

in Malaysia and we are very excited about this, because obviously it provides a more rigorous system of insights for management and for the pilots themselves to be able to understand what he or she is good at. As training solutions provider, we can take corrective action to improve the skills of the pilots in the areas where the pilots may need more help.

In terms of relationships, our most recent one is with Japan Airlines. JAL’s training centre in Tokyo is jointly owned and the airline is actually a customer and we leverage the infrastructure and the simulators and the excess capacity to attract a broader market and for JAL to leverage the investments that we are making in next-generation training, where on their own they would not do.

Airline operators decide to choose a training provider instead of doing it themselves and there are a number of reasons for this; The biggest one is flexibility, they can convert a fixed cost into a variable cost and only use what they need. They also gain scale as investments in IT systems, courseware WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

curriculum and infrastructure is spread across a broader base.

Of course – they get capital avoidance, these are not cheap investments, a typical simulator costs somewhere in the range of 10’s of millions of dollars, so if you are putting together a training centre with 5 or 10 simulators, that number can grow quite rapidly. Many times these simulators are underutilised, so our customers also have access to our marketing and sales teams, which they can leverage. In the case of our Tokyo training centre for example, that is now a location inside of our network and can benefit from the reach of our sales team and they become part of what we sell in the network. Hence the airline is able to profit from an asset that would have been underutilised by the airline are now used by third party customers.

Please elaborate on CAE’s training simulators for COMAC and Mitsubishi Aircraft In the case of China, the Commercial Aircraft

Corporation of China (COMAC) decided to set-up its own customer service centre, which included a training centre and they bought the simulators from CAE. Right now we have two ARJ21 simulators deployed in China and another one is nearing completion. We also have two C919 simulators in construction.

COMAC preferred that it would have its facilities in Shanghai and have CAE deploy and deliver the simulators to other locations as the demand for such emerges. COMAC is now in the process of starting work on their wide-body aircraft the C929 and we are already pushing very hard to stay involved.

In the case of Japan, Mitsubishi outsourced all simulator training for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) to CAE. Right now we are building the first MRJ simulator and we will also deploy a training centre in Japan to support the training for the first customers, which are All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL). We also be deploying another couple of simulators in the U.S. to support MRJ sales there with a couple of big operators.

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FEATURE AVIATION

Unshakable Themes

Has the unthinkable happened and Boeing lost the “right stuff”?

By Geoffrey Thomas Could Airbus, clear leader in the socalled Middle of the Market (MOM) segment, launch a replacement for a market it already dominates as Boeing dithers?

These are the unshakable themes surrounding commercial aviation’s hottest topic coming out of the 2016 Farnborough Air Show.

The MOM is essentially a 757 replacement with some growth between 230 and 270 seats with around 5,000nm range and is expected to be a twin-aisle aircraft with a 2-2-2 cross section and possibly slightly wider.

The most strident critic is Richard Aboulafia Vice President, Analysis at Teal Group who says quite simply: “It’s all about what they [Boeing] should do and what they are doing. And what they should do is launch the MOM aircraft as quickly as possible and build a world beater like they did with the 777. It’s tough to be optimistic about their willingness to build a new product no matter how promising,” laments Aboulafia.

There is no doubt the 787 problems have impacted Boeing’s thinking but Aboulafia now worries that the company is “gun shy” and afraid to move decisively.

“Unquestionably the 787 [fiasco] has an impact on their decision making going

forward. Boeing is too focused on shareholder returns. Boeing needs to say enough. It’s time to invest in the future,” says Aboulafia.

And Aboulafia references history to draw some parallels. “Interestingly in the bio on the Boeing website for Harry Stonecipher, former McDonnell Douglas President and CEO and later Boeing Chairman, it lauds him saying ‘McDonnell Douglas’ financial performance soared under Stonecipher, with the stock increasing from $18.48 just prior to his arrival to more than $70 just before the company merged with Boeing in August 1997.’”

But says Aboulafia, the problem was in 1997 when McDonnell Douglas had nothing… absolutely nothing new on the horizon.

“It lost the JSF competition and cancelled its MD-XX commercial program saying it would require billions to fix the lack of R&D over the previous 20 years. Is this where Boeing is headed?” he warns.

Certainly there were very mixed messages coming out of the Farnborough Air Show with some senior Boeing executives talking up the need for the MOM while Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg told Asian Airlines & Aerospace

that the company would stick to its timeline of 2024/25 for the MOM Entry Into Service.

When asked if the US big three – United, American and Delta – which are making record profits came to Boeing and said we want the MOM sooner than later and would buy a hundred each if Boeing brought the program forward, the answer was that the company would stick to its timeline.

Of course, an orderly production plan is essential, agrees Aboulafia, but he says the 787s lessons have been learned and learned well.

Boeing has fixed all those design and production issues, argues Aboulafia, and there is a very different management and board team in place.

And the hard yards have been done on the 737 MAX and 787-10 and the 777X is well advanced so engineering talent should not be a major issue.

Aboulafia warns Boeing that Airbus has the engineering talent in abundance after the successful execution of the A350 XWB program. “And they have the cash to press forward with an all new MOM aircraft. This is a clear and present danger for Boeing,” he adds.

McDonnell Douglas brought out brochures of its twin-aisle Advanced Twin Medium Range (ATMR) 757 competitor, in the eighties. At the time MDC claimed that it would require only one passenger per trip to offset the weight and drag of the additional aisle in the 178 seat aircraft 44

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FEATURE AVIATION

Boeing had showcased a full cabin mock-up of its twin-aisle 7J7 concept at the 1987 Paris Air Show. It was to have been built by an international team comprising of Japanese aerospace firms, Short Brothers, SAAB Scania and Australia’s Hawker de Havilland

Currently Airbus with its A321 and A330neo dominate the 220 to 330 seat medium haul market, whereas the 787-8 is more a longer ranged machine.

Saj Ahmad, Chief Analyst at StrategicAero Research, tends to agree with Aboulafia and says “as long as Boeing dithers on decision making, losing the market to the A321neo is not the least of their problems the bigger problem is not providing airlines with a solution or an alternative.”

And what should that alternative be?

“That is a challenge,” says Ahmad. “The gap in the market that Boeing has identified is certainly one which can and should be addressed.”

“The LCCs of the world have pressures to turn around their 737s or A320s in as little as 15-20 minutes - after all, these operations only make money when their plane is airborne, not while it’s at the gate. So once you get into the 230+ passenger category, you’d really have to pull out all the stops to get passengers off, baggage unloaded, refuelled and filled up with catering pretty darn fast,” he rightly points out.

“To that end, it seems to me that the MOM proposition will end up being a twin aisle creature sporting a low density cabin of 2-3-2 or a compressed LCC single class layout of 2-4-2.”

Aboulafia agrees with that view. “There are potentially two markets though - single aisle and twin aisle [260-270 seats]. It is a great opportunity but also a great challenge,” says Aboulafia.

“Single aisle [solution] is a commodity WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

game whereas the twin aisle is all about pricing power of what it is worth [to the consumer].”

Aboulafia warns that the “problem for a twin aisle is the brutal margins for manufacturing. But Boeing should build a twin-aisle for that is where the growth is. And it should be 2-2-2 but wide enough for 2-3-2 but slightly narrower than a 767,” concludes Aboulafia.

Ahmed suggests that Boeing “will want to use its proprietary monolithic single piece composite fuselage design as per the 787 for the MOM.” Another cheaper and faster option, says Ahmed, is to revamp the 737 MAX 9’s centre fuselage and wing box and give it a 777X-style new composite wing, higher ground clearance and add on the current LEAP-1A engine. “And there you have it - a credible machine, but one that again is a 757-style single aisle jet.”

One of the issues is that any MOM entrant may impact on the top end of the 737MAX market.

“The 737MAX is seen as a 15-year program and any new MOM will certainly kill off interest in the 737 MAX 9 or the possible stretched 737 MAX 10.”

“That is the problem,” says Ahmed.

“Boeing is too stuck as to whether the answer to MOM lies in an all new twin aisle machine or whether the 737MAX has the basis for one final major iteration to take on the A321neo.”

Away from the strategic question of what Boeing will do, Mike Delaney, vice president and general manager of airplane development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, gives some

detail of what the MOM will be.

In an interview with Aviation Week’s West Coast Editor Guy Norris prior to Farnborough and Asian Airlines & Aerospace at the air show, he said that Boeing had received input from 36 airlines and found consensus that the need was for an aircraft between 200 and 270 seats with a range of up to 5,000 nm.

According to Norris, Delaney said that the “aircraft will have a sixth-generation composite wing, more electrical systems and advanced, high-bypass-ratio engines. It also may feature an unusual elliptical fuselage cross section, optimized to provide twinaisle capacity with single-aisle economics.”

“The MOM is starting to shape out to be in an area from where the 757 used to fly to where the 767-200/300 flies,” Delaney told Norris.

But that is not right across the board with the airlines’ requirements.

“You have three groups: those that want to fly more people, those that want more range and the group that wants to fly more people with more range. However, this airplane really wants to be transatlantic, so most of the customers want [it] to fly 4,800-5,000 nm.

That’s significantly longer than the 757, but the seat count wants to be between 200 and 260 to 270 max. So it is a little bit bigger than a current single-aisle but not quite as big as a 767-type aircraft,” Delaney said.

Clearly such an aircraft opens up a range of new route possibilities, Delany told media at Farnborough.

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FEATURE AVIATION

route structures for the MOM,” Delany told media.

But here is the problem, says Norris.

“This may look promising on a presentation. The stark reality depends on Boeing’s ability to produce the aircraft at a sufficiently low cost to meet the price sensitivity of the market,” Norris said.

The issue, explains Norris, is that the aircraft straddles the “gap between today’s single-aisle and twin-aisle markets thus airlines expect to pay narrowbody prices for widebody performance.”

But as Asian Airlines & Aerospace revealed last year (Back to the Future – Sept/Oct), the gap may not be that big and certainly not a deal breaker.

Back in 1980 that certainly was not a big issue, according to Boeing legacy company McDonnell Douglas (MDC).

In its brochure “A First Class Experience – At Economy Fare” extolling the virtues of its twin-aisle Advanced Twin Medium Range (ATMR) 757 competitor, it stated that it only required one passenger per trip to offset the weight and drag of the additional aisle.

MDC also claimed that the 178-seat mixed class ATMR would have a fuel burn 24 per cent lower than the 757.

According to the presentation, the ATMR, later dubbed the DC-11, would have 14 first class seats at a 38-inch pitch in a 2-1-2 configuration and have 168 economy seats at

34 inch pitch in a 2-2-2 pitch.

With the push by passengers to bring all their luggage into the cabin, the boarding of single aisle aircraft has become a major headache with airlines forced to allow up to 30 minutes for the boarding process in the US and Canada, which means a turnaround of at least an hour.

And that trend is spreading.

Those times wipe out the low cost airline model’s 30 minute turnaround.

The McDonnell Douglas DC-11 cross section was just 21.7 inches (55.1cm) wider than a 757 and 19.3 inches (49cm) narrower than the Boeing 767.

These cabin dimensions allowed for 17.7 inch (45cm) wide (45.7cm) seats and an 18 inch (45.7cm) aisle.

Clearly however the world has moved on since 1980 and any new twin-aisle design would certainly be wider again to permit a 18.5 inch (47cm) wide seat and an 18 inch aisle.

And for those airlines who insist on cramming as many passengers as possible into their aircraft there is also the option of taking out one aisle and introducing a 4-3 configuration.

Interestingly MDC also looked at a slightly different double bubble cross section to enable the DC-11 to take LD3 containers increasing its revenue generation potential.

The overall drag penalty was put at 3 per cent.

Boeing also toyed with the twin-aisle concept with its 7J7 and a full cabin mock-up

was shown at the 1987 Paris Air Show.

It took the twin-aisle concept further with a 188-in. (4.8m) cabin width that would permit 2-3-2 seating, 17 inch (43.2cm) wide seats and 18 inch (45.7cm) aisles in economy.

It would be powered by rear mounted unducted fans but later Boeing looked at a wing-mounted International Aero Engines Super Fan configuration and engine that was originally to be fitted to the A340 but dropped it due to technology issues.

Boeing assembled an international team to build the 7J7 including the Japanese heavies Short Brothers, SAAB Scania and Australia’s Hawker de Havilland.

Head of the 7J7 program was Alan Mulally, who would later rise to be President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and later President of Ford Motor Company.

Like MDC, Boeing polled over 2,500 frequent flyers after they toured the 7J7 mock-up and the layout received an overwhelming thumbs up.

The twin-aisle surfaced again as one of two patents filed by Boeing under the heading “Twin-Aisle Small Airplane,” with Mithra Sankrithi, a manager in Commercial Airplanes’ product development, configuration and engineering analysis group, named as the inventor.

The patents were submitted on October 2, 2001 and approved in 2003 and 2004. One cabin sports a 2-3-2 configuration and more width than height. In the patent applications, Sankrithi claims the new configuration could deliver “the comfort typically reserved for larger aircraft” while at the same time minimizing drag, weight penalties, fuel burn and “economic penalties.”

But while all the rhetoric and logic points to a twin-aisle solution Delaney was coy on a direct question from Asian Airlines & Aerospace as to what preference the airline had for the MOM - single or twin-aisle.

Boeing’s 757 replacement could very likely be the basis for a 737 replacement with the longer 240seat model coming first and the ‘baseline’ 200-seat aircraft coming later next decade 46

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016

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FEATURE AVIATION

“There is a preference but I am not going to tell you,” said Delaney.

And Delaney dismisses concerns that Boeing is nervous about a new program at least from an engineering perspective.

“The beauty of it is, because of the airplane technologies we developed for the MAX, 787 and 777X, we have all the things we need to put the airplane together,” he told Norris.

But the trick is “can we get it to a price point that is right for our customers?”

“There are things we are watching, like the ability of this production system to scale. That’s because the rates here and the rates for the next airplane, which would be a replacement for the 737 potentially, require us to build at rate and at scale, so there are a whole bunch of lessons or objectives.”

One of the reasons that Boeing is in no hurry is that it wants to learn from the 777X production to reduce manufacturing costs.

“We expect ourselves to get better and more efficient as we understand the engineering process, the material set, the way to make it, the way to handle defects and all the other aspects of manufacturing,” he told Norris.

Understanding the needs of all the potential customers is also a challenge.

At Farnborough, Randy Tinseth, VP marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told media that not only is it the economics of building the MOM but also the “breadth and depth of the customer base” of up to 300 operators.

He notes that not only are differences in passenger count and range but business models as well. “One of the challenges is to figure out how you can build an airplane that has the flexibility to address the concerns of all of those operators,” Tinseth told media.

“And then you have future business models.”

Then you also have the current airline who may change their business models to suit a new game changing aircraft type.

In June Aviation Week and Space Technology published a report conducted by its parent Aviation Week/Penton Media Research and Bank of America Merrill Lynch which produced some fascinating results.

According to Aviation Week’s Managing Editor Commercial Aviation Jens Flottau “some of the results are surprising and WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

show how technologically challenging such a project would be for the manufacturer that chooses to launch an aircraft in the category.”

The first surprise he said was that “airlines, traditionally conservative when it comes to innovations that are challenging too much of their operational status quo, seem to be prepared to reintroduce widebodies into medium-haul flying.”

The survey found that 60 percent of the carriers participating in the survey would consider ordering a small wide-body, provided it fits into existing airport gate infrastructure, Flottau said.

“The limitation at many airports is wingspan: a new aircraft cannot be much wider than an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 if it is to use narrow-body gates. And wingspan is defined in part by the range requirement, which leads to the next challenge: Of the airlines interested in buying a MOM jet, 22 per cent would need a range of 4,000-5,000 nm, 24 per cent would want 3,000-3,999 nm and another 23 per cent want only 2,0002,999 nm,” Flottau noted.

And in a twist that makes things more complex again is that almost half of the airlines surveyed that would buy a MOM aircraft have defined their preferred twoclass seating capacity as being 150-199 seats.

“Only 27 per cent want 200-249 seats, and many fewer want an even larger aircraft.

Those answers suggest a new midsize aircraft does not have to be larger than 250 seats, and its smallest variant could be

smaller than Boeing and Airbus currently think,” Flottau said.

The survey also points to airlines suggesting that the MOM aircraft would also be a replacement for the 737 and A320.

That is a concept first raised by Asian Airlines & Aerospace last year. Our article “Back to the Future” in September/ October 2015 raised the question that the “757 replacement will likely be the basis for a 737 replacement with the longer 240-seat model coming first and the ‘baseline’ 200-seat aircraft coming later next decade.”

At the time, Boeing sources told Asian Airlines & Aerospace while everything is on the table and fluid, the “twin-aisle 757 replacement” being the (stretched) basis for the 737 replacement is “intriguing” while another couched it as “fascinating.”

What will be fascinating is to see how this latest episode in the Sport Game plays out.

One senses after a one-hour round table at Farnborough that Boeing’s Chairman Muilenburg is a very good poker player and is not giving anything away.

It is almost inconceivable to think that in its 100th year Boeing has lost the will - or ability - to build a world beater.

Boeing will stick to its timeline of 2024/2025 for the MOM entry into service says Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenberg SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE

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FEATURE ENGINE MRO

Change is in the Air

MRO opportunities and challenges abound in the region

By Atul Chandra The impact of low fuel prices on the engine Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) market has resulted in the phase-out process of mature aircraft slowing down and many airline operators have now decided to retain their mature assets for much longer.

The resultant affect is that MRO providers are now unsure if this will become a larger trend or remain a temporary occurrence.

Airlines however, continue to place orders for more fuel efficient aircraft. Jet fuel accounts for as much as a third of an airlines’ expenses and though the price of oil reached

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a 12-year low in January 2016; According to industry body IATA, “2016 is scheduled to be a busy year for aircraft manufacturers, with approximately 1,800 new aircraft booked for delivery (an increase of more than 12 percent from 2015).” The month of June saw delivery of 161 new aircraft to airlines (the highest in a single month since December 2014). MRO providers now expect further consolidation of the aftermarket, the pace of which is likely to increase in the years to come as customers increasingly seek out “one-stop service solutions” that cover MRO

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region have placed orders for approximately 2,000 GTF engines and Pratt & Whitney is rapidly ramping up its production and MRO capability for the GTF engine family

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FEATURE ENGINE MRO

MRO operators in the region are likely to go through a period of consolidation as airline operators increasingly look for “one-stop” shops to meet their maintenance needs

and comprehensive related services (both on newer and older engines) in an effort to further reduce costs while maximizing asset values. “The main reason for this being the increased involvement of the OEMs in the aftermarket. This, and the advanced technology used in these engines will lead to limited access to shop visits and could ultimately lead to a market consolidation.

We believe that the future market will be mainly made up of large players and small companies that offer niche products,” says Frank Bodenhage, President and CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai.

Another looming challenge for MRO firms is that future widebody types will be available will have only one engine supplier.

There is no change in today’s single-aisle aircraft models: The A320neo family comes with two engine choices, and the 737MAX is exclusively powered by the LEAP-1B, as the 737NG is today by the CFM56-7. However, according to Bodenhage, “The key issue for MROs is on how to access the license to overhaul these new engine types. And as most orders for next generation aircraft and engines come with a long-term service agreement, accessing the workload itself is another major issue.” Established third-party MRO providers are looking at partnerships with a large airline, which has already placed significant orders and the MRO company’s existing relationship with the engine OEM to negotiate overhaul licenses with the 50

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them, delivering a base workload on these programmes for the MRO operator. “MTU Aero Engines, as a risk and revenue sharing partner (RRSP) for next generation engines, for example on the PW1100G-JM, can support entry into the OEM network, access to repair licenses, as well as potentially introduce shop visit volume from the OEM (through the OEM network).” The benefit here to an MRO provider here, is that this will happen in an early phase and enable collection of experience and knowledge to be collected ahead of competitors

The OEM MRO Solution Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine family has more than 8,200 orders, including options with more than 80 customers across 30 countries. In the Asia-Pacific region, Pratt & Whitney has nearly 2,000 GTF engine orders and commitments to date, with more than 20 customers. GTF engine operators could save up to U.S. $1 million per aircraft per year, while maintaining overall maintenance requirements consistent with today’s narrow body engines. The engine has 2,000 fewer aerofoils, six fewer stages and lower engine core temperatures, results in a maintenance friendly engine. The fan drive gear system is designed to run for infinite life with no life limited parts. There is now a growing GTF MRO network in place to support customers, which industry’s leading MRO firms. Current network members include

JAEC and the Pratt & Whitney Christchurch Engine Center in the Asia/Pacific region, Lufthansa Technik and MTU in Europe, and Pratt & Whitney Columbus Engine Center in the United States. This network will be rapidly scaled up as overhaul volumes increase to include airlines and other MRO shops.

Pratt & Whitney’s most comprehensive aftermarket presence in a single location outside the U.S. is based in Singapore where it has been present for 33 years. Singapore today has five Pratt & Whitney MRO businesses and more than 2,000 employees, providing comprehensive support to large engine operators in the region. This year, Pratt & Whitney officially opened its first manufacturing facility in Singapore, further augmenting its MRO footprint in the region.

The 180,000 square-foot (16,000 squaremeter) facility produces hybrid metallic fan blades and high pressure turbine disks for Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine family. More than 1,200 Pratt & Whitney engines are in service in China and in excess of 100 GTF engines have been ordered by Chinese airlines. For large engine fleets that are in service today, Pratt & Whitney currently provides MRO support with a wide network that is already well established in the Asia Pacific region. It has four engine centers (in Turkey, Singapore, Shanghai and Christchurch), four-part repair shops, and more than 3,000 employees providing comprehensive support.

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INTERVIEW MTU MAINTENANCE ZHUHAI

Regional MRO Heavyweight MTU Maintenance Zhuhai handles 2/3rd of MTU Maintenance’ CFM56 engine overhauls Frank Bodenhage, General Manager, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai in an interview with Asian Airlines and Aerospace says MTU’s Zhuhai facility is now one of the very few shops in Asia with the ability to overhaul the CFM56-7BE, the newest version of the engine. “We see the CFM56 engine family as one of our key programs both in Asia and worldwide in the future,” he says. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai handled two thirds of the shop visits performed by MTU Maintenance in 2015. The company had an 11 percent market share worldwide. Edited excerpts from the interview.

What are the latest updates with regards to the MTU Maintenance Zhuhai centre?

In April 2016, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a 50/50 joint venture between Germany’s leading engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Air Holding Company, celebrated its 15th anniversary.

The company, located in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China, is China’s leading engine MRO shop and specializes in V2500-A5 and CFM56-3, -5B and -7B MRO services. With close to 2,000 engine shop visits to date, it is one of the top maintenance players in Asia.

What are the reasons that have contributed to the success of this facility?

The company is located in Zhuhai’s free trade zone and benefits from its proximity to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Macao. Service teams can be dispatched to the customers in the region in no time.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is right in the hub of Asia’s aviation and has excellent relations with the local government and municipality. The location profits greatly from the strengths of both partners: MTU Maintenance is the largest independent engine maintenance provider worldwide and brings more than 35 years’ experience and technological knowledge to the table. Furthermore, MTU Maintenance recognized the potential of this region 52

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Frank Bodenhage, General Manager, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai

early and was one of the first to set up its own facility in the region.

China Southern is China’s largest airline group and fifth largest worldwide in terms of flight size, according to IATA. The airline has demonstrated strong growth over the past years, and brings a large baseload and license access to the partnership. Furthermore, the Zhuhai shop has advanced machinery and applies the high-tech repair processes for which MTU Maintenance has made a name for itself globally. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai does about 80 percent of parts repair inhouse. Furthermore, capabilities such as high-velocity oxy-fuel plasma spraying, high-pressure water stripping and source demonstration repairs (V2500 rear shaft hard coating, V2500 drum 3-8 and V2500 drum 9-12) were recently added to its range of repairs.

There will continue to be strong growth in CFM 56 engines in the region – how does MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, aim to capitalise on this and what is the infrastructure in place?

In order to meet the growing expectations of the Asian aviation market in particular – being the largest and among the youngest in the world – MTU Maintenance Zhuhai

extended its facility by 5,900 square meters in late 2012, bringing its total area to almost 40,000 square meters. As a result, the shop’s overall capacity was boosted by 50 percent from 200 to 300 shop visits per year. With a strong customer base worldwide, this location houses many of MTU Maintenance’s experts for the CFM56 engine family.

In fact, we recently completed the 1,000th shop visit and perform two thirds of the MTU Maintenance group’s overall shop visits on this engine. Additionally, we are one of the very few shops in Asia with the ability to overhaul the CFM56-7BE, the newest version of the engine. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai has contributed significantly to the group’s position as number one independent provider worldwide of CFM56 services.

Eleven percent of all shop visits worldwide were performed by MTU Maintenance in 2015. We see this as one of our key programs both in Asia and worldwide in the future too.

AAA: Please elaborate on expansion plans at the facility and planned future engine types that will be added for MRO? MTU Maintenance has the advantage of a global locations network and is prepared for the new generation of engines. For example, the shop in Hannover, Germany, already has licensed MRO capability for the PW1100G. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is also planning to step into next generation engine MRO in due time, as their joint venture partner China Southern Airlines has ordered the new technology for the A320neo and the 737max, as well as the locally-built C919. Overall, China is the fastest growing market in the world. We estimate that the market size in revenue will grow by 16.9 percent by 2026. As most visits will be performed on narrowbody engines, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is ideally placed to serve this growth.

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INTERVIEW PRATT & WHITNEY

Transitioning into Service Pratt & Whitney is working to ensure a smooth GTF engine transition into airline fleets Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G-JM engine is powering 13 aircraft on four airlines, with a dispatch reliability of 99.9percent.

‘This has been exceeded only by the 777 engine back in 1995 where at the same point in its program history, it was at 100 percent,” says Liping Xie, Vice President of Sales, East Asia Pacific Region, Pratt & Whitney, in an interview with Asian Airlines and Aerospace. To ensure that these new engines transition smoothly into their existing fleets, “We place seasoned, experienced EIS representatives on-site at the GTF engine airlines for 3 to 6 months as appropriate,” Xie informs. Edited excerpts from the interview.

What is the latest update on the GTF engines that are operational with airlines today?

Xie: Pratt & Whitney is currently powering 13 aircraft with our PW1100G-JM engine on four airlines, with a dispatch reliability of 99.9 percent. That is the second best dispatch reliability in the history of the company, exceeded only by the 777 engine back in 1995 where at the same point in its program history, it was at 100 percent.

This has been a phenomenal entry into service. We are achieving our 16 percent fuel burn reduction commitment as well as noise and emissions obligations. Amongst the four operators flying today, over 900,000 gallons of fuel have been saved since entry into service. We also have the PW1500G engine in service on two aircraft with excellent dispatch reliability and high customer acceptance not only from the airline, but from flying customers. The environmental benefits really payoff in the European region.

What steps is P&W taking to ensure that Asian customers and MRO providers are well versed with maintenance procedures and have the necessary infrastructure at hand?

Xie: Pratt & Whitney works with GTF engine operators 18 months prior to entry into service (EIS), using a structured, WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

gated process to ensure the operator’s readiness. Together with our customer, we develop fully executed readiness plans to make sure important elements are planned for, such as engine training, manuals, field rep coverage, spare engines, and initial provisioning hardware. We also conduct EIS simulation exercises with customers to make sure they know who to call in different scenarios and how to care for their new engines. We place seasoned, experienced EIS representatives on-site at the GTF engine airlines for 3 to 6 months as appropriate, to ensure that these new engines transition smoothly into their existing fleets. And, we’ve invested in our world-class, 24 / 7 / 365 Global Operations Center (GOC) to extend customer support for fleet technical and logistics needs.

What are the operational benefits of GTF and expected reduction in maintenance costs?

Xie: The GTF engine offers a 16 percent reduction in fuel burn, 75 percent reduction in noise footprint, 50 percent reduction in emissions when compared to today’s aircraft. From an operating cost perspective, GTF engine operators will save up to $1 million per aircraft per year, while maintaining overall maintenance requirements consistent with today’s narrow body engines. No other single aisle engine comes close to this level of performance. The engine has 2,000 fewer airfoils, six fewer stages and lower engine core temperatures, results in a maintenance friendly engine. The fan drive gear system is designed to run for infinite life with no life limited parts. Not only is it a great engine, we have a great GTF MRO network in place to support our customers. This network includes the industry’s top MRO companies to provide the highest quality maintenance support for GTF engines. Operators want longterm, sustainable value. That’s what we’re providing with the GTF MRO network.

Liping Xie, Vice President of Sales, East Asia Pacific Region, Pratt & Whitney

What is the percentage of new generation materials, composites, additive manufactured parts on the GTF? Xie: Pratt & Whitney’s innovative products, technologies and services are leading a new era in aviation – a generation ahead. Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower Geared Turbofan technology is a triumph of innovation resulting in commercial aircraft engines that are more fuel efficient, cleaner and quieter than today’s engines. In addition to our fan drive gear system, 48 new technologies were matured to enable the GTF engine’s benefits. Pratt & Whitney has pioneered additive manufacturing since the 1980s and has made more 100,000 additively-manufactured prototypes (including tooling and development engine hardware). Additionally, we’ve made hundreds of additively-manufactured parts to support development of the PurePower Geared Turbofan family of engines, several of which have been flight tested and enabled some of the unique attributes of our PurePower engine.

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MRO NEWS

MRO News and Updates

CAE Signs Training Deals with Air Seoul and Korea Airports Corporation

A350 Component Support for China Airlines from Lufthansa Technik Taiwanese carrier has contracted Lufthansa Technik for a long term Total Component Support (TCS) contract, for the airline’s new Airbus A350 fleet. Both companies already share an existing partnership as Lufthansa Technik has been supporting China Airlines’ A330 and A340 long-haul fleets under a TCS contract since 2010.

According to the contract, the Hamburg/ Germany-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) Lufthansa Technik will now be responsible for the component supply for China Airlines’ new Airbus A350 fleet. “After a long selection process we came to the conclusion that Lufthansa

Technik could offer us the high level of performance and reliability that we are in need of for the component support of our new A350 fleet. We believe partnering with Lufthansa Technik is a win-win strategic move and will further strengthen the collaboration between China Airlines and Lufthansa Technik,” said C.J. Huang, Senior Vice President at China Airlines. In addition to providing maintenance, reliability monitoring, reliability enhancement programs as well as logistic services, Lufthansa Technik will provide a worldwide AOG support for China Airlines modern wide body fleet.

Bombardier Business Aircraft Marks MRO Milestone Bombardier Business Aircraft has Vice President, Aircraft Service Centres. announced the completion of over 75 “As the aircraft manufacturer, no other 120-month heavy inspections on its maintenance provider comes close to Global business jets by its Service the level of expertise we have on this Centre Network. One of the largest aircraft or this inspection.” The Service maintenance events in an aircraft’s Centre Network delivers comprehensive lifecycle, the 120-month inspection on capabilities and flexibility to the customer, the Global business jet becomes due as well as on-site parts inventory and during its tenth year of service. “This engineering support. Completion of milestone demonstrates our experience, additional work during the downtime, our expertise, and most importantly, our such as paint, installation of in-flight ability to offer our customers peace of connectivity, avionics modifications or mind, particularly when faced with one interior refurbishment can also be done of the most critical inspections in the to maximise the work done on the aircraft product’s lifecycle,” says Stan Younger, during the intensive maintenance work.

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CAE has announced an exclusive 5-year commercial aviation training contract with Air Seoul and a new pilot training agreement with Korea Airports Corporation (KAC).

CAE will support Air Seoul’s Airbus A320 training needs in the region and the South Korean carrier’s pilots will commence their training on August 1, 2016 at the CAE Korea Training Centre. The Canadian training services providers 5-year contract with KAC complements a recently announced sale of the Cessna M2 full-flight simulator (FFS) by CAE to the company. The future pilots will start training next year at CAE’s Korea Training Centre at Gimpo airport, Korea. CAE will provide a number of training services to support KAC’s new jet training programme, as part of the agreement, under which up to 200 cadets will be trained every year.

Rockwell Collins to Sell Satellite Services in Brazil.

Rockwell Collins has announced that it has been licensed to sell satellite services in Brazil, allowing it to deliver more aviation connectivity options, to Rockwell Collins’ customers. “Passengers are demanding faster and more reliable in-flight internet service and this agreement provides our business, commercial and government aviation operators with access to new services from Rockwell Collins,” says David Stanley, vice president, ARINCDirect Cabin Services for Rockwell Collins. Rockwell Collins as a result of the global license, authorized by Anatel, will now have the ability to sign distribution and service agreements with any satellite entities and customers operating in Brazil.

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MRO NEWS

Gulfstream Unveils Flight Planning App The first phase in the development of the ‘Performance iPad App’, an intuitive mobile application, designed to help Gulfstream operators streamline flight operations has been completed by Gulfstream Aerospace. The airframer announced that the new app will be a companion to Gulfstream’s PlaneBook electronic suite of flight crew information.

“The Gulfstream Performance app makes complex information easy to consume for the flight crew because it is presented in a clear and simple visual format,” said Derek Zimmerman, president, Gulfstream Product Support. “The accuracy of the data, the intuitive visual interface and the time-saving features make this app unique and invaluable.” Gulfstream G650 or G650ER flight crew will be able to utilise the new Performance iPad App to quickly calculate precise performance data for the takeoff and landing phases of flight, replacing paper charts and manual calculations. The data is displayed in simple, easy-to-understand graphics and a model-specific weight-and-balance file validated by Gulfstream Flight Operations, is used by the Gulfstream Performance app, allowing operators to quickly determine their takeoff and landing weights after inputting the number of passengers along with cargo and fuel load.

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AAR to Provide Landing Gear Maintenance to Asiana Airlines Asian carrier Asiana Airlines has signed up with global aerospace leader AAR for the first time for landing gear overhaul and exchange services for 767-38EF-300 and 777-200ER jetliners. “AAR’s strong reputation, competitive shop turnaround time and proven quality has allowed us to forge relationships with new customers in the Asia Pacific region, one of the fastest-

growing aviation markets in the world,” says Peter Loeb, Vice President, Global Sales and Marketing, AAR Landing Gear Services. The five-year agreement also covers landing gear assemblies and subassemblies for Asiana’s Boeing 767 and 777 fleet, with AAR performing the landing gear overhauls in its dedicated Miami landing gear overhaul facility.

Jet Aviation Installs Advanced Dish Washer on VVIP Aircraft Leading business aviation services company Jet Aviation, has announced the recent installation of the first in-flight dishwasher developed in-house at its Basel facility on a VVIP Airbus 330-200ER. The Aviation DishWasher (ADW 600) installation was certified through the EASA PART-21 DOA minor modification approval process. “We are currently finalizing development of the ADW 450, a lighter 450 mm-wide model, which will fit all mid- and

super mid-size business jets,” says Johannes Turzer, senior vice president and general manager of Jet Aviation’s Maintenance Center in Basel. The ADW 600 compatible with a gentle, eco-friendly soap suitable for both silver and aluminium and with a 3-minute wash cycle, significantly reduces the number of dishes on the aircraft, while liberating additional storage space. It can also be used to heat up dishes before serving meals.

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OPINION ULRICH KREUTZER OPINION GHADA MOHAMED AL ROUSI

Electric Flight Takes Off

By Ulrich Kreutzer

Siemens researchers have “This first flight is a milestone in the history of developed a new type of electric motor that, electric aviation drives,” says Frank Anton from with a weight of just 50 kilograms, delivers a Corporate Technology (CT), Siemens’ central continuous output of about 260 kilowatts – five research and development department. Anton and his team got the first electric airplane with times more than comparable drive systems.

This record-setting propulsion system an output of one fourth of a megawatt airborne, successfully completed its first public flight and they did so in accordance with the flight on July 4 at Schwarze Heide Airport near conditions of the European Aviation Safety Dinslaken, Germany, where it – almost silently Agency and a permit-to- flight from Germany’s Federal Aviation Office.

– powered an Extra 330LE aerobatic airplane.

This advance means that hybrid-electric aircraft with four or more seats will now Milestone in Aviation History be possible. In addition, the company will The plane first lifted off on 24 June 2016, from be contributing this technology to the an airfield in north-central Germany near the cooperative project that Siemens and town of Hünxe and landed safely after ten Airbus agreed to in April 2016 for driving the minutes of flight. Since then it has undergone development of electrically powered flight. several test flights, meaning that Siemens Electric drives are scalable, and Siemens and now has an air-worthy electric motor in the Airbus will be using the record-setting motor medium-power class. The project is also very as a basis for developing regional airliners special for Extra, the aircraft builder. “We’re powered by hybrid-electric propulsion proud that one of our aerobatic aircraft has systems. Siemens is determined to establish flown for the first time on an electric motor,” hybrid-electric propulsion systems for said company founder and managing director aircraft as a future area of business.

Walter Extra.

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Aerobatic Aircraft: Ideal for Testing Electric Motors Why is Siemens interested in an aerobatic aircraft? This kind of aircraft is especially well suited for testing electric drive systems.

That’s because it is robust enough to take the power train to its limits in flight by making sharp accelerations on all three axes. In coming years, the plane will be ideal for analyzing and refining how its components work together.

The aircraft features the SP260D electric motor and an inverter from Siemens, plus battery blocks from Pipistrel, a Slovenian company. The propeller was made by MT Propeller, a Bavarian company.

Siemens developed the SP260D motor in cooperation with its partner Grob Aircraft.

The project was subsidized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as part of the German Aviation Research Program.

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OPINION ULRICH KREUTZER

conditions. “One condition was that it must be a very robust machine in the category of fully certified aircraft that can carry as much weight as possible,” Anton explained. The solution was a production aircraft equipped with a tubular lattice frame designed to make it easier to install components and modify them at any time.

Powerful Enough for Regional Flights?

Extra Aircraft is not the only partner Siemens is working with in its quest to electrify aviation. It is collaborating with other medium-sized manufacturers on pilot projects to raise awareness of the practical benefits of electrical drive systems. In April 2016, for example, a two-seater training aircraft called the Magnus eFusion successfully took its maiden flight. The plane will be used to explore how battery systems can be adapted to serve the needs of electric aviation. In addition, Siemens and Airbus are pursuing a much larger-scale cooperation project: The two companies want to prove the technical feasibility of hybrid-electric drive systems for regional flights for up to 100 passengers by 2020 – a development that will require power classes as high as 10 megawatts.

Why the Environment Needs Electric Drives “We are convinced that electric drives will become irreplaceable in aviation,” says Anton. Driving his optimism is the fact that the European Commission wants to lower total CO 2 emissions in aviation by up to 75 per cent by 2050. The only way to achieve this in the face of steadily increasing air traffic volume is through the implementation of new technologies.

The solution is the electrification of aviation. “Hybrid-electric drive systems drive propellers or ducted fans electrically and generate power with gas turbines that can be optimized for constant travel performance,” explains Anton. Additional battery power can be used for ascent.

This concept separates energy conversion from thrust generation, which yields new possibilities for aircraft development because the central energy conversion system and the distributed electrical thrust generation system can be optimized individually. The savings potential of such systems is enormous: Siemens experts expect that it will be possible to reduce fuel consumption and pollutant emissions by up to 50 per cent.

Furthermore, electric aircraft are much quieter than conventional aircraft. This will benefit not only those who live near airports but also flight operators, because quiet drive systems may make it possible to offer evening and night flights that are now banned for noise reasons. This could significantly increase aircraft capacity utilization and therefore the profitability of business models.

The Siemens experts want to continuously improve the power density, efficiency and reliability of their components.

But their motivation goes beyond just optimization; they always visualize the maiden flight of their drive system on the horizon. German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal described this aspiration as follows: “It means little to invent an aircraft, more to build one, but flying one means everything.”

(Ulrich Kreutzer is Communication Consultant eAircraft, Corporate Technology, Siemens AG)

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COLUMN GHADA MOHAMED AL ROUSI

Lessen the Gender Gap

Why women now hold the key to the aviation sector

There has never been a better time to build a career in the aviation industry.

Airlines are growing, with more planes, more flights, more routes and more passengers than ever before. Nowhere is this truer than in the Middle East and Asia, where the growth of the middle-class is generating considerable industry growth. But if this progress is to be maintained, the sector must address the one area where growth is stalling: pilot numbers.

Currently, there are approximately 130,000 commercial pilots flying worldwide.

Boeing has estimated that by 2034, 558,000 more commercial pilots will be needed to meet the growth of the industry. Yet currently just 3 percent of commercial pilots are female. If the demand for more pilots is to be met, this statistic has to change.

The reasons for a lack of female pilots are varied. In some markets, certain cultural and attitudinal barriers still exist, with piloting still very much seen as a ‘male’ profession. Similarly there exists a misconception that all pilots are forced onto long-haul trans-continental flights, pulling you away from home for weeks on end – and therefore making it impractical to both fly and raise a family.

But piloting a plane shouldn’t be about 58

ASIAN AIRLINES & AEROSPACE SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2016 2016

gender, it is about hard work, ability and desire. In my case, I knew being a pilot was right for me. I told myself I was able enough to do the job and now, as a first officer for Air Arabia, I’ve never looked back.

I have been lucky in that, in the UAE, the country is supportive of women like me who are looking to break down barriers and balance family life with a career. The importance of this encouragement for young women looking to become pilots cannot be emphasised enough – whether it be from family, government or wider society.

Overall, mindsets are starting to shift.

Many people are surprised that, coming from a conservative background in the Middle East, I have been able to fulfil my career aspirations in the aviation sector. But more and more young women are realising that it is possible; recently a Royal Brunei Airlines plane piloted by an all-female crew landed in Saudi Arabia, a landmark moment in the history of aviation.

That’s not to say that becoming a pilot is easy. I undertook the Multi-Crew Pilots Licence (MPL), which develops the abilities needed to fly in a multi-crew airline environment and takes more advantage of flight simulators than a traditional Commercial Pilot Licence. The MPL seemed the right choice as it is increasingly

becoming the preferred training method for many global airlines.

Again, I was grateful for and encouraged by the support of the academy that I learnt to fly with. Alpha Aviation UAE, based in Sharjah, is aware of both the growing shortage of pilots and lack of female pilots. As a result, some of the Alpha Aviation Group courses have been up to 20 percent female intake.

The first three months were grueling, and the instructors were firm. They will identify your weak points as a cadet and specifically improve you in those areas. I graduated as the first emirati holder of the MPL, and I hope I can serve as an example and inspiration to many other budding aviatrixes.

The barriers that might once have prevented women from flying a plane are disappearing and, most importantly, the aviation sector now needs female pilots. Pilot supply is falling short of demand and will continue to do so unless a solution is found.

Of course, some women will never start pilot training: they might not be able to afford the course and sadly, some families might still not accept that it is a job for women. But governments and airlines now have a duty to educate people on the possibilities of women becoming commercial airline pilots, and women have a duty to pursue their dreams. If you want this job enough, then you simply have to go for it. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t.

This is a crossroads for the aviation sector. We can either be pro-active in bringing a whole new demographic into the cockpit to solve the impending pilot shortage crisis, or we can watch some of the most talented women of our generation move into other fields. I am proud to serve my country in this job every day and my country shows its pride by supporting me. It is time for more countries and more women to follow suit.

(Ghada Mohamed Al Rousi is Air Arabia first officer and Alpha Aviation Group graduate) WWW.GBP.COM.SG/AAA

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Lufthansa Technik AG, marketing.sales@lht.dlh.de Headquarters: +49-40-5070-5553 Singapore: +65-6733-9081

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