2019-03-26 - Flight International PDF

26 March-1 April 2019 I flightglobal.
com
grounding
Facing close
inspection
Certification process in spotlight as
regulators assess 737 Max safety
ISSN 0 0 1 5 - 3 7 1 0
£3.90 Superjumbo slip Good Atmosphere
1 3
Have A380 operations peaked, Why Bombardier’s new CRJ900
with 2019 total to decline? 15 interior is breath of fresh air 30
9 770015 371310
Announcing the Schools
Aerospace Challenge 2019
Schools Aerospace Challenge helps 16-18 The RAF, the CAA and the Security Services are So, what are you waiting for?
year olds enter the real world of aviation keen to keep in front of the technology bow wave. Teams from schools, Air Training Corps and
and engineering, with the chance to attend other youth organisations can enter. Have you
Your challenge is to explore the nature of the
a residential summer school at Cranfield got what it takes? Get started on the Schools
potential threats posed particularly by small UAVs
University packed with exclusive events and Aerospace Challenge 2019.
and to conceive and develop a range of practical
experiences, and prizes of up to £3,000.
solutions or countermeasures to each of these For registration and competition details
The Challenge threats. go to
Technology has supported the proliferation of www.schools-aerospace-challenge.com
The solutions should be both practical to produce
UAVs that have brought many benefits both or email
and economically sensible to employ. They should
commercially and militarily. This growth is info@schools-aerospace-challenge.com
be designed to ensure that the RAF and the CAA
however, not without its challenges.
remain ahead of the potential threat.
CONTENTS
Volume 195 Number 5679
26 MARCH-1 APRIL 2019
Why 2018 may have been high

water mark for A380 P15
Airbus
NEWS COVER STORY
BEHIND THE HEADLINES
8 Max inquiry 26 March-1 April 2019 I flightglobal.com
Sophie Segal checked the raises awkward

mood of the leasing sector THIS WEEK issues
at the ISTAT Americas 6 Strike weapon hits programme target
EASA insists it must
Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/FlightGlobal
event in Orlando (P10). 7 ANA delivery is a first and last for A380.
independently verify
David Kaminski-Morrow Alitalia buy fails to pass EasyJet’s three key tests
airworthiness of GroundInG
was in Toulouse, as Japan’s narrowbody, while Facing close

AIR TRANSPORT inspection
ANA got its first A380 (P8) US regulator faces Certification process in spotlight as
10 ATR porpoised after overly fast landing.

regulators assess 737 Max safety
approvals audit
‘Fragile’ finances may herald onset of downturn ISSN 0 0 1 5 - 3 7 1 0
£3.90
1 3
Superjumbo slip
Have A380 operations peaked,
with 2019 total to decline? 15
Good Atmosphere
Why Bombardier’s new CRJ900
interior is breath of fresh air 30
11 EasyJet equips Neo as ATM modernisation trial

9 770015 371310
FIN_260319_301.indd 1 21/03/2019 09:29
kicks off.
BA unveils new business-class seats for A350 FEATURES
12 Corsair sets out its A330-based future.
Cash-strapped Avianca puts off Neo deliveries
Britten-Norman
23 All in the details

13 NTSB clarifies Atlas 767 accident probe Ahead of the AIX Aircraft Interiors Expo in
NEWS FOCUS Hamburg, we examine the business of blending
NEXT WEEK STRATEGY 15 A380 flights may have peaked in 2018 technology, psychology and efficiency to deliver
Britten-Norman details its an in-flight experience that lives up to ever-rising
plans for production revival. DEFENCE
And don’t miss our Training passenger expectations. Including a report on
16 Multi-year award boosts Super Hornet.
and Development Guide seating manufacturer Zodiac since its acquisition
More F-16Vs top Taiwan’s wishlist
by Safran, and a look inside Bombardier’s
17 ‘A-Team’ will test unmanned potential.
G550 to become MQ-55A Peregrine in CRJ900 regional jet, with cutaway
REGULARS Australian electronic warfare deal 34 Regional struggle
18 Italian role could strengthen Tempest. A new government could jumpstart Malaysia’s
5 Comment
Serbia selects H215 for rotorcraft renewal need long-delayed procurement programme, but
39 Straight & Level
little cash and a timetable without urgency
40 Letters BUSINESS AVIATION
42 Classified 20 Rolls-Royce tests hybrid power system.
suggest its capability gaps will only widen
44 Jobs Gulfstream has refined approach to biofuel sale 37 Aviation advances
47 Working Week 21 Finish line in range for Praetor 600 as US As Flight magazine marks its 110th anniversary,
approval nears we look at our second decade’s highlights
Download the new

theCommercial Engines Directory
Download The Engine Directory.
Download 2018 Commercial Engines Report
ow with enhanced
now dataenhanced
with updated and in-depth market
data and analysis
in-depth market analysis
flightglobal.com/ComEngDirectory
flightglobal.com/commengines
flightglobal.com/commengines13
CFM 2017 strip ad.indd 1 30/10/2018 10:12
flightglobal.com 26 March-1 April 2019 | Flight International | 3
19/07/2012 17:51
CONTENTS
Image of
the week
Captured at Paris Charles
de Gaulle airport by
photographer Matthieu
Douhaire is this newly
delivered Airbus A330neo,
operated by Air Senegal.
The flag carrier received the
Trent 7000-powered twinjet
on 8 March and is operating
the 290-seater on routes
from capital city Dakar
View more great aviation

shots online and in our
weekly tablet edition:
AirTeamImages
flightglobal.com/
flight-international
The week in numbers Question of the week
2%
Last week, we asked: 737 Max groundings?
You said:
Air France-KLM
Total votes: 1,985
Summer schedule available seat-kilometre capacity edged
up year-on-year for Air France-KLM: adding 58 new routes
$57.7m
Right decision
751 votes
38% 34%
Cirium Dashboard Took too long
671 votes
Revenue was up 2%, to $2.14bn, but rising costs dented El Al,
which turned a 2017 profit of $5.7m into a $52m loss last year Knee-jerk reaction
28% 563 votes
57
Number of routes to be operated from Vienna base by
Cirium Dashboard This week, we ask: 737 Max analysis?
❑ Right approach ❑ Agencies covering backs
❑ Too little, too late
Ryanair-owned Laudamotion this winter: an increase of 21 Vote at flightglobal.com
Cirium’s premium news and data service delivers breaking air transport stories with profiles, schedules, and
fleet, financial and traffic information flightglobal.com/dashboard
Download the Military

Simulator Census online now.
CAE – Your worldwide training partner of choice www.flightglobal.com/milisim
4 | Flight International | 26 March-1 April 2019 flightglobal.com

COMMENT
Star turn
W hen Safran announced that it was in
talks to buy fellow French firm
Zodiac Aerospace back in January 2017, it
probably did not have a complete picture
of its target company’s woes.
Safran would have assumed that there
was a certain amount of fixing required,
but – much like when buying a second-
hand car – if it was in perfect condition,
Mulugeta Ayene/AP/REX/Shutterstock
that would be reflected in the price.
Zodiac’s problems were not a secret as
such – it had been flagging a crisis in the
cabin equipment and seating operations
since 2015 – but Safran appears to have
been surprised by the depth of restructur-
Counting the cost ing required.
The deal was completed in February
Difficult questions
2018, and it has taken around 12 months to
return Zodiac to some sort of alignment.
But even then, Safran admits, there is
more to do, with engineering and supply
Potentially facing a months-long grounding of its new narrowbody workhorse, chain processes weaker than anticipated.
Boeing must find a way of convincing the aviation industry that its 737 Max is Industrial challenges are, of course,
fixable given Safran’s deep pockets and
safe. How it proceeds will define the airframer’s reputation for years to come human resources (its chief executive spec-
ulates that one reason for Zodiac’s malaise
B ilateral arrangements in aviation safety

rely on the assumption that the rules and
practices across different jurisdictions are
two fatal crashes, and 346 deaths, just five
months apart.
As Ky points out, though, one of EASA’s
was too-rapid expansion as an independ-
ent company) but there are deeper issues
to overcome.
largely interchangeable. reasons for grounding the narrowbody was While Zodiac has been, in effect,
That is to say, if Transport Canada or the that, despite Boeing having issued instruc- fighting itself, its competitors have not
US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tions on how to deal with a malfunctioning stayed still but taken advantage of its
approves an aircraft, then Europe’s regulator MCAS, the actions required are incredibly position. In addition, and perhaps more
will have few qualms about following suit. difficult to replicate or train for. crucially, Zodiac’s customers have lost

But the aftermath of the Ethiopian Airlines trust in the company as a result of interi-
737 Max crash on 10 March threatens to, if not ors-driven delays.
fracture, then at least strain that convention.
Perhaps that represents a Consistent delivery performance and
Safety regulators in Canada and Europe belated admission that EASA improved quality control should help to
have stressed that until they are indepen- reassure clients. But Zodiac will also have
dently satisfied with the safety of the re-en- should have probed Boeing’s to demonstrate flexibility in the short term
gined narrowbody, they will not allow air- to regain acceptance for the long haul.
lines to fly the jet again. anti-stall system more deeply While the strategic rationale for the
Patrick Ky, executive director of the Euro- during certification acquisition remains solid, rebuilding that
pean Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), diminished trust is a process that will not
went so far as to promise the bloc’s elected happen overnight. ■
representatives that without satisfactory an- Human factors mean that while one pilot See Feature P28
swers, its grounding would remain in place may respond with icy, robotic precision, an-
no matter “what the FAA does”. other – confronted with a cockpit full of com-
Perhaps that represents a belated admis- peting alarms – may freeze. This represents a
sion from EASA that it could or should have huge challenge for Boeing. Even if it considers
probed more deeply into the operation of the system safe, how does it ensure flightcrews
Boeing’s anti-stall system – under scrutiny respond correctly to maintain that security?
since the Lion Air Max crash of October 2018 Recent coverage in the UK media included
– during the original certification process. an article asking: “After two deadly disasters
Boeing says there was nothing unusual in in five months, can Boeing survive?”.
the validation of the Max, or the Maneuver- Of course it will. But its response, and how
ing Characteristics Augmentation System it goes about convincing operators, crews and
Sitting
(MCAS). But the manufacturer’s insistence passengers of the Max’s safety, will determine
pretty?
Safran
that the 737 Max is safe is unlikely to whether its reputation similarly endures. ■
distract attention from the painful reality of See This Week P8

THIS WEEK
BRIEFING
START-UP STARLUX FIRMS A350 DEAL
ORDER New Taiwanese operator Starlux Airlines has firmed an
agreement for 17 Airbus A350s unveiled during last year’s
Farnborough air show. Starlux will take 12 A350-1000s and five
-900s. All the twinjets are exclusively powered by Rolls-Royce
Trent XWB engines. Starlux’s agreement will provide a lift to
Airbus order figures for the year so far, which have suffered
from the cancellation of more than 40 A350s intended for
Dassault
Etihad Airways, as well as several A380s.
Future long-range munition will equip French air force’s Rafale fleet
ALL CHANGE AT TOP OF EMBRAER...
MANAGEMENT Embraer chief executive and president Paulo COLLABORATION CRAIG HOYLE LONDON
Strike weapon hits

Cesar de Souza e Silva will step down from his role on 22 April;
he will be replaced with an executive recruited externally. De
Souza e Silva has led Embraer since July 2016, and has been
programme target
with the Brazilian firm for 22 years.
...WHILE BOEING READIES FOR JOINT VENTURE

LEADERSHIP Boeing has appointed Marc Allen, the current
president of its international operation, as the president of its Anglo-French effort to develop Storm Shadow successor
partnership with Embraer, effective 22 April. Sir Michael Arthur passes key review stage as MBDA drives project forward
has been promoted to replace Allen in the Boeing International
role. John Slattery – currently head of Embraer Commercial
Aviation – will continue as chief executive of the operation when
Boeing takes majority ownership and will report to Allen.
M BDA has cleared a signifi-
cant milestone on its path to
developing an Anglo-French suc-
€4 billion last year: a reduction
from €4.2 billion during 2017. Of
its new business, €2.5 billion
cessor for its Storm Shadow/ came from domestic customers
KAZAKHSTAN RAISES C295 COMMITMENT SCALP-EG cruise missile and France, Germany, Italy, Spain
AIRLIFT Airbus Defence & Space has been awarded a contract AM39 Exocet anti-ship weapon, and the UK, with the remaining
to produce a single C295 medium transport for Kazakhstan’s with the receipt of bilateral €1.5 billion the result of interna-
border service. The European airframer says the asset will be approval to advance into its defi- tional business. Its year-end order
employed for duties including border control and homeland nition phase. backlog was a record €17.4 bil-
security. The Kazakhstan air force already has an active fleet of Dubbed the future cruise/anti- lion: up from €16.8 billion 12
eight C295s, delivered from January 2013. ship weapon (FC/ASW), the ef- months earlier.
fort involves the company, Speaking at an annual results
JET AIRWAYS FLEET CRISIS DEEPENS France’s DGA defence procure- briefing in London on 20 March,
OPERATIONS The number of aircraft grounded due to liquidity ment agency and the UK’s De- MBDA chief executive Antoine
problems at India’s Jet Airways and its Jet Lite subsidiary has fence Equipment and Support Bouvier urged a resolution to an
increased to at least 48, following the removal of a further six organisation. Launched in 2017 ongoing unilateral arms embargo
units due to its defaulting on lease payments. Commenting on with a three-year concept phase imposed by Germany against
the deepening crisis, India’s aviation minister, Suresh Prabhu, activity worth €100 million ($113 Saudi Arabia, which is affecting
said that Jet Airways has 41 aircraft still in service, but that million), this recently passed its weapons deliveries to all Eu-
“there may be further attrition in coming weeks”. so-called “key review”. rofighter operator nations.
“The conclusion makes it pos- “We continue to be confident
PHI FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 PROTECTION sible to select the most promis- that beyond the short-term diffi-
ROTORCRAFT US helicopter operator PHI has filed for chapter ing missile concepts in order to culties and uncertainties we
11 bankruptcy protection, in the face of continued weakness in meet the requirements expressed have, the situation will be sorted
the offshore oil and gas market and other financial pressures. by both nations’ armed forces,” out,” he says.
The Louisiana-based company has been working since last says MBDA. “This new phase Separately, Lockheed Martin
spring to address problems including its debt: the firm had will demonstrate the necessary has made an initial funding
$500 million in loan notes that were due to mature on 15 maturity of the weapon system award linked to the integration
March. PHI says its businesses continue to operate as normal, and its key components, to be of MBDA’s Meteor beyond-
with the filing covering only its North American activities. followed by the development visual-range air-to-air missile
and production phase in the and in-development Spear
SIERRA ADDS SECOND STEALTHY TARGET 2024 timeframe.” ground-attack weapon with the
ACQUISITION The US Department of Defense has ordered a FC/ASW will also provide a UK’s F-35s. The activity also in-
second fifth-generation aerial target from Sierra Technical potential successor for Boeing volves BAE Systems.
Services. A first example of the stealthy, fighter-sized unmanned AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship The new weapons will be
air vehicle is due to fly around mid-year, and will be followed by weapons fielded by the UK, the cleared for carriage by the
the second unit in November 2020, the company says. European company adds. stealthy type as part of a Block 4
MBDA received orders worth package of capability updates. ■

Max inquiry raises
awkward issues as
THIS WEEK
analysis continues
This Week P8
FLEET DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW TOULOUSE
ANA delivery is a first and last for A380

Japanese carrier hails superjumbo as “game-changer” on tourist route but is unconcerned by production line closure
A irbus has handed over the

first A380 to All Nippon Air-
ways (ANA), in a 20 March cere-
um-economy seats on the upper
deck and 383 economy seats on
the lower.
mony that also marks the last Murakami points out that
new customer delivery for the ANA will be making first-class
double-deck type. seating available on the Honolulu
ANA is taking three A380s for route “for the very first time”.
services between Japan and Ha- ANA’s configuration also in-
waii. Speaking at the delivery cludes a “multipurpose area” in
event in Toulouse, ANA Hold- the lower-deck aft cabin. The air-
ings chief Shinya Katanozaka line has yet to show off the interi-
said the aircraft would offer a or formally, saving the unveiling
“new level of luxury service to for a separate event once the
our customers”. A380 arrives in Japan.
Airbus
“We believe it will become a Enders briefly referenced the
game-changer for ANA,” he says. Airbus says turtle-themed paint-scheme is its most “intricate” yet decision to end A380 production,
The aircraft will all carry a acknowledging that “not every
“honu” sea turtle livery, in differ- Enders says the company’s paint- busy Tokyo-Honolulu route”. airline” found the aircraft as ap-
ent colours and slightly different ing specialists spent 20 days The second aircraft will be put pealing as passengers have. ANA
appearances. working on the livery. into operation on 1 July and the is the last new customer to re-
Its initial aircraft, MSN262, is “It’s one of the most – if not third in 2020, says ANA market- ceive the type.
painted pale blue to reflect the Ha- the most – intricate undertaken ing manager for the Europe, Mid- But Katanozaka stresses that he
waiian sky with the turtle scheme by Airbus,” he says. Enders dle East and Africa regions Nana- has “no concern” over the closing
having open eyes on the forward points out that the A380 will be ko Murakami. of the A380 production line,
fuselage. This aircraft will be put ANA’s first Airbus widebody jet, The A380 is configured with pointing out that the carrier has
into service on 24 May. adding that the airline “will offer 520 seats in four classes, featur- been promised “strong support for
Airbus chief executive Tom a very unique proposition on the ing 137 first, business and premi- maintenance and parts supply”. ■
PRIVATISATION OLIVER CLARK LONDON
JetBlue Airways
Alitalia buy fails to pass
EasyJet’s three key tests
E asyJet withdrew from the pro-
cess of privatising Alitalia be-
cause the proposition on offer did
rovie dello Stato Italiane and US
carrier Delta Air Lines on the po-
tential formation of a consortium
not “tick the three boxes” the UK to run Alitalia.
budget carrier uses when consid- Lundgren notes that over the
ering an acquisition opportunity, past six months some 10 airlines
chief executive Johan Lundgren “haven’t made it”, while others
INTERIORS
has indicated. have brought in record profits. He
Speaking at the UK Aviation suggests that this trend will con- JetBlue shows off new A320 cabin
Club in London on 20 March, tinue, with “strong airlines be- US low-cost carrier JetBlue Airways has placed into service the
Lundgren listed the three require- coming stronger” and those with first Airbus A320 reconfigured with a new interior, under the
ments: the transaction must make a “weak proposition” remaining second and final phase of an ongoing cabin restyling pro-
sense strategically and commer- “vulnerable”. gramme that also adds more accommodation. The aircraft
cially; EasyJet must be able to Asked about the possibility of (N729JB) re-entered operations on 20 March with new seats
convince shareholders that it is a acquiring other aviation assets and a new in-flight entertainment system. The latest iteration of
“good deal”; and the carrier must around Europe, for example JetBlue’s A320 cabin interior features Collins Aerospace
be “operationally capable of deal- within the process involving Meridian seats with adjustable headrests, Thales Avant in-flight
ing” with it. Thomas Cook’s airline business, entertainment and ViaSat-2 connectivity. Seat count grows by
He was speaking two days after Lundgren responds that he does 12, to 162. The upgrade programme will run until 2020.
EasyJet disclosed its withdrawal not see any merger opportunities See Feature P23
from talks with rail operator Fer- in the market at present. ■

THIS WEEK
ACCIDENT JON HEMMERDINGER BOSTON & DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Max inquiry raises

awkward issues as
analysis continues
EASA insists it must independently verify airworthiness
of narrowbody, while US regulator faces approvals audit
A s the crisis enveloping the

Boeing 737 Max in the wake
of the 10 March crash of Ethiopi-
view of aircraft trajectory tracking
data showed “a very large number
of similarities” with the Lion Air
an Airlines flight 302 continues, accident.
the focus of accident investiga- Ky says that data was one of
tors and safety regulators remains several reasons for EASA ground-
on the twinjet’s anti-stall protec- ing the 737 Max in Europe on 12
tion system. March, a move that came some
In addition, investigations are 24h ahead of a similar decision
under way in the USA into the from its US counterpart, the Fed-
certification process for the new eral Aviation Administration
jet, while Europe has promised (FAA), which is the certifying au- control systems since those were operators of the Max detailing
that the Max will not fly again in thority for the aircraft. declared by the manufacturer to be similar occurrences involving the
the bloc unless officials are con- In addition, Ky signalled the minimally impacted by the modifi- MCAS or erroneous angle-of-
vinced that it is airworthy. potential for a widening rift cations [over the 737NG],” says Ky. attack data, says Ky.
Although Ethiopian investiga- between EASA and the FAA,
The US approval process is like- “EASA considered that the re-
tors have yet to disclose details of pledging that the European regu- ly to face further detailed scrutiny medial actions put forward by
the information downloaded lator would not allow the 737 after the country’s Department of the FAA and Boeing, together
from the Max’s flight-data and Max to fly again without being Transportation (DoT) requested with the imminence of system
cockpit-voice recorders, com- independently satisfied of the that its inspector general carry out change, were sufficiently cover-
ments from the country’s trans- jet’s airworthiness – regardless of an audit of the 737 Max 8’s certifi- ing the safety risk,” he says.
port minister suggest that there the opinion of the US agency. cation. That probe is being over- However, the 10 March crash,
are similarities with the 29 Octo- seen by the US Department of Jus- in which 157 passengers and
ber 2018 fatal loss of a 737-8 oper- REMEDIAL ACTION tice’s criminal division. crew were killed, led the agency
ating as Lion Air flight 610. Boeing is finalising the develop- In a memorandum to DoT in- to reconsider its position, says
In that case, preliminary con- ment of a previously announced spector general Calvin Scovell III, Ky. Although not directly in-
clusions from Indonesia’s trans- software update and pilot train- US transportation secretary Elaine volved in the accident investiga-
port safety committee have pointing revision that will address the Chao says: “This is to confirm my tion – which is being led by Ethi-
ed towards a malfunction of the MCAS’s “behaviour in response request that the Office of Inspector opia – EASA has requested
narrowbody’s Maneuvering Char- to erroneous sensor inputs”. General proceed with an audit to observer status, he says.
acteristics Augmentation System But Ky says EASA will con- compile an objective and detailed In the meantime, operators
(MCAS), which, fed by erroneous duct its own analysis of the soft- factual history of the activities that have begun dealing with the fall-
angle-of-attack data, repeatedly ware modifications “very deeply, resulted in the certification of the out from the global grounding of
pushed the aircraft’s nose down very closely” and will even study Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.” the 737-8 and -9, with some indi-
until the pilots lost control. The the “architecture of MCAS, to Questions have been raised cations that the jets will be out of
737-8 plunged into the Java Sea look at all the failure modes and over Boeing’s influence on the service for several months.
causing the death of all 189 pas- how they are treated on the Boe- validation process, with a Seattle
sengers and crew on board. ing [Max]”, he says. Times report highlighting the SCHEDULING IMPACT
Data from the Ethiopian 737-8 Ky says his “personal commit- FAA’s delegation of certification Air Canada, which has taken de-
shows “clear similarities” with ment” is that EASA “will not tasks to Boeing for the aircraft. livery of 24 737-8s, is removing
the Lion Air aircraft, according to allow the aircraft to fly if we Even after the Lion Air crash, flights on the Max from its book-
the country’s transport minister, have not found acceptable an- Ky says the agency believed that ings until 1 July, as the airline is
Dagmawit Moges. swers to our questions, whatever the software changes and altera- uncertain how long the fleet will
That analysis is partly support- the FAA does”. tions to the Max’s flightcrew op- remain grounded.
ed by the European Union Avia- Under bilateral arrangements erations manual prescribed by “There is a domino effect from
tion Safety Agency (EASA). Brief- with the USA, EASA was not re- Boeing and the FAA were enough removing the 737s from our fleet
ing members of the European quired to conduct flight testing of to guarantee the safety of the nar- that impacts the schedule and ul-
Parliament on the investigation on the Max before issuing its valida- rowbody. timately will impact some cus-
18 March, Patrick Ky, the body’s tion for the jet. Additionally, EASA had re- tomers,” Lucie Guillemette, chief
executive director, said that its re- “We did not look at the flight- ceived no reports from pilots or commercial officer at Air Canada

ATR porpoised after
THIS WEEK
overly fast landing
Air Transport P10
SAFETY JON HEMMERDINGER BOSTON

Twin tragedies throw underlying industry issues into spotlight
Although the immediate focus of a question that needs to be asked only 350h.
the investigation into the crash of and answered.” “He would never get into the
Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 Aviation incident reports com- cockpit in the US,” Goglia says.
appears to be on the anti-stall piled by NASA show that in the In 2013, US regulators issued a
system Boeing introduced on the past two years pilots reported rule requiring airline pilots to
jet, the tragedy has again brought two instances when a 737 Max have at least 1,500h of flight
several long-simmering safety went into an uncommanded de- time. The rule came in response
concerns to the fore. scent shortly after take-off. to the 2009 crash of Colgan Air
These include pilot training However, whether those incidents flight 3407, which came down
standards and regulatory are related to MCAS is unknown. after entering a stall.
oversight. Though such concerns Responding to criticism of the
are not new, they have become “Why is it that [none certification process, including of
salient in the wake of the Lion Air the anti-stall technology, Boeing
and Ethiopian crashes, which of] the US carriers are says: “The FAA considered the
killed a combined 346 p eople final configuration and operating
having issues and
Yidnek Kirubel/AP/REX/Shutterstock
and prompted the global ground- parameters of MCAS during Max

ing of the 737 Max. other carriers outside certification, and concluded that
Pilot training, in particular, it met all certification and regula-
157 passengers and crew died appears to be a key issue: in the the US are?” tory requirements.”
in Ethiopian Airlines crash aftermath of the 29 October 2018 John Goglia The FAA describes the Max’s
loss of Lion Air flight 610, Boeing Aviation safety consultant certification as a thorough, five-
emphasised that the apparent year process. “We have no
says. “We have been working issue with the 737-8’s reports from whistleblowers or
very hard to minimise that.” Maneuvering Characteristics Observers have also highlight- any other sources pertaining to
Uncertainty about the safety of Augmentation System (MCAS) ed the relative inexperience of FAA t echnical personnel being
the Max aircraft also led Air Can- could be dealt with using estab- the Ethiopian flight’s co-pilot: pressured to speed up
ada on 15 March to suspend all lished techniques for a runaway though the c aptain had accumu- certification of the Boeing 737
financial guidance provided in stabiliser. That advice formed the lated 8,100h, the first officer had Max,” the agency says. ■
February for 2019. basis of an update to the 737
Fellow Canadian carrier West- Max’s flightcrew operations
Jet has also suspended 2019 fi- manual as part of an emergency
nancial guidance on the back of airworthiness directive issued
uncertainty over the resumption after the Lion Air crash.
of operation of its 13 737-8s. “It’s so damn easy to
Boeing has also broken its si- neutralise [MCAS],” says aviation
lence. In an open letter, published safety consultant John Goglia.
on its website, chief executive “Hit the trim switch on the
Dennis Muilenburg says the com- control column.”
pany “extend[s] our deepest sym- Goglia, also a former National
pathies to the loved ones of the Transportation Safety Board
passengers and crew on board”. (NTSB) member, says that pilot
Muilenburg says the airframer training standards vary
will shortly “release a software significantly worldwide. While
update and related pilot training Boeing publishes a recommend-
for the 737 Max” that “will ad- ed training syllabus, airlines
dress concerns” relating to the typically modify that to reflect
Lion Air crash. their own operations and the skills
Work has been performed in of their crews, he says.
“full co-operation” with the FAA, While airline training regimes
DoT and the National Transporta- must be approved by national
tion Safety Board “on all issues aviation authorities, those same
relating to both the Lion Air and regulators frequently defer to the
the Ethiopian Airlines acci- carriers they oversee, says
dents”, he says. Goglia. The amount of hand-fly-
Ted S Warren/AP/REX/Shutterstock
The FAA’s review of the soft- ing – or operation without auto-

ware update – to be mandated via mated controls – varies by
an airworthiness directive – is country as well.
“an agency priority”, it says. ■ “Why is it that [none of] the US
Additional reporting by Tom carriers are having issues with this
Risen and Ghim-Lay Yeo in system and other carriers outside
Washington DC the US are?” Goglia says. “That’s Boeing faces difficult path to regaining trust in narrowbody twinjet

AIR TRANSPORT
INCIDENT DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
ATR porpoised after overly fast landing

Portuguese inquiry determines flightcrew allowed airliner to gain excessive energy in bungled Lisbon touchdown
P ilots of a White Airways ATR

72-600 failed to follow sterile
cockpit procedures and allowed
and causing the right-hand wheel
to separate. The second bounce led
the aircraft to porpoise onto its
the aircraft to gain excessive en- nose-gear again, whereupon the
ergy before the turboprop por- other wheel detached and the air-
poised on touchdown at Lisbon, craft bounced again, settling only
suffering serious damage. after the fourth contact.
As the aircraft, operating a TAP As well as the loss of both
Air Portugal service, descended nose-wheels the ATR sustained
towards runway 21 it encoun- substantial damage to the prima-
tered rain and winds gusting up ry structure of its forward fuse-
to 20kt (37km/h), although the lage, although none of the 24 oc-
wind conditions were within op- cupants was injured.
AirTeamImages
erating limits for the turboprop. GPIAAF says the crew had
Investigation authority maintained conversations which
GPIAAF says the ATR’s airspeed were “not relevant” to the conduct Investigators criticised turboprop captain’s aircraft handling technique
had crept to 116kt – above the of the flight during restricted
101kt approach speed – but a phases, in breach of sterile-cockpit lished in the flight manual. covery was “inadequate”.
call-out from the first officer, who procedures. It touched down 700m “Incorrect aircraft handling
was monitoring, did not elicit a Standard operating procedures (2,300ft) from the threshold and, and landing technique resulted
response from the captain. to monitor progress of the ap- having finally settled after the in a porpoise landing,” it states
Analysis of the ground speed proach, notably the aircraft speed, third bounce, it scored the run- in its conclusions to the 22
shows it increased from 94kt at were not followed by the captain. way surface with the nose-gear October 2016 incident. It sug-

1,000ft, to 108kt at the threshold, As the aircraft flared for touch- leg before coming to rest 1,660m gests the crew might have been
and 110kt just before the first down the excessive energy caused from the threshold. suffering the effects of fatigue
touchdown. The ATR bounced it to float and the captain “forced” The inquiry says the captain’s after six flight legs, even though
three times. After the first, it landed the aircraft to land at speeds high- knowledge and understanding of their duty time was within regu-
on its nose-gear, fracturing the axle er than those calculated and estab- the ATR 72’s bounced-landing re- latory limits. ■
ANALYSIS SOPHIE SEGAL ORLANDO
‘Fragile’ finances could herald onset of downturn

L essors are warning that the air-
line industry appears set for a
cyclical downturn, although
at ISTAT Americas in Orlando on
12 March. “I think this is the be-
ginning of the downturn.”
attempting to restructure, has
grounded over half of its fleet on
late lease and debt payments. It
ber, the body was projecting a net
profit of $35.5 billion for 2019,
higher than its revised figure of
there is still debate as to how se- Weaker and marginal operators has 142 aircraft on order, Ciri- $32.3 billion for 2018.
vere any contraction might be. have gone bankrupt or been liqui- um’s Fleets Analyzer shows. But Barrett is also reluctant to
“So many of the carriers taking dated over the past few years. In Norwegian, which operates call the point in the cycle, noting
deliveries from the OEMs are in 2019, several airline restructur- low-cost, long-haul services, that it is usually some exogenous
such a fragile state,” chief execu- ings are already underway, while posted net losses for 2017 and factor that triggers the downturn.
tive of CDB Aviation Peter Chang other carriers teeter on the brink. 2018; it has 185 aircraft on order, “We’re in a cyclical business,”
told an audience during a panel India’s Jet Airways, which is according to Cirium data. GECAS chief executive Alec
“I think we’re probably past Burger says. “We’ve benefited
the peak of the airline cycle,” from a very healthy expansion…
SMBC Aviation Capital chief ex- nothing goes on forever.”
ecutive Peter Barrett says, adding Noting that global growth and
that low fuel prices, the low cost traffic projections remain robust,
of capital and rising traffic de- Air Lease chief executive John
mand have facilitated a protract- Plueger says that the contraction
ed period of growth. might be less pronounced than
Over the past four years, air- has previously been seen: “I

lines have recorded in excess of would fall way short of express-
$30 billion in profits globally, ing any kind of deep cyclical
Sector’s health concerns lessor CDB Aviation
Airbus
IATA data shows. As of Decem- downturn,” he says. ■

Corsair sets out its
AIR TRANSPORT
A330-based future
Air Transport P12
OPERATIONS MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON INTERIORS
EasyJet equips Neo as ATM

OLIVER CLARK LONDON
BA unveils new
business-class
modernisation trial kicks off seats for A350
FANS-C technology will be rolled out across seven airlines to test future EU systems
B ritish Airways (BA) has
launched an updated busi-
N o-frills carrier EasyJet has

received an Airbus A320neo
equipped with FANS-C technolo-
ness-class seat, to be introduced
on its Airbus A350s and rolled out
across its entire long-haul fleet.
gy, enabling it to participate in an The IAG carrier says its new
EU project to test future air traffic Club Suite flat-bed seats will be
management (ATM) systems. configured in a 1-2-1 layout and
EasyJet will be one of seven feature wi-fi capability, 18.5in
airlines involved in the trial, in-flight entertainment screens

which allows aircraft to share and PC/USB power points.
predicted 4D flight trajectory data BA’s A350s – the first of which
in order to enhance operational is due for July delivery – will be
P Masclet/Airbus
performance. equipped with the seat, which
Airbus says the narrowbody the airline says will be rolled out
is the first of up to 100 in a “carefully managed” way de-
A320-family jets that will be
Experiment involves revenue flights by at least 100 A320-family jets signed to “minimise disruption”
fitted with the technology for
to customers.
the DIGITS project as part of the will help them to save fuel and promises to be an important The first A350 will be used ini-
Single European Sky ATM mod- reduce noise,” Airbus says. enabler to increase the efficiency, tially for short-haul flights be-
ernisation programme. The airframer notes that sharing safety, and on-time performance tween London and Madrid, so that
In addition to EasyJet, Airbus- of predicted trajectories with air of our expanding operations – cabin crew can familiarise them-
led DIGITS will involve aircraft traffic control (ATC) stations will especially in the congested Euro- selves with the layout and “perfect
operated by Air France, British facilitate “smooth aircraft sequenc- pean airspace.” customer service delivery”.
Airways, Iberia, Novair, Thomas ing on approach” to airports. The FANS-C system is based on From October, by which time
Cook and Wizz Air; deliveries of Benefits will include more ac- automatic dependent surveillance BA expects to have taken delivery
FANS-C-equipped jets will curate flightplans, optimised tra- – contract (ADS-C) technology, of three A350s, the widebody will
continue into 2020. jectory computation and accept- which allows an aircraft to trans- be assigned to long-haul routes.
The “very large demonstra- ance processes, better alignment mit its predicted 4D (location, alti- Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows
tion” is set to last more than a of trajectories planned by airlines tude and time) flight trajectory to that BA has 18 A350s on order
year, and aims to cover more than and ATM agencies, and im- ATC stations, and a datalink that and holds options for a further 18.
20,000 revenue flights. proved air traffic and network ca- allows digital ATC instructions to Chief executive Alex Cruz says
“FANS-C technology will ena- pacity predictions. be transmitted to the cockpit. the seat’s direct aisle access and a
ble airlines to optimise their air- EasyJet group head of network Aircraft that are configured for “personal door” feature are the
craft’s trajectories and make traf- operations Hugh McConnellogue the technology additionally “direct result of the feedback”
fic flows more fluid and aircraft says: “Our early hands-on experi- require a flight management
received from customers. ■
speed easier to manage, which ence already indicates that it system upgrade. ■ See Feature P23
LOGISTICS
Second bigger BelugaXL breaks cover

Airbus has shown off the second high-capacity BelugaXL transport
after the aircraft emerged from painting at Toulouse. The aircraft –
MSN1853 – carries the similar “beluga whale” paint scheme of the
initial airframe, MSN1824, which began its flight-test campaign last
July. Airbus had previously indicated that MSN1853 would be the
first to enter service, ahead of the test aircraft. The airframer has
already demonstrated that the aircraft is able to fly a set of A350
wings from Bremen to Toulouse, the primary task for which the
twinjet has been developed. Formally known as the A330-700L, the
BelugaXL is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines and is a
A Doumenjou/Airbus
successor to the A300-600ST Beluga transport. Airbus developed

the larger version in order to handle the A350 production ramp-up.

AIR TRANSPORT
FINANCE GHIM-LAY YEO WASHINGTON DC
Cash-strapped Avianca
puts off Neo deliveries
C olombia’s Avianca has can-
celled deliveries of 17 Airbus
part of an in-service fleet of 190
aircraft.
United Aircraft
A320neo-family aircraft from a In addition to the aircraft or-
100-unit order signed in 2015, dered in 2015, Avianca also
Cabin-equipped example is due at MAKS Moscow show in August and rescheduled deliveries of an- signed for 33 Neos in 2011.
other 35 jets. Under an updated fleet plan,
PROGRAMME DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON The changes will reduce Avi- Avianca will receive three aircraft
Third MC-21 takes off at Irkutsk anca’s fleet capital expenditure

by more than $350 million over
this year, down from six original-
ly. It will then take six (down
the next three years, says the Star from 20) in 2020, four (a reduc-
R ussian airframer Irkut has

commenced flight testing
with a third MC-21-300, which
ment. Irkut says the crew per-
formed flight-test tasks “com-
pletely”, with the aircraft
Alliance carrier. Financial com-
mitments from 2020 to 2022 will
also reduce by more than $2.6 bil-
tion from 23) in 2021, and four
(down from 20) in 2022.
Deliveries are due to return to
lifted off from its Irkutsk assem- functioning normally. lion. normal in the 2023-2025 period,
bly centre on 16 March. The cabin-fitted MC-21 will be The 35 aircraft pushed back before the deferred aircraft kick
Aircraft MC0004, bearing the shown off during the MAKS will now be delivered over the in from 2026.
number 73054, conducted a 1h Moscow air show, due to take 2026-2028 period, instead of The airline has said previously
30min maiden flight, reaching an place in late August. 2020-2022. that it was in talks to defer up to
altitude of 11,500ft and speeds of Irkut has been flight-testing two Prior to the changes, Avianca 50 aircraft to free up cash and re-
around 240kt (445km/h). other MC-21-300s, fitted with Pratt had 20 A319neos, 92 A320neos duce debt.
Two crewmembers were on & Whitney PW1400G engines, and 15 A321neos on order, Ciri- Avianca is also streamlining its
board the aircraft, which has from a base in Moscow. A fourth um’s Fleets Analyzer shows. current fleet and will phase out
been fitted with a passenger cabin aircraft for the certification cam- The airline operates three its entire Embraer 190 inventory
as well as onboard test equip- paign will join the fleet this year. ■ A320neos and two A321neos as this year. ■
FLEET OLIVER CLARK LONDON
Corsair sets out its A330-based future

New owner presents widebody acquisitions as key to simplifying and strengthening French airline’s long-haul offering
F rench carrier Corsair is to

phase out its Boeing aircraft
over the next five years, in favour
brand, adds Intro.
Intro says it wants to retain Cor-
sair’s existing configuration with
of an expanded, all-Airbus fleet business-, premium-economy-
which includes a trio of leased and economy-class cabins, while
A330-900s. providing additional services
Under a strategy unveiled by through new product and layouts.
new majority owner Intro Avia- Corsair’s base at Paris Orly is
tion, the airline will grow from its to be maintained. There is “no
current seven long-haul aircraft intention” to open new bases,
AirTeamImages
to 13 by 2023. given the airport’s modernisa-

Each of Corsair’s three Boeing tion programme and its existing
747-400s will be replaced by two Trio of 747-400s will eventually be replaced by six Airbus twin-aisles slot portfolio.
A330s, says Intro. Intro says Corsair will concen-
It adds that a lease deal for service: two are leased – one from The German company says its trate on “high-volume” traffic des-
three A330-900s was signed on Carlyle Aviation Partners, the other aim is for Corsair to achieve “crit- tinations while providing a “more
15 March, for commissioning by from MCAP. The Paris-based air- ical size” both in the number of productive and high-quality”
2021, and that three other A330s line owns its three 747s. aircraft it operates and in passen- flight schedule. A number of new
will join as the 747s are with- Intro says the shift to an all- gers carried, thereby consolidat- destinations are under review.
drawn. A further three aircraft are A330 fleet will “improve the qual- ing its position as a “major play- All members of the airline’s ex-
to follow in a second phase be- ity of the product”, allowing the er” in the long-haul market. ecutive committee, including
tween 2021 and 2023. airline to adopt new cabin layouts, In addition, the fleet plan will Corsair chief executive Pascal de
Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows simplify its operations and “sig- enable Corsair to consolidate ex- Izaguirre, are to “remain in
that Corsair has four A330-200s in nificantly” reduce operating costs. isting assets such as its “strong” place”, Intro says. ■

A380 flights may
have peaked in
AIR TRANSPORT
2018
News Focus P15
CRASH DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON
NTSB clarifies Atlas 767 accident probe

Investigators amend wording of preliminary findings, avoiding linking cockpit actions with jet’s unexplained descent
U S investigators probing the

Atlas Air Boeing 767-300
freighter crash on 23 February
With investigators yet to estab-
lish conclusively whether there
is a connection between control
have yet to explain fully the initi- column movements and the air-
ating circumstances behind the craft’s excessive nose-down atti-
elevator deflection that pushed tude, the possibility of a mechan-
the aircraft into a fatal dive on ap- ical reason for the elevator
proach to Houston. deflection is yet to be ruled out.
Crucially, the National Trans- The 767 has previously been
portation Safety Board (NTSB) the subject of airworthiness di-
has shifted its immediate empha- rectives including measures to
sis, through the unusual decision prevent corrosion of ballscrew
to amend its phrasing while de- components in the drive mecha-
tailing preliminary findings. nism for the horizontal stabiliser,
While the NTSB had initially which could lead to loss of stabi-
stated that the aircraft had pitched liser control.
NTSB
down “in response to column Elevator power control actua-
input”, it subsequently revised Few details of agency’s initial analysis have so far been revealed tors have also been a previous
this, saying the downward pitch focus of 767 directives; a 2014 bul-
was the result of “nose-down ele- headed west over the northeast- – the stick-shaker was not acti- letin ordered checks to ensure air-
vator deflection” – an amendment ern shore of Trinity Bay. The in- vated – and the NTSB has not ex- craft were not operating with
designed to avoid premature con- quiry says the aircraft, which was plained whether the subsequent failed shear rivets in the actuator
clusions over the relation, if any, being vectored to avoid the heavi- nose-down manoeuvre was a re- mechanism and to prevent jam-
between actions in the cockpit and est of the weather, appeared to action to the pitch-up attitude, an ming and a possible elevator har-
the aircraft’s unusual attitude. enter a region of turbulence as it input to continue an expedited dover – which could result in a
Although initial use of the term briefly levelled at around 6,200ft. descent to 3,000ft previously ad- significant pitch upset.
“column input” might suggest Investigators found that the vised by air traffic control, or at- The NTSB has not disclosed in-
there was a nose-down command aircraft’s engines, for reasons still tributable to other factors. formation on the position of the
of some degree, the NTSB has not unclear, were increased to maxi- But the extraordinary transition horizontal stabiliser or the condi-
clarified the extent of any pressure mum thrust, even though the air- to a 49° nose-down pitch, which tion of the drive mechanism and
on the yoke – or the reason – nor speed was steady at 230kt took place over 18s, is central to the elevators’ mechanical linkages.
whether the elevator deflection (426km/h). The jet pitched up- the inquiry. The NTSB has not But it does indicate that the se-
was in line with the command. wards, to around 4°, although the specified if the aircraft was in verity of the dive had lessened as
Weather radar images show NTSB has not specified whether cloud at the time of transition, but the aircraft descended towards
that the 767 (N1217A) would this was a natural consequence of it had clearly emerged from the Trinity Bay, with the pitch reduc-
have encountered the edges of a the increased power. cloud base into good visibility during by some 30°, to around 20°
band of precipitation as the jet There is no evidence of a stall ing the last few seconds of descent. nose-down before impact. ■

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Multi-year award
boosts Super
NEWS FOCUS
Hornet
Defence P16
OPERATIONS LEWIS HARPER LONDON
A380 flights may have peaked in 2018

Projected scheduling reduction over this year reflects declining demand for superjumbo as airlines adjust fleet plans
T he cancellation of the Airbus

A380 programme comes in a
year that could see the first drop
comes despite there being more
of the type in service. Cirium’s
Fleets Analyzer shows there were
in scheduled passenger flights 230 A380s in service on 31 De-
made by the type. cember 2018, versus a projection
Current Cirium schedules data of 237 on the same date this year.
for the whole of 2019 shows a The projected drop in flights
small year-on-year fall in A380 op- this year – one flight is defined as
erations versus 2018. Looking at an outbound and return journey
nearer-term data, there was a year- – is partly explained by a tempo-
on-year drop in flights in the 12 rary runway closure at Dubai In-
Airbus
months planned to end-April. ternational airport, where main-
The decline reflects waning de- tenance is planned from 16 April Impact of Hi Fly’s wet-lease arrangements is an unknown quantity
mand for the aircraft, which con- to 30 May. Emirates said in mid-
tributed to Airbus’s February deci- January that this closure would plans can have a significant im- replacing them with Boeing 747s
sion to end production in 2021. see it ground up to 48 aircraft – pact on the global total. and A350s, respectively.
Given that Airbus has just 17 without specifying how many of Emirates is not alone, however, Qantas’s 4,479 flights leave it
A380s left to deliver before the these would be A380s – and cut in cutting scheduled A380 flights, trailing 2018’s figure by 302 after
programme’s termination, it re- its schedule by 25%. and the transition to a drop in total network changes. Meanwhile, de-
mains in the balance whether But Cirium data also shows services of the type between 2018 ployment tweaks by British Air-
commercial aviation will ever see Emirates’ A380 flights were and 2019 is arguably on trend. ways, Korean Air and Thai Air-
a rise in flights from the type down year on year in January, After the first commercial ways International mean they will
again. Much will hinge on what February and March. A380 flight in 2007, the number operate 503 fewer A380 flights be-
has so far proven to be an ex- of operations rose each year, tween them in 2019.
tremely limited second-hand EMIRATES EFFECT peaking in 2015 with a rise of Offsetting those falls, All Nip-
market as carriers begin to retire Emirates’ A380 flights will grow 18,111 versus 2014. Growth pon Airways will begin A380 ser-
older examples. Air France, Luf- again from June onwards, data slowed for the first time in 2016, vices in the coming months and
thansa and Singapore Airlines shows, but it will end the year however, and eventually reached is scheduled to account for 558
(SIA) are all set to hand back ear- having operated 778 fewer flights an increase of just 1,943 flights flights this year as it launches on
ly-build units in the coming years with the type than it did in 2018, between 2017 and 2018. Hawaii routes. Single-digit per-
under their future fleet plans. based on current schedules – a Overall, Cirium schedules data centage upticks in flights will be
Both the European carriers re- drop that exceeds the global total shows there will be 118,168 seen in 2019 from Air France,
cently announced cuts to A380 op- decline. Indeed, the Dubai-based scheduled A380 flights in 2019, Asiana Airlines, China Southern
erations early in the next decade. carrier is operating more than half down 703 from 118,871 in 2018. Airlines, Qatar Airways and SIA.
Nevertheless, the projected fall of the total A380 flights in 2019, In absolute terms, Malaysia Air-
in total scheduled flights this year meaning tweaks in its deployment lines is second to Emirates when it BIG QUESTION
comes to year-on-year falls in A380 One unknown for 2019 is wheth-
Scheduled A380 services, 2019 versus 2018 by airline operations, dropping 604 sched- er as-yet-unannounced wet-lease
Airline 2019 2018 Change uled flights to reach 504 as the car- operations from Hi Fly could
Air France 5,125 4,831 294 rier continues to transfer its aircraft boost the annual total.
All Nippon Airways 558 0 558 to its Amal pilgrimage charter unit. Overall, in 2019 Emirates will
Asiana Airlines 3,587 3,361 226 Lufthansa is meanwhile cut- account for 51% of A380 flights.
British Airways 5,115 5,288 -173 ting more than one flight per day, The remaining 49% are split be-
China Southern Airlines 2,486 2,324 162 with a total of 6,341 scheduled tween 13 operators, led by SIA at
Emirates 60,622 61,400 -778 this year – 383 fewer than in around 9%, in figures that are
Etihad Airways 5,594 5,531 63 2018. The carrier moved five of broadly flat versus 2018.
Korean Air 4,469 4,609 -140 its 14 A380s from Frankfurt to By way of comparison, the
Lufthansa 6,341 6,724 -383
Munich in April 2018 and adjust- A380 is not alone among wide-
ed its schedule as a result. body aircraft programmes in see-
Malaysia Airlines 504 1,108 -604
This transition contributed to a ing a drop in flights this year.
Qantas 4,479 4,781 -302
year-on-year drop in flights in A330 and 777 flights will fall
Qatar Airways 6,076 5,968 108
January-March 2019, before fig- in 2019 for the first time since
Singapore Airlines 10,338 9,882 456
ures settle down. They will drop Cirium schedules records began
Thai Airways International 2,874 3,064 -190
again, however, in November and in 2004, although both have
Total 118,168 118,871 -703
December, as Lufthansa takes shown significantly more longev-
Source: Cirium schedules data, 13 March 2019
A380s off its Frankfurt-Houston ity than the A380 in sustaining
Notes: One flight defined as outbound and return journey. Excludes Hi Fly wet-lease flights
and Munich-Hong Kong routes, year-on-year increases. ■

DEFENCE
REQUIREMENT GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
Bell
More F-16Vs top Taiwan’s wishlist
T aiwan has stepped up efforts
to urgently recapitalise its
ageing air force fleet by obtaining
Cirium’s Fleets Analyzer shows
that the Republic of China Air
Force has 113 F-16A/Bs, which
new fighters from the USA. are being upgraded to the V-model
Local media reports indicate standard, including an active
president Tsai Ing-wen has con- electronically scanned array
firmed that a request for new radar. Its combat inventory also
aircraft has been made to Wash- includes 103 locally-built AIDC
ington. This follows a television F-CK-1Cs, 46 Dassault Mirage

interview in which Taiwan’s dep- 2000-5s and 20 Northrop F-5Es.
uty defence minister said T aipei Taipei had a long-standing but
had asked for information on the ultimately unfulfilled request for
MILESTONE number and type of fighters it an additional 66 F-16C/Ds in the
could potentially obtain. 2000s. Any fresh bid to bolster its
Osprey flying high after 30 years A 7 March press release fighter fleet will be fiercely op-
The Bell Boeing joint venture has marked 30 years since the issued by the US-Taiwan Busi- posed by China, which views the
first flight of its V-22 Osprey, with the tiltrotor having made its ness Council suggests that Taipei island as a breakaway province.
debut on 19 March 1989. More than 375 examples have so far may have a p reference for the While the introduction of new
been produced, accumulating a combined 450,000-plus flight Lockheed M artin F-16V, with F-16Vs – also referred to by the
hours, the manufacturers say. Osprey operators include the the agency noting that it “has US manufacturer as the F-21 –
US Air Force and US Marine Corps, with examples also on long supported the sale of addi- would be a major boost for Tai-
order for the US Navy and Japan Ground Self-Defence Force. tional F-16s to Taiwan”. pei, some sources have previous-
Production is set to run through until at least 2024, under the “The F-16’s performance and ly indicated that its leadership
terms of a recent multi-year contract covering the delivery of a capabilities readily satisfy the Tai- would prefer to acquire Lock-
further 78 units. wan air force’s operational re- heed’s short take-off and vertical
quirements,” the release says. landing F-35B. ■
COMMITMENT GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
Multi-year award boosts Super Hornet

Airframer says three-year contract from US Navy will allow 78 strike aircraft to be produced with “significant savings”
B oeing has secured a three-year

contract to produce 78
F/A-18E/F Block III Super

Deliveries will commence dur-
ing 2020, the company says.
The Block III upgrade package
Other updates include an infra-
red search and track (IRST) sensor,
which enables the Super Hornet
Conformal fuel tanks will in-
crease the aircraft’s range, with
the Block III configuration also
Hornets for the US Navy, with a includes a range of structural and to detect and track enemy aircraft boasting a reduced radar cross
total value of around $4 billion. sensor upgrades, and adds the without using its radar. It also section.
“This multi-year contract will ability to receive and transfer large gains Collins Aerospace’s Tactical “Boeing will [also] begin con-
provide significant savings for tax- amounts of data with other Super Targeting Network Technology verting existing Block II Super
payers and the US Navy, while Hornets and the navy’s Northrop radio and an advanced processor, Hornets to Block III early next
providing the capacity it needs to Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawk- through which a two-ship forma- decade,” the company says. “The
improve readiness,” says Dan Gil- eye airborne early warning and tion can share IRST sensor data to fighter’s life also will be extended
lian, Boeing’s vice-president of control system aircraft. generate targeting information. from 6,000h to 10,000h.” ■
F/A-18 and EA-18G programmes.
The airframer adds that the new
arrangement will save a minimum
of $395 million, as it allows for the
scheduling of future production.
“A multi-year contract helps
the F/A-18 team seek out suppli-
ers with a guaranteed three years
of production, instead of negotiat-
ing year to year,” says Gillian. “It
helps both sides with planning,
and we applaud the US Navy on
Deliveries of the Block III
taking the steps needed to help
variant will start in 2020
Boeing
solve its readiness challenges.”

Italian role could
strengthen
DEFENCE
Tempest
Defence P18
TECHNOLOGY GARRETT REIM LOS ANGELES
‘A-Team’ will test unmanned potential

US Army plans demonstration showcasing tactical co-ordination with piloted rotorcraft using minimal human intervention
T he US Army has launched a

manned-unmanned aircraft
teaming demonstration pro-
tion, while operating as part of a
combined arms team in a complex
operating environment,” the ser-
gramme which is intended to vice says. “An equally important
help rotorcraft pilots better co-or- objective of the programme is to
dinate with autonomous systems develop and integrate technolo-
in combat. gies for advanced teaming using
Called the advanced teaming an open systems approach.”
demonstration programme, or “A- The army expects programme
Team”, the effort will investigate participants will begin with sys-
Lockheed Martin
how technologies supporting tems at varying technology readi-
manned-unmanned operations ness levels, and mature those with
could be installed on the army’s the potential to transition into
new family of Future Vertical Lift advanced component develop- S-97 Raider could benefit from advances for Future Vertical Lift fleet
(FVL) aircraft. The activity will ment and prototypes.
continue through fiscal year 2023. Proposals should be submitted management and situational FVL platforms, including its Fu-
“The objective of the A-Team by 29 April, with a funding awareness management technol- ture Attack Reconnaissance Air-
programme is to develop and award expected during June. ogies, the army says. craft armed scout – candidates for
demonstrate advanced teaming of This will be linked to systems Suitable manned-unmanned which could include Sikorsky’s
manned and unmanned aviation such as human/machine inter- teaming technologies could be S-97 Raider – and medium-lift
assets to execute tactical missions faces, operations management, incorporated with legacy plat- Future Long Range Assault Air-
with minimal human interven- platform resource capability forms and the service’s proposed craft utility rotorcraft. ■
PROCUREMENT GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE MUNITIONS
G550 to become MQ-55A Peregrine

GARRETT REIM LOS ANGELES
Boeing tasked
in Australian electronic warfare deal with marrying
LRSO and B-52
C anberra is to obtain four Gulf-
stream G550 business jets that
will be modified in the USA for
electronic warfare (EW) duties
under a deal worth A$2.46 billion
T he US Air Force has awarded
Boeing Defense Space & Se-
curity a $250 million contract to
($1.7 billion). The aircraft will be integrate the future nuclear-tipped
designated the MC-55A Peregrine, Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO)
according to Australia’s defence cruise missile with its B-52H
US Naval Air Systems Command
minister, Christopher Pyne. bomber fleet.

“The Peregrine will be integrat- The contract covers the devel-
ed into Defence’s joint warfighting opment of missile carriage equip-
networks, providing a critical link ment, along with modification,
between platforms, including the engineering, testing, software de-
[Lockheed Martin] F-35A, [Boeing] Business jet has already been adapted for special-mission duties velopment, training and other
E-7A Wedgetail and EA-18G support work necessary to fully
Growler, the navy’s surface com- and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Airframe modifications will integrate the weapon. The activity
batants and amphibious assault Triton unmanned air vehicles. include incorporating mission is due to be complete before the
ships and ground assets,” he says. In June 2017, the US Depart- systems and secure communica- end of 2024.
The Royal Australian Air Force ment of State approved a potential tions equipment. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon
assets will be operated from the Australian acquisition of up to Israel, Italy and Singapore use are developing competing versions
service’s Edinburgh base in South five G550s equipped for EW and special mission-adapted G550s, of the LRSO, with the air force
Australia, alongside its Boeing intelligence, surveillance and re- with the US Navy also acquiring scheduled to award a production
P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol/ connaissance missions. The US an example for test range support contract around 2022. The service
anti-submarine warfare aircraft, Defense Security Cooperation and the US Air Force to use the plans to field the Boeing AGM-86
plus its General Atomics Aero- Agency identified L3 Technolo- platform to accommodate its replacement from the late 2020s,
nautical Systems MQ-9 Reaper gies as prime contractor. Compass Call EW suite. ■ also on its Northrop B-21s. ■

DEFENCE
PROGRAMME MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON
Italian role could strengthen Tempest

Senior Leonardo executives point to Eurofighter experience for partnership status on UK’s sixth-generation fighter
L eonardo is hopeful that Italy

can join the UK’s Tempest
sixth-generation fighter pro-
the aircraft was developed
through a collaboration named
“Team Tempest”, which includes
gramme, building on the involve- BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA,
ment of its defence electronics Rolls-Royce and the Royal Air
division in the effort. Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office.
Although the company is Saab has also indicated an inter-
headquartered in Rome, it has a est in joining the programme.
large presence in the UK, includ- Lucio Valerio Cioffi, managing
ing the former Selex operation. director of Leonardo’s aircraft di-
“We are very clear as a compa- vision, notes that the manufac-
Crown Copyright
ny that it would be our preference turer’s primary objective is to
for a collaboration that included play a part in the development of
Italy in the long term on Tem- a sixth-generation fighter under
pest,” said Norman Bone, manag- Former Selex unit is already involved in project for Royal Air Force “the new European defence con-
ing director of Leonardo’s elec- cept”. But he adds: “We have a
tronics division, during a financial replace the Eurofighter Typhoon, Italian air force and export cus- lot of commonalities with the UK
results briefing on 14 March. Bone says. tomer Kuwait. initiative, also in terms of [exist-
Leonardo’s senior executive Leonardo is a partner in the At last July’s Farnborough air ing] platforms on the table.”
team is making efforts “to help Eurofighter consortium, through show, the UK government re- France, Germany and Spain
position [the company] so that which it produces around 20% of vealed plans for the Tempest pro- are jointly pursuing a separate
Italy could become a partner” in each aircraft and performs final ject as part of the country’s future project to develop a next-genera-
the project, which is intended to assembly on examples for the combat air strategy. A concept for tion future combat air system. ■
PROCUREMENT IGOR BOZINOVSKI BELGRADE
Serbia selects H215 for rotorcraft renewal need

T he Serbian interior ministry
will advance its rotorcraft re-
newal efforts with a planned ac-
Airbus Helicopters’ HForce
modular weapons system, also
featuring locally developed arma-
quisition of three Airbus Helicop- ments including unguided 80mm
ters H215 heavy-twins. Deliveries rockets and a pod-housed
will begin in 2021 and run until 12.7mm machine gun.
the following year, says interior The airframer has previously
minister Nebojsa Stefanovic. signalled a deeper co-operation
Belgrade has existing commit- with Serbia’s aerospace industry
ments for nine H145M light- and is working with Batajnica-
twins, with five to be assigned to based Moma Stanojlovic on a
its air force and the remainder for number of maintenance and com-
interior ministry use; an initial ponent manufacturing initiatives.
Airbus Helicopters
example was handed over last Serbia’s air force will also this
December. year take delivery of three Mil
H145Ms destined for air force Mi-35M attack helicopters and a
service will be equipped with pair of Mi-17V-5 transports. ■ Heavy-twin arrivals from 2021 will equip nation’s interior ministry
Download the 2019

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BUSINESS AVIATION
PROPULSION MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON
Rolls-Royce tests hybrid power system

M250 turboshaft-based technology envisioned for applications including electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles
R olls-Royce has conducted

ground tests of a hybrid-elec-
tric propulsion system built
firmed that the system would be
suitable for potential eVTOL ve-
hicles weighing up to 2,000kg
around an M250 turboshaft en- (4,400lb) with a range of 870nm
gine, and plans to start flight tri- (1,600km).
als of the equipment in 2021. At the 2018 Farnborough air
The UK manufacturer intends show, R-R unveiled an air taxi
to employ the system, which it concept for up to five passengers,
calls “M250 hybrid”, across a featuring six rotors on tilting
range of “transport platforms”, wings to enable vertical take-off
Rolls-Royce
including electric vertical take- and landing operations.
off and landing (eVTOL) vehi- Together with Airbus and Sie-
cles, general aviation aircraft and Manufacturer unveiled six-rotor air taxi concept at Farnborough show mens, R-R is separately in the
helicopters, it says. process of developing a 2.5MW
Rated at 250shp (190kW), the In addition to the turboshaft battery, which supplies power for hybrid propulsion system based
M250 is mostly employed on engine, the hybrid system com- propulsion and onboard systems. an AE 2100 turboshaft engine, to
helicopters such as the Bell 407, prises high-energy-density bat- Parallel-hybrid operation sees be tested in flight on a modified
but is also used on fixed-wing air- tery cells, electric generators, both the turboshaft engine and BAe 146 regional jet from 2020.
craft including the Britten-Nor- converters and an advanced electrical system provide thrust, Under that project, named
man BN2T Islander and in-devel- power management system. while other equipment is pow- “E-Fan X hybrid2”, the manufac-
opment GippsAero GA10 Airvan. The ground tests at R-R’s US ered by the battery. turers plan to initially replace one
R-R says it selected the engine – facility in Indianapolis covered In turbo-electric configuration, of the four-engined aircraft’s tur-
originally developed by Allison the system’s performance in three the battery is redundant – the en- bofans with an electrically driven
during the 1960s – “for its matu- operating modes – series hybrid, gine operates as a turbo-generator fan powered by a hybrid-genera-
rity, power density, ease of main- parallel hybrid and turbo-electric supplying electricity for propul- tion system inside the fuselage.
tenance, and high reliability”. – and evaluated the behaviour of sion and onboard equipment. R-R says the two projects are
R-R plans to develop a system each individual component. R-R says the tests covered sim- complementary and points out
with power ranging from 500kW In series-hybrid mode, the gas ulated take-off, cruise, landing that the M250 hybrid is ad-
to 1MW. turbine exclusively charges the and taxi operations and con- dressed at smaller aircraft. ■
SUSTAINABILITY KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Gulfstream takes refined approach to biofuel sale

G ulfstream has made its first
direct sale of sustainable al-
ternative jet fuel, with the owner
sustainable alternative jet fuel for
our customers,” says Gulfstream
president Mark Burns.
Gulfstream has used sustaina-
ble fuel since 2016 in its corpo-
rate, demonstration and flight-test
equivalent performance, each
gallon burned achieves a reduc-
tion of more than 50% in green-
of a G550 becoming the customer. World Energy, which owns a fleets. This amounts to more than house gas emissions relative to
The unnamed US multination- refinery 10 miles (16km) from 430,000USgal (1.6 million litres) petroleum-based jet fuel on a life-
al acquired 9,080kg (20,000lb) of Long Beach, supplies the fuel – for 700,000nm (1.3 million km) of cycle basis, Gulfstream says.
the fuel from the airframer’s Long which uses a blend of 30% hy- flying, saving over 750t of carbon There has been a concerted ef-
Beach, California facility. droprocessed esters and fatty dioxide (CO2), says the company. fort within the business aviation
“This is a direct result of our ef- acids, together with 70% petrole- All large-cabin completion flights community to reduce the sector’s
forts to increase the availability of um-based Jet-A. from the Long Beach base will environmental impact.
soon use the fuel, Burns adds. Bombardier, Dassault and
Gulfstream says it is “prema- Embraer are also working to pro-
ture to speculate” on customer mote sustainable fuel use across
take-up for the offering, which is their fleets, while industry trade
available for its entire business jet bodies, including the General
line-up. “We look forward to the Aviation Manufacturers Associa-
day this fuel is commonplace in tion and International Business
our industry,” says Burns. Aviation Council, have pledged
Gulfstream
While the sustainable fuel to achieve an absolute reduction

meets the same specifications as of 50% in CO2 by 2050, relative
Unnamed US-based G550 operator is first customer for product conventional Jet-A, and offers to 2005 levels. ■

BUSINESS AVIATION
All in the details
Interiors P23
PROGRAMME KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Finish line in range

for Praetor 600 as
US approval nears
Embraer
Embraer’s long-legged super-midsize jet on approach to
service entry after completing certification test campaign Eight-passenger model gains new winglets and two extra fuel tanks
E mbraer’s Praetor 600 has en-

tered the final phase of its
flight-test campaign, and remains
The $21 million Praetor 600
was launched in October 2018
along with the smaller Praetor
500lb (2.2kN). Range rises to
3,900nm (7,200km). That is
760nm more than the Legacy
braer’s US business aviation facil-
ity in Melbourne, Florida.
Embraer says its latest variants
on track to secure US type ap- 500, which has logged 30h of 500, and almost 300nm further are “selling well”, but the eight-
proval and enter service early in flight testing in 18 sorties. Certifi- than its closest super-midsize passenger Praetor 600 is the top
the second half of this year. cation and service entry of the competitor, the Gulfstream G280. performer, “with production sold
Certification testing of the su- $17 million midsize aircraft are out until mid-2020”.
per-midsize business jet was com- due in the third quarter. GREATER DISTANCE Embraer hopes the Praetors will
pleted on 11 March, says the Bra- Powered by twin Honeywell Additional fuel cells in the Praetor help reverse several years of lack-
zilian airframer, with three aircraft HTF7500E turbofans, the Praetors 500’s wings help to deliver the lustre output in its business avia-
– two prototypes and a produc- are derivatives of the Legacy 450 longest range in the midsize sector, tion division. For the year ended
tion-conforming example – log- and 500, with which they share at 3,250nm. 31 December 2018, it delivered 91
ging 440h across 372 flights from the same fuselage and wings, sup- The Praetors are the only mid- Phenom, Legacy and Lineage
its Gaviao Peixoto site. plied by the company’s metal and size and super-midsize business 1000E twinjets – compared with
A maturity campaign – de- composites manufacturing facility jets with full fly-by-wire controls 109 units in 2017 – missing its de-
signed to ease the jet’s entry into in Evora, Portugal. and active turbulence reduction to livery target of 105-125 aircraft.
service – is now under way, and Improving on the capabilities give customers “the smoothest Revenues declined by 26% dur-
the production-conforming air- of the Legacy 500, the Praetor 600 possible ride”, says Embraer. ing the period, to $1.1 billion.
craft has so far accumulated gains new winglets and two extra Both models will share assem- Embraer’s backlog is valued at
around 30h of an expected 50h of belly fuel tanks, while engine bly lines with the Legacy duo in $800 million. It predicts output of
flying, says Embraer. thrust has been increased by Sao Jose dos Campos, and at Em- 90-110 business jets in 2019. ■
DEVELOPMENT KATE SARSFIELD LONDON
Metal Master’s LAR 1 powers towards first flight

P oland’s Metal Master has been
given the go-ahead from the
country’s civil aviation regulator
final touches to the aircraft before
we fly it,” says Metal Master
founder Rafal Ladzinski.
Any refinements will be incorpo-
rated into the LAR 1 design, “and
we will resume flight testing and
“EASA certification will open
up a potentially huge market from
owner-flyers, air taxi and utility
to begin flight testing its Flaris The first 10-15h of testing will open the orderbook once we are operators,” Ladzinski says.
LAR 1 personal jet, and is now give the Podgorzyn-based compa- 100% happy”. Priced at €1.8 million ($2 mil-
preparing the first prototype for a ny “vital information on the air- Metal Master is aiming to se- lion), Metal Master claims the air-
maiden sortie in early April. craft’s basic handling qualities, cure Polish S-1 experimental cer- craft will have low direct operat-
“We have completed all ground stability, performance and aerody- tification for the Williams Interna- ing costs of around €1/nm or
testing and are just putting the namic configuration”, he says. tional FJ33-5A-powered aircraft €400/h; a range of 1,350nm
after 50h of flight testing. This will (2,500km); cruise speed of 420kt
enable the company to start deliv- (770km/h); maximum take-off
ering the LAR 1 to “eager” local weight of 1,500kg (3,300lb); an op-
customers, says Ladzinksi. He ex- erating ceiling of 46,000ft; and an
pects to reach this milestone by ability to take off from and land on
year-end, “then we shall present unpaved airstrips and runways of
the LAR 1 to EASA [European less than 250m (820ft).
Union Aviation Safety Agency]”. The LAR 1 also features a
The five-seater has been de- Garmin G600 XTi glass flightdeck,
signed as a CS-23-category air- with a Genesys Aerosystems
Metal Master
craft, and Metal Master hopes to S-TEC 500 digital autopilot, semi-
secure type certification in the lat- elliptical, detachable wings and a
Prototype is expected to conduct its maiden sortie in early April ter half of 2021. safety parachute system. ■

Cargo: The Digital Revolution
Hilton Amsterdam, 2-3 July 2019
Digital innovations
to drive profitability,
efficiency and
transparency in cargo
The air cargo market is massive. It is
currently valued at US$38.2bn and is just
one of the many modes of a much wider
logistics industry. Despite its size, a lot of the
industry is fragmented and very inefficient.
Digitalization can radically improve this,
however, owing to resistance, a lot of the
industry is still paper-based.
By attending this conference, you will have

the opportunity to learn from those that
have managed to overcome resistance
and implement digitalization – improving
efficiency and driving profitability at the
same time.
Find out more at

flightglobal.com/cargo
To attend, visit: flightglobal.com/cargo or contact +44 (0)2079 111 993

To speak, contact Luke Hill T: +44 (0)2079 111 833 E: luke.hill@flightglobal.com
INTERIORS
Special report
ALL IN THE
CONTENTS
24 Connectivity Entertainment rules
28 Seating Zodiac gets a makover
30 Atmosphere Better on the inside
DETAILS
33 Cutaway Bombardier CRJ900
Ahead of the AIX Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg,

we examine the high-stakes business of blending
new technology, psychology and manufacturing
efficiency to deliver an in-flight experience that lives
Lufthansa Systems
up to ever-rising passenger expectations. Report by
Bernie Baldwin, Michael Gubisch and Tom Risen
Bombardier’s Atmosphere cabin (below) spearheads a bid to offer long-haul comfort

on regional jets; since acquisition, Safran has overhauled its Zodiac business (right); new
Safran
technology is rapidly making in-flight connectivity (top) a must-have passenger offering
Bombardier

INTERIORS
Special report
Making the
rebranding the new entity Burrana. This deal
combines the complete PAVES family and
content services from Collins, with digEcor’s
GLIDE, Engage, Power, passenger service sys-
tems and lighting products.
While the takeover discussions went on,
connection
the development of the digEcor products over
the past year have continued apace, as Burra-
na chief executive David Withers notes:
“There have been a number of new products
launched including our slimmest GLIDE NV
screen. At less than 3/8th of an inch [10mm]
the screen is easily installed in any seatback
Increasing passenger satisfaction by providing rich in-flight or on any bulkhead and delivers all the func-
tions and capabilities of our GLIDE solution.
entertainment and access to the internet is a fast-expanding “The screen is also significantly lighter and
and valuable area for airlines and their technology suppliers has the latest IMX8 processor.”
Withers adds that, with the group’s ap-
proved model list supplemental type certifi-
BERNIE BALDWIN LONDON the market value is projected to grow from cate, “We can offer airlines rapid implementa-
$5.03 billion last year to $7.65 billion by 2023. tion of in-seat power on the Airbus A320 and
K
eeping passengers connected and At the upcoming Aircraft Interiors Expo Boeing 737 [families].” Light weight and ease
entertained during flights has (AIX) in Hamburg, recent mergers and acqui- of installation, he says, “makes adding USB or
created one of the biggest growth sitions may mean some names have disap- 110V power an easy choice for any airline”.
sectors in aviation over the past peared – but their technologies will be A new cabin management 3.0 crew inter-
decade – and its expansion shows no sign of present within the expanded companies. face “significantly” improves cabin systems
slowing down. A good example comes from January this control, he says. With a remote control device,
According to a report into in-flight enter- year, when digEcor surprised the sector by crew can control embedded IFE, lighting and
tainment and connectivity (IFEC) published in buying the Collins Aerospace IFE business, passenger service systems from anywhere in
December 2018 by ResearchAndMarkets.com, incorporating it with its own operation and the cabin. And a new Android offering
Jeju Air has selected the Wow

platform for its 737-800 fleet
AirTeamImages

INTERIORS
Connectivity
“brings more flexibility to the user interface to

help airlines rapidly innovate and achieve a
common look and feel across fleets operating
different vendors’ hardware”.
This year, Thales is rolling out the first
phase of its InFlyt360 platform, enabling
targeted advertising “in ways never before
possible on IFE”, claims Richard Perrot, vice-
president for strategy and product policy.
“This aims to drive a six-fold increase in ad-
vertising revenue.”
MARKET ACCEPTANCE
The platform builds on CORE and PRESTIGE,
two IFE solutions based on the AVANT plat-
All Nippon Airways’ Q400s have
Bombardier
form. “We also introduced the Select [user in-
gained Bluebox wireless system
terface], providing an intuitive and more ad-
vanced passenger interface. Market acceptance
of each of these products has been very posi- throughput satellite (HTS), medium Earth orbit “We’ve worked with our airline partners to
tive. We will deploy InFlyt360 and the Select (MEO), and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite net- collaborate with major internet and media
UI this year, and expect to announce our works. It also supports the “make before break” companies – from Apple Music, Netflix and
launch customer for CORE soon,” Perrot adds. requirement of non-GEO networks. others – to enhance their inflight wi-fi offer-
Astronics has introduced a variety of in- “We think the new E-Series will provide ing. The reaction has been incredible, and we
flight connectivity products recently, includ- seamless connectivity for new and existing feel momentum is building to seeing more
ing its new E-Series electronically steered array networks while providing a true, solid-state, partners enter the mix.”
antenna system, developed by Astronics Aero- active-array antenna system,” says Astronics Buchman adds that Viasat’s AIX focus will
Sat in partnership with Phasor. Set to be AeroSat president Matt Harrah. “This provides be to “further personalise the passenger jour-
displayed at AIX, this provides Ku-band con- a lot of advantages for airlines, network opera- ney”, including with “true touchless media
nectivity and offers multi-beam capacity for tors, and most importantly the customers and content loading and live TV streaming over
geostationary equatorial orbit (GEO)/high- their in-flight connectivity experience.” our high-capacity satellite network”.
For connectivity routing inside the cabin, Bluebox Aviation chief executive Kevin
Astronics Connectivity Systems & Certification Clark says his firm has over the past year con-
(CSC) has its Summit Line products of in-flight centrated on value-adding features for both
connectivity hardware. AIX attendees will see airlines and passengers: “That’s actually
new versions of the Encompass portable wire- meant the rapid development of our portable
less IFE system, as well as traditional servers, wireless platform – Bluebox Wow – into a
content loaders, personal control units, and connected portable solution, incorporating an
wireless access points. Astronics will also aircraft power option, a PA Pause feature, pay-
demonstrate its new wireless charging module ments and connectivity.”
and high-efficiency EmPower USB-C charging The company, he adds, has seen Wow se-
system for personal electronic devices. lected for Jeju Air’s 737-800s, Air Astana’s
Another of the company’s business units, new Embraer E190-E2s and All Nippon Air-
Astronics PGA, will demonstrate its “smart” ways’ Bombardier Q400s.
wireless handset, the GemOne. From this
single device, premium jet passengers have CAPACITY CONSTRAINT
the ability to operate IFE and cabin systems, Meanwhile, Lufthansa Systems head of pas-
order meals and make telephone calls, senger experience products and solutions Jan-
among other functions. Peter Ganse contends that infrastructure-relat-
For years, the aviation market has talked ed capacity constraint is becoming the single
about garnering additional revenues and largest limiting factor for the whole industry.
increasing customer satisfaction from inflight Hence the company has in the past year
wi-fi, says Don Buchman, vice-president and “launched very promising initiatives led by
general manager, commercial a viation at Via- machine-learning paradigms”.
sat. “Over the past year, Viasat has made this a Says Ganse: “The top initiatives launched
reality by enabling airlines to explore new last year harness the power of artificial
business models allowing them to engage with intelligence [AI] to predict and resolve up-
new internet and media partners,” he says. coming industry problems on all levels – on
At the the time of its June 2017 launch, by an the frontline facing customers, as well as the
ESA/CNES/Arianespace
Ariane 5 flight from Kourou, French Guiana, back offices of the airline on the ground and
the Boeing-built Viasat-2 was the highest ca- in the air.
pacity communications satellite in orbit, offer- “All these initiatives are very practical and
ing 300Gbps capacity. It will be followed by touchable manifestations of the buzz around
On launch, Viasat-2 became the highest- three 1,000Gbps Viasat-3 spacecraft, the first of AI, addressing the very real challenges of the
capacity communications satellite in orbit which is to be orbited in late 2019 or early 2020. aviation industry. We see a huge demand for ❯❯

PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore, 21-22 May 2019
Future-proofing loyalty
through data
driven insight
Loyalty programs were once a simple

marketing tool to get customers earning
points and flying with the same airline.
In recent times, they have morphed into
complex but revenue generating, networks
of partnerships, tiers and rules – providing a
gateway to greater customer data and insight.
This conference looks at the future of

loyalty, tackling challenges around customer
engagement and redemption; how airlines
can add value through experiential and
personalized rewards so that they can give
loyalty members the opportunity and freedom
to earn and redeem points through several
avenues.
Find out more at

flightglobal.com/points
To attend, visit: flightglobal.com/points or contact +44 (0)2079 111 993

To speak, contact Warka Ghirmai E: warka.ghirmai@flightglobal.com
INTERIORS
Connectivity
❯❯ such solutions in the market and are Panasonic Avionics has announced two ways have a role and this will deepen with the
already in contact with several potential major developments in recent months. First, delivery of a rich, high-definition experience in
customers.” it collaborated with international news plat- multiscreen worlds – in many cases blending
At AIX, he adds, Lufthansa Systems will be form TRT World to launch in-flight broadcast- airline and own devices,” says Clark.
presenting its BoardConnect IFEC portfolio ing, then followed up with the news that its However, he still foresees “growth in the use
“with a new livery” and will showcase app- deal with Ericsson for the latter’s Core Net- of portable systems operating from fitted
less/browser-based video streaming, even for work as a service solution had gone live, sup- power and connectivity capabilities” and
rights-protected content: “That addresses one porting connectivity services across multiple notes: “Such systems are less constrained than
of the market demands we see.” markets served by Panasonic. in the traditional, fitted systems world.”
SITAOnAir’s connectivity work has placed The first partnership enables Panasonic to While Withers expects “increased adoption
some emphasis on how the technology can be extend TRT World’s live broadcast to many of of seatback IFE in favour of other IFE solu-
used not just to entertain passengers, but also the globe’s leading international carriers. “Pa- tions on narrowbody aircraft”, Perrot believes
to help the cabin crew. “The past 12 months nasonic is proud to offer the world’s only truly the industry will take a more balanced ap-
has seen us implement key updates to global in-flight live television services,” says proach. “Wireless IFE will continue to com-
CrewTab, our tablet interface for cabin crews, Julie Lichty, head of digital solutions and ser- plement the Thales solutions portfolio in
which digitises processes and information, vices at Panasonic Avionics. “We believe TRT serving diverse market segment needs, while
empowering them to deliver their most effec- World is a significant enhancement to our port- embedded IFE is still the standard for medi-
tive, personalised service,” explains Yann folio and will be a tremendous enhancement to um- and long-haul flights providing opportu-
Cabaret, the company’s vice-president for cus- our airline customers’ passenger experience.” nities to engage passengers in ways that per-
tomer programmes and cabin services. sonal devices cannot. More airlines are opting
“Seatback will always have a for both systems concurrently,” he says.
CREW TOOLS Where IFE is delivered via personal devic-
CrewTab’s new Crew Member Alerts feature role and this will deepen into a es, Lufthansa Systems sees two develop-
digitises paper-based alerting for everything ments, says Ganse: passengers should be able
from extra customer care requests to changes high-definition experience” to access the IFE system with no hurdles,
in destination or welfare matters. Airlines can Kevin Clark such as having to download a dedicated app;
easily create and send alerts to multiple crew- Chief executive, Bluebox Aviation and, airlines want to integrate IFE and func-
members and flights via SITAOnAir’s web- tions such as check-in and booking into a
based administration portal, he says: Having Ericsson’s Core Network as a service single app.
“CrewTab Server now automatically pushes solution will help Panasonic and its subsidiary Viasat’s focus is exploiting “the most robust
those alerts to specified recipients, instead of AeroMobile provide data, voice and messaging satellite network with the highest capacity” to
crews having to use printed briefing docu- services to passengers. The collaboration start- help airlines give their passengers “true gate-
ments. Specific information for each flight is ed in 2016 and became fully operational in to-gate connectivity,” says Buchman.
easily accessible to relevant crew.” January 2019. Every passenger whose mobile
Cabaret says SITAOnAir will demonstrate service provider has a roaming agreement with WHERE NEXT?
its latest innovations in Hamburg, including AeroMobile can use the service. Thales predicts exponential growth in de-
end-to-end cabin services supported with There is clear momentum in new technolo- mand for connectivity. “We also expect a sig-
high-speed in-flight connectivity. “Delegates gy implementation, but given the range of ca- nificant increase in connectivity speeds to the
will also have the chance to discover pabilities being matured it is hardly surprising passenger to give the same flexibility passen-
SITAOnAir’s ‘open cabin’ approach to achiev- there is a range of views on where current gers are used to on the ground. Ka-band HTS
ing airlines’ in-flight connectivity ambitions.” trends are taking the market. “Seatback will al- will remain the dominant technology with
solutions which have the ability to provide
unprecedented amounts of capacity in high
traffic zones,” Perrot notes.
Also in the provision of connectivity, sat-
com antenna manufacturers “will continue to
watch market evolution in two key areas”,
says Harrah. “The first is the development
progress of LEO/MEO constellations and
overall suitability (or lack thereof) in aero mo-
bility markets, plus network provider/opera-
tor plans to support hybrid constellation con-
nectivity supported by electronically steered
array antennas. Second is the resurgence of
Ku-band due to the introduction of Ku-band
HTS as an alternative to Ka-band networks as
satellite operators deliver improved perfor-
mance.”
Harrah’s counterpart at Astronics CSC, Mi-
chael Kuehn, adds: “Future trends [in connec-
Lufthansa Systems
tivity hardware systems] include cabin wire-

less access points featuring WPA3-Enterprise,
which is the latest evolution in data encryp-
Lufthansa Systems’ BoardConnect IFEC allows app-less/browser-based video streaming tion and security enhancements for wi-fi.” ■

INTERIORS
Special report
Cyril Abad/CAPA Pictures/Safran

New processes have achieved a 30% fall in
seating defects, the French firm says
Sitting more
uct range includes evacuation slides, electrical
equipment, and water and waste systems – is
“perfectly in line” with Safran’s other equip-
ment divisions, group chief executive
Philippe Petitcolin tells FlightGlobal. The
comfortably
group’s total recurring operating profit reached
€3.02 billion on revenue of €21 billion.
Despite the seats and cabin division’s “very
limited” operating profit, Petitcolin says the
result shows Zodiac is now heading in the
right direction. During the year prior to the ac-
quisition, the company made an overall oper-
Following its acquisition by Safran, Zodiac Aerospace has ating loss in excess of €100 million. “We have
moved a lot of things… changed people and
pulled deliveries back on track and moved into the black started to bring [in] all the tools of Safran,
with a restructuring aimed at restoring client confidence which, in my opinion, made all the differ-
ence,” he says.
Following the acquisition, Safran looked to
MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON During the 10 months following Zodiac’s introduce its own operating and management
acquisition, the interior equipment manufac- processes into Zodiac’s operations. Last au-
S
afran has always maintained that its turer generated a total recurring operating in- tumn, it created three separate sister compa-
acquisition of troubled interior equip- come of €286 million ($321 million), on reve- nies – for aerosystems, cabin equipment and
ment supplier Zodiac Aerospace – nue of €3.8 billion. However, the result also seats – and merged Zodiac headquarters into
completed in February last year – indicated the extent of restructuring required the group’s Paris HQ. Engineering and pur-
made broad strategic sense, despite the for the seats and cabin equipment divisions. chasing functions were centralised, and Sa-
managerial fire-fighting that would inevitably The two units generated the majority of sales fran also moved aftermarket activities to the
be involved. With that in mind, the French – €2.01 billion – but contributed only €20 individual operating divisions; under Zodi-
group’s senior leadership could probably be million in recurring operating profit. ac’s structure these o perations were handled
justified in feeling a sense of vindication, Comparatively, Zodiac’s aerosystems divi- centrally by a dedicated unit.
when revealing in February that the cabin and sion generated €266 million in recurring oper- Previously, many of Zodiac’s activities
seats division had generated a small operating ating income on revenue of €1.79 billion. With were managed on a business unit or even site-
profit in 2018. a profit margin of 14.9%, that unit – its prod- by-site basis. “There was a lack of shared

INTERIORS
Seating
practices [and] standards, and now we want Petitcolin describes the problems as a re- business, which included locations with
to… bring best practices and standards [to the sult of Zodiac’s “hectic” expansion as an in- multiple sites.
operation],” says Safran seats chief executive dependent company. The issues came to a The plan includes some “big” changes –
Vincent Mascre. head in 2015 when cabin equipment delivery with some redundancies – but will mainly
delays hampered Airbus’s effort to ramp up cover a range of “small” items and not involve
WEAKNESSES production of the A350. extensive job losses, Petitcolin says. He fore-
Overall, the restructuring of Zodiac’s opera- Large cabin monuments, such as lavato- sees a sale of “few” facilities that are not con-
tions is on track, says Mascre. He admits, ries and crew rest compartments, need to be sidered central to Safran’s interior activities,
however: “The engineering processes and delivered – as complete units – to the air- and that the future business will end up with
supply chain processes have been weaker framer’s final assembly line and placed in- a rationalised footprint spanning 20-30 loca-
than we forecast, which means that the recov- side the fuselage sections before the seg- tions by 2023.
ery is probably deeper and more [of] a restruc- ments are joined, because the equipment Additionally, the group is preparing to com-
turing process.” does not fit through the aircraft’s doors. De- bine some activities from the aerosystems op-
In 2018, Safran spent €40 million on its Zo- livery delays meant interior monuments had eration and other Safran units – including in-
diac restructuring programme, 90% of which to be assembled inside the cabin, which cre- flight entertainment equipment, water and air
was directed at the seats and cabin opera- ated complications for the aircraft comple- systems – into a new Passenger Solutions busi-
tions. Seat deliveries declined by 19% in tion process. Airbus subsequently worked ness. Following its launch in January, the pro-
2018 after a spate of complaints from airlines with Zodiac to resolve the issues. ject has been presented to employee represent-
and airframers over quality issues and deliv- In Petitcolin’s view, remaining problems at atives and is to be concluded later this year.
ery delays during previous years. For 2019, the interior manufacturer are “all operation-
Safran is forecasting flat sales for the division. al… under our responsibility and all fixable”. WEIGHING CO-OPERATION
Deliveries of cabin equipment increased by He acknowledges, however, that success will With Embraer, Safran has a joint venture
9% in 2018, however. This was mainly driven depend on deeper factors. “Our top priority is named EZ Air, which supplies cabin equip-
by production increases on the Airbus A220, to restore the confidence of our customers in ment for the Brazilian airframer’s E-Jet family.
A320 and Boeing 737 programmes. order to win in the short term more orders,” The company, based in Chihuahua, Mexico,
“In the very short term, of course, in the he says, noting that efforts must concentrate was established by Zodiac and Embraer be-
seats business we are certainly seeing some on improving quality and on-time delivery fore Safran’s takeover.
challenges in the development of new… pro- performance. That co-operation suggests there might be
grammes,” admits Mascre. And he acknowl- “If the top line [sales] comes back to where scope for similar partnerships with Airbus or
edges that rival manufacturers are taking ad- it was a couple of years ago, and if our market Boeing – especially as the US airframer has
vantage of Safran’s position. The competition share in both seats and cabin comes back to recently made efforts to reduce its dependen-
is “not at all” sleeping, he says. the level they enjoyed before the crisis, I think cy on external equipment suppliers through
However, he says that the introduction of we are in really good shape,” he says. joint ventures, such as a seating business with
new processes and performance monitoring Safran has raised to €250 million a cost- automotive supplier Adient.
has led to a 30% fall in seat quality-related is- saving target to be achieved by 2023, up from Petitcolin does not rule out the possibility
sues. Seat development and aftermarket sup- a previous level of €200 million. The group of an interior partnership with Boeing. “We
port activities still require improvement, he has started consolidating facilities – notably see what Boeing wants to do,” he says. Noting
says, adding: “We need to be quicker and in France and the USA – and plans to further that the US airframer is in the process of ac-
more efficient.” reduce the footprint of the former Zodiac quiring an 80% shareholding in Embraer’s
commercial aircraft business, he cautions:
“It’s too early to tell… if something could be
done with [Boeing].”
However, he does declare himself “not a
fan” of an interiors tie-up with an airframer,
because a substantial part of the sales in that
sector comprises buyer-furnished and retrofit
equipment. “The relationship we need to
grow is with the airlines,” he says.
“I have to supply the OEM with quality
products on time at a competitive price. But
for me the key is really the relationship with
the airlines more than with the OEMs.”
Petitcolin is confident that the acquisition
of Zodiac and its combination with Safran’s
in-house capabilities will generate additional
business opportunities.
Noting that supply of line-fit equipment can
be planned with relatively short lead times ac-
H Gousse/master films/Airbus
cording to the airframer’s production plans, he

says that airline cabin interior orders “can
come quite quickly” and might require pro-
duction plan changes. The key will be to pro-
vide that flexibility and, Petitcolin says, “to
A350 cabin equipment delays caused Airbus headaches, but were eventually resolved build trust again with our customers”. ■

INTERIORS
Special report
More room to fly

In updating the CRJ900 regional jet’s interior, Bombardier and supplier Safran Cabin have
not only kept pace with passenger expectations, but made best use of all available space
Delta’s SkyWest feeder service was first

to fly Atmoshpere-equipped aircraft
Delta Air Lines
TOM RISEN WASHINGTON DC competitive regional flight option. Passen- every 10s on medium-haul routes. Today,
CUTAWAY DRAWING BY TIM HALL, TIM gers fly on the CRJ900 for about 1h on 430 of the 75- to 90-seat type are in service
BICHENO-BROWN & GIUSEPPE PICARELLA average, but Atmosphere aims to deliver an with 18 carriers, according to Cirium’s Fleets
experience more akin to that on widebody Analyzer. The Montreal-based airframer sees
A
dding carry-on baggage capacity is aircraft during longer flights, says Bombar- passenger service upgrades as a chance to ex-
one important way for regional air- dier CRJ programme director Jean-Francois tend the service of those fleets. The CRJ900
lines to meet passengers’ evolving Guay. has much in common with its CRJ siblings,
demands – and has prompted “Atmosphere demonstrates where the in- so Guay says the next step for Bombardier is
Bombardier to contract Zodiac Aerospace to dustry is going,” Guay says. “What we’re ex- to offer Atmosphere cabins on new CRJ700s
modify the cabin on the CRJ900 series with periencing in our conversations with airlines and CRJ1000s.
enough overhead compartment space to fit during the past 18 months is they are seeking And if there is sufficient demand for cabin
the wheels of most roller luggage. a common passenger experience across their upgrades from airlines that own CRJ900s,
Upgrades such as that for the Atmosphere fleet, and that is becoming a greater focus in Guay says Bombardier may look to offer
cabin on CRJ900s are part of a strategy by regional flight.” Atmosphere cabins as a retrofit option for
Bombardier and Safran subsidiary Zodiac to The CRJ900 first flew in 2001, and Bom- older CRJs.
make the aircraft a more convenient and bardier says a CRJ-series aircraft departs The response from passengers will help

INTERIORS
CRJ900 Atmosphere cabin
determine the demand for Atmosphere, as

they experience the cabin during the next
several months, as new CRJ900 aircraft are
delivered. So far, Guay says: “We’ve gotten
positive feedback that we were right with the
design.”
AIRLINE INTEREST
Airlines can customise the Atmosphere inte-
rior from a colour palette matching their
brands. Delta Air Lines has installed the At-
mosphere cabin on the seven CRJ900s it has
in service. SkyWest pilots were the first to fly
the Atmosphere cabin on a Delta-owned
Bombardier
CRJ900 after its delivery in September 2018.
American Airlines at the end of 2018 had
118 CRJ900s in its fleet and has ordered 15 Ambient mood lighting colour palette is adjustable to match an airline’s own branding
new examples, valued at $719 million, with
the option to buy 15 more. Guay says deliv-
ery of the first 15 will be completed before
June.
“Regional aircraft help connect our custom-
ers to flights all over the world and we definite-
ly see those aircraft as an important, high-
quality part of our offering,” says American.
“Some attractions for us with the new Atmos-
phere interior included the full-colour LED
mood lighting and bigger overhead bins.”
Making CRJ aircraft more competitive
against rivals including Embraer’s E-Jet fam-
ily is a high priority for Bombardier, follow-
ing the company’s sale of a controlling stake
in its CSeries programme in 2018 to Airbus,
Bombardier
which has rebranded it as the A220. As of
March, the CRJ900 backlog totalled just 52,
compared with 200 orders for the Embraer Slimline galley is longer, to preserve aisle width yet retain the expected level of service
E175, according to Fleets Analyzer.
Four CRJ900s will also be delivered in service, he notes. the value of regional flight. Southeast Asia for
2019 to Uganda Airlines. Guay says Bombar- “We are seeing in China a bigger focus on sure.” Bombardier predicts that the world-
dier is seeking more sales outside North secondary and tertiary-level cities in the wide regional jet industry will deliver 3,000
America, in part because the USA is “a re- country, which is great news for us because aircraft during the next 20 years.
placement market” for regional routes. China we have a regional aircraft,” he says.
is ordering more passenger aircraft to expand “There are a lot of places in Asia that see DESIGN INNOVATION
Whatever the demand for CRJ900s, Guay is
Overhead bin capacity confident in Bombardier’s capacity to deliver
is boosted by using orders, now that Zodiac has been acquired by
integrated hinges the larger Safran. Safran bought Zodiac in
2018 to create a comprehensive aircraft interi-
ors business unit featuring design talent that
has worked on interiors for every previous se-
ries of the CRJ going back to the CRJ100 series,
which first flew in 1991. Since becoming Sa-
fran Cabin at the end of 2018, the CRJ team
from Zodiac has had access to Safran’s re-
search and development networks.
Keeping the Zodiac team for CRJ interiors
made it easier for Bombardier to manage the
Atmosphere redesign – without, for example,
having to educate a new supplier about the lo-
cation of cables and other systems on the air-
craft, Guay says. It also means Bombardier
“can work faster” when co-ordinating with Sa-
Bombardier
fran Cabin to deliver components for new CRJ

orders, he adds. Bombardier first showcased ❯❯

INTERIORS
Special report
❯❯ the Atmosphere cabin as a concept in BOMBARDIER CRJ900

2017, both to compete and to meet the evolving
needs of passengers. Airframers upgrade cab-
ins every 10 to 15 years, says Guay, as was the
case with the last upgrade of the CRJ900 a dec- 0 2m
ade ago. “We’re probably going to have to read- 0 6ft
just the cabin in another 10 years to account for
how the market changes,” he adds.
Shifting expectations for digital services are
examples of vast air travel changes during the
past decade. In-flight entertainment screens
in seat backs are not included as part of the
Atmosphere interior because of the short av-
erage duration of flights on the CRJ900, Guay
says, adding: “A trend across different types
of flights is that passengers want to use their
own device.”
Air-to-ground wireless service on the aircraft
supplied by Chicago-based GoGo provides
bandwidth for passengers to watch video or lis-
ten to music while nesting their devices in
pockets around the seats, with power provided Tim Bicheno-Brown/FlightGlobal
by Honeywell auxiliary units.
Canadian-built twinjet typically carries 90 passengers on sector lengths of around 1h
MAKING ROOM Originator XX
Designers working on Atmosphere faced the gramme at Bombardier.
Magazine FlightGlobal Feedback from airlines highlighted two
challenge of increasing space for passengers SizeFull mood
114 x 67 lighting
/ Feature throughout the cabin is trends that influenced the Atmosphere pro-
and their baggage while working within the provided by Texas-based supplier Luminator
File name FIN CRJ900 GA
ject: passengers are growing taller, and aircraft
confines of the CRJ900 airframe. A notable At- Technology Group. Ambient lighting is a fea- should adapt to various mobility challenges.
mosphere feature is the aisle, which is off cen- ture that each airline customises, often with a Bombardier bills the forward lavatories on
tre in the business-class section – with its colour palette co-ordinated with its brand. Atmosphere cabins as the first on regional air-
three seats per row, in a one-two arrangement During overnight flights the crew can switch craft designed for people with reduced mobil-
– but runs down the centreline in the two-by- to sleep ambient lighting, for instance. Safran ity, including handicapped passengers, preg-
two economy cabin. Cabin designed and produced most of the in- nant women or mothers breastfeeding babies.
Atmosphere cabins have wider entrances terior features in the Atmosphere cabin in Designers increased the depth of the front
and aisles than the previous CRJ900 cabin de- house. Designers shrank the depth of the gal- lavatory to align with the two-seat side of the
sign, which “delivers a great first impression ley so it would encroach less on the aisle, but aisle in business class and created 60% more
as passengers enter the aircraft”, says Chris- extended the length, so cabin crews could room than the previous CRJ900 cabin, includ-
tian Rheault, chief of strategy for the CRJ pro- offer the same service. ing ceilings that are 7.6cm (3in) higher.
“Lavatories with more floor space that are
wider, deeper and have higher ceilings will
become a standard passenger expectation,”
says Patrick Baudis, head of marketing at
Bombardier.
The asymmetric aisle with two-by-one seat-
ing also left depth open for designers to relo-
cate the hinges on overhead baggage bins in the
business-class section. The result is that three
roller bags can fit wheels first, offering 50%
more luggage space than in the previous de-
sign. Economy-class bins can fit 40% more –
two roller bags per bin.
Making these overhead bin adjustments
“allowed us to eliminate entirely the ‘micro-
bin’ on the left side of the cabin, improving
the space impression and headroom” of the
cabin, says Nathan Kwok, vice-president of
marketing at Safran Cabin.
“In all areas of the cabin, the bin hinges are
integrated into the panel itself and don’t pro-
trude as much into the bag space,” Kwok says.
Bombardier
“This was a part of a fresh look at how items

are packaged, finding many small ways to
Atmosphere claims regional first, with lavatories to support mobility impaired passengers gain space.” ■

CRJ900 CUTAWAY
This issue should hold a cutaway poster of the

CRJ900. If yours is missing or damaged please
contact:
Gillian Cumming
FlightGlobal
Quadrant House, The Quadrant,
Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5AS, UK
gillian.cumming@flightglobal.com

ROYAL MALAYSIAN AIR FORCE
Holding pattern
A new government could jumpstart Malaysia’s long-delayed procurement programme,
but little cash and a timetable without urgency suggest its capability gaps will only widen
MiG-29s have now

been stored pending
replacement decision
Ahmad Yusni/EPA/REX/Shutterstock
DZIRHAN MAHADZIR KUALA LUMPUR will overshadow the show. under the air force’s Capability 55 plan issued in
It is worth remembering that previous edi- 2018, there is no indication as to if or when
S
etting the stage for the 2019 Langkawi tions of LIMA have also focused on supposed- funding will materialise. The service’s stated
International Maritime and Aerospace ly pending procurements, such as the multi- goal of taking until 2055 to achieve its desired
(LIMA) exhibition to be held from role combat aircraft (MRCA) replacement for force structure suggests, however, that its leader-
26-30 March, the Royal Malaysian Air the RAC MiG-29 and for maritime patrol airship believes funding will emerge some time in
Force has issued requests for information craft (MPA). Neither has resulted in an actual the next four decades.
covering its planned requirements. procurement, however. In 2017, the previous In a speech during his visit to the defence
This is likely to prompt several manufac- Barisan National government under Najib ministry on 21 February, Mohamad pledged
turers to position themselves for the needs, Razak awarded the MPA programme an initial support for the Malaysian armed forces’ de-
which cover light combat aircraft (LCA) and funding allocation, allowing the air force to velopment plans, including Capability 55, but
unmanned air vehicles (UAV), with some conduct assessments and evaluation. But in the government has offered few indications
bringing their products for display at the 2018, the programme was cancelled following that any real funds will be forthcoming.
show. LIMA will again offer visitors its typi- the election of a new government led by Prime Kuala Lumpur has a long history of pro-
cal buzz under the resort island’s azure skies, Minister Mahathir Mohamad. crastinating: the MRCA requirement has
but Kuala Lumpur’s procurement history While the LCA and UAV requirements exist dragged on unfulfilled for more than a dec-

LIMA PREVIEW
ade, and the MiG-29s that the new MRCA jet

Gripen C/D was a
was intended to replace were put into storage
likely candidate for
in 2018. The competition had attracted strong
MRCA requirement
interest from the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon
and Saab Gripen C/D at previous iterations of
the LIMA show.
Indeed, it is far from clear if the current
government will fund any new military pro-
curement in the short term. It continues to
stress that the nation faces fiscal challenges
from debts and mismanagement by Najib’s
government. As a result, defence spending is
unlikely to be a priority. Requirements for
new air assets in all three branches of the mili-
tary are all but certain to remain unfulfilled.
UNPRECEDENTED STEP
A defence white paper, Malaysia’s first ever,
will be presented to the cabinet in July before
being tabled in parliament in September for ap-
proval. A major question is whether the white
paper will commit procurement programmes
to a scheduled budgetary timeframe.
Malaysian air force officers have told
FlightGlobal that the Capability 55 plan is in-
tended to outline the service’s requirements,
but not pressure the government into fulfill-
ing them. This approach may backfire: the de-
Saab
clared target end date of 2055 may well result
in the government seeing no need for urgen-
cy, given the length of the proposed time- currently assigned to the MB-339CMs and ing a single aircraft type.
frame. part of the Hawk fleet. The Capability 55 plan also calls for the air
Should the Capability 55 plan move for- For the transport role, the current airlift force to add a squadron each of UAVs, MPA,
ward, the current fleet of five fighter types – fleet, comprising the Airbus Defence & Space and airborne early warning and control system
Aermacchi MB-339CMs, BAE Systems Hawk A400M and CN235, plus standard and aircraft. Its four helicopter squadrons, operating
108/208s, the F/A-18D, Sukhoi Su-30MKM stretched Lockheed Martin C-130Hs, will be Airbus Helicopters H225Ms and Sikorsky
and MiG-29 – will be reduced to two: the consolidated from four squadrons into one S-61A Nuri rotorcraft will be reduced to two,
MRCA, which will equip two squadrons, and fielding strategic airlift/multirole tanker-trans- operating a common combat search and rescue
the LCA, deployed across three. The LCA will ports (likely built around the A400M fleet) type.
also carry out the lead-in fighter training role and two tactical airlift squadrons, also operat- Rounding out the plan are nine long-range
air defence radar stations and a ground-based
air defence regiment. The plan offers no spe-
cifics on timeframes beyond an end goal of
2055. It also fails to specify how many aircraft
or UAVs will constitute a squadron.
NOTIONAL BACKING
Yet while the government claims it will sup-
port the plan, Kuala Lumpur’s long history of
unfulfilled procurement plans suggests pessi-
mism is in order. The new Pakatan Harapan
government has no fiscal allocation for the
MRCA or LCA procurements. In any case, its
commitment to transparency and openness
means a new international tender is necessary
for both requirements.
The air force could well end up seeing the
MRCA dropped in favour of the LCA if the
government decides this is cheaper. This
could mean the service will soldier on with
the F/A-18D and Su-30MKM– unless the LCA
AirTeamImages
Decision awaits on S-61A helicopter upgrades and fate of CN235 medium transports turns out to be a more capable single-engined
aircraft, such as the Gripen or Lockheed ❯❯

ROYAL MALAYSIAN AIR FORCE
A400M has acquitted itself well as

successor to air force’s C-130Hs
Airbus Defence & Space

❯❯ F-16V Block 70. So far, LCA contenders government ended this mission, recalling the this was cancelled in 2016. Sources have also
are a motley bunch: the Chengdu/Pakistan aircraft and personnel. said that the delivery of six MD Helicopters
Aeronautical Complex JF-17, Hindustan Aer- One of the rare positive developments for MD530Gs in the attack role has been pushed
onautics Tejas and Korea Aerospace Indus- Malaysia’s air force in recent years has been the back from February 2019 to September, due to
tries F/A-50. performance of its A400M fleet. The type has production delays.
Going for the Tejas is a non-starter for Ma- taken over a substantial portion of the C-130H’s The Malaysian navy has a requirement for
laysia, because the aircraft features the Israeli- role of air transportation in Malaysia, along at least six anti-submarine warfare helicop-
produced Elta ELM-2032 fire control radar – with participating in relief missions to Bangla- ters, along with a replacement for its six-
Kuala Lumpur does not recognise Israel. The desh for Rohingya refugees. In October 2018, strong Airbus Helicopters AS555 Fennec 2
F/A-50 is also equipped with the same radar an A400M and two C-130Hs also supported fleet, but again, funding has yet to be allocated
– although an alternative could be sought, this relief operations in Palu, Indonesia, following for the effort.
would entail higher costs. an earthquake there. The service also has car- The air force, meanwhile, has issued re-
Should the LCA procurement make no pro- ried out in-flight refuelling operations with the quests linked to a medium-altitude, long-en-
gress, a potential stopgap measure has been A400M using Cobham refuelling pods, though durance UAV, although again, no funding has
considered in the form of surplus F/A-18s the aircraft has yet to drop paratroopers. been confirmed for it. The AVIC Wing Loong,
from Kuwait as the Gulf state’s air force switch- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
es over to the Super Hornet, but it remains to ROTORCRAFT REQUIRED MQ-9B and Turkish Aerospace Anka will all
be seen if this will actually take place. The upgrade of the air force’s S-61A Nuri fleet be promoted at LIMA, but it is far from certain
Malaysia’s air force has, however, obtained remains in question, and by extension the if a selection will be made.
surplus F/A-18 parts from the Royal Australi- army’s S-61As, consisting of helicopters pre- The navy has had better luck in obtaining
an Air Force as it phases out its “Classic” Hor- viously operated by the air force. Cirium’s UAVs, as it will receive six Insitu ScanEagle
nets in exchange for the Lockheed F-35A Fleets Analyzer shows that Malaysia operates 2s from the USA as part of that country’s Mar-
Lightning II. 28 Nuris: 27 S-61A-4s and a single upgraded itime Security Initiative. The systems will be
The MPA programme, meanwhile, has S-61N. The average age of the fleet is 44.6 delivered in the third quarter of 2019. The
been cancelled by the Pakatan Harapan gov- years. The upgrades mainly involve the rotor- navy plans to begin initial operations in the
ernment and it is unclear whether the white craft’s avionics and will see the type receive South China Sea portion of East Malaysia be-
paper will revive it. Plans by the previous an all-new glass cockpit, with a moving map fore expanding operations to the Sulu Sea.
government to upgrade the Hawk 108/208, C- and digital flight displays. Until this year’s white paper is released, it
130H and S-61A Nuri fleets have also been The army air corps is to eventually operate appears that despite the change of government,
placed on hold. 12 examples, with the air force being left military procurement programmes remain on
From 2015, Malaysian C-130Hs were con- with around a dozen. The S-61A, however, is hold. While Kuala Lumpur and the armed
troversially used by the Najib government on little suited for tactical operations, so the forces will continue to discuss requirements,
a rotational deployment in Saudi Arabia. army still has a requirement for tactical which are growing increasingly urgent given
These provided logistical support to Riyadh transport helicopters. the country’s ageing fleet and strategic chal-
as part of its military campaign in Yemen. An attempt was made to obtain surplus lenges, funding will continue to be a major
Upon assuming power, the Pakatan Harapan Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawks from Brunei but issue. ■

FLIGHT AT 110
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
Aviation advances
As Flight magazine marks its 110th anniversary, we look at our second decade’s highlights
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES LONDON
T
he 1920s began with Flight still
under the leadership of our founding
editor, Stanley Spooner, operating
from a small office in Great Queen
Street in central London.
The magazine’s first decade from 1909 had springboard for the growing aviation indus- The UK’s airship adventure would of
been punctuated by the Great War, which saw try as it entered the 1920s. Flight was ex- course end abruptly early in the following
incredible advances in aviation. The last year panding too. decade following the tragic loss of the R.101.
of the decade witnessed several historic By 1920, the airship was taking on in- And Flight, in its 22 November 1929 editorial
events in the development of the aeroplane. creasing importance, prompting the maga- comment, highlighted the challenges the in-
In June 1919, British pilots John Alcock and zine to adapt our masthead. We would be dustry faced, describing the R.101’s design as
Arthur Brown made the first nonstop crossing known as “Flight − The Aircraft Engineer “so great a departure from previous practice
of the Atlantic by an aircraft, flying a modified and Airships” for the next two decades. in the matter of construction”.
Vickers Vimy bomber from St John’s, New- Airships would become an important topic Sadly, less than a year later, on 10 October
foundland, to County Galway in Ireland. for us during the 1920s, as they vied with the 1930, Flight’s words of caution would be
On 25 August, British airline Aircraft Trans- aeroplane in the aerial transport sector. For proved accurate as the UK’s dreams of estab-
port and Travel, or simply AT&T, began the Flight, the last year of the decade would mark lishing an airship industry died in the wreck
world’s first regular international service, fly- an important one in the evolution of British of the R.101. ■
ing a de Havilland DH.16 from Hounslow designs, with a pair of giant rigid airships fly-
Heath in west London to Le Bourget, Paris. ing in late 1929 − the British Air Ministry’s Read about Flight’s first decade from 1909 at
These historic milestones provided a R.101 and the privately produced R.100. flightglobal.com/Flight1101
1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

PARKROYAL on Pickering, Singapore, 23-24 May 2019
The distribution strategies

which deliver customers
the right services, at the
right time, and through
the right channels
Airlines are operating in a market where
digitization is making it constantly harder to
add value. Airlines must identify the tools
which allow them to build value into their
offering, presenting customers with the
right offers and services, and on the right
platform.
To achieve this, and engage dynamically

with their customer base, airlines need to
dramatically increase their capabilities, which
are currently restricted by an over-reliance
on GDS and third-party sales channels, as
well as legacy infrastructure and systems.
Find out more at

flightglobal.com/reach
To attend, visit: flightglobal.com/reach or contact +44 (0)2079 111 993

To speak, contact Luke Hill T: +44 (0)2079 111 813 E: luke.hill@flightglobal.com
STRAIGHT&LEVEL
From yuckspeak to tales of yore, send your offcuts to murdo.morrison@flightglobal.com

Einstein won’t
Max Kingsley-Jones/FlightGlobal
Under the bridge
fly for Trump Flying one of the Fairey
The US president famously variable wing seaplanes,
mistrusts experts, whether Mr. Sydney
climate scientists, economists, Pickles passed
or battle-hardened military between the
chiefs, while mere professionals upper and lower
who spend decades becoming cross structures of the Tower
adept in their subject area must Bridge. It may be recalled
envy his ability to instantly that Mr. Frank McClean, on a
understand complex issues. In Short seaplane, flew under
this spirit, in the wake of the the bridge in 1912.
Ethiopian Airlines crash, the
Donald shared his insights on Beware the Moon
aircraft design, via Twitter. For the first fortnight in
“Airplanes are becoming far March the Luftwaffe left
too complex to fly. Pilots are no Britain alone.
longer needed, but rather This quiet period
computer scientists from MIT,” could not be
opined Trump. “I see it all the attributed to its
time in many products. Always loss of 83 aircraft the 16
seeking to go one unnecessary Three former Concorde stewardesses – Hilary Robinson, raids they had made in
step further, when often old and Jeanette Hartley and Carol Cornwell – were on hand at February, but to the fact that
simpler is far better. Split second the Brooklands Museum in Surrey earlier in March to the Moon was waxing.
decisions are needed and the celebrate the supersonic jet’s 50th anniversary. As part When the Moon was past
complexity creates danger.” of the trip down memory lane to the days when the trio the full the attacks resumed.
He concluded: “I don’t want served champagne to the rich and famous on board the
Albert Einstein to be my pilot. I British Airways flagship, Jeanette modelled her original Sigma takes shape
want great flying professionals “red, white and blue” uniform that hails from the BA Sigma, the super-glider
that are allowed to easily and “Negus” livery era adorning the Brooklands Concorde. project, has now been going
quickly take control of a plane.” just under three
Whether Trump consulted his years and, but for
acting defence secretary on Zimbabwe, which had to was looking for a “strategic the fire at
modern cockpit philosophy is apologise to customers recently, investor” in the government- Slingsby Aircraft,
unclear. The incumbent is one after its single operational owned carrier. would be getting close to
Patrick Shanahan, who held the aircraft was grounded for an Not even Etihad... first flight. Among the
role of senior vice-president, engine change? projects seen by the Duke of
airplane programmes at Boeing The flag carrier has a fleet that Edinburgh on his visit to
from 2008 to 2016, the period
during which the 737 Max was
notionally includes Airbus
A320, as well as Boeing 737,
Alastair Pugh Slingsby Aircraft was the new
post-fire prototype of Sigma,
being developed. 767, and 777-200ER aircraft, We were sorry to learn of the death just beginning to take shape.
but, as a result of “equipment on 6 March of Alastair Pugh, a
constraints”, only one is in use. Flight staffer in the late 1950s Embraer sale
Flagging carrier Air Zimbabwe promises that
new aircraft will be available
whose hugely varied career began
as a designer with de Havilland at
The privatisation of Brazilian
aircraft manufacturer
There are tough gigs in aviation, “soon”, and that this will “ease Hatfield and took in 27 years with Embraer will take
but can anything beat being operational challenges”. In UK airlines, including as place on 20 May,
chief executive of Air November, Harare announced it managing director of British according to
Caledonian, before its takeover by officials running
British Airways in 1988. the privatisation programme.
Pugh was also a trustee of The date was set after the
Brooklands Museum in Surrey Government assumed part
and a motor racing enthusiast, of the company’s $700
particularly for the Frazer Nash million debt.
Aviation Images/REX/Shutterstock
marque. He went on racing into

his 80s, and is believed to have 100-YEAR ARCHIVE
been the oldest holder of a Every issue of Flight
current UK racing licence. from 1909 onwards
He flew a Piper Archer on his can be viewed online at
90th birthday last September. flightglobal.com/archive
“Ladies and gentlemen: there will be a short delay” Safe travels.

LETTERS flight.international@flightglobal.com
A serious issue was coming to

SUPERSONICS light – and if an airline grounds
The circumstances of Concorde its aircraft, the OEM will react.
Don Landsborough
Many years ago, when Concorde was an idea for the future, I via email
We welcome your letters on any
aspect of the aerospace industry.
wrote a letter to Flight International entitled “If God had intended
man to fly 1,350 miles per hour, he would have raised the speed
Please write to:
The Editor, Flight International, of sound.” Too much trust
Quadrant House, The Quadrant,
Sutton, Surrey, SM2 5AS, UK
On a visit to England at about the same time I encountered
fluid dynamicist Ian Proudman, who told me he was on a com- in computers
Or email: mittee to advise the UK Parliament about the supersonic airliner. Are we reaching the point,
flight.international@flightglobal.com Asked what he thought of it, he said it was obvious that no-one following the two Boeing 737
The opinions on this page do not should, under any circumstances, ever build such an aircraft, Max 8 accidents, where too
necessarily represent those of the editor.
Letters without a full postal address sup-
but that for political reasons it would be built. much is being entrusted to
plied may not be published. Letters may A few years later, I watched Concorde’s first landing at computer systems?
also be published on flightglobal.com Washington Dulles International airport. Its ogee wings were so Whilst appreciating the ad-
and must be no longer than 250 words. short, and at such a high angle of attack, that the tyre smoke vances, surely flightcrew should
was instantly wound into their vortices. have the ability to manually dis-
Charles McCutchen engage a system in order to avoid
Two engines are via email potential catastrophe, just as they
can disengage an autopilot?
as safe as four David Dickinson
I read Tim Mear’s letter “Four en- Sketty, Swansea, Wales
gines are better than two” (Flight
International, 12-18 March).
I am too lazy to try and work Technical deficit
out how many hundreds or more It is a travesty of justice that the
miles I have flown over water on pilot of the Hawker Hunter that
Peter Brooker/REX/Shutterstock
one engine. Did I worry? Not re- crashed during the Shoreham air
ally, although I was certainly show in August 2015, killing 11
alert, and made sure I had as people, has been cleared of man-
much altitude as possible. slaughter by gross negligence.
In the limited number of trans- The friends and relatives of
atlantic and transpacific com- Should passenger aircraft fly faster than the speed of sound? those that died cannot possibly
mercial airline flights I have find closure with this.
made as a passenger, only one I see it as yet another case
was on a twin-engined aircraft. on long-haul aircraft, if only to ad- of the Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 – where the lawyers, judge and
Again, I was not worried. dress the public outcry – regard- operators in Europe were await- jury have totally failed to under-
It seems to me, however, that less of inarguably increased costs. ing instructions from various avi- stand things technical.
on the law of probabilities sooner Richard Chandless ation safety regulators. David Stevens
or later both fans will stop – prob- Creches-sur-Saone, France Operators should be adhering via email
ably with very unpleasant conse- to safety management systems
quences, be it over land or sea. and have accountable managers
When this does happen, total- Decisive action with the courage to honour their In a flap
ly innocent airframers are likely It may be difficult commercially, obligation to make judgements With regards to your article
to suddenly find themselves fac- but operators must be proactive with integrity and act decisively. “747 flap loss probe highlights
ing a media witch hunt – along, on matters of safety such as the Had a third accident occurred previous occurrences” (Flight
perhaps, with the various airwor- current problems with the Boeing – for example, to a UK-registered International, 12-18 March): I
thiness authorities. The airlines 737 Max (Flight International, Max 8 prior to its suspension by was staggered to read that the
will quite possibly encounter a 19-25 March). As the adage has it: the Civil Aviation Authority – it dimensions quoted for the
fall-off in ticket sales. if you think grounding an aircraft could have been judged corpo- inboard fore flap are 8m (26ft).
It is quite possible that, should is expensive, try an accident. rate manslaughter. This is somewhat hard to miss.
this ever happen, we may see an It seems that, even after the As they say, all the holes in the Paul Ashenden
increase in the number of engines second crash – the 10 March loss cheese were beginning to line up. via email
Check out Flight International’s Image Store

Browse or customise a gift or memento from our CUTAWAY ARCHIVE
of more than 1000 aircraft drawings
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WORKING WEEK
WORK EXPERIENCE PAULA KRAFT
Cooking up a new training concept

Paula Kraft is founder of DaVinci Inflight Training Institute, dedicated to delivering highly skilled and
versatile crewmembers for the business aviation industry, using very hands-on, interactive approach
How did you get into the attendants must be ready in an

aviation industry? instant to change roles into an
It was quite by accident. I was evacuation specialist or medical
the in-house caterer for Macy’s assistant when needed. DaVinci
Food Cellar and was asked to teaches this by using all our sens-
provide a picnic meal for a con- es and experiences. The classes
cert in the park. The client liked are all interactive. Each student
the meal so much his assistant touches and feels the equipment
was tasked to see if I had an in- they will use when on the air-
terest in providing food to the craft. They taste and understand
executive dining room. I made a what flavours shift when at alti-
presentation that same week and tude. We share the experience of
was asked by one of the execu- what they do for others, and we
tives if I would be interested in do for them. If they can experi-
DaVinci Inflight Training Institute

catering for their aircraft. Of ence it, they understand the rea-
course I said yes, and made an- soning behind why something is
other presentation to their flight done and asked of them. Hope-
department that same week. I fully, we teach them to have
was so proud of our picnic pack- passion for their career path. It is
aging that I delivered the samples Kraft’s trainees combine experience with their senses as they learn so much more than a job.
for the tasting in those same What do you enjoy most?
boxes. To my surprise, they approached to help corporate lucky enough to attend industry I am energised each day at the
didn’t fit through the aircraft flight attendants improve their conferences and travel, you may thought of sharing skills and
door, much less in the galley. skill set, related to catering, plan- have the opportunity to meet and techniques with our students. I
The flight department manager ning, organising, and presenta- learn from these experts. Howev- learn something with every day
said they would work with me tion. Frequently I was asked to er, the majority of people aren’t that passes from my students – it
and teach me what was expected help them solve catering that fortunate. I wanted to create is totally awesome. I love to be
in aviation catering. I was fortu- problems, as well as staffing con- a school – not a training centre, challenged when I teach. I love to
nate that the entire team taught cerns. I heard over and over from but an educational facility. I help our students feel that they
me everything I needed to know. lead flight attendants wishing want to raise the flight attendant/ can do it, that the skills they are
Shortly after, the local flight de- someone was capable to train the cabin crew/third crewmember to working on are not out of reach.
partment executives were invit- complete job of a corporate flight be considered a highly trained And most of all, I love sharing
ed to attend a special event and attendant. They found it difficult professional that is respected for my joy.
asked me to cater the flights. to hire a professional who knew all that he or she must achieve on What is your biggest challenge?
Their passengers consisted of the job and all that it entailed. a daily basis. It is their expertise There are only 24h in a day. n
executives from other flight What is your role and who are and training that keeps Looking for a job in aerospace?
departments. Upon their return, some of your other partners? passengers and crew healthy, Check out our listings online at
every one of the guests called me I consider myself the visionary balance their diets with menu flightglobal.com/jobs
to cater for their aircraft. It wasn’t for DaVinci. I have a dream of planning, as well as providing
long before I decided I would what we can accomplish – not reduced scope for food illness by If you would like to feature in
only do aviation catering. alone, but as a team of experts. recognising potential risks and Working Week, or you know
Why did you create DaVinci Through my travels, I have met properly mitigating them. All someone who would, email
Inflight Training Institute? numerous people that are revolu- this has to be done while consist- your pitch to kate.sarsfield@
I wanted to make a change in my tionising the aviation industry in ently providing nurturing servic- flightglobal.com
industry. For years, I have been one way or another. If you are es to passengers and crew. Flight

an event by

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What are some of the challenges faced by the aviation industry?

What are some of the challenges faced by the aviation industry?

What is the Schools Aerospace Challenge and what opportunities does it provide?

What is the Schools Aerospace Challenge and what opportunities does it provide?

26 March-1 April 2019 I flightglobal.

Why 2018 may have been high

Sophie Segal checked the raises awkward

was in Toulouse, as Japan’s narrowbody, while Facing close

10 ATR porpoised after overly fast landing.

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23 All in the details

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B ilateral arrangements in aviation safety

flightglobal.com 26 March-1 April 2019 | Flight International | 5

Strike weapon hits

...WHILE BOEING READIES FOR JOINT VENTURE

6 | Flight International | 26 March-1 April 2019 flightglobal.com

FLEET DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW TOULOUSE

ANA delivery is a first and last for A380

A irbus has handed over the

PRIVATISATION OLIVER CLARK LONDON

flightglobal.com 26 March-1 April 2019 | Flight International | 7

ACCIDENT JON HEMMERDINGER BOSTON & DOMINIC PERRY LONDON

Max inquiry raises

A s the crisis enveloping the

8 | Flight International | 26 March-1 April 2019 flightglobal.com

SAFETY JON HEMMERDINGER BOSTON

and prompted the global ground- parameters of MCAS during Max

The FAA’s review of the soft- ing – or operation without auto-

flightglobal.com 26 March-1 April 2019 | Flight International | 9

INCIDENT DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

ATR porpoised after overly fast landing

P ilots of a White Airways ATR

ANALYSIS SOPHIE SEGAL ORLANDO

‘Fragile’ finances could herald onset of downturn

IATA data shows. As of Decem- downturn,” he says. ■

10 | Flight International | 26 March-1 April 2019 flightglobal.com

OPERATIONS MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON INTERIORS

EasyJet equips Neo as ATM

N o-frills carrier EasyJet has

Second bigger BelugaXL breaks cover

successor to the A300-600ST Beluga transport. Airbus developed

flightglobal.com 26 March-1 April 2019 | Flight International | 11

FINANCE GHIM-LAY YEO WASHINGTON DC

Third MC-21 takes off at Irkutsk anca’s fleet capital expenditure

R ussian airframer Irkut has

FLEET OLIVER CLARK LONDON

Corsair sets out its A330-based future

F rench carrier Corsair is to

to 13 by 2023. given the airport’s modernisa-

12 | Flight International | 26 March-1 April 2019 flightglobal.com

CRASH DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW LONDON

NTSB clarifies Atlas 767 accident probe

U S investigators probing the