Aircraft Supplier & MRO News - Europe.

New York, Geneva (AirGuideBusiness - Aircraft Supplier & MRO News Europe) Jul 4, 2010

Air France KLM, Embraer Air France KLM's maintenance arm is to extend its capabilities to include Embraer regional jets through a partnership with French carrier Regional. The carrier, an Air France subsidiary, operates both the ERJ-135/145 and E-Jet families from the Brazilian manufacturer. Air France Indutries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance say they have "pooled their expertise and know-how" with the airline to offer single-supplier support for Embraers. Jun 30, 2010

B/E Aerospace, Continental Airlines, Boeing Aircraft seats manufactured by B/E Aerospace are being fitted to new-build Boeing 737-800s destined for Continental Airlines, after the carrier suffered delivery delays due to Japanese seat maker Koito's fabrication of test results on seats. Earlier this year Koito admitted it falsified test results on as many as 150,000 seats on 1,000 aircraft in the world fleet. Evidence from the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) highlighted three areas where Koito fabricated results - 16g and 9g test data and flammability data. Jun 30, 2010

Birk Flight Services Icelandic fixed-base operator Birk Flight Services is seeking to expand into mainland Europe through the acquisition of existing service providers in the region. The 45-year-old company - which recently upgraded its facility at Reykjavik airport - says it has "years of experience and expertise" that it can bring to the European market. "We are looking closely at opportunities throughout Europe," says general manager Alma Gunnlaugsdottir, with a particular focus on eastern Europe, where the business aviation market is buoyant. Gunnlaugsdottir says Birk's expansion in Iceland is limited physically as there is little space to expansion at Reykjavik airport and economically. "A lot of the demand for business aircraft went down with Iceland's banking [and economic] crisis," she says. Jun 29, 2010

Centurion Aircraft Engines Centurion Aircraft Engines is offering owners of Centurion 1.7-powered piston aircraft a money-back offer for unused flight hours if they choose to upgrade to the next-generation Centurion 2.0 by 31 August. The Lichtenstein-based company says the 2.0 delivers 135hp (100kW) and is identical in weight to its stablemate, but provides a 50% greater operating life. Jun 30, 2010

CSA Czech Airlines Czech Airlines has cleared the way to establishing its technical division as a separate subsidiary, although it has not indicated whether it might be preparing for a possible divestment. The SkyTeam carrier has been undergoing extensive restructuring and has been open to selling certain activities which it considers non-core, while holding on to others. Approving the steps which will allow the "hiving off" of the technical division as a separate subsidiary was among the agenda items at Czech Airlines' general shareholders' meeting yesterday, says the carrier.Czech Airlines is moving towards a holding-company structure, having already set up its handling operation as a subsidiary. Jun 29, 2010

Eurocopter Eurocopter Canada and maintenance engineering school ENA have signed a memorandum of understanding to provide helicopter industry professionals and aircraft maintenance students entering the helicopter industry with enhanced technical and maintenance training in Quebec. As part of the MoU, Eurocopter will provide ENA with Eurocopter and Transport Canada-approved aviation instructors who will offer maintenance training on the Eurocopter AS350 series and EC120B helicopters, which are widely used in Quebec. Jun 30, 2010

Lufthansa, Panasonic Avionics Star Alliance member Lufthansa has begun flight-testing its 'FlyNet' in-flight Internet service in preparation for re-launch within several weeks. "The tests for the next generation of FlyNet are going well and we are confident to launch in late summer," a Lufthansa spokesman reveals to ATI and Flightglobal. Lufthansa previously said it would reinstate FlyNet by mid-year, so the new timeframe represents a slight slippage in the carrier's planned roll-out. Panasonic Avionics is playing a pivotal role in switching on FlyNet on the majority of 70 Lufthansa aircraft already fitted with Connexion by Boeing (CBB) hardware and MELCO antennas. Jun 29, 2010

PowerJet Franco-Russian joint venture PowerJet has been awarded European type certification for its SaM146 engine. PowerJet developed the 17,260lb-thrust (76.8kN) SaM146for the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Russian validation is imminent. Jun 29, 2010

Saint-Gobain, Airbus Aircraft interiors specialist Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics says it in talks with Airbus about providing a wide range of high-performance silicone seals to the A350 program. Jun 28, 2010

Snecma, PowerJet Snecma is examining additional markets for the PowerJet SaM146 engine following its certification in Europe, as it aims to produce up to 50 of the powerplants in 2011. The manufacturer has designed the SaM146 for the Sukhoi Superjet 100, but Snecma chief executive Philippe Petitcolin says the company is looking at other new programme options. PowerJet secured European Aviation Safety Agency certification for the engine on 23 June. Russian certification of the SaM146 is being carried out in parallel. Jun 29, 2010

SR Technics Maintenance firm SR Technics is to invest in its Zurich and Cork facilities with the aim of turning them into centres of excellence for engine part repairs. The initiative is part of SR Technics' 'piece part repair' business expansion. The company has begun investing to further develop and extend its existing repair capabilities. It is working closely with its partner Sanad to provide specific package deals which will include leasing solutions for the material management of engines and engine line replaceable units. Jun 30, 2010

Thales Having been firmly entrenched in modern military concepts of operations, unmanned air vehicles are slowly finding their way into civil airspace. After a year-long study in collaboration with a consortium of 23 companies representing nine countries, Thales says it has identified four possible paths for addressing frequency spectrum needs and concerns for as part of the integration of military unmanned air systems with civilian air traffic. The SIGAT study, or "Study on military frequency spectrum allocations for the Insertion into General Air Traffic of UAS", was aimed at defining and promoting a common European position for command and control radio frequencies for future military UAS integration in the European civil airspace. Jun 28, 2010

Thales, EADS France moves toward off-the-shelf purchase of MALE UAV. French military leaders say they are considering purchasing medium altitude long-endurance UAV assets to add to their small fleet of EADS Harfang MALE UAVs rather than pursuing a development program. A committee last month determined that EADS' and Thales-Dassault Aviation Development options for meeting the MALE requirement could be too costly and are too uncertain. Jun 29, 2010

Zodiac Aerospace Zodiac Aerospace is to buy Cantwell, Cullen and Company, an Ontario, Canada-based maker of wire harnesses and hydraulic hoses, for an undisclosed sum. In its third quarter to end May, aircraft seat market recovery helped Zodiac lift sales 2.6% to EUR583.3 million ($721.2 million), though for nine months it remains down 7.6% at to EUR1.55 billion. Jun 28, 2010

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