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Thales Expands in Singapore – Becomes the Group’s Largest Hub for Repair Activities Worldwide

Thales’s newly expanded facility in Changi consolidates all avionics production and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities under one roof for better synergies and process optimisation. Thales has also invested in equipment and human capital, as it builds for future growth.

Thales started its commercial avionics operations in Singapore over forty years ago and now produces key systems for the Airbus A320, A350 and Boeing 787 fleets. Singapore houses one of three avionics repair sites for the Group, with the other two located in Chatellerault, France and Piscataway, USA.

In the past year, Thales in Singapore has grown its repair volume by over 30%. In addition to providing repair operations, Thales is also providing a Customer Support Centre (CSC) for Diehl’s Singaporean subsidiary, set up in November last year to better serve its regional customers. The CSC has been operational since 1st January 2017 at the expanded Thales facility in Changi North Rise.

The widened scope of the extended partnership increases Thales’ repair volume in Singapore to an estimated 40,000 pieces of equipment per year, making Singapore the Group’s largest centre for avionics maintenance and repair services worldwide.

The aerospace industry in Singapore has seen robust growth over the last two decades, and Singapore is home to one of the most advanced MRO clusters in the world. Singapore accounts for a quarter of the region’s MRO output and Thales worked closely with the Singapore Economic Development Board in bringing the project to fruition.

This expanded facility underscores the importance of Singapore as a regional hub for the Group, as it aims to grow local capabilities and establish a strong regional base to serve customers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Key Points

• Thales expands facility in Singapore and grows repair volume by over 30%.
• Singapore becomes largest repair activities hub for Thales worldwide.
• Thales in Singapore has optimised its avionics operations to grow its local industrial footprint and build capacity for the future.

«The expanded Thales facility is testament to Singapore’s continued strength as an aerospace hub for Asia Pacific and an excellent example of how we can partner OEMs to facilitate their regional expansion. Companies can tap on Singapore’s connectivity, pro-business environment and pool of skilled talent, to be closer to their customers and harness the growth of the regional aviation market.”

Eric Huber, Thales Vice President and General Manager for Avionics Services Worldwide activities.

German Brand Award: Lufthansa Systems is named Corporate Brand of the Year

Jun 30, 2017

Also: Best branding in the IT sector – Aviation IT specialist receives German Brand Award in Gold in category of “Industry Excellence in Branding – IT”

Lufthansa Systems today announced that it received a German Brand Award as “Corporate Brand of the Year 2017” yesterday evening in Berlin for its new branding. This prestigious award in the “Excellence in Branding” category, the top tier of the competition, recognizes outstanding brand management across all industries. The German Brand Award is presented by the German Design Council and the German Brand Institute to honor successful brands, consistent brand management and sustainable brand communication. The award was presented for the first time in 2016.

“The Lufthansa Systems brand has been overhauled. The realignment has also shaped the company’s identity, which embraces the enthusiasm, love and passion for the future of the airline industry and consistently reflects it in detail. An impressively successful and clean identity, with a clear, harmonious and user-friendly design, which has also made an appealing break with the typical visual language – exclusively depicting aviation technology – and for this reason alone stands out in a refreshing way. The jury considers this a great achievement, one which is not necessarily a given for subsidiary identities of this kind,” explained Andrej Kupetz, executive director of the German Design Council and chairman of the German Brand Award jury, justifying the jury’s decision.

The new Lufthansa Systems brand identity aims to improve the company’s visibility in the airline and aviation market and emotionalize the brand by using expressive, striking and unconventional images, among other things. “We not only want to win over customers with the quality of our products, we want to excite them,” said Ulrike Behrens, Head of Marketing at Lufthansa Systems, who accepted the award at the ceremony in Berlin. “Lufthansa Systems is a dynamic brand that will keep evolving in the future. It is important to us that our development to date has been recognized in this way. It makes us proud and motivates us to continue down this path in the future.”

In addition to the cross-industry award, Lufthansa Systems received a German Brand Award in Gold in the category of “Industry Excellence in Branding – IT.” The key criterion here was the company’s digital Brand Center. “With its Brand Center, Lufthansa Systems continues to move consistently toward the digital future. This makes it possible for employees and external partners alike to have an even stronger emotional experience with the brand, and it enables more open dialog about communication and design. Featuring an attractive and modern design, the Brand Center is a virtual platform with impressive visuals and content that express what constitutes the Lufthansa Systems brand and the spirit of the company. This is brand communication on an extremely high level,” the jury said.

Olivier Krueger, CEO of Lufthansa Systems, commented on the company’s brand identity, saying, “We want to make airlines the winners of the digitalization megatrend. We can’t do this by reacting to the market, only by shaping it ourselves with creativity, a wealth of ideas and passion. Our new brand conveys our creativity, our wealth of ideas and our passion. It is a tremendous honor for us that the expert jury also sees it this way.”

Only companies that were nominated by the brand scouts and expert committees of the German Brand Institute for the German Brand Award 2017 could take part in the competition.

Picture description (Copyright: Manuel Debus – www.tmd-fotografie.de): At the German Brand Award Ulrike Behrens, Head of Marketing, (middle) received the prize Corporate Brand of the Year for Lufthansa Systems.

Air Transport International Leverages NAVBLUE’s N-Crew Planning Software To Support Its Growth

30.06.2017 – Air Transport International (ATI), Inc. a Wilmington, Ohio-based cargo airline has moved to NAVBLUE’s N-Crew Planning software for crew pairing optimization.

The deal is expected to save ATI several hours each scheduling cycle while adding greater accuracy, flexibility and reporting capabilities over their previous system. By streamlining their crew planning process, they will have access to faster results thereby reducing the time from planning to production enabling them to get schedules out to crewmembers faster.

NAVBLUE, within just two weeks, customized its N-Crew Planning software to support ATI’s 56-day bid period, a considerable factor for ATI’s choice for NAVBLUE, with its nimble, and customer-centric approach. Further personalizations included customized work rules, reporting and file integrations.

“Air Transport International is excited to be working with NAVBLUE to optimize our company’s efficiency and provide our crews with a quality product which will facilitate our goal of exemplary service to our customers in this time of growth.” said Michele Zerby, Director of Crew Resources and Business Management for Air Transport International.

N-Crew Planning creates optimized schedules that satisfy the coverage, regulatory, contractual and productivity requirements of the company.

“As Air Transport International continues to sign new customers, NAVBLUE is thrilled to bring them favorable employee relations. By providing ATI with a solution that doesn’t involve complex hardware requirements or implementation plans, we were able to addresses their needs quickly, despite the customizations—proof of our customer centric approach.” remarked Todd Bourg, Director of Crew Product Management.

Since June, 1st 2017, Lufthansa CityLine has been a new CROSSMOS® customer and will start to implement the CROSSMOS® eTLB in its entire fleet of Bombardier and Embraer aircraft. Lufthansa CityLine has launched the project of integrating an eTLB in its fleet in order to contribute to the modernization of the processes and to increase the environmental performance both in flight operations and in technology. By implementing CROSSMOS®, Lufthansa CityLine is taking a further step towards digitization and process optimization within the Lufthansa Group.

As Lufthansa CityLine uses AMOS as its backend MRO system, the integration of CrossConsense’s electronic logbook is expected to be finished until the end of this year because the interface between CROSSMOS® and AMOS has been running successfully in other airlines for more than one year.

Lufthansa CityLine will use the pilot and maintenance modules of CROSSMOS® and users will be able to access CROSSMOS® from the EFB that is already in place.

Axel Trampnau, Head of Technical Fleet Management at Lufthansa CityLine, says: “We selected CROSSMOS because we need to rely on an uninterrupted process. It is so significant to digitize workflows and to share information with others. We will definitely not miss the traditional paper process once CROSSMOS will be implemented in our fleet. We look forward to realizing the full impact of the new digital solution.” 

New Smart Notes And Situational Awareness Tools Enhance Jeppesen Flitedeck Pro For Operators

Data-driven EFB improvements to increase operational efficiency 

ENGLEWOOD, COLO., June 26, 2017 – Jeppesen, a Boeing Company, now offers operators dynamic new features and functionality within its industry-leading FliteDeck Pro electronic flight bag (EFB) solution. Available for airlines and large-scale operators, the new version of FliteDeck Pro now provides enhanced navigation and situational awareness capabilities to simplify preparation and in-flight procedures.

The latest enhancements to FliteDeck Pro include the addition of Smart Notes, which analyze chronological and geospatial flight data to present key data points for pilots automatically, without the need for manual interaction. New Tailored Enroute capabilities allow operators to depict Jeppesen’s data-driven enroute data, supplemented with their own operationally-specific information, to provide a complete enroute navigation picture. 

“The introduction of Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro 3.0/9.0 continues the digital transformation of flight operations, as we add exiting new features to further integrate intelligent information with our EFB platforms,” said Tim Huegel, director, Jeppesen Flight Deck Solutions. “The addition of Smart Notes, Tailored Enroute and Airport Moving Map capabilities now offer flight crews with the most accurate information in the industry, to increase situational awareness and efficiency in today’s complex airspace environment, all backed by our renowned 24/7 global customer support.” 

New Airport Moving Map functions now adds aircraft ownship positioning to Jeppesen terminal charts, providing enhanced airport situational awareness on the ground. Dynamic chart rendering of runways, taxiways and other airport structures improves runway safety, particularly during times of high congestion or poor visibility. 

Additionally, Jeppesen Trip Kit On-Demand services provides peace of mind for operators, with chart and navigation backup services from the cloud and printable PDF copies of charts available to ensure operational continuity and reduce delays.    

Overall, Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro helps streamline the use of navigational information for airlines, fractional business jet operators and military fleet programs. Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro also enables significant weight savings and reduced fuel consumption with removal of paper content from the operation. In addition to highly compressed and vector-based Jeppesen terminal charts, FliteDeck Pro includes data-driven navigation content, which is dynamically rendered and de-cluttered for the pilot’s current needs.

Enhanced navigation information is now also included with the new Tailored Enroute feature, including aircraft-specific data, frequencies, track information, grid MORAs and ETOPS rings, for additional clarity.

Looking ahead, a next-generation version of FliteDeck Pro is planned for introduction in early 2018 that will include development with ForeFlight, through a recently announced long-term strategic alliance.  

SITAONAIR hails successful Iridium® NEXT satellite launch

Monday 26 June 2017 – SITAONAIR has hailed the successful launch of Iridium’s second set of Iridium NEXT constellation satellites as another step closer to achieving minute-by-minute, 100% global aircraft flight-tracking.

In partnership with Aireon and FlightAware, SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM® FlightTracker will deliver enhanced capabilities to airline customers from 2018. Aireon’s space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast data (ADS-B) will then fill any gaps in current flight-tracking coverage globally – and is expected to be transmitted through the complete Iridium NEXT satellite constellation, via FlightAware.

Paul Gibson, Portfolio Director, AIRCOM®, at SITAONAIR, says: “This is an exciting moment for SITAONAIR as the second set of satellites start their journey to enabling us to deliver 100% global, real-time flight-tracking to the air transport industry. We are looking forward to seeing the project progress and being able to demonstrate its value to airlines.

“The beauty of adding space-based ADS-B data to our current AIRCOM® FlightTracker is that it will integrate seamlessly into the existing interface, while increasing tracking coverage up to 100%. In short, the airlines who adopt our space-based flight-tracking will have the tools to see the precise position, speed and altitude of all airborne fleet – any time, anywhere – and be immediately alerted if any aircraft veers from its flight plan, even if that route is over ocean or the Poles.

“With real-time alerts generated at least once a minute, airlines with enhanced FlightTracker will be way ahead of the ICAO’s best practice one-minute mandate – truly consolidating their commitment to safe travel.”

SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM® FlightTracker is currently used by over 60 airlines worldwide.

What is AIRCOM® FlightTracker?

FlightTracker’s capabilities include: 

• Providing airline operations teams with an application that aggregates the best available inflight position data from multiple sources on a single aircraft position display
• Issuing alerts to flight operations of any route deviation. Staff can also clearly see if it has been agreed between an aircraft and ATC 
• Automated alerting for large fleets, so if an aircraft doesn’t report its position, deviates from the flight plan or enters a defined geographic area, FlightTracker will create an alert and automatically start a sequence of actions where needed 
• Being aircraft agnostic, whether a fleet has either ACARS or ADS-B OUT capabilities 
• Allowing operations teams to view the flight track of each flight with frequent and accurate positions from our fused data feed 
• Having the capability to be set up to deliver forecast weather data with flight plans, to improve decision-making. 

Paul continues: “The SITAONAIR Montreal Development Team has already determined how the new space-based ADS-B data should be integrated and presented within FlightTracker. The display uses specific color-coding to identify different data sources, and, for us, it is a case of drawing in this data and giving space-based ADS-B its own distinct place in this set.”

The second payload of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, hosting Aireon’s space-based ADS-B system, launched from SpaceX’s California-based launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Falcon 9 rocket. The first batch of 10 satellites, hosting the space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B) system, was launched by SpaceX on 14 January 2017.

Dassault Aviation choses Aero-Webb from 2MoRO Solutions for the Rafale Aircraft

Paris, France – 26th June 2017 – Sopra Steria, a European leader of digital transformation and major service provider, and its subsidiary CIMPA have been selected by Dassault Aviation to provide development and support for the new Rafale Maintenance Management System, aimed at the aeronautical group’s export

customers.

Dassault Aviation has chosen to work with Sopra Steria and CIMPA as industrial partners in order to provide export customers with a new Rafale Maintenance Management System. It will use the Aero-Webb® maintenance software package from the company 2MoRO. Sopra Steria will use its Business Unit AEROLINE which incorporates the Sopra Steria teams, its entity based in Noida (India) and CIMPA.

“This Maintenance Management system will help us to meet our clients’ demands in terms of fleet availability. Based on a tried and tested software package, it will incorporate specific functions, making the most of the benefits of maintenance according to the condition of the Rafale. These functions will be developed by our subsidiary SOGITEC”, explains Bruno Chevalier, Managing Director of Dassault Aviation military support. “

We are happy with this collaboration and will do everything to give even more value to Dassault Aviation in terms of advice and integration, through our end-to-end offer,” say Laurent Giovachini, Assistant Managing Director of Sopra Steria, and Xavier Pecquet, Executive Committee member and director of AEROLINE. 

UTC Aerospace Systems Unveils First Chromate-Free REACh-Compliant Landing Gear Corrosion Protection Coating For Steel Parts On Commercial Airplanes

• New primer performed as well or better than existing chromate primers on landing gear in laboratory testing and is currently in field evaluation.
• Company has also implemented Zinc Nickel plating for steel components as a drop-in replacement for Cadmium and Titanium Cadmium in support of REACh sunset dates.

PARIS AIR SHOW, Paris, June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — UTC Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), announced today that it has developed a non-chromate landing gear corrosion protection primer incorporating its patented EcoSky™ pigment. The pigment and primer are more environmentally friendly and compliant with the European Union’s REACh regulations. The company’s new chromate-free primer is a first for use on steel parts for commercial airplanes and is being developed in concert with United Technologies Research Center (UTRC). 

The new primer performed as well as or better than existing chromate primers in laboratory testing and is currently in field evaluation with Porter Airlines. Following the 16-month inspection, the Porter Airlines landing gear are operating normally and showing no signs of coating deterioration or corrosion. UTC Aerospace Systems is continuing to monitor the primer’s performance in field evaluation with Porter Airlines and assess next steps for commercialization.

In addition to the non-chromate primer, UTC Aerospace Systems is also implementing Zinc Nickel plating for steel components as a drop-in replacement for Cadmium and Titanium Cadmium in support of the REACh sunset dates. Its first application will be on the A350-1000 main landing gear.

“As aircraft manufacturers, OEMs and MROs work to comply with the EU’s REACh regulations, we’re happy to work with our customers on these innovative new solutions to help them succeed in achieving their goals,” said Landing Systems President Jim Wharton. 

“This is part of UTRC’s mission—to quickly transition world-class science and technology to our businesses enabling industry-unique solutions for our customers,” said Steve Tongue, Senior Director, UTC Aerospace Systems Program Office, UTRC. “There are significant technology hurdles to overcome within the aerospace industry as we work to meet these vital REACh requirements. We still have a long way to go, but are encouraged by the recent advances we’ve made.”

NAVBLUE partners with Flightradar24 to launch N-tracking and Airbus digital eco-system is initiated

21.06.2017 – Following two years of successful collaboration, NAVBLUE strengthen its partnership with Flightradar24, the flight tracking company, to commercialize a new solution called N-Tracking. This solution will display real time aircraft positional information data to track every aircraft, anywhere, relying on ground ADS-B receivers, and provide alerts in case of critical aircraft operations.

The partnership agreement will enable N-Tracking operators to follow and monitor their aircraft fleet worldwide while enjoying the widest coverage with ADS-B out coming from Flightradar24 and secure remote and oceanic flights with ACARS solution. The solution is coupled with an event alert system that detects and highlights any route deviations from your initial flight plan in line with ICAO recommendations. In addition a Collaborative Decision Making Information system provides updates in real-time thanks to Flightradar24 and ACARS messages. It allows dispatchers to better manage airport congestions, delays and turn-around.

NAVBLUE offerings and the overall industry will benefit in the near future from the Airbus collaboration with Spire and Flightradar24. This collaboration aims at creating a surveillance digital eco-system fusing space and ground data to provide global, near real time, data to track every aircraft, anywhere, anytime.

“With the upcoming ICAO mandates from 2018 onwards leading to full Global Aeronautical Distress Safety System (GADSS) capability by 2021 and the increasing demand for aircraft situational awareness, Airbus ambition is to enable a consistent global real-time visibility of every aircraft anywhere around the globe, thus making the skies better, air transportation more efficient and greener, enhancing safety and enabling improved passenger experience.” said Evert Dudok, Airbus Defence and Space.

“At an increasing pace, airlines around the world, are looking for more and more comprehensive digital services solutions that is at the heart of our partnership enriched by Airbus Defence and Space, Flightradar24 , and Spire” said Mike Hulley, President and CEO at NAVBLUE.

Airbus Company NAVBLUE partners with OpenAirlines

Airbus Company NAVBLUE partners with OpenAirlines on fuel-saving analytics solution

Today, at Paris Air Show 2017, NAVBLUE, the Flight Ops and ATM services company, an Airbus company, has signed a MoU with OpenAirlines, a global leader in eco-flying solutions, to become a reseller partner for its solution called Skybreathe®, a comprehensive fuel preservation solution for airlines.

Skybreathe® uses Big Data algorithms and automatically analyses the large amount of available data in flight data recorders to assess flights’ efficiency. Results of the analysis are displayed into an intuitive interface accessible from desk computer, laptops, tablets and mobile. Skybreathe® will constitute the Optimize module of the Analytics by NAVBLUE suite, which will help operators to save more than 2 percent of fuel.

“We’re very excited about the promise both companies are committed to fulfilling through this partnership,” explained Alexandre Feray, CEO of OpenAirlines. ”It is especially advantageous for our current and future customers since the reduction of fuel consumption along with the environment protection and boosting profitability have been on the wish list of airlines worldwide for a long time. NAVBLUE is a leading global provider of flight operations solutions and this close cooperation will help improve airline performance. With our common innovative mindset, NAVBLUE is an ideal partner, we look forward to working hand in hand with them.” pursued Alexandre Feray.

NAVBLUE is already serving more than 400 airlines and aviation service companies across all platforms providing its customers with the best solutions based on the best data, fully supporting them in their digital transformation.

OpenAirlines is an international software company based in Toulouse,  the cradle of Aeronautics and Space, which helps airlines worldwide save fuel and cut CO2 emission. Their well-recognized solution SkyBreathe® is currently assisting 22 airlines across the world with any fleet type, to greatly enhance existing fuel-saving initiatives and helps them save millions of dollars and thousands of tons of CO2.