November 13, 2024 - No. 46 In This Issue : As Boeing Restarts, FAA to Increase Oversight : Bell Textron announces Wichita will keep manufacturing site for the Army aircraft : BA and Virgin cancel hundreds of flights as engines await maintenance : NASA explores building the Prius of airliners : So, Why Do We Need EAGLE And ASTM, Anyway? : AvAir Expands Inventory with Lufthansa Technik Wheels and Brakes : LATAM Invests $7 Million in Largest Maintenance Center in South America : BA and Virgin cancel hundreds of flights as engines await maintenance : What you need to know about deicing before you get the bill : Opinion: How Industry Can Mitigate Maturing Airliner Fleets As Boeing Restarts, FAA to Increase Oversight Nov. 7, 2024 Following the resolution of the Machinists’ strike, federal officials will be stepping up the agency’s oversight of the 737 MAX program to ensure proper enforcement of safety and quality management systems. As Boeing prepares to resume operations in Washington and Oregon following the seven-week strike by thousands of International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Federal Aviation Administration announced it will expand its oversight of the 737 MAX program there. Boeing workers are not required to return to work until November 12, but the agency confirmed that FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker has advised Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg that the company must ensure its safety and quality management systems are in place when production resumes. The FAA also made it known that it continued its enhanced presence at Boeing plants throughout the period of the strike, which began September 13. And it said it will "further strengthen and target our oversight as the company begins its return-to-work plan." The oversight effort concerns the 737 MAX program, though the strike also halted assembly of 777 aircraft. Boeing had been assembling the 737 MAX jets at a much-reduced rate since the FAA arrived in Renton, Wash., last winter to investigate the conditions that resulted in the January 5 incident aboard an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX, in which the jet’s side-door panel failed midflight. The initial audit of the 737 MAX program that FAA completed in February turned up 97 examples of noncompliance in Boeing’s manufacturing process control, parts handling, and product control. Boeing officials have been meeting regularly with FAA to report on its progress in bringing the operations into conformity with production-process control system. In October, FAA announced it plans to start a new review of Boeing’s safety-management systems, covering details like risk-assessment quality, resource allocation, and adherence to regulatory requirements. Bell Textron announces Wichita will keep manufacturing site for the Army aircraft By Jeffrey Lutz Published: Nov. 6, 2024 at 11:02 AM CST WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Bell Textron announced that it will keep Wichita as the site for fuselage assembly on the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Assembly will occur at the Beech Field Facility on Textron Aviation’s East Campus in Wichita, near the site of Textron Aviation Defense. Bell Textron plans to begin operations at the facility in the next several months. “As Bell prepares for the next stage of FLRAA’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase, we are committed to investing in advanced manufacturing to ensure we deliver exceptional performance at an affordable cost to our customer,” said Bell CEO and president Lisa Atherton “Textron has a rich history with the state of Kansas as well as the city of Wichita, and we are proud to deepen that relationship as we establish this new facility.” In addition to manufacturing the FLRAA fuselage at the newly established Bell Wichita facility, supporting work will take place at several of Bell’s advanced manufacturing facilities in Texas, including Bell’s Advanced Composite Center in Fort Worth and final assembly of the aircraft will occur in Amarillo. BA and Virgin cancel hundreds of flights as engines await maintenance Thousands of passengers face disruption as delays in the manufacture of spare parts and maintenance backlogs ground multiple aircraft with Rolls-Royce engines Oliver Gill Saturday November 09 2024, 1.55pm GMT, The Sunday Times There are 41 Dreamliners in the Boeing fleet, and 15 per cent have been grounded for maintenance Tens of thousands of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic customers are facing flight cancellations after fresh delays to engine maintenance on one of the most widely used long-haul plane models. BA has been forced to pre-emptively cancel hundreds of flights to avoid last-minute disruption for passengers over long-running problems with the Rolls-Royce engines on its fleet of Boeing Dreamliner aircraft. The airline announced this week that it would halt flights to Dallas next summer for the first time since the 1980s and suspended services to Bahrain and Kuwait, destinations that BA and its predecessor airlines have served for more than 60 years. Virgin Atlantic is understood to be finalising cancellations of its own this weekend because of problems with the same Rolls-Royce engine. Among the destinations set to be suspended are next summer’s launch of a route to Accra, Ghana, as well as delaying the return of flights to Tel Aviv. Air New Zealand and other international carriers have cancelled flights for the same reason. Some 15 per cent of BA’s fleet of 41 Dreamliners are grounded as they await maintenance by Rolls-Royce engineers. Virgin has a smaller fleet that includes 17 Dreamliners — one is currently grounded and another may be next year, sources said. Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine has been plagued by problems Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine has been plagued with engineering problems for a decade. The engines need regular servicing, so planes are grounded for longer, now causing a maintenance backlog. Airlines have been able to shield customers from the fallout until recent months by using other aircraft. But this means that those planes are now due for maintenance because of the increased flying hours they are being put through. “We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly,” a BA spokesman said. Bosses at BA are said to be fuming with counterparts at Rolls-Royce, who said that shortages of spare parts for the engine were to blame for maintenance bottlenecks. Sean Doyle, the BA chief executive and chairman, is believed to be in direct contact with Rolls-Royce’s boss Tufan Erginbilgiç demanding answers. “It’s completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of our customers are having their travel plans cancelled because of the continuing failure of Rolls-Royce. They need to get their act together,” a BA insider said. “We’re one of the biggest operators of the Trent 1000 engine in the world and we’re yet to see anything from them that gives us any confidence that they understand just how damaging this issue is for us.” Rolls-Royce said that finding a solution was its “top priority”. A spokesman said: “As an organisation, we’re taking decisive action and moving quickly to prioritise the resources needed to reduce the impact.” It has embedded 50 employees within suppliers to speed up delivery of spare parts, the company said. A spokesman added: “Given the impact created by the current supply chain constraints, it’s one of our top priorities. We have created an internal Trent 1000 task force, drawing on our world-class engineering and technology capability. The task force brings together people from across our operations, supply chain, engineering, technology, safety and planning teams.” Sources at BA claimed that Rolls-Royce was not moving quickly enough. “We urgently need to see Rolls-Royce take ownership of this crisis and deliver an acceptable plan that includes mitigation, actions and a credible timeline that will allow us to map out our future flying schedule with confidence,” they said. The insider added: “Rolls-Royce needs to stop making excuses, blaming supply-chain issues and passing the impact on to airlines, and instead focus on giving us a credible and speedy solution to a problem of its own making.” A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said: “These changes are already having a positive impact. So far this year, we’ve increased Trent 1000 supply chain output by a third, making more components available and minimising the time engines spend in our maintenance, repair and overhaul centres. “We know that demand will increase in the future. So, we have allocated additional investment this year to ensure we can meet that demand, creating some short-term surge capacity and allowing us to approximately double our [maintenance] capacity by 2030. This will ensure scheduled maintenance, such as that of the British Airways Trent 1000 fleet, can be conducted as efficiently as possible.” A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: “We have taken the difficult decision to delay the restart of our service to Tel Aviv into the winter 2025-26 season and our new service to Accra will also be delayed into the winter 2025-26 season. “It’s been necessary to make these changes to our 2025 network due to supply chain uncertainty, including ongoing delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce, specifically the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our Boeing 787-9 aircraft. “Our teams are working closely with our partners at Rolls-Royce on solutions to minimise disruption to our flying programme. We’d like to apologise to affected customers and will be in contact with them from Monday, November 11, to discuss their options, which include rebooking travel with an alternative carrier, moving to a different date or receiving a refund.” NASA explores building the Prius of airliners The agency awarded contracts to develop emission-slashing airplane designs that can take flight by 2050, including a hybrid-electric airliner. [Rendering: courtesy of Electra] BY SEAN CAPTAIN If hybrid cars can cut CO2 emissions on the road, can hybrid-electric planes do the same in the air? NASA is exploring that possibility, announcing this week two contracts to aviation startup Electra. The company claims it can meet NASA’s goal of reducing airliner fuel use by 60% to 80% by 2035 with a hybrid design that features generators powering motors to drive a large number of propellers. While this may sound like a convoluted way to power an airliner, the company claims it ultimately requires far less fuel than a traditional plane. Electra is already flying a two-seat test plane with this kind of system and will debut a nine-seater with a 380-mile range this week. It’s now partnering with American Airlines, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, MIT, and the University of Michigan to guide the design and scale up the tech to airliners. Electra’s grants, totaling about $3.5 million, are part of the $11.5 million, to four companies and one university for the first phase of its Advanced Aircraft for Sustainable Aviation (AACES) 2050 program. First announced in August 2023, AACES challenges companies to propose aircraft concepts that could help bring passenger and cargo plane emissions to zero by 2050. The aviation industry has long touted zero-emission fuels (for example, jet fuel made from biomass, or hydrogen produced with green electricity) as the ultimate climate solution. It’s easier to make enough of these fuels if new planes need a lot less of them—hence NASA’s challenge to Electra and the other winners to develop radically more-efficient designs. THE CASE FOR ELECTRIC-POWERED PLANES A number of companies are developing electric airplanes, but most are for short-range air taxi services. Toyota-backed Joby Aviation, for example, promises to put a four-passenger plane into service as soon as 2025. Powered 100% by heavy batteries, packing about 1/40th as much energy per pound as jet fuel, Joby’s plane can fly 100 miles per charge. Electra stands out as one of the few companies, alongside Sweden’s Heart Aerospace and Ampaire and Whisper Aero out of the U.S., testing different hybrid concepts to dramatically extend range. (NASA has also been testing hybrid tech with other companies.) Electra and its allies’ initial concept for NASA is a 114-seat airliner that can fly nearly 3,300 miles, says Electra’s vice president and general manager, JP Stewart. But he says the tech can scale to NASA’s largest target: carrying about 300 people up to around 8,600 miles. Electra’s take on hybrid technology is called a “series hybrid.” On a traditional plane, each propeller (or jet engine) requires a big, expensive turbine that burns jet fuel. By using turbines to power generators instead, Electra can run more props using lightweight electric motors. Electra’s initial sketch has five propellers across each wing (plus three in the tail), which the company says can improve airflow and boost the wing’s ability to lift the plane—tech that’s already working on its two-seat prototype. For its NASA proposal, Electra envisions an airliner that uses this hybrid tech and a new design of the fuselage (the tube carrying passengers) to take off with smaller wings, which will produce less drag and save fuel in flight. Another benefit of hooking a turbine to a generator, says Stewart, is that the turbine can run at its most-efficient speed throughout the flight. Airplane engines have to be very flexible, gunning it on takeoff and landing and running less intensely when the plane is cruising in the air. Turbines that power the propellers directly don’t have the flexibility to do both tasks efficiently; electric motors do. Finally, by adding batteries to the mix, the plane can use a smaller turbine that needs to produce just enough power for cruising, says Electra. For takeoff and landing, battery packs join in to provide the extra oomph only when needed. Electra’s concept is just one of several ideas NASA has given the green light to. Another contract winner, JetZero, has proposed a liquid hydrogen-powered, “blended wing body” concept for a jetliner or cargo plane that ditches the traditional design of a metal tube with wings and a tail. Instead, it has a tail-less, triangular shape that looks a bit like a B2 Stealth Bomber and promises major fuel savings. Other winners include Georgia Institute of Technology, Pratt & Whitney (part of the RTX conglomerate), and Boeing-owned Aurora Flight Sciences, which are working on several engine and body technologies. (Aurora founder John Langford went on to found Electra in 2020.) The task now for Electra, JetZero, and other winners is to produce a final airplane design in 18 months. Getting real planes in the air will take many more years. So, Why Do We Need EAGLE And ASTM, Anyway? Two competing unleaded high-octane fuels are now on the market. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? Russ Niles Updated Nov 11, 2024 4:49 AM EST San Carlos Flight Center Well, I'm confused again, not that it will come as any surprise to some of those pulling the strings in the transition to unleaded avgas. You see, several titans of aviation have spoken, either in public forums, to my work superiors or to me directly about my brain-power-to-subject-matter ratio being a little on the lean side when it comes to the complicated matter of aviation fuel. I will allow that there is some pretty complex chemistry and thermodynamics involved and since the only reason I passed any of my high school science classes was that there were no final exams in them (I loved the 70s), my lack of talents therein might be a handicap. But I soon confirmed my well-founded suspicion that I didn't need to get a quickie Ph.D. in organic chemistry to discuss what is fundamentally a political and economic subject. You see, I came from small-town journalism where the few (and dwindling) beat reporters must become instant experts on a huge variety of often complex topics. So, as with my scribblings on the sewage disposal debate that raged in the little town where I began my journalism career, to the police chief who unilaterally applied the rule of law and the mayor who handed out favors to his buddies like Tootsie Rolls on Halloween, I didn't need to be an engineer, lawyer or municipal land use expert to delve into these matters on behalf of readers. The one thing that all those involved in these shenanigins had in common was that they or their proxies would tell anyone who would listen that I was too stupid to do my job. They figured questioning my credibility would keep me from nosing around. Some even suggested to my bosses that I should just accept their wise counsel and run only their considered views when writing about the issues. I declined then as I have since. So what's confusing me now is that the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) group isn't in full celebration mode and winding up its operations. After all, its mandate is to "eliminate the use of lead in aviation fuel for piston engine aircraft in the United States by the end of 2030 without impacting the safe and efficient operation of the existing fleet." In the past 10 days two of the three candidate fuels under the EAGLE umbrella have entered full commercial service in the real world and in full compliance with all relevant rules and regulations. The mandate has been achieved six years ahead of deadline. That's a beautiful thing, right? A week ago about 1000 gallons of GAMI's G100UL was pumped into the tanks of dozens of private aircraft at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, California, after Santa Clara County took delivery of 7500 gallons of the fuel. The fuel was made in the early spring but not a drop of it had been sold until late October because none of the established aviation fuel distributors would handle it. Their resistance was based on GAMI refusing to obtain an ASTM specification for G100UL. Two years ago the FAA granted an STC approving its use in all gas engines in certified airplanes on the FAA registry. That, says Braly, is all the approval required. To get the fuel from the refinery in Louisiana to the Bay area, Vitol Aviation, which made the gas, simply found a fuel hauler for whom the FAA stamp of approval (there actually is a stamp) was enough assurance that his truck wouldn't dissolve during the 1500-mile trip. There's no evidence the tanker was damaged. Santa Clara County, which manages the sale of fuel at Reid-Hillview, had to be similarly confident that its tanks would remain secure, its seals and valves and pumps would continue to do their jobs and that the health and safety of its employees would be protected. The fuel apparatus, including the employees, at Reid-Hillview appear to be operating normally. And finally aircraft operators, who arguably have the most skin in the game, needed to be absolutely sure they wouldn't find out at 10,000 feet that the fuel doesn't work in their airplanes. There have been no reports of aircraft falling out of the sky. Of course, time will tell but so far the only fault found with G100UL is that any spills that are not cleaned up quickly may leave a yellowish stain on paint. GAMI's refusal to get an ASTM spec for G100UL has been characterized as a fatal flaw in its bid to be the fuel, with EAGLE going as far as suggesting that ASTM validation actually supersedes the FAA STC, at least in practical terms, because "consumer acceptance will hinge on more than FAA approval." The FAA has been curiously passive about that attack on the integrity of the STC process, which is vital to the continued upgrade and maintenance of the fleet. If a bunch of trucking companies can block implementation of an STC, what else can be challenged? The mind boggles. The ASTM requirement has been accepted as policy by the National Air Transportation Association, whose president Curt Castagna is also co-chair of EAGLE. But ASTM validation has also been championed by the other two companies involved in the EAGLE process, LyondellBasell and Swift Fuels. No one has been more vocal about the need for ASTM acceptance than Chris d'Acosta, the CEO of Swift Fuels, which has created 100R, the fuel he confidently predicts will be the high-octane choice for the piston crowd. A few weeks ago, the FAA issued an STC allowing Swift's 100R to be used in the R and S model Cessna 172s, the latest iterations of the most numerous aircraft ever built. The choice of fuel-injected 172s as the launch aircraft seemed odd to me. They don't need 100-octane fuel. Their Lycoming IO-360-L2A engines will purr happily on 91 and 94UL aviation fuels and even 93 AKI automotive fuel. The reason for that choice became clear late last week when it was announced that San Carlos Flight Center in California was operating its fleet of 12 R and S model 172s on Swift's 100R under that limited STC. That confused me yet again because a few days before the announcement, d'Acosta was on our discussion forum saying how important the ASTM spec is for industry and consumer acceptance of any new aviation fuel. To the best of my knowledge , 100R does not yet have an ASTM specification and yet it's in the engines behind which dozens of kids are learning to fly. It also got to San Carlos somehow and is in the fuel dispensing equipment there that's been designated for 172 S and R models. There's no other way to describe this than as commercial use of the fuel, and yet it's going on without the ASTM stamp (I don't know if they actually have stamps) of approval that Swift has said is absolutely necessary. I asked d'Acosta to square that up for me but he hasn't responded. The events of the past week make me wonder what, if any, place ASTM actually has in all of this. If trucks full of fuel with no ASTM spec are crossing the country, if airport fuel sellers are putting it in their equipment and airplane operators, including flight schools, are buying it based on the FAA approval, then what value does the ASTM spec add? Also, since throughout this tedious process the EAGLE mantra has always been "the market will decide" the future fuels that power our passion, we have to wonder why we need EAGLE anymore. Two of three candidate fuels under assessment by the group are now duking it out for their share of the biggest light aircraft market in the country. They're doing it legally without any input, influence or assistance from EAGLE. Why are taxpayers spending millions of dollars a year (we hope to find out exactly how many millions soon) on a process that has been eclipsed by the very outcome it was touting as a final solution? There are already airports and FBOs all over California watching what's going on at Reid-Hillview and San Carlos and it's inevitable that they will, at least to some degree, join in. There's apparently at least one more airport planning to offer G100UL in the next few weeks. California has always been the first to try new environmental measures, but other states are often quick to follow. Colorado and New York come to mind as jurisdictions that are just looking for a pathway to replace 100LL with unleaded fuel that works. And let's not forget the hundreds of environmental groups, from parents around the kitchen table to well-funded, well-organized lobbies that are ready to use California as an example in their own efforts to rid the air of lead. Assuming things go the way they often do, unleaded avgas could soon be a hot commodity. And there's no way the big fuel distributors will continue to sit collectively on the sidelines watching all that business drive by them. Ironically, EAGLE's focus now seems to be keeping 100LL available, instead of hastening its demise, on the rapidly vanishing premise that there isn't a suitable unleaded replacement. It also seems hell-bent on using up every minute of the six years left before the agreed-upon 2030 deadline for the transition to unleaded. It seems to me the market will take care of that if EAGLE just gets out of the way. Of course I'm willing to be enlightened by those who have criticized my dim-witted attempts to explain all this. To be sure, I've made some mistakes and mischaracterized some aspects of the issue, but I've also owned that and corrected errors promptly, I think. It definitely is a really complex topic but I think I've got the basics now. Meanwhile, about those controversies when I was on the sewage, police and civic politics beat at a small-town daily: The sewer system filled a neighborhood with two feet of euphemistically termed "treated wastewater" causing millions in damage. I took a great picture of one of my would-be mentors in hip waders watching his career go down the drain. The very senior cop who was fixing tickets to impress local bigwigs was convicted in court and fired in disgrace by his police force. The mayor spent seven months in jail. I went straight from writing about sewage to my dream job of writing about airplanes, but they are the same thing in so many ways. The same ambitions and desires drive every type of public policy, and maintaining the transparency that fuels the process is vital. Dealing with idiots like me comes with the territory. AvAir Expands Inventory with Lufthansa Technik Wheels and Brakes AvAir and Lufthansa Technik partnership By AvAir CHANDLER, Ariz., Nov. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AvAir, a leading inventory solutions provider in the aviation aftermarket, has built on its relationship with Lufthansa Technik Component Services (LTCS) through the expansion of the long-term aftermarket sales agreement, originally established in 2020. The newest advancement of the successful partnership has led to an impressive inventory acquisition of over 1,600 overhauled wheels and brakes from the Lufthansa Technik spares pool, marking a significant milestone in the two companies' collaboration. AvAir has acquired Lufthansa Technik's excess inventory of wheels and brakes, encompassing components for regional aircraft, and extends to the complete range of Boeing and Airbus models, including the 787 and A350. The first components will be delivered from Lufthansa Technik facilities in Germany to AvAir's Chandler, Ariz. warehouse. The complete transfer will be finalized within the next 60 to 90 days. All parts are serviceable and come from Lufthansa Technik's material pool and aircraft teardowns. Similar to the previous agreements, the material from this transaction will come with dual or triple release certification (FAA/EASA/CAAC) from Lufthansa Technik and with a 12-month warranty. Most of the parts were maintained by Lufthansa Technik's component maintenance, repair and overhaul organization. "We are thrilled to expand our inventory with such a diverse range of wheels and brakes, enhancing our offering for our customers," said Brandon Wesson, president of AvAir. "Our partnership with Lufthansa Technik has been invaluable, and we look forward to the new opportunities this acquisition will bring. " The initial agreement between AvAir and Lufthansa Technik dates to 2020, with AvAir acquiring over 9,000 line-replaceable units from Lufthansa Technik's global material pool. In 2022, the Arizona-based company expanded its inventory with an additional purchase of 9,000 aircraft components. Following these earlier agreements, Lufthansa Technik will receive a share of the proceeds from resold components under a profit share arrangement. "With this material release, we are making great strides in further optimizing inventory levels at Lufthansa Technik," said Christian Ehard, director of USM Material Management at Lufthansa Technik Component Services. "We appreciate the opportunity to partner with AvAir again to enhance our supply chain efficiency and look forward to exploring additional opportunities by leveraging AvAir's trade expertise and global customer network." Through this transaction, AvAir has enhanced its inventory with a broad selection of wheels and brakes for commercial and regional aircraft. Assets include Embraer E190, Bombardier CRJ700/900, MD11, A310, A320, A321, A330, A340, A350, A380, B737, B737NG, B737 MAX, B747-400, B747-800, B757, B767 and B787. This strategic enhancement of inventory not only solidifies AvAir's position as a key player in the aviation aftermarket but also reaffirms the company's commitment to meeting the evolving needs of its customers with top-tier, ready-to-deploy components for a broad spectrum of aircraft. AvAir, now in its 24th year offers customized solutions for customers and suppliers to buy, sell, exchange, loan, lease, or consign more than 26 million in-stock components. AvAir will make the acquired inventory available for both exchanges and outright sales from AvAir's facilities in Chandler, Arizona and Dublin, Ireland. LATAM Invests $7 Million in Largest Maintenance Center in South America • By Len Varley • November 11, 2024 • 9:02 am LATAM Group announces its largest investment in the past 10 years at its São Carlos maintenance base, with nearly $7 million allocated for Boeing 787 aircraft support. LATAM Airlines Group is making a substantial investment of nearly $7 million in its São Carlos maintenance facility. This significant commitment will fund the construction of a new hangar dedicated to Boeing 787 Dreamliner maintenance3 Marking the largest such investment for the airline group in a decade, work is now set to commence on 15 November 2024. Expanding Maintenance Capabilities The new hangar will empower LATAM to bring a greater number of maintenance services in-house, thereby reducing costs and enhancing aircraft availability. Currently, the airline conducts heavy maintenance for 787 Dreamliners in Chile and relies on external providers. The São Carlos facility will now be equipped to handle a more substantial portion of this work. In addition to 787 maintenance, the facility will support painting and maintenance for Airbus A320 family aircraft. The new hangar will handle the complex maintenance requirements of the 787 Dreamliner. It will feature advanced tooling and technologies, allowing technicians to work efficiently and accurately. Additionally, the facility will incorporate environmentally friendly practices to minimize its impact on the environment. Boosting Regional Economy and Job Creation This strategic investment is projected to create 300 new jobs in São Carlos, contributing to the region’s economic growth and development. The facility will incorporate cutting-edge technologies such as drone inspections and autonomous logistics carts, further optimizing efficiency and streamlining operations. LATAM MRO São Carlos: A Global Leader LATAM MRO São Carlos is a premier aircraft maintenance center in Latin America, renowned for its expertise and state-of-the-art facilities. The facility employs 2,000 highly skilled professionals and handles over 60% of LATAM Group’s scheduled maintenance. LATAM MRO São Carlos is expanding its capabilities and adopting innovative technologies to solidify its position as a global leader in aviation maintenance. Strengthening Fleet and Network LATAM’s 787 Dreamliner fleet is a cornerstone of its long-haul operations, offering passengers a superior travel experience. The recent order of 10 additional 787s underscores the airline’s commitment to modernizing its fleet. The move further reinforces its position as a leader in Latin American aviation. “LATAM reaffirms its commitment to operational efficiency and regional development with this investment in the maintenance center in São Carlos.” Enrique Parada, Engineering and Maintenance Director for LATAM group gave comment on the new development. “The project, in addition to enhancing the group’s services, will contribute to strengthening the region as an aviation hub.” A Bright Future for LATAM and São Carlos This investment in the São Carlos maintenance facility is a testament to LATAM’s commitment to its customers, employees, and the communities it serves. By expanding its capabilities and embracing innovation, LATAM is positioning itself for continued success in the years to come. LATAM Airlines Group S.A. and its subsidiaries are the leading airline group in Latin America, with presence in five domestic markets in the region: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Its international operations span Latin America and to Europe, Oceania, Africa, the United States and the Caribbean. The group has a fleet of Boeing 767, 777, 787, Airbus A321, A321neo A320, A320neo and A319 aircraft. LATAM Cargo Chile, LATAM Cargo Colombia and LATAM Cargo Brazil are the LATAM group’s cargo subsidiaries. In addition to having access to the bellies of the passenger affiliates’ aircraft, they have a fleet of 21 freighters. BA and Virgin cancel hundreds of flights as engines await maintenance Thousands of passengers face disruption as delays in the manufacture of spare parts and maintenance backlogs ground multiple aircraft with Rolls-Royce engines Oliver Gill Saturday November 09 2024, 1.55pm GMT, The Sunday Times There are 41 Dreamliners in the Boeing fleet, and 15 per cent have been grounded for maintenance BRITISH AIRWAYS Tens of thousands of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic customers are facing flight cancellations after fresh delays to engine maintenance on one of the most widely used long-haul plane models. BA has been forced to pre-emptively cancel hundreds of flights to avoid last-minute disruption for passengers over long-running problems with the Rolls-Royce engines on its fleet of Boeing Dreamliner aircraft. The airline announced this week that it would halt flights to Dallas next summer for the first time since the 1980s and suspended services to Bahrain and Kuwait, destinations that BA and its predecessor airlines have served for more than 60 years. Virgin Atlantic is understood to be finalising cancellations of its own this weekend because of problems with the same Rolls-Royce engine. Among the destinations set to be suspended are next summer’s launch of a route to Accra, Ghana, as well as delaying the return of flights to Tel Aviv. Air New Zealand and other international carriers have cancelled flights for the same reason. Some 15 per cent of BA’s fleet of 41 Dreamliners are grounded as they await maintenance by Rolls-Royce engineers. Virgin has a smaller fleet that includes 17 Dreamliners — one is currently grounded and another may be next year, sources said. Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine has been plagued by problems. Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine has been plagued with engineering problems for a decade. The engines need regular servicing, so planes are grounded for longer, now causing a maintenance backlog. Airlines have been able to shield customers from the fallout until recent months by using other aircraft. But this means that those planes are now due for maintenance because of the increased flying hours they are being put through. “We’ve taken this action because we do not believe the issue will be solved quickly,” a BA spokesman said. Bosses at BA are said to be fuming with counterparts at Rolls-Royce, who said that shortages of spare parts for the engine were to blame for maintenance bottlenecks. Sean Doyle, the BA chief executive and chairman, is believed to be in direct contact with Rolls-Royce’s boss Tufan Erginbilgiç demanding answers. “It’s completely unacceptable that tens of thousands of our customers are having their travel plans cancelled because of the continuing failure of Rolls-Royce. They need to get their act together,” a BA insider said. “We’re one of the biggest operators of the Trent 1000 engine in the world and we’re yet to see anything from them that gives us any confidence that they understand just how damaging this issue is for us.” Rolls-Royce said that finding a solution was its “top priority”. A spokesman said: “As an organisation, we’re taking decisive action and moving quickly to prioritise the resources needed to reduce the impact.” It has embedded 50 employees within suppliers to speed up delivery of spare parts, the company said. A spokesman added: “Given the impact created by the current supply chain constraints, it’s one of our top priorities. We have created an internal Trent 1000 task force, drawing on our world-class engineering and technology capability. The task force brings together people from across our operations, supply chain, engineering, technology, safety and planning teams.” Sources at BA claimed that Rolls-Royce was not moving quickly enough. “We urgently need to see Rolls-Royce take ownership of this crisis and deliver an acceptable plan that includes mitigation, actions and a credible timeline that will allow us to map out our future flying schedule with confidence,” they said. The insider added: “Rolls-Royce needs to stop making excuses, blaming supply-chain issues and passing the impact on to airlines, and instead focus on giving us a credible and speedy solution to a problem of its own making.” A spokesman for Rolls-Royce said: “These changes are already having a positive impact. So far this year, we’ve increased Trent 1000 supply chain output by a third, making more components available and minimising the time engines spend in our maintenance, repair and overhaul centres. “We know that demand will increase in the future. So, we have allocated additional investment this year to ensure we can meet that demand, creating some short-term surge capacity and allowing us to approximately double our [maintenance] capacity by 2030. This will ensure scheduled maintenance, such as that of the British Airways Trent 1000 fleet, can be conducted as efficiently as possible.” A Virgin Atlantic spokesman said: “We have taken the difficult decision to delay the restart of our service to Tel Aviv into the winter 2025-26 season and our new service to Accra will also be delayed into the winter 2025-26 season. “It’s been necessary to make these changes to our 2025 network due to supply chain uncertainty, including ongoing delays to the delivery of engines and parts from Rolls-Royce, specifically the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines fitted to our Boeing 787-9 aircraft. “Our teams are working closely with our partners at Rolls-Royce on solutions to minimise disruption to our flying programme. We’d like to apologise to affected customers and will be in contact with them from Monday, November 11, to discuss their options, which include rebooking travel with an alternative carrier, moving to a different date or receiving a refund.” What you need to know about deicing before you get the bill Deicing bills range over $30,000. Some jet cards and fractional programs include it. As usual in private aviation, the choice isn’t clear cut. By Doug Gollan, November 5, 2024 If you thought $177 for a chicken sandwich was expensive, let’s talk about deicing! Some fractional and jet card programs include deicing. Others cover deicing bills up to a specific amount, and then other programs pass along the cost to the end user – that’s you. Ad hoc charters are typically a pass-along to the charterer. While typical bills could be in the low single-digit thousands, industry players recently shared about their worst – or perhaps better said, your worst deicing bills and how a good provider can minimize them. Daniel Harris, managing partner of Los Angeles-based charter broker Ironbird Partners, recently asked on social media, “What’s the worst deicing bill you have seen, and what airport? FlyAdvanced Aviation Group Vice President of Operations Rhonda Smith posted, “I’ve seen over $30k twice in my 22-year career. Once in CYYZ (Toronto) and once in ASE (Aspen). Both tails were outside and a solid block of ice.” In one case, the flight cost was less than the deicing charge. GrandView Aviation Charter Sales Supervisor Etienne Lamothe, a pilot, responded, “30k on a G650…The trip…cost less than (than the deicing).” Aircraft management and charter operator FlyHouse Chief Aviation Officer Suran Wijayawardana posted, “42k on our G550 out of KTVL (South Lake Tahoe). He continued, “For context, (the) average fuel cost that year was around $5.80 per gallon. Apparently, Glycol goes up even more exponentially $30 per gallon. The funny part was that they sprayed us with the equivalent of a garden hose! Will never forget it. The broker paid 34k for the subsequent leg and ended up splitting it with them.” He concluded, “I consider (aircraft deicing fees) one of the biggest rackets in our business. Along with TIA coffee makers installed on aircraft.” Hard to budget One broker says the entire issue isn’t simple. Deicing costs vary from airport to airport based on regulations and the deicing fluids used. Deicing is also charged by a gallon of fluid, so the more they use, the more you pay. The bill for deicing is passed from the FBO to the operator and the flight provider. “We don’t wait for billing departments to process everything. We reach out right away. It’s much easier if the client gets the bill within two weeks of their flight,” says Kevin Diemar of Unity Jets. When you agree to an on-demand charter contract or sign up for a jet card that doesn’t cover deicing, you also agree to pay for deicing. What if your airplane wasn’t deiced and you are billed? Or more specifically, the airplane wasn’t deiced at the airport where you departed. Brokers say they sometimes receive deicing bills from the airport where the airplane originated or arrived. For example, an operator flies a repositioning flight from Denver to Aspen. • It then flies the passengers from Aspen to Chicago. • The operator bills the broker for deicing in Denver. • The operator could also bill the broker for deicing after the jet arrives in Chicago. • That could be because the jet was then returning to base. • The leg from Chicago was part of the trip the broker purchased in this scenario. • In other words, if you had not chartered our aircraft for the Aspen to Chicago flight, there would have been no deicing in Denver or Chicago. Brokers and operators say they try to mitigate expensive deicing. One solution is to overnight the airplane in a hangar when they anticipate lousy weather. “It’s a known cost versus unknown,” says charter broker Monarch Air Group CEO David Gitman. Hangar costs are typically around $1,000 for lights and midsize jets. However, according to Gitman, hangar space isn’t always available. He says they try to get the post-flight charges to customers within a week. However, he says it took two months to get a final invoice in one case. Typical deicing bills range from $2,000 to $10,000 based on jet size and airport. Gitman says the worst bill he recalls was in the $20,000 range for a large cabin Gulfstream jet. One pilot on the LinkedIn thread tells about a $45,000 bill for a UPS DC-8 in Boston. No free lunch If you do much winter weather flying, there’s good news. You have options. • Some jet card and fractional programs include deicing. • However, those that don’t say it’s not a clear-cut benefit. • Monarch’s Gitman says that, like most things in private aviation, there is no free lunch—chicken sandwiches included. Monarch’s Gitman says, “I have customers asking, ‘Why don’t you include deicing?’ I tell them you’re paying for it one way or another. Programs that include deicing are simply spreading the cost across all their customers, so customers who never have deicing are paying for those that do.” On the other hand, FlyExclusive includes deicing for its Jet Club and fractional customers. It spent $471,000 on deicing in 2023 and has paid out $441,000 this year. Last year, the fifth-largest charter/fractional operator flew 55,211 hours. That translates into $8.53 per hour, so perhaps spreading the cost over a large group does make sense. Comparing the options Paid subscribers of Private Jet Card Comparisons can find which programs include deicing. The information is in Column BM and is part of our DECIDER CUSTOM ANALYSIS. It’s one of 65 variables to compare jet card, membership, or fractional programs. Our QUICK COMPARE FLIGHT PRICING also enables you to compare flight costs of programs that include deicing versus those that do not. Currently, 16 North American fractional and jet card providers include deicing in their hourly pricing. Remember, the decision to de-ice – or not – is from your pilots. Most importantly, your flight provider should inform you about possible post-flight charges. However, when you sign the charter or jet card agreement, you are probably agreeing to deicing charges unless it stipulates that you don’t have to pay them. Either way, deicing is another reason it always makes sense to compare options – what’s included and what’s extra. Opinion: How Industry Can Mitigate Maturing Airliner Fleets Mike Stengel November 12, 2024 Commercial airplane fleets are aging at an alarming rate, and the implications—ranging from higher maintenance, repair and overhaul costs to reduced ability to meet ambitious sustainability targets—are troubling for operators. The average age of the fleet is frequently cited as a measure of the fleet’s fuel efficiency and airlines’ maintenance spending. Since 2000, the average age has gone through several cycles. Following industry-rattling events like 9/11 and the global financial crisis, struggling airlines deferred and canceled orders for new aircraft, which resulted in faster growth spurts in the average age. However, even as market conditions stabilized, OEMs were not able to deliver aircraft at a sufficient pace to return the average age to pre-crisis levels. Consequently, by the end of 2018, the fleet was 1.3 years older than in 2000 in aggregate. In the aftermath of the Boeing 737 MAX grounding in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing challenges that are delaying aircraft deliveries, history is repeating itself. The fleet aged 1.3 years in 2000-18 and then another 1.5 years in the shorter five-year window through 2023. The out-of-warranty fleet, defined as aircraft older than five years, shows an even more dramatic shift. At the end of 2018, 73% of the fleet was out-of-warranty; that share grew to 83% by the end of 2023. The average age of the passenger fleet is poised to continue rising, given ongoing delivery delays for new aircraft. AeroDynamic Advisory does not expect a return to 2018 delivery levels until around 2027, and that milestone may slip to the right with the fallout from strikes and the whack-a-mole nature of supply chain bottlenecks that are difficult to contain. In a more optimistic scenario, the narrowbody fleet age will remain stable while widebodies continue to grow older. But it is more likely that the overall fleet will age another 1-2 years by 2033. To return the fleet age to 2019 levels by 2033, 5-10% more narrowbodies and 30-40% more widebodies would have to be delivered than are forecast to be handed over. Note: See graphic here. The continued aging of the fleet is no doubt a strong tailwind for commercial aftermarket demand. Aftermarket-centric OEM stocks will benefit from the growing number of out-of-warranty aircraft, and low availability of used serviceable material will present strong pricing opportunities for mature fleets. The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers that support these fleets will also be strong beneficiaries as operators scramble to keep older engines in serviceable condition and conduct additional heavy maintenance visits and interior retrofits. For airlines, an aging fleet increases pressure on maintenance costs. While maintenance historically represented about 10% of airline expenses, it has crept up closer to 15%, representing total spending of about $122 billion in 2023. Inflation has certainly played a role in this, but older fleets also drive nonroutine tasks during maintenance events, and parts become more difficult to source. Some airlines will be better prepared to offset this cost creep, especially those that have strong in-house MRO resources and are more open to alternative solutions. However, most airlines will find their options limited due to external restrictions from lessors and OEMs or internal restrictions related to resources or culture. The aging fleet also threatens airlines’ ambitions to become more sustainable. The International Air Transport Association’s net zero 2050 goals are already daunting, and approximately 13% of the pathway depends on new-technology aircraft, according to the association. With the continued shortfall in deliveries of new-technology platforms and new aircraft designs not expected until the 2030s, that pathway is narrowing every day. This in turn increases the urgency to fill the gap with sustainable aviation fuel or market-based measures. History demonstrates that the fleet ages most quickly following an exogenous event and does not decline in age for a long time thereafter. We cannot expect new aircraft deliveries to accelerate enough to make fleet age decline meaningfully. We must adapt to the new reality. Airlines need to draw MRO best practices from peers and suppliers that routinely deal with older aircraft and evaluate other options to reach their sustainability goals. OEMs must devote resources and investment to address mature fleets properly instead of only focusing on new platforms. Lastly, MRO providers must be prepared to invest in the capacity, capabilities and solutions to keep the ecosystem a well-oiled machine. Dr. Curt L. Lewis, PhD, CSP, FRAeS Curt Lewis