Singapore Airshow update - AIN video

February 18, 2016

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Lion Group Buys Big to Power Up Neos Transportation Partners, the leasing division of Indonesia carrier Lion Group, on Wednesday signed the largest deal so far at the 2016 Singapore Airshow when it gave CFM International a $4.9 billion contract for Leap-1A engines. The turbofans will power 174 Airbus A320neo aircraft ordered back in March 2013. CFM is helping Lion Group to establish a new engine maintenance and test cell facility in Bantam, Indonesia. The new center will support the CFM56 and Leap engines in the carrier’s fleet. Lion Group has been a CFM customer since 2000 and its entire single aisle narrowbody fleet of 642 A320s and Boeing 737s is powered by CFM engines. "This is a great extension of the partnership we have built with CFM over the past 15 years,” said John Duffy, chief operating officer of Transportation Partners. “In addition to the world-class operating economics and reliability that the Leap engine will bring to our fleet, Leap's strong footprint in Asia and the impressive strides it has made in North America and Europe augments well with our strategic growth objectives.”

Airbus and SIA Engineering Announce Maintenance Venture Airbus and Singapore’s SIA Engineering Company (SIAEC) are to form a joint venture to provide airframe maintenance, cabin upgrades and modifications for Airbus A380, A350 and A330 widebody airliners, an agreement that represents SIAEC’s first maintenance collaboration with a major aircraft manufacturer. The parties announced the agreement yesterday at the Singapore Airshow. Subject to regulatory approvals, SIAEC, a Singapore Airlines Group subsidiary, will hold a 65 percent equity stake in the joint venture; Airbus will hold the remaining 35 percent. The joint venture will lease two hangar bays from SIAEC, with plans to add another two hangar bays in the next six years. Png Kim Chiang, SIAEC chief executive, said the joint venture will become the Airbus center of excellence in Asia for the A380 as well as for the newer A350XWB, which is appearing in the flight display here at the airshow. Singapore Airlines was the launch customer of the superjumbo A380 in 2007

F-35 Report Card Gives Thumbs-Down to Block Buy Singapore is “in the advanced stages of evaluating the F-35,” according to its air force chief. The U.S. has been asking other partner countries on the Lightning II to commit to a block buy. But that prospect has now receded for a couple of years, after the latest report on the stealth fighter by the Pentagon’s own weapons tester, released on February 1. The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) listed a range of deficiencies in the Block 2B software that was loaded on the U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs when they declared initial operational capability (IOC) last July. He also described problems with the Block 3i version with which the U.S. Air Force wants to declare IOC on the F-35A next August. And the development and test schedule for the ultimate Block 3F software was judged “unrealistic.” In the U.S. system, the services can declare IOC before the DOT&E conducts a formal IOT&E (Initial Operational Test and Evaluation). The IOT&E for the F-35 is supposed to start in August 2017, upon completion of the jet’s System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. But in his latest report, the DOT&E warned the U.S. and its F-35 partners against committing to a block buy before the IOT&E is done. “Significant discoveries requiring correction…[and] will continue to occur throughout the remaining developmental and operational testing,” he noted. All the aircraft delivered to date need modifying before they are combat-ready, he added. Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) began calling for a block buy last year in order to drive down unit costs to the $80 million goal for the F-35A version.

Indonesia’s N219 Aims For June First Flight PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) is preparing to undertake the first flight of its N219 multi-purpose utility transport in June, having rolled out the first prototype at its Bandung factory last November. Certification of the twin-engine aircraft is slated for August 2017. To some extent, the N219 is based on the NC212 Aviocar that PTDI has built in partnership with Airbus Defence & Space. The N219, however, is a much more modern design, retaining the older type’s sturdiness and rough/short-field capability, but with improved performance and modern systems such as an advanced Garmin G1000 glass cockpit. At the same time, PTDI has kept the aircraft’s pricing very attractive, with an unpressurized cabin and fixed landing gear. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-42 turboprops of 850 shp each and driving Hartzell four-blade propellers, the N219 has a maximum takeoff weight of 15,500 lb (7,030 kg). The aircraft’s stall speed is just 59 knots, making it extremely suitable for both civilian and military use throughout Indonesia’s remote islands and mountainous regions. Take-off run is estimated to be 1,290 ft and landing run 1,617 ft. As a true utility transport, the N219 is aimed at a variety of roles, its unobstructed 5.6 x 5.9-ft cabin offering class-leading width. In passenger transport form, the N219 can carry 19 in a 2+1 arrangement, while it can also be fitted with paratroop-style seats for 21 soldiers. As a cargo transport it can accommodate three D2 containers or pallets through the large aft door. Other roles envisioned for the type include medical evacuation (with room for eight stretchers), and special mission duties.

Boeing Rebuts Airbus’s Criticism Over Middle Market Boeing Commercial Airplanes senior v-p of airplane development Scott Fancher reported here yesterday that his organization continues to study the market for an airplane designed to fit between the 737 Max 9 and the 787-8. Fancher said it was “a distraction” when Airbus claimed that the sizeable order backlog of the A321neo vindicates assertions that the European manufacturer has already filled the need for a so-called middle-of-the-market (MOM) airplane. He defended Boeing’s deliberate approach to addressing any demand in that segment. “It’s been reported widely that we’re looking at various alternatives in the middle of the market, and we’ll continue to do so,” Fancher confirmed. “If there’s a market there, we will address it. So we’re in the process of looking at what that market may or may not be, what the alternatives to addressing the market are. And when we get to the point where we believe we can bring an attractive offering to the marketplace–an offering that represents a good economic business case not just for our customers but for our shareholders as well–we’ll make a decision.” Fancher would not detail what alternatives Boeing (Stand U23) is considering, however. He added that the company “covers the waterfront” when engaging in market studies. “We’ve been getting a range of inputs from customers,” he said. “We’re trying to synthesize what does that market really look like and what set of products could be used to address that space.”

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