FlightGlobal
• Alfred Chua
SATS will trial autonomous cargo vehicles carrying up to 800 kilograms between its Changi terminals and freight forwarders’ warehouses, while Singapore Airlines and DHL Express renew their agreement covering five Boeing 777 freighters. SIA will continue providing crews and maintenance for DHL’s Singapore-based intercontinental cargo operation.
MRO
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SATS will trial autonomous cargo vehicles carrying up to 800 kilograms between its Changi terminals and freight forwarders’ warehouses, while Singapore Airlines and DHL Express renew their agreement covering five Boeing 777 freighters. SIA will continue providing crews and maintenance for DHL’s Singapore-based intercontinental cargo operation.
Colombia’s Avianca has secured $300 million in financing for an MRO service in Brazil. The investment gives the airline additional capacity to develop its maintenance, repair and overhaul activities in the country, although the available reporting does not specify the facility, partners or implementation timeline.
High activity
United Airlines has taken delivery of the first Airbus A321XLR equipped with Pratt & Whitney’s GTF Advantage turbofan, making it the engine’s launch airline customer. The upgraded PW1100G variant is designed to deliver greater thrust, longer range and up to twice the time on wing of earlier versions.
Togo-based ASKY Airlines plans to expand to 30 aircraft and 40 destinations within five years, including the launch of intercontinental services to Europe. The carrier also intends to establish a $100 million maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Lomé, strengthening its planned regional infrastructure footprint.
Chromalloy is pursuing growing demand for replacement engine airfoils as shortages continue, securing another FAA approval for a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) component. The move expands its ability to offer approved alternatives in an aftermarket where constrained supply is creating additional opportunity for parts manufacturers.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board found that a fractured low-pressure compressor rotor blade caused the 2023 inflight failure and fire involving a De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW150A. Investigators cited mechanical resonance and identified 13 similar incidents in their review.
A new supplemental type certificate gives owners of Textron Aviation’s earliest CitationJet aircraft a path to modernize their cockpits with an all-Garmin avionics suite. The approval expands upgrade options for operators seeking to bring legacy business jets’ avionics systems up to current standards.
July data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows American Airlines’ mechanical disruptions have imposed a year-to-date cost equivalent to three Boeing 737 MAX 8s—more than twice United Airlines’ total, underscoring the operational and financial impact of maintenance-related reliability problems.
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