< PreviousNovember 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS 20 www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY Emirates is one carrier that has found a model to make the A380 profi table. Aviation is increasingly seeing automated manufacturing processes, similar to the car industry. the area. Growth for its commercial divi- sion has been “much faster” than defence, Faury says. He predicts that commercial aviation in the Middle East will continue to swell signifi cantly despite rising ten- sions between nations and regional confl icts. Faury is confi dent in people’s appetite to travel and their demand for connectivity. He notes: “We think the size of commercial aviation for Airbus and for the majority of players will continue to be much larger than defence.” Max troubles ‘of no benefi t’ Among the most seismic events in the avi- ation industry in recent months were the two Boeing 737 Max crashes, which killed 346 people. The grounding of the Max has bitten Boeing hard and on the face of it, observers would fairly assume that Airbus might have experienced an uptake since the tragic incidents. However, the fallout from the Max controversy has not benefi ted Airbus, Faury insists. He says that demand in the single-aisle segment always was very strong before the Max in- cident and remains “very strong”. Faury comments: “In the short-term there is no way for us to take any benefi t from the [Max] situation. We stick with the commitment we have made to our cus- tomers. We have our own trajectory and these uncertainties, the situation of the authorities having to manage a complex situation with the Max, is something that is not helping the industry and obviously not helping us. In the long-term it might be different, but in the short-term, in the last six months, there has been nothing positive.” On top of the repercussions for aircraft regulations caused by the Max incidents, Airbus has faced the sharp end of escalat- ing trade wars between the European Union and the US. Not necessarily out of choice, Airbus has found itself drawn into the tit-for-tat spat. With President Trump’s 10% levy on Airbus aircraft, it is now likely that the EU will respond with its own tax on Boeing planes. While Faury notes that the saga is out of Airbus’ control, he believes the company’s weight can “infl uence” the outcome. “I think there is a big misunderstanding on how the aviation supply chain works. We have spent a lot of time and energy speaking to our many, many partners, be they in politics, in the States, suppli- ers, the US industry or airlines, to make sure there is not a simplistic view of ‘EU against the US’, but a deep understand- ing of the interdependency of the supply chain. I would like to remind [the sector] that 40% of what we buy on an Airbus [plane] comes from the US. We procure from the US, we manufacture in the US and we deliver in the US. We need a glob- al, open trade scheme for aviation; that is the way it works and the day we stop it we will destroy value for all players. Raising the tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic will be lose-lose for everybody. What we are trying to achieve is both the US and the EU coming to the table to negotiate and fi nd a settlement before it impacts avia- tion, travel, industries and jobs.” Point-to-point demand Given the calibre of its carriers, the Middle East is always a strong focus for Airbus and it keeps a close eye on buying habits in the region. Despite announcing the cessation of A380 production, Airbus has found that the superjumbo remains a key focus for regional airlines, with the likes of Emirates fi nding ways to oper- ate the aircraft profi tably. Faury knows the importance of fuel effi ciency and the struggles of four-engine planes, but remains fond of the A380. He believes the plane has decades of potential left for companies like Emirates, who can make a business case for it. In fact, a number 21November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY of customers have chosen to extend the lives of their A380s, with Qantas decid- ing to completely overhaul the cabins on 12 of the models. The Middle East’s smaller carriers, and particularly its up-and-coming air- lines, will not mourn the loss of the A380 as perhaps some of the national fl ag car- riers have. What the cancellation of the A380 means for the region’s operators is that Airbus now has signifi cant addition- al production capacity. And for Faury, that means developing aircraft designed for point-to-point travel. He explains: “For many players it makes sense to do more point-to-point. And when it comes to point-to-point long distance or even very long distance, the A350 is a very good answer. Or even for thin routes, the A321 XLR is a game- changer because there are economical rules that are now viable because you have a small capacity that can go very long distance. The feeling I have as an observer of the market is that new 21 www.aviationbusinessme.com PILOTLESS PLANES: PIE IN THE SKY OR FUTURE OF TRAVEL? Regardless of your confi dence in the likelihood of pilotless aircraft buzzing above our cities, it is worth taking note of Guillaume Faury’s opinion on the matter. As the CEO of Airbus, he has a unique insight into the trajectory of the aviation industry. He believes that – step-by-step – the age of the pilotless plane will dawn. “Many steps are required before it becomes a reality,” Faury says. “The fi rst one is technology, it’s not yet there but we are making progress. The second one is regulation. The third one is public acceptance, which might take time. Are you ready to get on a plane today without pilots and go across the Atlantic?” Many believe Dubai could be one of the fi rst urban areas to experiment with air taxis. For Faury, the sector is one that holds business potential because of the convergence of needs and technologies. With over half of the world’s population residing in urban areas, there is a greater need for clean mobility solutions. Airbus is investing in future urban mobility vehicles and believes such a solution could be electrically powered because of the short fl ights it would need to perform. Faury explains: “We are pursuing this avenue. We think that safety is absolutely critical, more so than any other aviation device because it is fl ying over cities. The fi rst step is urban air mobility with pilots and the next one, the ultimate one, is without pilots. There is another reason why we are very serious about urban air mobility; it is a playground for decarbonised technologies. We can test those technologies on a small scale. And then we can scale up when we think we have something. So it is a way to prepare the decarbonised technologies of large planes on a smaller scale much faster and with less money.” The A350 is a key part of Airbus’ strategy to cater for the growing trend for point-to-point aircraft.November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS 22 www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY planes and the point-to-point require- ments are enabling [aircraft] to go down in size but travel at higher frequencies.” The exception to this trend, Faury notes, could be very large planes fl ying into London. With such limited slots available, he predicts that the A380 will continue to play a signifi cant role in London-bound fl ights in decades to come, perhaps even more so than today. And while the sun is setting on the A380, Faury does not think that the industry is scared of investing in largescale projects on the same scale as the superjumbo. In fact, Faury sees the opposite: “There is a lot of investment in new technologies. The A350 has had success very quickly and is gaining momentum. It is the same with the new versions of the A320. The neo has been very suc- Guillaume Faury sees sense in investing in untested, carbon neutral technology. Airbus’s neos now command a great deal of attention in the commercial airline sector. We need a global, open trade scheme for aviation; that is the way it works and the day we stop it we will destroy value for all players. Raising the tariffs on both sides of the Atlantic will be lose-lose for everybody” cessful and we have seen a massive shift from ceo to neo because of its better fuel burn. We are introducing the XLR and we have seen immediate success with the A220. It is fair to say that there has been a lot of continuity in aviation, sometimes at a fast pace. But we are seeing maybe more disruptions than we have had in the last 50 years going from fossil fuels to new energies in the next 20 years, con- nected planes, single pilot operations or fl ights without pilots. These are going to come, these are big disruptions.” Faury wants Airbus to be at the centre of market disruptions and is gearing its research and development strategy accordingly. He identifi es three broad areas the company is investing in. The fi rst is the potential of automation in production systems and the move to- wards greater industrialisation, similar to the automotive sector. Airbus recently opened a new hangar in Hamburg which has a highly automated production area as a means of capitalising on the trend. The second area of “transformation”, Faury says, is digitalisation. Airbus has invested in a number of initiatives, including what it calls ‘Digital Design Manufacturing and Services’. It means digitising the plane, the production system and service in one unique pack- age. The third focus is decarbonisation. Decarbonisation will follow on from automation and digitalisation in terms of products and services, but remains a priority in Airbus’ R&D. Faury appears intent on exploring and investing in uncharted segments, despite the unpredictable and fast-changing mar- ket. Perhaps his strategy spawns from necessity. Customers in the Middle East and indeed globally demand that suppli- ers continue to innovate so operators can diversify and tackle their own hurdles. As long as Airbus continues to cater for its customers’ needs and market trends then external pressures like trade spats and international politics will struggle to prevent it from paving a way for the de- velopment of the global aviation industry. And that, operators will agree, can only be a good thing for the sector. November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS 24 www.aviationbusinessme.com RESEARCH CRUNCH TIME FOR PROJECT SUNRISE Qantas completes epic 19-hour commercial fl ight as part of Project Sunrise research into viability of ultra-long-haul fl ights and their effect on passengers. Qantas fl ight QF7879 made history after it touched down in Sydney last month following an epic 19-hour and 16-minute journey from New York. A total of 49 passengers and crew were on the fl ight, which was used to run a series of experiments to assess health and well-being on-board. Data from these experiments will be used to help shape the crew rostering and customer service of Qantas’ planned ultra-long-haul fl ights. Tests ranged from monitoring pilot brain waves, melatonin levels and alertness, through to exercise classes for passengers. Cabin lighting and in-fl ight meals were also adjusted in ways that are expected to help reduce jetlag, according to the medical researchers and scientists. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce describes the fl ight as a “signifi cant fi rst for aviation”. He says: “Hopefully, it’s a preview of a regular service that will speed up how people travel from one side of the globe to the other. We know ultra-long haul fl ights pose some extra challenges but that’s been true every time technology has allowed us to fl y further. The research we’re do- ing should give us better strategies for improving comfort and wellbeing along the way. Night fl ights usually start with dinner and then lights off . For this fl ight, we started with lunch and kept the lights on for the fi rst six hours, to match the time of day at our destination. It means you start reducing the jetlag straight away. “What’s already clear is how much time you can save. Our regular, one-stop New York to Sydney service (QF12) took off three hours before our direct fl ight but we arrived a few minutes ahead of it, meaning we saved a signifi cant amount of total travel time by not having to stop,” adds Joyce. Qantas captain Sean Golding, who led the four pilots operating the service, com- ments: “The fl ight went really smoothly. Headwinds picked up overnight, which slowed us down to start with, but that was part of our scenario planning. Given how long we were airborne, we were able to keep optimising the fl ight path to make the best of the conditions. We had a lot of interest from air traffi c controllers as we crossed through diff erent airspace because of the uniqueness of this fl ight. We also had a special sign off and welcome home from the control towers in New York and Sydney, which you don’t get every day. Overall, we’re really happy with how the fl ight went and it’s great have some of the data we need to help assess turning this into a regular service.” Captain Sean Golding (left) led a four-strong pilot crew on-board the 19-hour fl ight INSIDE THE FLIGHT QF7879 fl ight from New York to Sydney covered a distance of 16,200 kilometres The fl ight was operated by a new Boeing 787-9, registration VH ZNI, named ‘Kookaburra’ Four pilots were on rotation throughout the fl ight The aircraft operated with a maximum fuel load of approx 101,000kg Maximum take-off weight for a 787- 9 is 254,000kg. QF7879 JFK to SYD departed at 233,000kg take-off weight Cruising altitude started at 36,000 feet for the fi rst few hours and then increased to 40,000 feet Pantry galley weight was 1,500kg (food, trolleys etc)25 November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com ON CLOUD NINE AVIATION BUSINESS AWARDS 2019 The Middle East’s aviation sector descended on Dubai to celebrate a remarkable year in the region’s industry. Over the coming pages, we bring you the details and comments of the winners as well as all the action from the night. Last month, some of the biggest names in the Middle East’s aviation sector joined with competitors and peers for a glittering evening at Dubai’s Grosvenor House to celebrate one of the trade’s most highly anticipated events. As one of the rare occasions the industry has to let its hair down, the Aviation Business Awards presented an opportunity to network, catch up with peers and honour some of the year’s greatest achievements. With the cream of aviation gathered under one roof, the calibre of fi nalists present on the night was exceptional. Served alongside superb entertain- ment and a three-course meal, the big reveal unveiled all the winners of the 13th Aviation Business Awards. Industry behemoths, bosses and bright sparks from across the supply chain clapped one another as impressive accounts of innova- tion and excellence from the year were recounted live on stage. Tales of turna- rounds and stories of growth against the odds showed that despite the challenges faced by the Middle East’s aviation mar- ket, the players within it are some of the most forward-thinking and committed on the international circuit. It is comforting to see that in the face of such adversity, the industry is still investing heavily in cutting-edge technologies and coming up with new innovations to propel business. Over the years, the AVB Awards has established itself as the ultimate celebra- tion of achievements within the Middle East aviation and aerospace industry. The 2019 edition saw well deserving recipients presented with awards across 12 catego- ries. The winner of each category was decided by an expert panel of aviation industry judges comprised of Addison Schonland, Issa Baluch, Leonard Favre and Nick Humphrey. Each category was incredibly close with the standard and quality of entries this year making the judges’ jobs extremely diffi cult. THANK YOU TO EVENT SPONSORSNovember 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS 26 www.aviationbusinessme.com 2019 AVIATION BUSINESS AWARDS ubai Airports launched a high-tech system that monitors airport opera- tions in real-time and visualises traffi c fl ows to support consistently smooth operations at one of the world’s busiest airport. RealtimeDXB is a be- spoke cloud-based platform that gathers data generated by more than 50 opera- tional systems, including those of Dubai Airports and its service partners. The system uses this information to keep all operational teams aware of not only the current scenarios but also develop- ing situations anywhere from airfi eld to kerbside to anticipate challenges with pinpoint accuracy, facilitate greater col- laboration between service partners and enable quick decision-making. The system currently focuses on situ- ational awareness of the airfi eld, par- ticularly around aircraft fl ow. The key capabilities of the system include moni- toring and visualising airfi eld activity, including aircraft and vehicle move- ments, status of aircraft stands, fl ight data information, arrival, turnaround and departure processes, generation of alerts and performance analysis. Dubai Airports is working on the next phase of the system which will focus on passenger and baggage fl ows within the terminals. As one of the busiest airports, Dubai International faces two main challenges – to accommodate traffi c without the possibility of adding any new physi- cal infrastructure and to maintain and enhance the quality of customer expe- rience despite the high-volume traffi c. RealtimeDXB helps the airport achieve both objectives by improving the fl ow of passengers through the facility and enhancing their airport experience. The use of real-time information and ad- vanced smart gates is already helping enhance customer experience at DXB. In Q1 of 2019, the airport reduced customer wait-times by 30% as a direct result of the new systems. On receiving the award, Damian Ellacott, VP airport operations control centre at Dubai Airports, said: “[real- timeDXB] has been a great technology to implement. It’s been a real collabo- ration between the technology team and the operational centre, which I’m responsible for. It’s been about putting it into the operation with a great amount of cooperation in terms of defi ning the requirement, developing the technology and producing real results – it’s been a great step forward.” Ellacott and his team are pleased that Dubai Airports and its stakeholders, in- cluding airlines, ground handlers and police are all using the new platform. Operations now run more smoothly, planes leave on time, passengers leave on time and everyone gets their bags. According to Ellacott, realtimeDXB’s intro- duction is “just step one”. Dubai Airports will be investing in the platform over the next four years and will integrate more data points and sensors to create a fully connected, intelligent airport. TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION OF THE YEAR DUBAI INTERNATIONAL (DXB) FINALISTS • AMADEUS (HIGHLY COMMENDED) • DUBAI INTERNATIONAL DXB • ETIHAD CARGO • ETIHAD ENGINEERING AND PARTNERS • ETIHAD SAFETY, SECURITY & QUALITY • HONEYWELL FORGE • OMAN AIRPORTS MANAGEMENT CO • SANAD AEROTECH • SITA • UAS EVOLUTION 27 November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com ama Aviation’s Middle East HQ has made a sig- nifi cant contribution to the group with a new hazard and risk report- ing database. The team in the quality and safety department have developed a hazard and risk register database, which allows for the analysis and continued monitoring of risk related to Gama’s activities. The database has been shown to GCAA inspectors as part of their assessment of Gama’s safety management system. The database has played a signifi cant role in the GCAA’s acknowledgment of the improvements made in the last year, to the extent that it will be using Gama’s eff orts in this area as an example of what is needed for other operators during their assessments. Safety risk management is centred on a systematic approach to hazard identifi cation and risk management, assessing the potential severity and likelihood of those hazards occurring and then implementing appropriate control measures to mitigate the risks to an acceptable level. As part of its initiative, Gama cre- ated a proactive safety risk manage- ment system, using the tools of hazard identifi cation, risk assessment and risk mitigation, across all functional areas of its FZC’s operations. Through the use of these tools it is possible to identify issues with potential to be harmful to Gama. It also details the need for investigation of incidents and occurrences and any deviation in expected and delivered service in order to further identify and resolve identifi ed hazards and risks. The Gama Risk Management Database is an electronic tool powered by Microsoft Access designed to implement its eff ec- tive safety risk management strategy. It gathers risk information and allows for analysis and monitoring of hazards in a systematic approach covering four major components of SMS – hazard iden- tifi cation processes, risk assessment and mitigation processes, internal safety investigation processes and safety per- formance monitoring and measurement processes. HEALTH AND SAFETY INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR GAMA AVIATION FINALISTS • KUWAIT AVIATION FUELLING COMPANY (HIGHLY COMMENDED) • ETIHAD AIRWAYS GROUP • GAMA AVIATION • ETIHAD ENGINEERINGNovember 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS 28 www.aviationbusinessme.com 2019 AVIATION BUSINESS AWARDS emote Visual Inspection (RVI) is a key element of air- craft maintenance, prevent- ing component degradation or other accidents than can result in signifi cant losses. A key area for RVI in aerospace is the gas turbine or jet engine. RVI eff ectively extends the reach of the human eye into areas that are otherwise inaccessible without tricky disassembly or destruc- tion. Completely dismantling a gas tur- bine to visually inspect an individual component takes a very a long time and importantly, costs a lot of money. Add to that the loss of revenue from the aircraft being inactive and customer delays and potential compensation, it is clear to see why alternative inspection methods have been sought after and RVI becomes so important. Gas turbines present a challenging environment in which to work with a videoscope or video borescope, with some areas being highly refl ective, such as turbine blades and burner assemblies; and some areas extremely dark, such as the combustion chamber, nozzle guide vanes and areas of the turbine. Capturing a bright, sharp and clear image in these areas is equally diffi cult, and certain ad- vances in RVI technology have helped to improve workfl ow. They provide inspec- tors and operators with an easier platform with which to obtain the best possible images. Grounded Aircraft (AOG) are ex- pensive, which means that fast, effi cient inspections that do not compromise on reliability are highly benefi cial for both safety and profi tability. Although other inspection technologies exist, RVI is the only method that provides true-to-life images for confi dent decision-making, the company claims. Olympus’ innovation over the past decade has led to a number of attributes. They include the world’s smallest and lightest videoscope and the world’s small- est diameter articulating videoscope. When Olympus fi rst introduced meas- uring borescopes in the 1960’s and 70’s, nobody could have predicted just how important the technology that this led to would become. With the launch of IPLEX NX in 2016, Olympus unveiled a measuring vide- oscope that could measure a target area four times larger than conventional scopes. Now in 2019, as Olympus begins to celebrate its 100 year anniversary, inno- vation continues and live 3D models can be created with real-time measurement projection in the form of 3D spot ranging. RVI is just one area within Olympus’s portfolio of inspection and measurement technologies including RVI, microscopy, ultrasound, phased array, eddy current, eddy current array, X-ray fl uorescence and diff raction, high speed video and optical metrology. By working with large players within the aerospace industry, in commercial, private and defence sectors, Olympus hopes it has gained a more in- trinsic understanding of the requirements within the sector. And as technology evolves, more effi cient and functional equipment becomes available. Olympus said that the award was a “special moment for the company and for the team”. This year, Olympus cel- ebrates its 100-year anniversary as a company and it believes the Eingeering Innovation award refl ects its position as a top technology pioneer across industries including healthcare, safety, aviation and consumer markets. ENGINEERING INNOVATION OF THE YEAR OLYMPUS FINALISTS • HONEYWELL • OLYMPUS29 November 2019 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com AS invested in the UAS Station Manager Network to ensure the highest level of supervision and quality assurance for operators at 31 strategic global locations. Over the past year, UAS has increased its ground presence in Africa and China, but also focussed on enhancing the customer experience and rewarding its best per- forming global suppliers to ensure that standards of service quality and safety were maintained. In November 2018, UAS held the UAS Outstanding Suppliers Awards. This was an important initiative to celebrate and reward its top-performing industry part- ners on every continent it serves. The awards were also designed to reinforce UAS’ global quality assurance processes throughout its supply chain to its inter- national client base. The awards selection was based on cli- ent satisfaction reports instigated by the UAS procurement department with UAS following a strict selection process when choosing suppliers based on an evaluation by all stakeholders involved, including client feedback and internal assessment of quality and service levels. The selection process also demonstrated how UAS ensures operational excellence and the UAS standard of quality at all global locations through the development of the exclusive network having proven success in delivering to the most demand- ing specifi cations and highest standards of quality and cost-eff ectiveness. UAS ensures it only uses the best international vendors on its clients’ behalves, thus ensur- ing the high standards of ground service provision at all global hubs. UAS recently celebrated a decade of collaboration and operational excellence with premier Chinese carrier Sichuan Airlines. As Sichuan’s trip support partner, UAS has worked to support its extensive growth since 2008 and in recent years as it launched routes to international travel hubs such as Moscow, Dubai, and Auckland. In June 2019, UAS supported Sichuan’s inaugural fl ight to Rome. This year, UAS improved effi ciency and passed on cost-saving benefi ts through its technology suite, UAS Evolution. The plat- form can be used in-fl ight with or without a data connection. Enhanced features were added to evolve the fl agship product, UAS FlightEvolution. The fl ight planning and weather tool is designed to deliver advanced worldwide fl ight planning, weather, and mapping. The personalised demos UAS off ers at industry gatherings attracted signifi cant interest. Receiving the award on behalf of UAS, Ilham Chehlaoui, head of strategic busi- ness support, said: “Since 2016 we have turned our eff orts into developing a tech- nology suite. Our aim is to improve and revamp the customer experience in terms of innovative technology solutions. We started with our fl agship product, UAS Evolution, which is an online fl ight plan- ning tool that is the most user friendly system currently in the market. We have also developed an additional product, UAS Link Evolution, which is a data link and cabin connectivity product in addition to others which are in the pipeline. We plan on launching more technology products in our suite.” GROUND SUPPORT SERVICES PROVIDER OF THE YEAR UAS INTERNATIONAL TRIP SUPPORT FINALISTS • DNATA AIRPORT OPERATIONS • KUWAIT AVIATION FUELLING COMPANY (HIGHLY COMMENDED) • CARGO SERVICE CENTER COLD CHAIN SOLUTIONS ME • SAUDIA PRIVATE AVIATION • UAS INTERNATIONAL TRIP SUPPORTNext >