Rolls-Royce (OTC: RYCEY) has signed a TotalCare® agreement with new customer Uganda Airlines for their two new Airbus A330neo aircraft powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. Uganda Airlines received the first A330neo in December 2020 and the second in January 2021.
TotalCare® offers more than just an engine maintenance plan; it is a service concept based upon predictability and reliability. This agreement will give Uganda Airlines a secured cost of operating and maintaining their Trent 7000 engines, through a dollar-per-flying-hour payment mechanism, as well as enhanced aircraft availability as a result of our in-depth engine knowledge that only we can provide, drawing on advanced engine health monitoring and the inclusion of product durability and reliability improvements.
The exclusive engine for the A330neo, the Trent 7000 is the seventh and latest member in the Trent family of engines, which recently celebrated its 25th birthday and has accumulated more than 150 million engine flying hours. The Trent 7000, which first entered service in November 2018, draws on more than 50 million flying hours of experience from the Trent 700, the engine of choice for the original version of the A330. The 68-72,000lb thrust Trent 7000 helps the A330neo reduce environmental impact with a 25% improvement in fuel burn per seat (compared to previous generation competitor aircraft) and a significant noise reduction.
Cornwell Muleya, CEO of Uganda Airlines, said: “We are proud to include our new Rolls-Royce powered Airbus A330neos into our fleet and this agreement will ensure that our Trent 7000 engines will be maintained to world-leading levels of service.”
John Kelly, Senior Vice President Customers, Rolls-Royce, said: “Our TotalCare agreement will ensure Uganda Airlines, the latest member of the family of Trent operators, receives our flagship standard of service, maximising aircraft availability and the ability to plan forward financially.”
Marignane, France, 15, February, 2021 – International energy group Shell has selected leading US offshore helicopter operator PHI to operate four Airbus H160’s to service a support contract in the Gulf of Mexico. The contract marks the entry into the oil and gas market of the H160 with a wealth of design features promising new levels of safety, comfort and schedule reliability in offshore operations.
The three companies – Airbus, PHI and Shell – are cooperating in a unique partnership. In a pioneering move, Airbus will provide one H160 ahead of final deliveries to PHI and Shell for a year-long route-proving programme to enable the operator and the final customer to familiarize themselves with the type’s advanced features and mitigate the normal challenges around entry into service.
At PHI it will be based at Houma, Louisiana and join a large company fleet of H125’s and H135’s deployed in emergency medical service throughout the United States, as well as two H145’s operating for Shell on pipeline survey work in Louisiana, and two H145’s flying the world’s longest harbour pilot shuttle in Mackay, Australia.
With 68 patents, the H160 is the world’s most technologically advanced helicopter and features an unprecedented suite of pilot aids delivered through its Helionix avionics which substantially reduces crew workload and decreases the risk of pilot error.
They include the world’s first ground helipad assisted take-off procedure, a vortex ring state pre-alerting system and a recovery mode to automatically regain steady flight in difficult circumstances.
The H160 is powered by two of the latest Arrano engines from Safran Helicopter Engines and incorporates an embedded monitoring system and a redundancy of sensors, and can be maintained autonomously far from base. The design emphasises robust corrosion defence specifically envisaging offshore missions.
Toulouse, 18 February 2021 – Air Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast’s flagship carrier based in Abidjan, has taken delivery of its first A320neo, becoming the first operator of the type in the West-African region. This latest generation aircraft will join Air Côte d’Ivoire’s existing Airbus fleet of six aircraft.
With improved levels of efficiency, this new aircraft will be deployed on Air Côte d’Ivoire’s regional network to serve Senegal, Gabon, and Cameroon. Destinations like South Africa will be added at a later stage, highlighting the operational flexibility of the A320neo. Powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines, the aircraft is configured in a comfortable two-class layout with 16 seats in Business and 132 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will benefit from the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft, high-speed Internet connectivity and latest generation in-flight entertainment system.
Air Cote d’Ivoire’s first A320neo took off from Toulouse carrying 1 tonne of humanitarian goods including medical equipment and toys. In partnership with Aviation sans Frontières and the Airbus Foundation, the mission is part of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s corporate social responsibility initiative. The transported goods will serve local NGOs in Abidjan, thus supporting the education and health sector in the country.
Air Cote d’Ivoire has a fleet of 10 aircraft, including three A319s and three A320s, serving 25 domestic and regional destinations in West and Central Africa.
The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines, Sharklets and aerodynamics, which together deliver 20% in fuel savings and CO2 reduction. The A320neo Family has won 7,450 orders from nearly 120 customers.
Toulouse, 18 February 2021 – Air Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast’s flagship carrier based in Abidjan, has taken delivery of its first A320neo, becoming the first operator of the type in the West-African region. This latest generation aircraft will join Air Côte d’Ivoire’s existing Airbus fleet of six aircraft.
With improved levels of efficiency, this new aircraft will be deployed on Air Côte d’Ivoire’s regional network to serve Senegal, Gabon, and Cameroon. Destinations like South Africa will be added at a later stage, highlighting the operational flexibility of the A320neo. Powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines, the aircraft is configured in a comfortable two-class layout with 16 seats in Business and 132 seats in Economy Class. Passengers will benefit from the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft, high-speed Internet connectivity and latest generation in-flight entertainment system.
Air Cote d’Ivoire’s first A320neo took off from Toulouse carrying 1 tonne of humanitarian goods including medical equipment and toys. In partnership with Aviation sans Frontières and the Airbus Foundation, the mission is part of Air Côte d’Ivoire’s corporate social responsibility initiative. The transported goods will serve local NGOs in Abidjan, thus supporting the education and health sector in the country.
Air Cote d’Ivoire has a fleet of 10 aircraft, including three A319s and three A320s, serving 25 domestic and regional destinations in West and Central Africa.
The A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines, Sharklets and aerodynamics, which together deliver 20% in fuel savings and CO2 reduction. The A320neo Family has won 7,450 orders from nearly 120 customers.
São Paulo, Brazil, February 18, 2021 – Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) welcomes the Brazilian Government’s decisions to withdraw its ongoing World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute with Canada regarding aeronautical subsidies and to launch negotiations on more effective disciplines to regulate government support in the Commercial Aviation segment.
At the WTO, Brazil challenged more than USD 3 billion in illegal subsidies that the Governments of Canada and Quebec provided to Bombardier for the launch, development and production of the C-Series program. These subsidies distorted the conditions of competition in the global market for commercial aircraft, causing serious prejudice to Embraer, in clear violation of WTO rules.
Although Brazil has a strong case, the WTO dispute became ineffective to address the Canadian subsidies and to remedy the distortions generated in the market. After Bombardier exited the Commercial Aviation segment and transferred the C-Series program (now called A220) to Airbus, which has a second assembly line in the United States, the trade dispute against Canada at the WTO is no longer the most effective means to achieve Brazil’s and Embraer’s goal of reestablishing a level playing field in this sector.
Embraer also supports Brazil’s initiative to launch negotiations for more effective disciplines on government support in the commercial aviation segment, as the best way to achieve this goal, as previously seen with the successful experience of the OECD’s Aircraft Sector Understanding (ASU), signed in 2007 to regulate export credits. Ultimately, Embraer believes that commercial aircraft manufacturers should compete against each other based on the merits of their product, not on the amount of funding they receive from their governments.
FY EBIT (reported) € -0.5 billion; FY loss per share (reported) € -1.45
No dividend proposed for 2020
FY FCF before M&A and customer financing € -6.9 billion
Net cash position at € 4.3 billion
2021 guidance issued
Amsterdam, 18 February 2021 – Airbus SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) reported consolidated Full-Year (FY) 2020 financial results and provided guidance for 2021.
“The 2020 results demonstrate the resilience of Airbus in the most challenging crisis to hit the aerospace industry. I want to thank our teams for their great achievements in 2020 and acknowledge the strong support of our Helicopters and Defence and Space businesses. I would also like to thank our customers, suppliers and partners for their loyalty to Airbus,” said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury. “Many uncertainties remain for our industry in 2021 as the pandemic continues to impact lives, economies and societies. We have issued guidance to provide some visibility in a volatile environment. Over the longer term, our ambition is to lead the development of a sustainable global aerospace industry.”
Net commercial aircraft orders totalled 268 (2019: 768 aircraft) with the order backlog comprising 7,184 commercial aircraft as of 31 December 2020. Airbus Helicopters booked 268 net orders (2019: 310 units), including 31 NH90’s for the German Bundeswehr in Q4 and 11 H160’s. Airbus Defence and Space’s order intake by value increased 39% year-on-year to € 11.9 billion, a book-to-bill above one, mainly driven by major contract wins in Military Aircraft. This included a contract signed in November to deliver 38 new Eurofighters for the German Air Force.
Consolidated order intake by value decreased to € 33.3 billion (2019: € 81.2 billion) with the consolidated order book valued at € 373 billion on 31 December 2020 (year-end 2019: € 471 billion). The decrease in the value of the commercial aircraft backlog reflects the higher number of deliveries compared to order intake, the weakening of the US dollar and an assessment of the backlog’s recoverability.
Consolidated revenues decreased to € 49.9 billion (2019: € 70.5 billion), driven by the difficult market environment impacting the commercial aircraft business with 34% fewer deliveries year-on-year. A total of 566 commercial aircraft were delivered (2019: 863 aircraft), comprising 38 A220s, 446 A320 Family, 19 A330s, 59 A350s and 4 A380s. During the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 225 commercial aircraft were delivered including 89 in December. In 2020, Airbus Helicopters delivered 300 units (2019: 332 units) with revenues increasing by around 4%, benefiting from a favourable product mix and growth in services. Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space decreased by around 4%, mainly reflecting lower volume as well as the impact of COVID-19 on business phasing, mainly in Space Systems.
Consolidated EBIT Adjusted – an alternative performance measure and key indicator capturing the underlying business margin by excluding material charges or profits caused by movements in provisions related to programmes, restructuring or foreign exchange impacts as well as capital gains/losses from the disposal and acquisition of businesses – totalled € 1,706 million (2019: € 6,946 million). This mainly reflects the weaker commercial aircraft performance, which was supported by a strong contribution from Airbus Helicopters and Airbus Defence and Space.
Airbus’ EBIT Adjusted of € 618 million (2019: € 5,947 million(1)) mainly reflects the reduced commercial aircraft deliveries and associated lower cost efficiency. It also includes € -1.1 billion in COVID-19 related charges. In January 2021, an update on production rates was communicated in response to the market environment with rates to remain lower for longer.
Airbus Helicopters’ EBIT Adjusted increased to € 471 million (2019: € 422 million), mainly driven by strong government-related activities and reliable programme execution. It also includes lower Research & Development (R&D) expenses reflecting the end of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification process for the five-bladed H145 and the H160.
EBIT Adjusted at Airbus Defence and Space increased to € 660 million (2019: € 565 million), mainly reflecting cost containment measures and lower R&D expenses, partly offset by the impact of COVID-19, including on the launcher business.
A total of 9 A400M military airlifters were delivered during the year, with Belgium taking delivery of its first of seven aircraft in December. Good progress was made with the aircraft’s capability roadmap, including the flight test campaign for Automatic Low Level Flight certification.
Consolidated self-financed R&D expenses decreased to € 2,858 million (2019: € 3,358 million).
Consolidated EBIT (reported) was € -510 million (2019: € 1,339 million), including Adjustments totalling a net € -2,216 million.
These Adjustments comprised:
€ -1,202 million related to the Company-wide restructuring plan;
€ -385 million related to A380 programme cost, of which € -27 million were in Q4;
€ -480 million related to the dollar pre-delivery payment mismatch and balance sheet revaluation, of which € -106 million were in Q4;
€ -149 million of other costs (including compliance), of which € -21 million were in Q4.
The consolidated net loss (2)was € -1,133 million (2019 net loss: € -1,362 million). It includes the financial result of € -620 million (2019: € -275 million). The financial result largely reflects interest results of € -271 million, Repayable Launch Investment re-measurement impact in the other financial result of € -157 million, as well as a net € -149 million related to Dassault Aviation financial instruments. It also includes the impairment of the OneWeb loan, recognised in Q1 2020. The consolidated reported loss per share was € -1.45 (2019: € -1.75).
Consolidated free cash flow before M&A and customer financing amounted to € -6,935 million (2019: € 3,509 million), including the payment of the compliance-related penalties of € -3.6 billion in Q1 2020. The Q4 2020 free cash flow before M&A and customer financing of € 4.9 billion reflects the solid level of aircraft deliveries in the quarter, the good performance from Helicopters and Defence and Space, as well as a strong focus on working capital management.
Various measures were taken during 2020 to maintain a strong liquidity position while navigating the COVID-19 crisis, including a new € 15.0 billion credit facility. Thanks to its strong credit rating, the Company was able to limit interest expenses to € 0.4 billion for the year and extend the maturities of funding sources by issuing new bonds.
Full-year capital expenditure was around € 1.8 billion, down by about € 0.6 billion year-on-year following the prioritisation of projects. Consolidated free cash flow was € -7,362 million (2019: € 3,475 million). The consolidated net cash position was € 4.3 billion on 31 December 2020 (year-end 2019: € 12.5 billion) with a gross cash position of € 21.4 billion (year-end 2019: € 22.7 billion).
Given the global business environment, there will be no dividend proposed for 2020. This decision aims at strengthening the Company’s financial resilience by protecting the net cash position and supporting its ability to adapt as the situation evolves.
Outlook As the basis for its 2021 guidance, the Company assumes no further disruptions to the world economy, air traffic, the Company’s internal operations, and its ability to deliver products and services. The Company’s 2021 guidance is before M&A.
On that basis, the Company targets to at least achieve in 2021:
Same number of commercial aircraft deliveries as in 2020;
EBIT Adjusted of € 2 billion;
Breakeven free cash flow before M&A and customer financing.
SAS has selected CFM International LEAP-1A engines to power its new fleet of 35 A320neo family aircraft ordered in 2018. This agreement also includes eight spare engines. In addition, SAS has signed with CFM a Rate-Per-Flight-Hour (RPFH) support agreement to cover its new fleet of LEAP-1A engines, including spares, as well as 15 additional LEAP-1A-powered A320neo on lease.
This new agreement is part of SAS’ fleet upgrade program that aims to improve efficiency and sustainability performances. SAS has been at the forefront of introducing technologies that reduce the impact of aviation on the environment, as well as choosing efficient engines to power its fleet.
SAS was a launch customer for CFM’s advanced LEAP-1A engine that it selected in 2011 to power the first batch of 30 A320neo. SAS currently operates 44 A320neo aircraft and 1 A321neo LR powered by the fuel-efficient LEAP engine and plans to introduce two additional A321neo LR.In total SAS orders for purchased and leased aircraft placed in 2011 and 2018 will enable SAS to increase the fleet of A320neo to 80.
CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine continues to set a new industry standard for fuel efficiency and asset utilization, logging more than seven million engine flight hours in commercial operations. The fleet is demonstrating a 15 percent better fuel consumption and CO2 reductions as well as a significant improvement in noise emissions compared to the best CFM56 engines.
Being able to manufacture and assemble objects in space using 3D printing and in-orbit robots may sound like pure science fiction – but these game-changing techniques are set to become reality…and Airbus is making it happen.
The company kicked off its in-space manufacturing and assembly (ISMA) activities four years ago, a reflection of the disruptive thinking currently taking hold in the global space industry. Among Airbus Defence and Space’s key breakthroughs so far is development of Metal3D – the first-ever metal 3D printer to be deployed to space, in a project co-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA).
Manufacturing and assembling objects in space has significant advantages over the traditional approach – where everything is produced on Earth and subsequently transported to space. For example, objects manufactured/assembled in space are not constrained by the size of a launch vehicle, nor must they be “over-designed” to withstand rigorous launch conditions.
ISMA activities are now in full swing at Airbus. A transnational robotics team is developing the company’s robotic capabilities, exploring how best to carry out in-orbit servicing in the future. This year, the team will deliver their boundary-breaking metal 3D printer that will one day go to the International Space Station and they are targeting European projects to achieve in-orbit demonstration of in-space manufacturing the following year.
The ISMA team’s work covers three main areas. The first is manufacturing via 3D printers, which can use metal, and later regolith (Moon dust), or recycle manmade objects already in space as source material to print new parts. Examples include radiation shielding, tooling, equipment, rovers and habitats. By the end of this decade, printers could be deployed on the Moon to make structures for a rover or lunar habitat.
The second area is in-space assembly, which can be used to create very large structures like antennas. This requires a high level of robotic operation, which is the third area. Control of robotic operations with virtual reality and visual serving for motion control is under development at Airbus robotic labs in Toulouse, Stevenage and Bremen to enable remote monitoring and control of future in-orbit operations.
Meanwhile the ISMA team is developing its own modular robotic arm and tools with the high level of accuracy required for such operations. The aim is to test this by placing a robotic facility on the ISS’s Airbus-built Bartolomeo payload hosting platform by the mid-2020s, forming a “digital factory” in space.
The robotic assets could be used by other parts of Airbus, and the ISMA team currently is sharing its ideas with the Commercial Aircraft teams for on-ground assembly lines. Cooperation is also on the agenda with the Airbus team behind the ROXY study, which recently demonstrated that oxygen and metals can be produced from simulated Moon dust.
Radio frequency components are at the heart of every telecommunications satellite, and such parts are now being produced by Airbus (AIR.PA) in large volumes with innovative Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technology – also known as 3D printing – for its latest spacecraft: the Eurostar Neo-series relay platform.
A total of 500 radio frequency (RF) components, composed of multi-waveguide blocks and switch assembly networks, have been 3D manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in Portsmouth, UK for two Eurostar Neo spacecraft that will join the in-orbit fleet of Eutelsat, a major provider of satellite communications services.
These two satellites are called Hotbirds. They will be launched in 2021 to reinforce and enhance Eutelsat’s TV broadcasting services over Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Utilising 3D printing for the Hotbirds provides major labour savings and significantly reduces the number of individual required parts, according to Gareth Penlington, the Hotbird Payload Manager at Airbus.
Airbus’ manufacturing team in Portsmouth developed innovative designs for the Eurostar Neo’s multi-waveguide blocks and switch assembly networks to be 3D printed, taking them from initial concept and patenting through industrialisation and the completion of a successful qualification programme.
The no. 1 Hotbird satellite’s communications module was transferred earlier this month from Portsmouth to the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Toulouse, France, where the spacecraft’s full build-up will be completed. Assembly of the second Hotbird communications module is now underway in Portsmouth, with its testing to begin in February.
Airbus (Paris: AIR.PA) has signed a contract to provide a digital services focus for the maintenance of the Air Refueling Boom System (ARBS) on the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (A330 MRTT) fleet.
Based on the Airbus suite of digital services SmartForce, this service is intended to support the operator in reducing maintenance costs and improving fleet availability by optimizing the fault diagnosis and troubleshooting tasks for the ARBS of the tanker aircraft, based on data analytics applications.
The Central Data System plays a key role, allowing operators to draw on the flight data recorded by the Mission Recording System and provides information outputs about issues registered during the flight and recommended maintenance actions to fix them.
Within the KC-30A Enterprise, the Central Data System is a joint development built upon a successful long-standing collaboration among Airbus, the Commonwealth of Australia (CoA) and the Australian KC-30A Through Life Support (TLS) provider Northrop Grumman Australia, in sharing data and defining the architecture of the system.
Future proposed development of the capability will allow customers which apply this technology to their fleet to be able to extend the ARBS analytics to entire aircraft level diagnostics.
SmartForce is a suite of services enabling military operators to exploit aircraft data to improve troubleshooting, optimize maintenance effort, predict maintenance actions and plan smartly for material demand and improving the fleet availability. SmartForce capitalizes on the new power of big data analytics coupled to secured connectivity to maximize mission readiness.
