Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – The Helicopter Company (THC), established by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) as the first and only helicopter services provider licensed to operate commercial flights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, today announced that it has signed a second purchase agreement with Airbus (OTC: EADSY) Helicopters.
The agreement was signed by Raid Ismail, Chairman of the Board of THC and Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, in the presence of His Excellency Khalid Al Falih, Minister of Investment and His Excellency Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness.
The partnership will contribute to the ongoing expansion of THC’s regional fleet ahead of announcing an exciting new journey as a General Aviation champion, with twenty orders of the newly launched five bladed H145 and six ACH160 models. All aircraft feature cutting-edge technologies and biofuel-compatible engines, marking a significant milestone in developing alternatives to conventional aviation fuels and achieving decarbonization of helicopter flights.
Launching its services in 2019, THC was established by PIF as part of its strategy to activate new sectors in Saudi Arabia that support the realisation of Vision 2030 and generate long-term commercial returns, while meeting the growing demand for luxury tourism and air travel services. THC previously signed an agreement to buy 10 Airbus H125 helicopters to increase access to domestic tourism destinations and provide services such as filming and aerial surveying – and is now further expanding its services with the addition of the H145 and H160 to its fleet.
The purchase agreement forms part of THC’s ongoing strategic regional alliances with industry leaders, including a recent partnership with The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), the developer behind the world’s most ambitious regenerative tourism project. The contract for the provision and operation of a twin engine helicopter, crew and maintenance technicians, facilitates TRSDC emergency medical services (EMS) with alternate configuration change capability for passenger utility transport at TRSDC’s site on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.
Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR.L) announced today that following a successful equity raise, the Rolls-Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) business has today been established, to bring forward and deliver at scale the next generation of low cost, low carbon nuclear power technology.
Rolls-Royce Group, BNF Resources UK Limited and Exelon Generation Limited will invest £195m across a period of around three years. The funding will enable the business to secure grant funding of £210 million from UK Research and Innovation funding, first announced by the UK Prime Minister in ‘The Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution’. Today’s announcement is another step towards the delivery of the Government’s net zero strategy and its 10-point plan.
The business, which will continue to seek further investment, will now proceed rapidly with a range of parallel delivery activities, including entry to the UK Generic Design Assessment (GDA) process and identifying sites for the factories which will manufacture the modules that enable on-site assembly of the power plants. Discussions will also continue with the UK Government on identifying the delivery models that will enable long-term investment in this vital, net-zero enabling technology. Rolls-Royce SMR is engaging with export customers across many continents who need this technology to meet their own net zero commitments.
Rolls-Royce SMR is using proven nuclear technology, coupled with a unique factory-made module manufacturing and on-site assembly system, to harness decades of British engineering, design and manufacturing knowhow. It brings together the best of UK industry to ensure a decarbonisation solution that will be available to the UK grid in the early 2030s. The potential for this to be a leading global export for the UK is unprecedented.
Nine-tenths of an individual Rolls-Royce SMR power plant will be built or assembled in factory conditions and around 80% could be delivered by a UK supply chain – a unique offering in energy infrastructure in the UK. Much of the venture’s investment is expected to be focused in the North of the UK, where there is significant existing nuclear expertise
A single Rolls-Royce SMR power station will occupy the footprint of two football pitches and power approximately one million homes. It can support both on-grid electricity and a range of off-grid clean energy solutions, enabling the decarbonisation of industrial processes and the production of clean fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and green hydrogen, to support the energy transition in the wider heat and transportation sectors.
CALGARY, Alberta & KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (NYSE: CP) and Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) have announced they have jointly filed a railroad control application with the Surface Transportation Board (“STB”) regarding the proposed transaction to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (“CPKC”), the only single-line railroad linking the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The comprehensive control application provides an overview of the proposed operational integration of the CP and KCS rail networks, the impact of that consolidation on the companies’ finances and labour needs, and the anticipated competitive and other benefits that will flow from providing shippers with new and better transportation alternatives. Information in the filing outlines the public and customer benefits a CP-KCS combination would bring, including more efficient north-south trade arteries to support the interconnected supply chains of the United States, Mexico and Canada.
In addition to the central foundation of the transaction to invigorate transportation competition and support economic growth across North America, the CP-KCS combination will generate many other public benefits, including:
The creation of more than 1,000 direct new jobs system-wide, including approximately 760 in the United States, over the next three years brought about by expanded rail operations across the combined network.
Capital investments in new infrastructure of more than USD$275 million1 over the next three years to improve rail safety and capacity of the core north-south CPKC main line between Louisiana and the Upper Midwest.
Avoidance of more than 1.5 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within five years due to the improved efficiency of CPKC versus current operations.
Diverting 64,000 long-haul truck shipments to rail annually with new CPKC intermodal services, eliminating another 1.3 million tons of GHG emissions over the next two decades, saving $750 million in highway maintenance costs.
Rail customers will not experience a reduction in independent railroad choices as a result of the CP-KCS combination. The joint control application reiterates the applicants’ commitment to keep all existing freight rail gateways open on commercially reasonable terms, including the Laredo gateway between the United States and Mexico, and shows how customers will not lose competitive routings because no new regulatory “bottlenecks” are being created. It also describes how the combined company will compete aggressively to attract traffic to its network via new single-line lanes between Canada, the Upper Midwest and the Gulf Coast, Texas, and Mexico.
More than 960 stakeholders, including more than 440 shippers, 186 smaller railroads, dozens of public officials, eight major ports, railroad labor unions representing both CP and KCS employees and 289 rail industry suppliers have written letters to the STB supporting CP’s proposed combination with KCS.
CP has agreed to acquire KCS in a stock and cash transaction representing an enterprise value of approximately $31 billion, which includes the assumption of $3.8 billion of outstanding KCS debt. The transaction, which has the unanimous support of both boards of directors, values KCS at $300 per share, representing a 34 percent premium, based on the CP closing price on Aug. 9, 2021, the date prior to which CP submitted a revised offer to acquire KCS, and KCS’ unaffected closing price on March 19, 2021.2
The transaction is subject to approval by shareholders of each company along with satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including Mexican regulatory approvals. Shareholders are expected to vote on the transaction later this year.
CP’s ultimate acquisition of control of KCS’ U.S. railways is subject to the approval of the STB. In April 2021, the STB determined it would review the CP-KCS combination under the merger rules in existence prior to 2001 and the waiver granted to KCS in 2001 to exempt it from the 2001 merger rules. In August 2021, the STB reaffirmed that the pre-2001 rules would govern its review of the CP-KCS transaction. On Sept. 30, 2021, the STB confirmed that it has approved the use of a voting trust for the CP-KCS combination.
The STB review of CP’s proposed control of KCS is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022. Upon obtaining control approval, the two companies will be integrated fully over the ensuing three years, unlocking the benefits of the combination.
While remaining the smallest of six U.S. Class 1 railroads by revenue, the combined company would have a much larger and more competitive network, operating approximately 20,000 miles of rail, employing close to 20,000 people, and generating total revenues of approximately $8.7 billion based on 2020 actual revenues.
For more information about the benefits of the CP-KCS combination, visit futureforfreight.com
Rolls-Royce (OTC: RYCEY) announces the agreed sale of its 23.1% shareholding in AirTanker Holdings Limited to Equitix Investment Management Limited for cash proceeds of £189m, including the repayment of shareholder loans and accrued and deferred interest of approximately £47m, subject to any routine closing adjustments and before transaction costs. The transaction is expected to complete by the end of the first quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals. There is no merger control condition. Proceeds will be used to reduce net debt. Remaining AirTanker shareholders have pre-emption rights over the Rolls-Royce shares and loan notes.
AirTanker Holdings Limited, a joint venture with Airbus, Babcock, and Thales, owns 14 A330-200 Voyager aircraft which are powered by Trent 772B engines, a derivative of the Trent 700 engine. The Voyager aircraft support air-to-air refuelling, air transport and ancillary services for the UK Ministry of Defence. This fleet is operated by AirTanker Services Limited, in which we will continue to be a 23.5% shareholder. We will also continue to provide servicing and maintenance for the fleet of Rolls-Royce engines that power the Voyager aircraft to support the Royal Air Force.
Embraer announced today the opening of an office in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The main objective is to foster cooperation in Hungary, which could result in future developments under new partnerships. The office also creates an administrative hub for projects development in Central and Eastern Europe.
This initiative is part of Embraer’s strategy to establish new partnerships in select markets. Some of the key aspects of this future cooperation are the collaborative efforts with new partners, long-term projects, and investment in reliable dual-use technology.
The office will employ Hungarian personnel, administrative and engineering staff that will work in close cooperation with Embraer’s teams in Brazil.
Aerial view of the Canadian rockies mountains in the Banff national park, Canada
Porter Airlines has unveiled plans to extend its award-winning service to destinations throughout North America with a firm order for 30 Embraer E195-E2 jets, with purchase rights for a further 50 aircraft. The deal will be included in Embraer’s second quarter backlog, and is worth USD5.82 billion, at list price with all options exercised. First revealed in May 2021, this announcement adds the purchase rights and the customer name, which had been undisclosed.
Porter Airlines will be the North American launch customer for Embraer’s newest family of jets, the E2. Porter’s investment is set to disrupt the Canadian aviation landscape; enhancing competition, elevating passenger service levels and creating as many as 6,000 new jobs. Porter intends to deploy the E195-E2s to popular business and leisure destinations throughout Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean, from Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax and Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Porter’s first delivery and entry into service is scheduled starting in the second half of 2022. The option to convert purchase rights to the E190-E2s is included in the agreement. This would provide greater flexibility to introduce non-stop service in markets with fewer passengers, and to add frequencies on higher demand routes.
The E195-E2 accommodates between 120 and 146 passengers. Configuration plans for Porter’s E2s will be revealed in due course.
Boeing [NYSE: BA] and BBAM Limited Partnership (BBAM) today announced that the lessor is expanding its 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter fleet with 12 additional firm orders. The agreement brings BBAM’s 737-800BCF orders and commitments to 31 as e-commerce and express cargo markets continue to drive strong customer demand for freighters.
BBAM will be the first customer to have a 737-800BCF converted at Cooperativa Autogestionaria de Servicios Aeroindustriales (COOPESA), a Costa Rica-based maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider. In May, Boeing announced it would open two conversion lines at COOPESA in 2022.
In a separate deal announced in January, BBAM placed six firm orders and six options for the 737-800BCF. The 737-800BCF has won more than 200 orders and commitments from 16 customers.
BBAM is the world’s largest dedicated manager of investments in leased commercial jet aircraft providing over 200 airline customers in more than 50 countries with fleet and financing solutions over the last three decades, and the only significant manager in sector focused exclusively on generating investment returns on third party capital. With more than 500 aircraft under management, BBAM employs over 150 professionals at its headquarters in San Francisco and offices around the world, located in New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, Dublin and Santiago. BBAM is a full-service lessor and maintains its own in-house capabilities encompassing aircraft origination, disposition, lease marketing, technical maintenance, regulatory compliance, capital markets activity, tax structuring, legal, contracts and finance, for all asset types and strategies.
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future and living the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity. Learn more at www.boeing.com
CSX Corp. (NASDAQ: CSX) has announced that it submitted an amended and supplemented application to the Surface Transportation Board (STB) as part of the previously announced agreement to acquire New England’s Pan Am Railway’s Inc. (Pan Am). The amended application provides all of the additional details of the proposed transaction requested by the STB in their May 26, 2021 ruling.
The combination of CSX and Pan Am provides benefits to many stakeholders in New England, as evidenced by the over 80 letters of support that shippers, elected officials and business organizations have submitted to the STB. CSX has also worked to reach agreements with other rail operators and organizations in the region to ensure that the transaction results in enhanced competition and a strengthened rail network in the Northeast.
The proposed transaction would result in significant investments in the region’s rail infrastructure. Over the next five years, CSX would invest to upgrade and modernize the Pan Am system, which will make the New England rail network more efficient and safer for operations, communities and passenger rail.
New England will also benefit from CSX’s track record as leader in environmental performance. CSX will operate Pan Am with a smaller, more reliable and more fuel-efficient fleet, significantly reducing fuel consumption and improving rail’s environmental footprint in the region.
CSX’s operating model will benefit passenger and commuter carriers in New England as well as shippers as the company commits to maintaining or improving existing passenger service that operates on Pan Am. CSX has a long-standing history of working cooperatively with Amtrak and other passenger rail partners as evidenced by the significant improvement in contractual on-time performance with Amtrak since CSX has implemented its new operating model.
Headquartered in North Billerica, Massachusetts, Pan Am owns and operates a highly integrated, nearly 1,200-mile rail network and has a partial interest in the more than 600-mile Pan Am Southern system. Pan Am’s network across New England has access to multiple ports and large-scale commodity producers. The transaction will expand CSX’s reach in Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts while adding Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine to its existing 23-state network.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to regulatory review and approval by the Surface Transportation Board.
The Tempest program is expected to generate long-term high value employment, with productivity per worker 78% higher than the national average, underlining how this exciting programme can make a significant contribution to the UK Government’s levelling up priorities and the wider economy.
The program is being delivered by Team Tempest – combining the expertise of the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD), BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK and Rolls-Royce. Working with international partners, the team is leading progress towards a UK-led internationally collaborative Future Combat Air System which will ensure the Royal Air Force and its allies retain world-leading, independent military capability.
Key to the success of Tempest is delivering this highly-advanced capability more rapidly and more cost effectively than ever before.
Investment by industry and MOD in research and development for Tempest will generate positive spill-over benefits for the wider economy through applications of new technologies in other sectors and driving innovation in collaboration with hundreds of companies, SMEs and academic organisations.
Embraer (NYSE: ERJ) has announced that it has signed a long-term Pool Program Agreement with the U.S. carrier Breeze Airways to support a wide range of repairable components for the airline’s E190s and E195s fleet. The agreement includes full repair coverage for components and parts, as well as access to a large stock of components at Embraer’s distribution center, which will support the start of the airline’s operation.
The program will provide the most efficient and reliable solutions to Breeze’s E-Jets fleet. The airline will benefit from the availability of spare parts, enjoy significant savings on repair and service costs, and maintain a profitable operation. Currently, the Pool Program supports more than 50 airlines worldwide.
Embraer’s Flight Hour Pool Program is designed to allow airlines to minimize their upfront investment on high-value repairable inventories and resources and to take advantage of Embraer’s technical expertise and its vast component repair service provider network. The results are significant savings on repair and inventory carrying costs, reduction in required warehousing space, and the virtual elimination of the need for resources required for repair management, while ultimately providing guaranteed performance levels.
