Talgo has announced the timetable for the manufacture and launch of its hydrogen train, a green, innovative and efficient alternative to replacing diesel engines, which will be ready in 2023. The train will be named Talgo Vittal-One, as a reference to the place of the hydrogen in the periodic table, the first one. The details were presented during the event “Renewable hydrogen: an opportunity for Spain”, organised by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic challenge.
The first phase of the validation tests of the hydrogen technology will be conducted in 2021. After the validation process, the hydrogen technology will be installed in the new train during a second manufacturing phase that will take place between 2021 and 2023.
The company’s CEO, José María Oriol, stated during his presentation: “Green hydrogen is no longer the future, it is a reality. The implementation of hydrogen trains, such as the one Talgo is developing, will improve mobility in our country and have a positive impact on the environment. It will allow us to make the most of the non-electrified Spanish railways while reducing our carbon footprint”.
This system is configured as a modular solution that can be installed on all types of trains, as well as in upgrades from diesel to hydrogen. However, it has been specifically designed for the Vittal platform for Commuter and Regional trains, which Talgo has presented in the bidding process for various tenders in Spain and other countries.
Belavia, Belarusian Airlines, the national carrier of Belarus, took delivery today of their first E2 next generation Embraer aircraft in Brazil. The new aircraft is the first of three E195-E2 jets to be leased to the airline by AerCap.
The aircraft, configured in a comfortable dual class layout seating 125 passengers in total, seats 9 in business and 116 in economy. Belavia plans to deploy their new aircraft on popular routes such as London, Barcelona, Nur-Sultan, Munich, Paris, Sochi, and Amsterdam.
“Belavia’s passengers love our current Embraer aircraft and I hope they will love the next generation E2 even more. The E2 offers Belavia lower operating costs, as well as the lowest impact on the environment. At Belavia we like to keep our fleet young and fresh; with the addition of the E195-E2 we can take more passengers, further, in greater comfort, and more efficiently – the E2 is the perfect fit”, commented Anatoly Gusarov, CEO of JSC “Belavia”.
“It’s great to welcome another airline to the E2 family of operators. As airlines’ ramp up their operations, the E195-E2 is perfectly positioned to right size routes previously operated by narrowbodies, while keeping frequencies and adjusting capacity to new levels,” said Cesar Pereira, vice president of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “We look forward to supporting Belavia as they continue to upgrade their offering to their customers.”
“We congratulate the team at Belavia on the delivery of their first E195-E2,” said Philip Scruggs, President and Chief Commercial Officer at AerCap. “We wish Belavia every success as they continue to modernize their fleet.”
Airbus has signed a contract to deliver 38 new Eurofighter aircraft to the German Air Force. This makes Germany the largest ordering nation in Europe’s biggest defence programme. The order, also known by its project name Quadriga, covers the delivery of 30 single-seater and 8 twin-seater Eurofighters. Three of the aircraft will be equipped with additional test installations as Instrumented Test Aircraft for the further development of the Eurofighter programme.
Dirk Hoke, CEO Airbus Defence and Space, said: “The new Tranche 4 Eurofighter is currently the most modern European-built combat aircraft with a service life well beyond 2060. Its technical capabilities will allow full integration into the European Future Combat Air System FCAS”.
The renewed order from Germany secures production until 2030 and comes at a strategically important time for the programme. In addition to an expected Eurofighter order from Spain to replace its legacy F-18s, procurement decisions in Switzerland and Finland are imminent in 2021.
The variant offered in Switzerland corresponds to the configuration of the German Quadriga order. The equipment includes the world’s latest electronic radar, future-proof hardware and software and unlimited multi-role capability for engaging air and ground targets.
Eurofighter is Europe’s largest defence programme, in which the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy are involved alongside Germany. In addition to technological capabilities, it secures more than 100,000 jobs in Europe.
The Luxembourg Armed Forces have taken delivery of its Airbus A400M military transport aircraft, which was accepted at the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville (Spain) and has performed a ferry flight. It will make a first stop in Luxembourg before continuing its journey to the 15th Wing Air Transport in Melsbroek (Belgium), where the joint airlift unit between Belgium and Luxembourg will be based. With this delivery, Luxembourg becomes the seventh A400M operator.
The aircraft, known as MSN104, will be operated by the Luxembourg Armed Forces and Belgium within a binational unit, together with the seven A400M ordered by Belgium, which is due to receive its first aircraft in the coming weeks.
Alberto Gutierrez, Head of Military Aircraft at Airbus Defence and Space, said: “I welcome Luxembourg to the growing A400M user community. With 94 aircraft in service, the A400M is increasingly becoming the air mobility backbone of our customers, both in civil and military environments, as seen in recent COVID-19 crisis missions around the globe.”
The A400M recently achieved additional capabilities such as simultaneous paratrooper dispatch for a maximum of 116 paratroopers using the side doors, automatic low level flight in visual meteorological conditions (the only military transport aircraft with this capability), and aerial delivery and combat off-load that allows a single 16-tonne load to be dropped automatically via parachute extraction. In addition, 25 tonnes can be gravity dropped and the manual combat offload of up to 19 tonnes on pallets (one pass) or 25 tonnes (two passes) on an unpaved runway is possible, which is unprecedented. With regards to helicopter air-to-air refuelling operations, the A400M recently achieved the first successful wet contacts with a H225M helicopter.
– You and your family can travel safely and with flexibility with Aer Lingus
– Free Unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types
– Guaranteed Voucher and Cash Refund option on certain fare types
Aer Lingus today launched its summer 2021 schedule offering a range of fare options so customers can book that long-anticipated summer holiday with confidence. Aer Lingus is ensuring families can look forward to traveling safely and with flexibility in summer 2021, and today it introduced new ways to keep bookings flexible should travel plans change with its ‘Book with Confidence’ proposition. With direct flights to Europe starting at €25.99 and US and Canada at €159, now is the time to start planning summer 2021.
Chief Commercial Officer, Dave Shepherd said: “We are offering customers a range of choices. There are free unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types*. There is the option of a full cash refund** on our Advantage/Flex fares. And from today, our Smart / Plus fares includes a new feature so that customers can avail of a voucher up to 14 days before travel to any destination or within 14 days if a country’s travel guidance changes*** from just €25.99. Aer Lingus is giving our customers the confidence to dream, so you can start to plan next summer’s adventure today with confidence.
“With flights up to August 2021 available for sale, you can start planning a reunion with friends in the Algarve, a sunny beach break with family in Malaga, or a romantic adventure in a European city and have something great to look forward to next year with Aer Lingus. For those looking to travel across the Atlantic in 2021, we have 12 direct North American routes to choose from including New York, Florida, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, ”
With Aer Lingus, customers can book with the confidence that the airline prioritises the safety and wellbeing of our customers and our people at all times. Earlier this year Aer Lingus introduced a range of safety measures in line with the guidance provided by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control). These measures include the mandatory wearing of face masks at all times by all customers and crew. Social distancing is practiced at check in, boarding gate, boarding and disembarking the aircraft. These measures, along with an enhanced cleaning system and our state-of-the-art air filtration technology as standard on our Airbus aircraft, ensure customers have a safe and comfortable flight.
For more information on the Aer Lingus summer 2021 sale, please visit www.aerlingus.com.
Notes to Editor:
*A fare difference may apply. Unlimited changes can be made on all bookings until 31st May
** Requests for vouchers and refunds can be made up until 14 days pre-departure
***Should a country move to red on the imminent EU Travel Framework
Terms & Conditions
Vouchers are valid for 5 years and can be used on the entire Aer Lingus network.
Change Fee Rules apply and fare difference may apply.
Change or Voucher requests must be made in advance of travel or these options will not apply.
Boeing [NYSE: BA], Honeywell Aerospace and Rolls-Royce Deutschland Ltd. have reached an agreement to provide in-service support of the T-55 engine should the government of Germany select the H-47 Chinook for its Schwerer Transporthubschrauber (STH) heavy-lift helicopter requirement.
Since the forming of the Chinook Germany Industry Team in 2018, originally comprised of nine German companies, Boeing continues to build a strong industry team to provide the Luftwaffe with local long-term services support, maintenance and training of the Chinook over the next several decades. In addition, Boeing’s industrial plan will foster German economic growth while creating highly skilled jobs in country.
“The partnership between Honeywell, Rolls-Royce Deutschland and our industry team members provides an established local supply base for around-the-clock parts availability, NATO interoperability and streamlined aircraft maintenance procedures,” said Michael Hostetter, vice president of Boeing Defense, Space & Security in Germany. “The Luftwaffe will have access to training and sustainment solutions that ensures the H-47 Chinook’s readiness for any mission.”
Under the agreement, Honeywell will license Rolls-Royce Deutschland as its partner in Germany to perform depot-level maintenance of the Chinook T-55 engine operated by the Luftwaffe.
Our partnership with Boeing and Rolls-Royce Deutschland will provide the Luftwaffe with access to a world-class maintenance and repair and overhaul facility for the T-55 in Germany. The in-country location will also ensure fast and flexible reactions to cater to the demanding needs of the Luftwaffe.
The H-47 Chinook is the most advanced transport rotorcraft in the United States Army inventory. With a proven track record of performance and versatility unmatched by any other heavy-lift aircraft, the Chinook provides Germany with the most modern, affordable solution ready to operate today. As chosen by NATO nations Canada, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, the Chinook gives Germany interoperability that other helicopters cannot while meeting a wide range of mission needs.
Boeing has an established and growing presence in Germany. The company is a strong contributor to the German economy with more than 1,000 employees at 11 sites from Hamburg to Munich and sustains thousands of additional jobs through its supply chain and other activities. Boeing and its supply-chain partners spend almost $1.2 billion a year with its established network of suppliers located across Germany. Germany is a key market for Boeing to invest in research and technology partnerships. Boeing has established two research sites in Germany, the Research & Technology Office in Munich and the Digital Solutions & Analytics Lab Frankfurt and invests in a growing portfolio of research and technology projects with German industry, universities and research organizations.
Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing employs more than 160,000 people worldwide and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.
During a visit of the Airbus premises in Manching, Europe’s largest military aviation development centre, the Defence Ministers of Germany and France, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and Florence Parly, expressed their nations’ support for key European defence programmes.
Ministers Kramp-Karrenbauer and Parly met with senior company executives led by Airbus Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Guillaume Faury, Airbus Defence and Space CEO Dirk Hoke as well as local policy-makers.
The event marked the first-ever joint visit of a German and French Defence Minister on site, which is home to some 5,600 Airbus employees from 43 nationalities and some 1,000 service-members from the German armed forces.
Both Ministers stressed the importance of fostering key European defence programmes such as the development of an European drone, the so called Euro MALE RPAS unmanned aerial vehicle, and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
An European industry consortium under the lead of Airbus, with its partners Dassault Aviation and Leonardo, aims at developing a European drone for France, Germany, Italy and Spain, also often publicly referred to as the “EuroDrone”. This new system is designed to bring unique operational capability to Europe in the field of unmanned aerial surveillance.
The FCAS programme, brought to life by the governments of France and Germany in 2017, will provide the next level of airpower by creating a System of Systems of manned and unmanned platforms with full operational capability planned for 2040. Spain has meanwhile joined the programme, making FCAS a true European endeavour.
On the industrial side, Dassault Aviation and Airbus are leading the FCAS activities together with other key partners. Despite constraints due the COVID19 pandemic, the Joint Concept Study, launched in 2019, and the Demonstrator Phase 1A, launched this year, remain on track.
“The visit of the French and German Defence Ministers to Manching is a clear signal of the importance of a strong and capable defence industry for Europe”, said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus. “Manching is the centre of competence and national champion for all German fixed-wing military platforms and thus of strategic importance for our local customer. Here, we are also shaping the future of military aviation with multinational programmes such as the EuroDrone and FCAS and we are very grateful that we could showcase this today to decision-makers.”
Besides ongoing programmes, the Ministers also received a glimpse of the high-end technical engineering capabilities of Airbus by visiting into the future of flight with the Low Observable UAV Testbed (LOUT), a research project funded by the German Ministry of Defence that had first been publicly revealed in the fall of 2019. Low observability will be one of the key factors in the development of the Future Combat Air System.
Policymakers also praised the high-level visit to one of Bavaria’s top industry sites:
“Manching is a prime example of what Europe can achieve in defence if we join forces. Not only are we proud of the international spirit we see here in Bavaria coming from companies like Airbus where Germans, French, Spanish, British and other nationalities are working hand in hand. Manching is also an example for unique and critically important cooperation models with the Bundeswehr”, said Reinhard Brandl, member of the CSU in the Bundestag’s budget committee. “The future of European defence and the future of high-tech industry sites such as Manching hinges on programmes such as FCAS and the EuroDrone. Therefore, we have to ensure they are endorsed and brought forward in a joint and balanced manner.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Wednesday said it would maintain 15% tariffs on Airbus <AIR.PA> aircraft and 25% tariffs on other European goods, despite moves by the European Union to resolve a 16-year-old dispute over aircraft subsidies.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (USTR) said the EU had not taken actions necessary to come into compliance with World Trade Organization decisions, and Washington would initiate a new process to try to reach a long-term solution.
USTR said it would modify its list of $7.5 billion of affected European products to remove certain goods from Greece and Britain and add an equivalent amount from Germany and France.
It ignored calls from EU officials and U.S. lawmakers to drop tariffs on EU food, wine and spirits, but did not add tariffs to vodka, gin and beer as it had threatened.
Airbus said it “profoundly regrets” the U.S. decision to keep tariffs in place on its aircraft.
Washington’s decision to refrain from increasing the tariff rates would help prevent a further escalation, an EU official said, calling for intensified efforts to resolve trade conflicts between the powerful economic blocs.
EU trade commissioner Phil Hogan would continue his active engagement with Lighthizer to reach a negotiated settlement, the official said, noting that the current economic slowdown underscored the urgency of ending the conflict.
Last month, Airbus said it would increase loan repayments to France and Spain in a “final” bid to reverse U.S. tariffs and jog the United States into settling the long-running fight over billions of dollars of aircraft subsidies.
The United States declared itself in full compliance with WTO findings in May after Washington state abolished aerospace industry tax breaks that largely benefited Boeing.
Trade groups are bracing for an escalation of the row in the autumn when the EU is expected to win WTO approval to hit back with its own tariffs over subsidies for Boeing <BA>.
Airbus said in a statement it “trusts that Europe will respond appropriately to defend its interests and the interests of all the European companies and sectors, including Airbus, targeted by these tariffs.”
Boeing urged the EU and Airbus to launch prompt and “meaningful negotiations with the U.S. to address the full scope of their noncompliance and finally bring this case to an end.”
USTR in October 2019 imposed 25% tariffs on an array of EU food, wine and spirits, including Italian cheese and single-malt Scotch whisky in retaliation for EU subsidies on large aircraft.
It initially imposed 10% tariffs on Airbus aircraft but hiked that to 15% in March.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, David Shepardson and Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Chris Reese, Richard Pullin and Tom Brown)
PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s Airbus <AIR.PA> said on Friday it would increase loan repayments to France and Spain in a “final” bid to reverse U.S. tariffs and jog the United States into settling a 16-year-old dispute over billions of dollars of aircraft subsidies.
The European Union, France and Spain said the move to raise interest rates paid by Airbus on A350 aircraft development loans should settle the row at the World Trade Organization and urged Washington to withdraw tariffs on EU goods.
“In the absence of a settlement, the EU will be ready to fully avail itself of its own sanction rights,” EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said.
The loans are part of a system targeted by the United States in the world’s largest corporate trade dispute, which has also aired condemnation of U.S. support for Boeing <BA>.
The United States last year won WTO authorization to impose tariffs on up to $7.5 billion of EU goods from wine to whisky.
Trade groups are bracing for an escalation of the row in the autumn when the EU is expected to win WTO approval to hit back with its own tariffs over subsidies for Boeing.
