Tag: switzerland (Page 6 of 6)

Dassault Aviation at the EBACE 2019 Event

May 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The Dassault Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.

Saint-Cloud, France, 17 May 2019 – The Dassault Aviation group is delighted to be presenting its dual civil and defense know-how at the 2019 edition of EBACE, Europe’s primary business aviation event, to be held in Geneva from 21 to 23 May.

Three Dassault aircraft will be presented in the static display:

a Falcon 8X tri-jet,
a Falcon 900LX tri-jet,
a Falcon 2000S twin-jet.

The Falcons designed and built by Dassault Aviation are a family of business aircraft which have earned a reputation for handling, operational flexibility, low consumption and technological innovation. © Dassault Aviation – All Rights Reserved

On its stand, Dassault Aviation will also be presenting:

a full-scale mock-up of the cabin of the Falcon 6X, the new Falcon twin-jet currently under development. Visitors will be able to enter this mock-up, which is fully representative of the features and comfort of the actual cabin;
a mock-up of the Rafale, the multi-role combat aircraft, which has proven itself in numerous theatres of operations. The Rafale is a candidate for the Swiss Air Force’s combat fleet renewal program;
a mock-up of the nEUROn stealth combat UAV demonstrator built under the project leadership of Dassault Aviation, in cooperation with companies from five European countries, including Ruag of Switzerland;
a representation of the new capabilities of Dassault Aviation’s Falcon maintenance networks, notably following the acquisition of MRO activities of TAG Aviation in Europe and ExecuJet in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

As well as being the lynchpin of a strategic industrial network comprising hundreds of companies in France and around the world, Dassault Aviation is also the core industrial shareholder of the Thales Group and the leader of the new-generation European combat aircraft program.

After Successful 2018, Pilatus Prepares for the Future

May 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The business year 2018 was an exceptionally successful one for Pilatus, but also a challenging one. At around 1.1 billion Swiss francs, sales revenue was brought back to the billion mark again. The 128 aircraft delivered in total included the first PC-24 – a milestone in the company history. All in all, 18 PC-24s were handed over to customers in the past year.

Financial 2018 was better than the previous year. At 1,092 million Swiss francs, sales revenue surpassed the one billion mark for the first time since 2015. The operating result totals 157 million Swiss francs. And the future looks good: following incoming orders worth 1 billion Swiss francs, the current order volume stands at 2.1 billion Swiss francs – the equivalent of just under two years of sales revenue. A total of 128 aircraft were delivered to customers – 18 PC-24s, 80 PC-12 NGs, 27 PC-21s and three PC-6s.

PC-24 in focus

The delivery of the first PC-24 to the first customer in February 2018 marked a milestone in the development phase spanning over eleven years. The brand-new Super Versatile Jet was the focus of much work throughout 2018: besides bringing PC-24 series production operations up to speed, the customer service unit and entire service network also switched to “live” mode. Pilatus continued to make improvements to the PC-24 in parallel, pushing ahead with various post-certification test programmes aimed at delivering all aircraft capabilities promised to customers at the outset. The next milestone is just around the corner: the reopening of the PC-24 order book.

Customer service business grows in both pillars

Whilst the military sector is hugely important to Pilatus, the lack of new trainer fleet contracts in 2018 is not unduly worrying: Pilatus is focused on the necessary upstream work and has reinforced its sales efforts in this area. Constant growth in after-sales business is encouraging.

The Business Unit General Aviation also saw continued expansion of its customer service operations. The volume of PC-24s in operation grows with every week that passes, generating similar growth in the number of customers requiring support. The network of Authorised Pilatus Centres was further strengthened to offer customers around the world the level of service they are entitled to expect in the business aircraft league.

Preparing for success in the future

At the end of 2018 the Pilatus Group employed 2,283 people, including 127 apprentices. Over 150 new jobs were created. 93 percent of all employees work in Switzerland. At the headquarters in Stans work progresses on the construction of the new structure assembly hall: this new centre of competence for airframe construction operations will be commissioned in spring 2019 – a clear sign of commitment to the location in Switzerland.

The new completion centre run by the US subsidiary Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd in Broomfield, Colorado, opened in the autumn. In Adelaide, preparatory work continued for the construction of a new, company-owned building for the subsidiary, Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd.

Commenting on these results, Chairman Oscar J. Schwenk remarked: “I am pleased to note that financial 2018 was a very successful year for us. A year in which a great deal of energy went into performing much detailed work. Work which will take us forward throughout the coming year, creating added benefit for our customers. The good financial results of the past year will also benefit our employees under our profit-sharing programme. In addition to an extra month’s salary, they have also been paid a bonus of 1.5 salaries. Our next challenge is already in sight: the imminent re-opening of the PC-24 order book. This is the year in which the reputation of the PC-24 and all other related services will be established. We are consistent in our efforts towards that goal, thereby consolidating our success and our future.”

U-Haul International Takes Delivery of its First PC-24

April 29, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

In a ceremony today at Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd’s facility in Broomfield, Colorado, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer delivered the first of two PC-24 Super Versatile Jets to US customer U-Haul International.

In a stylish paint scheme featuring the distinctive U-Haul orange livery, the 27^th production PC-24 aircraft took to the skies for its new home base in Phoenix, Arizona, where it will join a U-Haul fleet that includes two PC-12s.

On hand to accept the keys to their first PC-24 was Joe Shoen, Chairman of AMERCO, parent company of U-Haul International, who stated: “We are delighted to start flying this great new aircraft. When Pilatus announced the new jet, we were confident that it would be a real workhorse that, alongside our two PC-12s, would help us manage our growing operations throughout North America. We have been eagerly looking forward to this day.”

Thomas Bosshard, CEO of Pilatus subsidiary Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd stated: “We are extremely pleased to have the honour of delivering the first of two PC-24s to U-Haul International, one of our many great, long-time customers. Joe Shoen and his flight department have been on board with Pilatus and the PC-24 since we first introduced the concept to them more than five years ago. Throughout the development and certification of the aircraft they’ve been looking forward to this day, and we are thrilled to celebrate it with them.”

With the aircraft now in operation, the global fleet of PC-24’s has now accumulated over 4,000 flight hours, with the fleet leader already clocking up more than 1,100 flight hours.

The PC-24 Super Versatile Jet will be on display at Pilatus’ static exhibit during the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, 21 to 23 May. Reservations for personal viewings may be made onsite or with any Authorized Pilatus Centre.

Airbus Orders Decline as A380 Shutdown Questions Mount

February 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Airbus acknowledged reports last Thursday that Quantas has cancelled an order for its 8 remaining A380 aircraft. The announcement comes on the heels of Emirates re-evaluating its decision to add on to its remaining Super Jumbo order book.

Qantas Airlines of Australia confirmed it would not take any more of the world’s largest airplane, operating a fleet of 12 aircraft, instead of the 20 it had originally ordered. This news comes on the heels of Airbus’ largest A380 customer Emirates beginning discussions with Airbus over the possibility of changing some, or all, of its remaining A380 orders to smaller A350 or A330neo models after failing to secure an engine contract from Rolls-Royce for the last A380 order it placed.

Airbus has declined to comment on the future of the A380 at this time, but reports indicate that an announcement could come as soon as this Thursday.

Airbus also reported the cancellation of an order for five of its smallest aircraft, the 110-seat A220-100. The identity of the A220 buyer was not disclosed, but is widely believed to be the Swiss-based business charter carrier PrivatAir, which filed for insolvency at the end of 2018. PrivatAir had placed an ordered for 5 of the type, the Canadian Bombardier CS100 at the time of the order, in early 2012.

Helvetic Airways Firms Up Order for 12 Embraer E190-E2 jets

September 26, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Zurich, Swiss, September 26th, 2018 – Embraer and Helvetic Airways have signed a contract for a firm order of 12 E190-E2 jets. This agreement was announced as a Letter of Intent (LoI) at the recent Farnborough Air Show, in July. The firm order has a value of USD 730 million, based on current list prices, and will be included in Embraer’s 2018 third-quarter backlog. The contract also includes purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2, with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order up to 24 E-Jets E2s. With all the purchase rights being exercised, the deal has a list price of USD 1.5 billion.

The announcement was made by the two companies during the Zurich debut of the E190-E2, the world’s most efficient and quietest single-aisle aircraft, as part of its tour of Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

The first 12 E190-E2 aircraft will begin replacing Helvetic’s five Fokker 100s and seven E190s, starting in late 2019 and completing in autumn 2021. The purchase options for a further 12 aircraft (E190-E2 or E195-E2) will enable Helvetic Airways to grow according to market opportunities.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial jets up to 150 seats. The Company has 100 customers from all over the world operating the ERJ and E-Jet families of aircraft. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,400 deliveries, redefining the traditional concept of regional aircraft.

Image from https://embraer.com/global/en

Dassault Aviation at the EBACE 2019 Event

After Successful 2018, Pilatus Prepares for the Future

U-Haul International Takes Delivery of its First PC-24

Airbus Orders Decline as A380 Shutdown Questions Mount

Helvetic Airways Firms Up Order for 12 Embraer E190-E2 jets

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