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Boeing Breaks Ground on New Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul Facility in Jacksonville

October 28, 2021 /

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct. 28, 2021 — Boeing [NYSE: BA] today broke ground to begin construction of a new 370,000 square-foot maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility located at Cecil Airport that, once complete, will support Boeing’s ability to deliver readiness outcomes for U.S. government customers.

The facility will include eight new hangars, additional work space and offices where Boeing maintainers, engineers and data analysts will support U.S. Navy and Air Force aircraft. The facility’s close proximity to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Boeing’s Training Systems Center of Excellence in west Jacksonville, and local academic institutions make it a leading location for the development and delivery of innovative product support, underpinned by collaborative research and engineering.

The groundbreaking ceremony celebrates a 25-year lease agreement between Boeing and the Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA). Under the agreement, the JAA will construct and lease to Boeing new facilities on approximately 30 acres located on the northeast side of Cecil Airport, near Boeing’s existing MRO site. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2023.

Since opening its existing MRO facilities at Cecil Airport in 1999, Boeing teammates have maintained, modified and upgraded 1,030 aircraft for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, including the F/A-18 A-D Hornet, F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.  The Boeing team at the site also converts F/A-18 Super Hornets into flight demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angel squadron as well as modifies retired F-16s into the next generation of autonomous aerial targets for the U.S. Air Force.  The facility is also home to a Flight Control Repair Center that provides structural repairs to F/A-18 A-F and EA-18G flight control surfaces.

Emirates Starts on Greener road journeys for crew in Dubai

October 1, 2020 /

Emirates has revealed that nearly a third of its dedicated fleet of transport buses for cabin crew in Dubai will now operate on biofuel, taking another step forward on its environmental mission to reduce emissions.

The airline’s contracted service provider, Al Wegdaniyah, has committed to operating all road trips with biodiesel provided by Neutral Fuels, one of the UAE’s leading producers of biofuels, utilising locally-sourced, used cooking oil as feedstock.

Emirates commissions a fleet of nearly four dozen buses in Dubai alone, to safely shuttle its cabin crew between their homes and the workplace, clocking an average of 700,000 kilometres in a normal month. Similar to operations in the air, route and schedule planning for ground transport is also an important aspect to maximise transport efficiency and reduce emissions.

The estimated carbon dioxide savings from this initiative alone is 75,000 kg annually, and the airline continues to work with its other transport suppliers to extend this initiative across the transport fleet.

Karl W. Feilder, CEO of Neutral Fuels congratulated Emirates and Al Wegdaniyah for the initiative, pointing out that it is in line with the energy-related sustainability goals that the UAE has committed to achieve by 2050. Using biofuel reduces greenhouse gases and other pollutants, and the change can be easily made because switching from fossil fuel to biofuel requires no modification to diesel engines. It has a positive effect on engines because its lubricating properties help prevent premature wear and failure, and it even acts as a detergent in fuel systems, removing sludge deposits which improves efficiency and reduces maintenance costs.

In addition, Emirates is also currently trialling the use of electric buses airside at Dubai International airport, to transport its crew between the terminal and aircraft.

Over the years, the airline has invested in electric vehicles for its on-ground operations where feasible. For instance, at its state-of-the-art Emirates Engineering Centre in Dubai, which comprises a complex of hangars, workshops, material stores and offices, over 130 electric buggies and 80 electric material handling vehicles including forklifts, are being utilised for day-to-day operations.

Emirates is committed to environmental stewardship, focusing its ongoing efforts in three main areas: emissions reduction, responsible consumption, and the preservation of wildlife and habitats.

Emirates has a comprehensive fuel efficiency programme that actively investigates and implements ways to reduce unnecessary fuel burn and emissions wherever it is operationally feasible, whether in the air or on the ground.

Operating modern and fuel-efficient aircraft has been central to Emirates’ business model from the airline’s inception. This ongoing, multi-billion dollar investment, is Emirates’ biggest commitment – not only to passenger comfort, but also to reducing our environmental impact.

Airbus Celebrates 5 Years of Production in Mobile, Alabama

September 14, 2020 /

In 2015, Mobile, Alabama became home to Airbus’ first US-based commercial aircraft manufacturing facility. Now celebrating five years of production, it has grown from an initial workforce of around 250 staff producing A320 Family aircraft, to 1,000 employees building both the A220 and A320 aircraft families. To date, the factory has delivered more than 180 A320 Family aircraft to eight customers; aircraft which have subsequently flown 60 million passengers 500 million miles.

For Airbus, commercial aircraft production in Mobile signified two things: its position as a truly global aircraft company, and that it was also a truly American manufacturer. With the addition of this brand new US operation to the company’s A320 production network in Europe and Asia, Airbus had strategically augmented its worldwide industrial base in America – the largest single-aisle aircraft market in the world – to be closer to its US-based customers and key supplier partners.

Enter the A220 Family

The journey of Airbus’ investment in Mobile took a major stride in October 2017 when it announced the decision to introduce a second aircraft programme to the site: the A220 Family, entailing a second assembly line to be built adjacent to the original A320 plant – which would also complement the A220’s primary production site in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada. The arrival into the US of this newest Single-Aisle Family member was an important testament to the confidence that Airbus had in Mobile, and the confidence in the team there to make it happen. Fast-forward to the present, and the first US-built A220 is already in its final stages of manufacture for Delta Air Lines – which will roll-out in the very near future.

Prior to the introduction of the A220 and expansion of the A320 facilities, the Mobile site sat on 116 acres. Today Airbus has added another 70 acres of real-estate which accommodates: two new final phase/flight-line hangars (four bays); an enlarged delivery centre with four new aircraft parking spaces; a ‘pre-transshipment’ hangar and of course the new ‘flow-line’ final assembly line (FAL) building itself. Notably, the delivery centre will be named after one of the company’s former leaders, Tom Enders. Enders supported and drove the establishment of a new Airbus aircraft factory in the US during his tenure as CEO of Airbus.

Doubling local industrial footprint in five years

When complete, nearly US$1 billion will have been invested in Mobile – to create new state-of-the-art facilities designed and built primarily by local companies. In short, Airbus has doubled its footprint there in just five years – establishing a new manufacturing home for Airbus’ Single-Aisle Family. Moreover, a recent study* concluded that Airbus’ total economic impact throughout the state of Alabama in five years was US$1.2 billion, supporting more than 15,000 jobs through construction and payroll.

Bombardier Strengthens Support Network in Europe with London Biggin Hill Service Centre Expansion

February 10, 2020 /
  • Expansion at Bombardier’s London Biggin Hill service centre will double the facility’s footprint to nearly 250,000 square feet
  • Increased capacity will benefit more operators of Bombardier business aircraft, including the new Global 7500 jet

London Biggin Hill Airport, February 5, 2020 – Bombardier proudly announced today the expansion of its London Biggin Hill service centre with the construction of a new and larger facility nearing 250,000 square feet (approximately 23,225 square metres) to replace its existing hangars. Scheduled to be operational by mid-2022, the new service centre will provide customers in the region with extended maintenance support and reinforce Bombardier’s customer service experience in Europe.

The facility will provide the space and flexibility to offer a full range of maintenance and refurbishment services on Bombardier’s vast portfolio of products, and has the capacity to accommodate as many as 14 Global 7500 aircraft at the same time. The expansion will introduce sought-after capabilities and state-of-the-art installations, such as component painting and interior refurbishment capabilities, component repair and overhaul workshops and training rooms. The site will also ensure a quick response to its customers’ repair needs with the integration of a brand-new parts depot. Over the next several years, this significant expansion will bring the facility’s workforce to more than 250 employees and beyond to meet expanding demand.

“With the expansion of the London Biggin Hill service centre, Bombardier is taking another step in showing its unwavering commitment to providing customers with industry-leading services on a global scale, and the OEM expertise they rightfully deserve,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Experience, Bombardier Aviation. “Europe continues to be a strong market for business aviation, and we’re glad to show our commitment to our customers with this important investment in the region.”

Bombardier’s London Biggin Hill service centre was inaugurated in 2017 and offers tip-to-tail heavy maintenance capabilities on Learjet, Challenger and Global families of aircraft. The site is fully equipped to perform scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, modifications and avionics installations, and paint repair services. In 2019, the service centre added enhanced interior repair and refurbishment activities.

“The expansion of Bombardier’s service centre and the enhancement of its service and maintenance capabilities is a testament to the dynamism and attractiveness of the Biggin Hill Airport,” said Robert Walters, Commercial Director of London Biggin Hill Airport. “Bombardier has been a tremendous partner and, with this announcement, demonstrates its strong commitment to the continued growth of our world-class aviation hub.”

This expansion comes on the heels of numerous announcements in Bombardier’s vast support network, including the announcements of a new service centre at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport and of an expanded Singapore service centre, the recent addition of two U.S. line maintenance stations in Teterboro and Van Nuys, and the expansion of the Mobile Response Team (MRT) with a new Challenger 300 aircraft based in Munich, Germany.

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