Korean Air has partnered with Yusen Logistics, a global logistics company, to further promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the air cargo industry. The two companies signed a Sustainable Aviation Fuel Cooperation Program Agreement at the Yusen Logistics headquarters in Tokyo.
Yusen Logistics is the airline’s first cargo SAF partner based in Japan, and the two companies will collaborate to promote SAF usage within the Asian region in alignment with the aviation industry’s climate change goals.
In September 2023, Korean Air launched a program to use SAF for air cargo operations with air cargo customers and forwarders, a first of its kind in Korea in the air cargo industry. Customers are able to purchase SAF for air cargo operations, and Korean Air will share the carbon emissions reductions with its customers.
Korean Air is committed to cooperating with all relevant governments, clients and oil refinery companies to expedite the use of SAF and create an efficient domestic SAF infrastructure in Korea.
Rome, Italy, October 30, 2023 – The Leonardo S.p.A. (OTC: FINMY) AW169 light intermediate twin engine helicopter’s operational capabilities and range of options will grow further with the launch of a 5,100 kg (11,243 lb) IGW kit and an 11-seater configuration fully compliant with the IOGP (International Association of Oil & Gas Producers) Report 690. Both will be made available for the aircraft version with skid landing gear.
Compared to the standard 4,800 kg (10582 lb) Maximum Take-off Weight, the extra 300 kg (661 lb) available with the 5,100 kg IGW kit allows the embarkation of three more passengers or the addition of fuel for approximately one hour of operations. Existing operators of the type’s version with skids will be able to retrofit the 5,100 kg IGW kit to enhance their aircraft’s capabilities.
As an additional option, the 11-seater configuration, fully compliant with the IOGP Report 690 (Offshore Helicopter Recommended Practices), will introduce a new modular fuel tank system and two additional Type IV emergency exits in the cabin, increasing the total number from four to six. The 11 seats configuration will be available for the skid-fitted version in combination with the 5,100 kg IGW kit. This solution will allow the type to satisfy even more demanding offshore transport requirements in terms of payload, range, and compliance with IOGP latest standards.
This configuration will allow a radius of action of up to 75 nm with 11 passengers, therefore offering capabilities typically achievable with types with a MTOW exceeding 5.5 tons (intermediate class) at a light intermediate class cost of operations as well as granting latest safety standards compared with legacy helicopters. It will also deliver greater sustainability versus ageing types in the relevant weight category thanks to a more efficient powerplant, advanced navigation, modern support and maintenance approach, among other solutions. The Certification of the IGW increase is expected in 2024 while the 11-seater configuration with new modular fuel tank is planned for certification in 2026.
These latest operational capabilities will add to the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) certifications of the skid undercarriage and unique IFR, single pilot, Advanced Search and Rescue (SAR) Modes, both achieved in late 2022. With the skid configuration certification, the AW169 became the only modern CS29-certified aircraft able to offer all undercarriage solutions, further demonstrating the versatility by design of the type. The AW169 is also the only helicopter in its weight category that features Advanced SAR Modes. The performance increase packages previously developed had already enhanced engine performance and capabilities, transmission ratings and available payload through engine software updates and aircraft aerodynamics modifications, making the type the helicopter with the best power-to-weight ratio in its class.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including expected delivery dates. Such statements are based on current expectations and projections about our future results, prospects and opportunities and are not guarantees of future performance. Such statements will not be updated unless required by law. Actual results and performance may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Toulouse, France, October 25, 2023 – Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) will renew the entire fleet of chartered vessels that transport aircraft subassemblies between production facilities in Europe and the United States with three modern, low-emission roll-on/roll-off vessels, supported by wind-assisted propulsion.
Airbus has commissioned shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs to build, own and operate these new, highly efficient vessels that will enter into service from 2026. The new vessels will be powered by a combination of six Flettner rotors – large, rotating cylinders that generate lift thanks to the wind, propelling the ship forward – and two dual-fuel engines running on maritime diesel oil and e-methanol. Additionally, routing software will optimise the vessels’ journey across the Atlantic, maximising wind propulsion and avoiding drag caused by adverse ocean conditions.
The new fleet is expected to reduce average annual transatlantic CO2 emissions from 68,000 to 33,000 tonnes by 2030. This will contribute to Airbus’ commitment to reduce its overall industrial emissions by up to 63% by the end of the decade – compared to 2015 as baseline year.
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.
From Reuters News by By Bhargav Acharya and Aakriti Bhalla…
BENGALURU, India, February 14 (Reuters) – Billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) will set up an electric-car manufacturing unit in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, according to a government document seen by Reuters on Saturday.
“The U.S. firm Tesla will be opening an electric car manufacturing unit in Karnataka,” the state government said in a brief statement.
The statement was part of a broader document outlining the highlights of India’s budget to its people in the local language of Kannada.
Union Pacific today named Craig Richardson executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. Richardson is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s legal affairs, including commercial transactions and litigation, regulatory matters, labor and employment. Richardson also supervises the railroad’s compliance and ethics program, and risk management initiatives, including Union Pacific’s police department. He succeeds Rhonda Ferguson, who served as executive vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary.
Richardson most recently served as vice president of commercial and regulatory law. He’s also held the position of associate general counsel.
“Craig has provided critical leadership, guiding us through sensitive and complex legal matters with insight, sound judgment and clarity,” said Chairman, President and CEO Lance Fritz. “He is a superior partner and counselor and has the expertise we need during this time of unprecedented change within our nation and company.”
Richardson’s experience spans commercial and regulatory litigation, including oil and gas, environmental, and antitrust law, as well as all aspects of multi-jurisdictional permitting of global energy infrastructure. For nearly a decade, he served as the Chief Legal Officer of El Paso Corporation’s Pipeline Group, the largest network of interstate natural gas pipelines in North America, delivering over 30% of the natural gas consumed in the United States. He was responsible for all legal matters nationwide, waging successful litigation in executing El Paso’s $8 billion portfolio of crucial additions to national energy infrastructure from California to New York.
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.
(Reuters) – Avianca Holdings, Latin America’s second-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday, after failing to meet a bond payment deadline, while its pleas for coronavirus aid from Colombia’s government have so far been unsuccessful.
If it fails to come out of bankruptcy, Bogota-based Avianca would be one of the first major carriers worldwide to go under as a result of the pandemic, which has crippled world travel.
Avianca has not flown a regularly scheduled passenger flight since late March and most of its 20,000 employees have gone without pay through the crisis.
“Avianca is facing the most challenging crisis in our 100-year history,” Avianca Chief Executive Anko van der Werff said in a news release.
While Avianca was already weak before the coronavirus outbreak, its bankruptcy filing highlights the challenges for airlines that cannot count on state rescues or on such rescues coming fast enough. Avianca is still hoping for a government bailout.
“This isn’t a surprise at all,” said Juan David Ballen, chief economist at Casa de Bolsa brokerage in Bogota. “The company was heavily indebted despite the fact it tried to restructure its debt last year.”
Avianca, the second-oldest continually operating airline in the world after KLM, had $7.3 billion in debts in 2019. The airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York and said it would continue operations while it restructured its debts.
The Colombian Association of Civil Aviators (ACDAC), a union representing many Avianca employees, said it supported the move.
Avianca already went through bankruptcy in the early 2000s, from which it was rescued by a Bolivian-born oil businessman, German Efromovich.
Efromovich grew Avianca aggressively but also saddled the carrier with significant debt until he was ousted from the airline last year in a boardroom coup led by United Airlines Holdings Inc. He still owns a majority stake in the carrier.
United stands to lose up to $700 million in loans related to Avianca.
Efromovich told Reuters on Sunday that he disagreed with the decision to file for bankruptcy and that he was not involved in making it.
The logo of Avianca Airlines is pictured at a counter following the cancellation of an Avianca flight to San Salvador due to coronavirus fears in Mexico City
MONTREAL/WINNIPEG (Reuters) – Canada’s longest railroad strike in a decade ended on Tuesday as Canadian National Railway Co reached a tentative agreement with workers, but shippers warned it could take weeks before service bounces back to normal.
Industry groups celebrated the end of the eight-day strike at the country’s biggest railroad, which had cost them sales and raised their expenses. News of the deal, which must still be ratified by union members, sent CN shares up by as much as 2%.
Thousands of unionized workers began heading back to their jobs, CN said, with operations expected to be in full swing on Wednesday. Union members should vote on the deal within eight weeks.
CN has rescinded 70 temporary layoff notices at an auto shipment terminal in Nova Scotia following the deal, another union said.
Canada relies on CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to move crops, oil, potash, coal and manufactured goods to ports and the United States.
Details of the agreement were not available but some 3,200 striking conductors and yard workers had been demanding improved working conditions, including rest breaks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged CN and union officials in a tweet on Tuesday and thanked workers, industry and all Canadians for their patience.
Trudeau’s minority government had faced pressure from industry and farmers to end the strike and force workers back to their jobs.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters on Tuesday that if Ottawa had intervened with legislation, “we would not have had a solution today.”
Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte noted the federal government “remained calm and focused.” CEO of Montreal-based CN J.J. Ruest thanked customers for their patience.
About half of Canada’s exports move by rail, according to industry data, and the strike would likely cost the Canadian economy less than C$1 billion ($750 million) and cut fourth-quarter growth by about 0.1 percentage point, Brian DePratto, a senior economist at TD, said.
PROPANE SHORTAGE TO PERSIST
The Canadian Propane Association warned severe shortages of the fuel in several eastern Canadian provinces could last weeks. “We need to get the inventory back up,” said association President Nathalie St-Pierre, noting the “crisis” was not over.
Garneau said CN will work quickly to clear the backlog, but added the process is complex and would take time.
Bob Masterson, chief executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, said some plants had slowed production during the strike.
Based on past rail disruptions, he said CN is likely to move critical commodities first, like propane for farms and homes and chlorine for drinking water, leaving other shippers to face delays.
PAIN FOR MINERS, FARMERS
Brendan Marshall, a vice president with the Mining Association of Canada, said miners faced hefty costs due to lost sales and plant disruptions. He said restoring normal operations could take a week for every day of disrupted service.
“Now we can hope that things can get back to normal in quick fashion. It’s cost a lot of money to farmers already,” said Markus Haerle, chairman of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Wet conditions have stalled the harvest across much of Canada, including much of Haerle’s corn crop near St. Isidore, Ontario. Those crops must be dried before they can be sold, but the rail strike held up deliveries of propane, forcing farmers to use costlier alternatives.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg. Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa, writing by Steve Scherer, editing by Louise Heavens, Steve Orlofsky and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: Railcars stand idle at the CN railyards in Edmonton
MONTREAL/WINNIPEG, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Thousands of workers at Canada’s largest railway went on strike for the first time in a decade on Tuesday, disrupting the shipping of commodities and sparking calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government to intervene.
About 3,000 unionized workers of Canadian National Railway, including conductors and yardmen, hit picket lines after both sides failed to resolve contract issues at a time of softening demand for freight service. They continued talks on Tuesday in Montreal amid union concerns over fatigue, safety and ensuring that workers’ breaks are not reduced.
Canada, one of the world’s biggest exporters of farm products, relies on CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to move canola, wheat and other commodities over vast distances from western farms to ports. Crude oil shippers and the mining industry also depend on the railways.
The strike comes at an awkward time for Trudeau’s government, which relies on smaller parties to pass legislation and faces criticism from western provinces about its failures to get new oil pipelines built. Trudeau has said he is not reconvening Parliament until Dec. 5, and the government cannot start the process to force workers back on the job until then.
Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservatives, the second-largest party in Parliament, and Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage each separately urged Trudeau on Twitter to recall Parliament immediately.
The Canadian mining industry, which accounts for more than half of annual rail freight revenues, depends on CN to transport supplies to company sites and products from their operations.
“This strike will result in a severe reduction or elimination of railway capacity and will trigger the closure of mines with concurrent layoffs of thousands of employees beginning in a matter of days,” said Pierre Gratton, president and CEO of the Mining Association of Canada.
“SCREECHING HALT”
Industry groups ranging from the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters to propane and fertilizer groups said Ottawa needed to step in to limit damage to the economy.
The BC Council of Forest Industries, which represents the sector in British Columbia, expressed concerns about the disruptions caused by the strike for rail transport.
“Ninety percent of the forest products we produce are sent to export markets in North America and around the world,” Susan Yurkovich, the body’s president, said.
“A disruption of this critical transportation network will adversely impact BC forest companies at a time when we are already facing significant challenges and increasing competition from around the globe”, Yurkovich added.
CN and CP also collectively handle nearly all grain movement in Western Canada, the country’s crop belt, split roughly evenly between the railways.
The stoppage “has an impact before it even begins because companies pull back sales in anticipation of a strike,” said Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association, whose members include Cargill Ltd, Richardson International and Viterra Inc.
CN’s shipments of hazardous goods such as crude are likely to come to a “screeching halt” even if the railroad’s management steps in to limit freight volumes, said Kent McDougall, chief commercial officer at Torq Energy, which loads crude oil in Western Canada onto trains operated by both CN and CP.
A strike may temporarily constrain CN’s volumes, but will not likely have a meaningful long-term impact on the company’s earnings, Credit Suisse analysts said in a research note on Monday, adding that Ottawa has historically been quick to intervene.
Shares of Montreal-based CN were down 1%, while the benchmark Canadian share index was up slightly.
Canadian Labour Minister Patty Hajdu and Transport Minister Marc Garneau said they are monitoring the CN strike situation closely after meeting with the two sides on Monday.
CN said in a statement that it was “disappointed” at the strike action. CN’s service in the United States will continue operating despite the strike.
The company said on Friday it would cut management and union jobs as it grapples with an economic slowdown.
Rail workers with the Teamsters held their last strike in 2009, when locomotive engineers walked off the job for five days, the union said.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson, David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer in Ottawa and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)
