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.
· The Phenom 100EX will debut at the 2023 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) from October 17 to 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada
· New features include enhanced cabin comfort and new pilot-centric avionics features to deliver the ultimate flying experience for those in the cockpit and cabin
Melbourne, Florida, October 9, 2023 – Embraer SA ADR (NYSE: ERJ) today unveiled the Phenom 100EX business jet, the company’s latest evolution from the Phenom 100 series, which has served its loyal customers since 2008 with over 400 aircraft in operation. Adopted and trusted by owner-pilots, private companies, and flight academies, such as RAF, Emirates, Etihad, and the Finnish Aviation Academy, the Phenom 100 series is the most trusted entry-level platform in the industry. Now, the new Phenom 100EX delivers superior cabin comfort, operational versatility and safety enhanced pilot-centric avionics to offer the ultimate flying experience.
The Phenom 100EX is the result of continuous improvements over the years based on customer feedback. The aircraft incorporates Embraer’s Design DNA, which influenced the combining of cabin controls into sleek upper tech panels, as well as the seat design, increased use of more sustainable materials and flush-to-the-wall tables that maximizes workspace. The aircraft also includes interior enhancements, such as a baseline side-facing fifth seat and belted lavatory for additional passenger capacity. These detailed attributes throughout the cabin speak to the company’s commitment to delivering enhanced comfort, unparalleled in-flight experiences and even more productivity capabilities, while increasing the ease of maintainability. These new interior features complement the product’s best-in-class OvalLite™ cross-section, which provides further head- and legroom, as well as the most complete airstair and roomiest baggage compartment.
Leading the way in avionics and safety innovation, the Phenom 100EX is the first in its class to feature a Runway Overrun Awareness and Alerting System (ROAAS), which acts during one of the most critical moments of flight to build a clear picture of the anticipated landing conditions.
The cockpit is equally considerate with further pilot legroom provided by extended seat tracking and an open-concept cockpit for easier communication within the cabin. In addition to the reimagined cabin, the aircraft boasts enhanced pilot-centric avionics as part of the Prodigy Touch, based on the renowned Garmin 3000.
Other avionics improvements include FlightStream 510, automatic 3D volumetric scanning with lightning and hail prediction, stabilized approach, predictive windshear, and more.
Benefiting from the family’s reputation for high utilization and low maintenance costs, the entry-level jet is also one of the greenest dual-engine jets on the market, culminating in a versatile aircraft built to offer the highest level of operational flexibility. The Phenom 100EX is triple-certified by ANAC, FAA and EASA and is currently sold out in 2024 with the next available date for delivery in 2025.
Tokyo, Japan – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (OTC: MHVYF) announced that order intake rose 75.1% year over year to 1.6 billion Yen in the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Revenue rose 12.9%, resulting in profit from business activities (business profit) of 51.9 billion Yen, a 248.1% increase from the previous fiscal year, which represents a profit margin of 5.3%. Profit attributable to owners of parent (net income) was 53.1 billion Yen, an increase of 177.1% year-over-year, with a profit margin of 5.4%. EBITDA was 85.1 billion Yen, an 80.3% increase from Q1 FY2022, with an EBITDA margin of 8.7%, up 3.3 percentage points year-over-year.
Large orders growth in Energy Systems was driven by Gas Turbine Combined Cycle (GTCC), which continues to see strong demand for both new builds and after-sales services. Business profit in the segment increased by 27.0 billion Yen due to a reduction in one-time charges in the Thermal Power businesses as well as revenue growth and improved project margins.
In Plants & Infrastructure Systems, revenue increased by 33.8 billion Yen due to contributions from Metals Machinery and Engineering, while business profit improved by 5.0 billion resulting from increased revenue in Metals Machinery as well as positive developments in Engineering and Machinery Systems’ project mix.
In Logistics, Thermal & Drive Systems, successful passthrough of cost inflation to sales prices mainly in Logistics Systems and Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning (HVAC) led to 14.3% increases in order intake and revenue, respectively. Cost passthroughs in these businesses also helped to raise the segment’s business profit by 15.3 billion Yen.
Most notable this quarter is the striking growth in Aircraft, Defense & Space order intake, specifically in Defense & Space, which saw orders rise by 584.1 billion Yen. This is due to large orders for missile defense systems from Japan’s Ministry of Defense as the country seeks to improve its capabilities in this area.
At a little-known cargo airline that handles shipments for United Parcel Service Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., business is booming.
With passenger carriers forced to cut most of their freight capacity during the pandemic, seven-year-old Western Global Airlines LLC has picked up new orders amid a surge in online shopping.
Now, it’s benefiting from another big tailwind: the credit rally sparked by the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented backstop.
The Estero, Florida-based carrier is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars from the junk-bond market to fund a stock program that will give it a sizable tax break, hand the founders a large payout and potentially keep its workforce union-free.
General Motors filed a racketeering lawsuit Wednesday against Fiat Chrysler.
GM accused its smaller rival of making bribes over many years to corrupt the bargaining process with the United Auto Workers.
GM said it will seek “substantial damages” as part of the remedy. Although it did not specify an amount, it said the bribes cost it billions of dollars.
In the lawsuit, America’s biggest automaker accused Fiat Chrysler, under the leadership of now deceased CEO Sergio Marchionne, of bribing UAW officials into allowing it to pay lower wages than GM, use more temporary workers than GM and employ more lower-paid second-tier workers than GM.
Fiat Chrysler said in a statement it is “astonished by this filing, both its content and its timing” and said it assumes the lawsuit was intended to disrupt the labor negotiations tied to merger talks between it and Peugeot owner PSA.
Union officials from the UAW fired back in a separate statement, saying the fact these issues can cause doubts about the contract is “regrettable” and it stands by the terms previously negotiated with Fiat Chrysler.
The UAW has been the focus of a spreading federal corruption probe that recently forced its president to seek a leave of absence.
The lawsuit comes at a precarious time for Fiat Chrysler, not only is it in aforementioned merger talks – it is also in the midst of negotiating a four-year contract with the UAW.
GM said the lawsuit has nothing to do with the merger or the union and is solely focused on Fiat Chrysler.
Chicago Midway Airport – Delta-C&S – Douglas DC-7 (1954)
Standing idle in the Arizona desert, a beloved historic airplane was prepped for its ultimate journey – one final flight back to where it all began. The recently discovered Ship 717, the last remaining Douglas DC-7B – last flown by Delta more than 50 years ago – drew the eye of the Delta Flight Museum as staffers worked with the plane’s owner to return the plane to its Atlanta roots.
During their heyday, Delta’s fleet of 10 DC-7Bs brought luxury to the skies, even including a lounge in the rear of the cabin. With more power and range than its DC-7 counterpart, the DC-7B was outfitted with four Wright Duplex Cyclone R-3350 engines, developed shortly before World War II before being improved and widely adopted in commercial flying. In 1968, as the aviation industry increasingly turned to newer jet engines as the preferred airplane power source, Delta said farewell to our last Douglas DC-7 type aircraft and piston-engine propeller planes – including the DC-6 and Convair 440 series.
Still in prime flying shape after its Delta career, Ship 717 finished its flying career helping to fight fires on the West Coast before enjoying a sunny desert retirement in 2008. When the Delta Flight Museum became aware of the classic plane several years ago, the museum jumped at the opportunity to make the purchase.
In quiet Coolidge, Ariz., where summer temperatures near 110 degrees, mechanics spent days and nights making repairs, running tests, making more repairs, replacing multiple engines and testing all four engines again – all with the goal of making this DC-7B ready to take to the skies for the first time in 11 years. The trip to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which included an overnight stop in Midland, Texas, was a flown at 9,500 feet in the now-depressurized aircraft for a combined 6.5 hours in the air.
“Saying goodbye to this beautiful airplane is truly a bittersweet moment for me,” said Woody Grantham, the longtime owner of this DC-7B and the founder of International Air Response. “Even as we fly on some of the latest and greatest new airplanes of today, I think it’s so important that we never lose our touch with history, and I can’t express how happy it makes me to see the DC-7B going home to be celebrated and immortalized at the Delta Flight Museum.”
Touching down in Atlanta at shortly after 5 p.m. EST Sunday and soon to be heading to Delta’s TechOps facility, the final chapter of this DC-7B’s story has yet to be written.
From horseback riding to cave diving, puffin watching to hot spring soaking, Iceland has turned itself into a popular vacation destination. Until fairly recently however, beer tourists didn’t have much to entice them to this island nation in the North Atlantic. In fact, 2019 marks only 30 years since Iceland legalized the sale and consumption of beer with over 2.25% alcohol, ending nearly eight decades of a curious and narrowly defined type of prohibition. Things have changed considerably however, particularly in the last few years.
The first Icelandic craft brewery, Bruggsmiðjan, which produces the popular Kaldi, didn’t open until 2006, and as recently as 2015 there were only seven small breweries nationwide. Today, nearly 30 beer companies dot the countryside, with the highest concentration in greater Reykjavík. There’s trendy KEX Brewing in the capital city, which just opened its second location in Portland, Oregon; Ölverk Pizza and Brewery in the South, where the brewhouse is powered by geothermal energy; Brugghús Steðja, which gained publicity by making beers with unusual ingredients including smoked whale testicles; and Lady Brewery, one of the newer brands in Iceland, started by two young women in a home kitchen.
Ölverk Pizza and Brewery in Hveragerði.
“The culture has changed so fast,” says Valgeir Valgeirsson, head brewer at RVK Brewing Company in central Reykjavík. “[Craft beer] is quite a new concept. We’re just trying to build it up.”
Ten taps greet visitors to RVK, along with a British beer engine, traditionally used to serve cask ales. Here, in an unassuming taproom overlooking the brewery’s stainless steel fermentation tanks, those with adventurous palates can try everything from a juicy, easy-drinking pale ale with notes of tropical fruit, to a boldly flavored, high-alcohol stout made with coffee and coconut. Creativity is king in this new era of brewing, with the sky as the limit. Valgeir and a number of other brewers around the country have even made sour beers by incorporating skyr, an Icelandic cultured dairy product, into their recipes.
Meanwhile, more than 230 miles (370 km) away in the small but scenic fishing village of Siglufjörður, Marteinn Haraldsson is the proud owner of the country’s northernmost brewery, Segull 67. Marteinn, a computer scientist who grew up in town but lives in Akureyri, learned the basics one homebrew recipe at a time, but now produces much larger batches in a former fish-freezing factory a short distance from the popular Herring Era Museum. An amber lager simply called Original and Sigló, an India pale ale, sell best, but Marteinn also makes a Belgian-style wheat beer with coriander and lime peel and a pineapple summer ale—not exactly options you would have had in Iceland as recently as a few years ago.
Segull 67’s Sólstingur, brewed with pineapple.
For all of the tourists that arrive in Siglufjörður via cruise ship during the summer months, Marteinn talks about the obstacles to being a little business in a remote town of 1,200. “Most of our challenges are getting people to know about us,” he says. “We just try to take it one day at a time.”
East of Reykjavík, in the town of Hveragerði, Ölverk Pizza and Brewery has successfully gained attention since opening its doors in 2017, by combining complementary passions: wood-fired pizza, and craft brewing. General manager Laufey Sif Lárusdóttir and her partner head brewer Elvar Þrastarson don’t currently can or bottle any of the beers they make, preferring to serve them on premise by the glass, pitcher, or tasting flight. Working on a small system enables Elvar to keep the draft list varied and interesting, tempting taste buds with a mild, malty, and food-friendly Altbier alongside a hazy, hoppy, party-in-a-glass imperial IPA like Disco Juice. The couple also typically devotes two of their eight taps to other small Icelandic breweries they admire, like Ölvisholt in Selfoss or The Brothers Brewery on Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.
Cheese-stuffed breadsticks at Ölverk.
“It’s really small and friendly,” says Laufey of the young Icelandic beer scene. “For other industries it’s really weird. But if someone else opened up a brewery here I would say ‘Okay, I will be better.’” Ólafur Ágústsson, one of the partners behind KEX Brewing, echoes this sense of camaraderie, and explains how a desire to build and promote interest in craft brewing motivated the company to begin hosting an annual Icelandic Beer Festival at KEX’s four-story space in downtown Reykjavík eight years ago. Last year more than a dozen Icelandic brewers poured their ales and lagers alongside examples from the US and elsewhere in Europe.
“We’re not brewers at all,” he says. “I’m a chef. We’re just people who like good beer. We wanted to make the scene better. That’s what’s important right now—helping everybody and trying to grow the market.”
Something’s Brewing, All Around Iceland
1. KEX Brewing Hosts of the popular annual Icelandic Beer Festival.
2. RVK Brewing Company Fruity sours share space with easy- drinking lagers and hazy, hoppy IPAs.
3. Brugghús Steðja Sleep on the farm in an insulated cabin at this rural brewery.
4. Dokkan Brugghús The first brewery in the Westfjords, and possibly the most remote in Iceland.
5. Segull 67 Brewery Fresh beer, fishing history, and views of Siglufjörður.
6. Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi Brewery Soak in a beer spa at the country’s oldest craft brewery.
7. Húsavík Öl Expect creative saisons made with birch, rhubarb, juniper, or mint.
8. Beljandi Brugghús Approachable beers and a rustic vibe inside a former slaughterhouse.
9. Smiðjan Brugghús Try the baby back ribs cooked in Icelandic stout.
10. The Brothers Brewery Watch for puffins on the ferry ride to this island brewery.
11. Ölvisholt Brewery Don’t miss the chance to try Lava, a smoked imperial stout.
12. Ölverk Pizza and Brewery Pair a tasty ale with the surprisingly delicious banana pizza.
(Reuters) – Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA are in talks to combine in a deal that could create a $50 billion (£38.88 billion) automaker, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Fiat Chrysler shares rose sharply after news of the talks and ended up more than 7.5% in U.S. trading. The companies and the French government had no comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the discussions. PSA’s supervisory board was due to meet on Wednesday to discuss the potential merger, another source close to the matter said.
If a combination of Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler succeeded in overcoming political, financial and governance hurdles, the new enterprise would still face substantial challenges. Global automakers face the prospect of a slowdown in global demand coinciding with the most dramatic technology changes in a century.
Peugeot Chief Executive Carlos Tavares has predicted “ten years of chaos” for global automakers as regulators demand a switch to electric vehicles to reduce emissions linked to climate change.
Investors have speculated for several years that Fiat Chrysler was hunting for a merger partner, encouraged by the rhetoric of the company’s late chief executive, Sergio Marchionne.
In 2015, Marchionne outlined the case for consolidation of the auto industry and tried unsuccessfully to interest General Motors Co in a deal. Fiat Chrysler earlier this year broached a merger with French automaker Renault SA that ultimately collapsed.
Created when Fiat, under Marchionne’s leadership, bought control of Chrysler out of a U.S. government-backed bankruptcy in 2009, Fiat Chrysler has one of the global auto industry’s most profitable franchises in the Jeep sport utility vehicle brand and a money-spinning North American pickup and commercial van operation in Ram. Both would boost Peugeot, which does not sell vehicles in the U.S. market.
Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler could over time share engines and vehicle architectures, reducing capital spending and freeing up cash to invest in electric vehicles and emissions reduction technology required in Europe, China and other global markets.
Fiat Chrysler is under increasing pressure to invest in clean car technology. The company disclosed earlier this month that it faces a $79 million fine for falling short of U.S. fuel efficiency standards. Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc for credits to help it comply with European emissions standards until 2022.
Evercore analyst Arndt Ellinghorst in a note on Tuesday said a combination of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot “should ignite more rational industry behavior around allocation of capital and this particular merger makes materially more sense than a potential FCA-Renault merger.”
Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler had discussed a combination earlier this year, before Fiat Chrysler proposed a $35 billion merger with Renault. At that time, Fiat Chrysler said a deal with Renault offered more advantages than a combination with Peugeot.
Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann broke off talks with Renault in June after French government officials intervened and pushed for Renault first to resolve tensions with its Japanese alliance partner, Nissan Motor Co.
Following the collapse of the Renault merger plan, Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley left the door open for talks with would-be partners. But he said the Italian-American automaker could go it alone despite mounting costs to develop electric vehicles and comply with tougher emissions rules in Europe, the United States and China.
Along with Jeep and Ram would come Fiat’s Italian operations, which have struggled in recent years. Fiat’s Mirafiori assembly complex in its home city of Turin has run below 50% capacity, with thousands of workers on temporary layoffs.
Overall, Fiat has 58,000 workers in Italy, where the government has long resisted mass lay-offs by large employers.
Peugeot’s Tavares dismissed the idea of a combination with Fiat Chrysler during a discussion with reporters at the Frankfurt auto show last month. “We don’t need it,” he said when asked whether he was still interested in a deal with Fiat Chrysler.
Tavares has moved aggressively to expand Peugeot, acquiring German auto brand Opel from General Motors Co for $2.6 billion in 2017. Since then, he has overseen a turnaround at Opel.
Fiat Chrysler already has a commercial vehicle partnership with Peugeot.
(Reporting by Dominic Roshan K.L. in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Richard Chang and Dan Grebler)
(Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday its deliveries fell about 37% to 239 planes in the first half of 2019, hurt by the grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jets, putting it on track to lose the world’s biggest planemaker title after eight years.
Boeing’s deliveries lagged those of European rival Airbus SE, which handed over as many as 389 planes in the same period, up 28% from a year earlier, according to sources.
A new problem identified with the grounded MAX jets last month has delayed the aircraft’s entry into service until at least the end of September, disrupting schedules for airline operators and possibly adding to costs for Boeing.
The American planemaker’s net orders for the first six months was in the negative, with a total of minus 119 net orders. Boeing had minus 125 net orders as of the end of May.
Deliveries of the MAX aircraft were stopped in March, a few days after an Ethiopian Airlines crash killed all 157 people on board. Since then, Boeing has not reported any new order for the MAX planes.
Last month, British Airways-owner IAG signed a letter of intent to order 200 MAXs.
Boeing shares were down 0.5% at $349.4 in morning trade.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Anil D’Silva)
