02 Mar 2020

North America Newsletter 2 March

American Airlines Announces $550 Million Investment to its Tulsa Maintenance Base American Airlines announced it will invest $550 million at its Base Maintenance facility in Tulsa (Tech Ops – Tulsa). It is American’s largest Base Maintenance facility and is an integral part of operating the carrier’s fleet of nearly 1,000 mainline aircraft safely and reliably. The new 193,000-square-foot hangar will be able to hold two widebody aircraft — or up to six narrowbody aircraft — and will replace two existing hangars that can no longer fully accommodate the size of American’s current aircraft. “The American team in Tulsa and around the world is the best in the business when it comes to operating the safest and most reliable fleet of commercial aircraft,” said American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “Tulsa has been core to American’s operation for more than 70 years, and this investment in the base, along with the new positions we added at Tech Ops – Tulsa in 2019, will ensure our customers can continue to rely on our fleet as the safest and most reliable for decades to come.” Cargojet to Implement Increased Foreign Ownership Levels Cargojet announced that it will seek shareholder approval at its 2020 annual and special meeting of shareholders to amend its articles of incorporation to increase the limits of foreign ownership and control of its voting shares to those permitted by amendments made to the Canada Transportation Act (CTA) in 2018. The amendments to its articles will be undertaken by way of a court supervised and shareholder approved statutory plan of arrangement. The Government of Canada's stated purpose in implementing the CTA amendments is to attract more foreign investment and encourage growth in the aviation sector by increasing, from 25% to 49%, the permitted level of foreign ownership of Canadian air carriers. CFM Logs More Than 2,100 Engine Orders in 2019 CFM International received orders and commitments for a total of 2,148 engines in 2019 at a value of more than $30.7 billion U.S. at list price, including 180 CFM56 engines (commercial, military and spares) and 1,968 LEAP engines (including spares). CFM delivered 1,736 LEAP installed and spare engines in 2019 compared to 1,118 engines in 2018, along with 391 CFM56 engines. Fitch Upgrades JetBlue to 'BB+'; Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings has upgraded JetBlue Airways Corporation's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating to 'BB+' from 'BB'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also affirmed its ratings on JetBlue's 2013-1 and 2019-1 series of EETCs. The upgrade reflects JetBlue's strong credit metrics, consistent profitability, successful cost containment efforts, and its solid financial flexibility. The rating is also supported by JBLU's continued commitment to a healthy balance sheet. Norwegian ranked largest foreign airline in New York City for 2019 Norwegian has maintained its leadership position as the largest foreign airline in New York City for 2019, after surpassing Air Canada in February 2019, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) year-end traffic statistics. For full-year 2019, Norwegian handled 2,057,284 customers in New York City. Spirit AeroSystems Opens New Spoiler Manufacturing Facility Spirit AeroSystems announced it has opened a new composite manufacturing facility at its site in Prestwick, Scotland. This facility leverages advanced composite technology from Spirit's research and development portfolio and brings new work to the site in the form of the Airbus A320 family spoiler. "This is the result of a three-year journey to secure production of the spoiler in the UK," said Scott McLarty, Spirit AeroSystems senior vice president of Airbus programs. "We appreciate the investment support provided by our government and community partners. This new facility allows us to utilize innovative technologies like the Spirit-developed Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) solution to better meet the needs of our customer." Acumen Aviation © 2 March 2020 All Rights Reserved.