Monthly Archives: August 2018

Superior Air Parts Promotes Koss to GM Superior Aerospace Precision Machining

Keith Chatten, CEO of Superior Air Parts, Inc., announced Robert (Bob) Koss has been promoted to general manager of its Superior Aerospace Precision Machining division in Fridley, Minn.

“Bob has been part of the Superior Aerospace Precision Machining team since 1985. He has been instrumental in almost every aspect of the organization and has continually demonstrated a high-level of commitment and dedication to providing our precision machining customers with consistently high quality,” Chatten said. “He thoroughly understands the business and is the clear choice as our new general manager. I am confident that he will lead Superior Aerospace to the next level.”

“I am very proud that Keith and the rest of the executive team at Superior Air Parts have the confidence to name me as the general manager of the Fridley facility,” Koss said. “Superior Air Parts has made significant investments in increasing our capabilities, and I am excited to have the opportunity to help the company reach its full potential. We plan to continue to focus on improvements in efficiency and to grow the contract manufacturing side of the business.”

Located in Fridley, Minn., Superior Aerospace Precision Machining is a 26,000 square-foot, climate controlled production facility; it houses an array of new-generation, multi-axis CNC cutting, measuring, honing and finishing machines. The entire production process operates under the AS9100 Rev D certified quality management system.

Superior Aerospace Precision Machining provides the close-tolerance, precision machining for many of Superior Air Parts’ FAA PMA piston engine components, including the company’s line of Millennium Cylinders. Additionally, Superior Aerospace Precision Machining provides machining services, NTD, special processes, and assembly for a number of other manufacturers in aviation, aerospace, automotive and other industries.

“With over 250 years of combined experience, the team of engineers and machinists we have at Superior Aerospace Precision Machining is highly skilled in all facets of the art of precision machining,” Chatten said. “From first cut to final CMM quality verification, everything we need to deliver a quality product at a fair price is under our roof.”

“The Superior Aerospace Precision Machining team takes great pride in our ability to be nimble, responsive and flexible while maintaining the high standards of the AS9100 Rev D quality system.” Koss said.

Prior to his recent promotion to general manager, Koss served as quality manager. He has performed various functions within the organization including manufacturing, engineering, production, plant management and quality systems.

Source: AVM

Vartan Aviation Group opens FAA certified Repair Station in Seattle

he Vartan Aviation Group has opened a new Repair Station in Seattle. It is run by the U. S. subsidiary Vartan USA and officially received its FAA certificate in early July. The company says it is now open for business and looking forward to help existing and new customers with their cabin refurbishment needs. Vartan serves all cabin interior equipment, e.g. seats, galleys, lavatories, sidewall panels, overhead bins, class dividers, VIP interiors etc.

“We have been seeing a growing demand for highly flexible maintenance and repair services over the last few years and wanted to go into this market,” Sven Kempf, managing director Vartan USA says about the new business. “With the FAA certificate, our teams can now make double use of their support expertise with lots of different cabin products and I am very happy that we can offer our customers these new services.”

Source: AVM

EPS Makes Progress on High Performance Diesel Engine

Air Berlin Integration Weighs on Lufthansa’s First-half Results

Lufthansa has become the third airline after low-cost rivals easyJet and Ryanair to warn that the integration of parts of bankrupt Air Berlin has added costs and is taking longer than originally envisioned. The Cologne-based group on Tuesday said the higher than expected expenses related to the integration of the 77 aircraft formerly operated by Air Berlin into its budget arm Eurowings had “depressed” earnings in the first six months. Lufthansa booked adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of €1 billion ($1.17 billion) in the first half, down 2 percent year-over-year.

“Without the integration costs at Eurowings the group’s result would have grown,” CFO Ulrik Svensson said during an analyst and investor conference call detailing the group’s results for the six months ending June 30. He stressed that the company “willingly” accepts the costs given the acquisition allowed it to further strengthen its market position in Europe. He described the integration of the Air Berlin fleet and operations as a “process that is unprecedented in its scope within the European airline industry.”

Eurowings suffered from €50 million in one-time costs related to the integration of former Air Berlin operations and operational challenges in the second quarter, bringing the total for the first six months to €120 million. It expects an additional charge of around €50 million in the third quarter, but no subsequent expenditures. “We will complete the technical integration of all former Air Berlin aircraft in the next two months,” Svensson said.

Overall the state of the budget division, which comprises Eurowings, Germanwings, Eurowings Europe, Brussels Airlines, Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter (Air Berlin) and the equity stake in SunExpress, remains “mixed,” Svensson noted. “On the one hand, we are extremely pleased with the top line performance,” he said. “But on the other hand, we have work to do to bring the Eurowings profitability to the level of its key competitors.”

Passenger numbers increased by 23.3 percent year-over-year in the first half, to 17.9 million. Capacity grew by 23.6 percent; passenger load factor rose 2.4 percentage points to 79.8 percent, and traffic revenue rose by 9.1 percent overall to €1.9 billion. Operating costs totaled €2.2 billion. Operating losses deepened to €199 million, from a €77 million loss in the same period a year ago. The airline expects to resolve inefficiencies and complexity due to the largely inorganic growth of the segment by next year, according to Svensson.  Eurowings should return to profitability next year and reach profitability to the levels of its prime competitors “over the next three to four years,” he added.

Eurowings’ delays in the Air Berlin integration and related cost hikes prompted Lufthansa to trim its group capacity growth plan again, by a half percentage point to 8 percent, and cut its unit cost outlook to a 1 percent decrease, against a previous 1 percent to 2 percent target. However, it reaffirmed its 2018 earnings forecast and said adjusted EBIT would fall slightly from 2017’s record level of €2.97 billion.

Source: AIN