October 2011 Ground Support Worldwide News

JetStream Ground Services has been awarded the ground handling services contract for Delta Air Lines at Jackson-Evers International Airport (JAN), Jackson, MS. Providing full below-the-wing support for Delta's 12 daily departures, this represents JetStream's first contract award with the airline.

Avfuel Corporation has expanded its branded dealer network to include Monterey Jet Center at Monterey Peninsula Airport (MRY), providing the FBO with fuel and service solutions as well as marketing and branding support.

Delta Air Lines’ maintenance division, Delta TechOps, has signed a five-year, agreement with Air Canada to provide repair and overhaul services to the airline’s entire fleet of Pratt & Whitney 4060 engines.

Lufthansa Consulting helped the Republic of the Congo launch a new airline. Equatorial Congo took off on its premiere flight Sept. 24 between the country’s capital Brazzaville and the port city of Pointe-Noire. Lufthansa Consulting managed the complete startup process and continues to consult with the Congolese government.

ASIG announced in September it was awarded a 20-year license to provide aviation fuel service at Panama’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY). Under the agreement, ASIG will manage and operate the airport’s sole jet fuel facility as well as provide aircraft refueling service to all airlines serving PTY. The company expects to fuel approximately 3,900 flights a month.

Poland’s Chopin Airport (WAW) issued an invitation to tender for the construction, funding and operation of a centralized fuel infrastructure. Currently, only one fuel supplier has the infrastructure needed to provide aircraft refueling. The winning bidder will design, construct, finance and operate the project for a fixed time period in return for fees from service users.

Chorus Aviation Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per Class A and Class B share. Chorus owns Jazz Aviation LP, among other aviation operations.

Swiss WorldCargo is the first airline to partner with a new International Air Transport Association initiative to deploy key IATA managers to airline headquarters. The organization will be the “seconding” staff to Swiss WorldCargo in a development program to enhance IATA’s capabilities in the cargo field and ensure even closer alignment on the key issues facing global cargo. During the placement period, the “secondee” will be exposed to key management functions including revenue management, tracking and tracing, e-commerce activities, operations, security and network management.

Airbus will deliver more than 110 new airplanes to airlines in China this year, accounting for 20 per cent of its total global deliveries. At the end of 2001, Chinese airlines operated only 88 Airbus airplanes. By August 2010, however, Chinese airlines operated 717 Airbus aircraft, including models that account for 46 per cent of the total aircraft in China with more than 100 seats.

Embraer S/A expects to deliver 975 new regional jets to China between 2011 and 2030. In its outlook for China's regional aviation market, Embraer forecasts that deliveries to China over the next 20 years will include 15 jets for 30-60 seats, 440 jets for 61-90 seats, and 520 jets for 91-120 seats, accounting for around 13 percent of global market demands.

The maker of China's largest commercial aircraft said it hopes to capture one-third of the country's single-aisle aircraft market in 20 years. Following the first 100 orders for C919s announced last November, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China was expected to announce new orders last month at the Aviation Expo China 2011. The corporation says its 150-seat C919 and the 90-seat ARJ21 regional aircraft will be the "main force" for the country’s 55 new airports, which are expected to be built by 2015. China is expected to have a passenger plane fleet of 5,400 planes by 2030, including 3,800 single-aisle jetliners, according to the market outlook released by the corporation.

NetJets has signed a long-term lease with Van Nuys, CA.-based fixed-base operation Maguire Aviation to build a dedicated, private terminal at Van Nuys Airport (VNY). The private-use facility will be custom-designed and operated to NetJets’ specifications and owner preferences. The project includes a new terminal with a range of amenities, conference and business center capabilities, crew lounge and rest areas, and flight planning facilities. Construction of the new facility is expected to be completed by next summer.