October 16, 2017 - No. 081 In This Issue Cheaper rivals target Singapore's aviation maintenance sector METI plans nationwide parts network to raise competitiveness of aviation industry NCTC, SCSU celebrate partnership, NSF grant Blockchain Startup Aeron is in the middle of Crowdsale for its Decentralized Aviation Record System The Embraer Phenom 300 Gets Upgraded to the 300E Top 10 OEMs, Tech Suppliers at NBAA 2017 MacroAsia, PTC set up aviation manpower training venture Honeywell raises the bar for Asean aviation safety Embraer to Establish Major Aviation Training Center in Johannesburg Cheaper rivals target Singapore's aviation maintenance sector JAKARTA/BANGKOK, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Singapore, the dominant hub for aircraft maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) in southeast Asia, the world's fastest-growing aviation market, is under threat from low-cost rivals in nearby Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. As the cheaper challengers look to muscle in on a lucrative market - with annual output of S$8.9 billion ($6.57 billion), Singapore accounts for a quarter of all Asia's MRO business - Singapore-based MRO firms are having to scramble higher up the value chain. "This is a real threat for the Singapore-based MRO companies," said Corrine Png, CEO of transport research firm Crucial Perspective. "The lower end and more labour-intensive heavy maintenance work for the more common aircraft models will face more competition from these locations given their much lower labour costs." SETTING UP NEXT DOOR Shares in Garuda Maintenance Facility AeroAsia Tbk (GMF AeroAsia) began trading last Wednesday after the company raised $95 million from an IPO. The shares fell 9 percent in the first three days of trading, though Png noted liquidity was hampered by Garuda selling only 10 percent to the public. The maintenance offshoot of Indonesia's national carrier wants to raise another $200 million by selling a 20 percent stake to a potential strategic partner - to help it expand existing operations and build a new maintenance facility on Batam Island - just 31 km (19 miles) off Singapore's coast. GMF AeroAsia has a longstanding partnership with Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance, which said last month it signed a letter of intent with GMF AeroAsia to "move up" that partnership. It declined to say whether it planned to buy a stake. GMF AeroAsia CEO Iwan Joeniarto told Reuters the company aims to be a global top-10 MRO provider by revenue from 2021 - it currently ranks 13th - citing a strategic location and manpower costs a fifth lower than Singapore as its competitive advantages. He said revenue from the Garuda Group currently makes up close to two-thirds of GMF's total, and he wants to switch that to 40 percent, with the rest coming in from new customers. The $50 million Batam facility, targeted to open in 2019, will seek U.S. and European regulatory certifications that would give it a broader customer base, Joeniarto said. In Thailand, the government wants to turn U-Tapao airport near Pattaya into a maintenance hub with help from investors including Airbus, which signed a memorandum of understanding with Thai Airways in March to develop a major MRO facility. Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary-General of Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor Office, said he expected a formal joint venture agreement would be signed in the first quarter of next year. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment on the timing. Thai Maintenance, the MRO arm of Thai Airways, does 70 percent of its work for the national carrier, but that could drop to 50 percent over time as it attracts outside customers, Kanit said. "There are plans to eventually spin off Thai Maintenance as its own company," he added. Malaysia Airlines, which this month gained European approvals to perform major modifications and repairs in avionics, aircraft structure and cabin interiors, intends to take on more third-party contracts over the next 18 months, CEO Peter Bellew said. Last week, Airbus bought the 60 percent of Malaysia's Sepang Aircraft Engineering it didn't already own for an undisclosed price. The Kuala Lumpur-based facility, which has opened a second hangar that can handle two A320s at a time, serves several southeast Asian airlines including Singapore-based low-cost carriers Scoot and Jetstar Asia. SINGAPORE MOVES HIGHER SIA Engineering, which now earns only a third of its business from Singapore Airlines, has set up a joint maintenance centre with Philippine low-cost carrier Cebu Air near Manila - a cheaper location than Singapore. And rival Singapore Technologies Engineering, the world's biggest MRO firm, has a large facility in Guangzhou, China. As the threat grows at the low-end, the Singapore government is looking to move up the value chain, focusing on research and development and high-tech aerospace manufacturing work in partnership with companies like Rolls-Royce Holdings. Rolls-Royce, SIA Engineering and the Singapore government are investing up to S$60 million in a joint laboratory to work on advanced manufacturing technologies involving 3D printing and robotic solutions. Professor Tan Sze Wee, executive director of Singapore'sScience and Engineering Research Council, part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, said the city- state had in the past competed for MRO work based on productivity and cost. "But the MRO sector as a whole, which leverages on the larger Asia aerospace sector, is a growing pie," he said. "There are more players coming in from low-cost sites. We will be starting to segment this not just because of productivity or costs but for the more advanced technology. You need the talent to do that, which will take a while for regional countries to catch up." http://www.nasdaq.com/article/cheaper-rivals-target-singapores-aviation-maintenance- sector-20171016-00140 Back to Top METI plans nationwide parts network to raise competitiveness of aviation industry To help give the nation's growing aircraft manufacturing sector an edge, the industry ministry plans to create a framework that facilitates cooperation among Japan's parts makers to boost productivity and court business from abroad. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will launch the Nationwide Network of Aircraft Clusters later this year as part of an effort to increase industry-wide sales to ¥3 trillion by 2030 from ¥1.8 trillion in fiscal 2015. Aircraft are made with millions of components requiring repair and maintenance that usually involves years of business contracts. Aviation's potential to pump cash into rural economies stably and on a large scale like automakers do makes it an attractive industry. Japan is home to more than 40 so-called manufacturing clusters - groups comprising companies at various levels of the supply chain and in the same geographic area - that supply aircraft parts or are preparing to enter the industry, according to METI. Examples include the Matsusaka cluster in central Japan where a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. subsidiary is developing the nation's first domestically produced passenger jet with Kobe Aero Network, a group of 21 small and midsize companies endorsed by Kobe. While such collectives benefit from being able to leverage economies of scale in sourcing materials and integrated manufacturing processes that make it possible to produce high- quality products at lower cost, METI says wider collaboration across the various groups has been rare. The network plan entails forming a secretariat that would connect the clusters and create a website where aircraft makers such as Boeing Co. and Airbus SE and engine makers like Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC can gather information on them. METI will ask each cluster to join the initiative, ministry officials said. The hope is that stronger solidarity in the aeronautics industry will help boost competitiveness against foreign rivals as demand for aircraft climbs in line with economic growth in Asia and the spread of low-cost carriers, they said. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/10/15/business/meti-plans-nationwide-parts- network-raise-competitiveness-aviation-industry/#.WeR7L0uGPrc Back to Top NCTC, SCSU celebrate partnership, NSF grant Northland Community & Technical College (NCTC) and St. Cloud State University partner to enhance geospatial information technology (GIT) and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) education in the region and develop educational pathways for students. St. Cloud State Interim President Ashish Vaidya and NCTC President Dennis Bona signed an agreement Sept. 27 at NCTC to work together to develop collaborations and mutually beneficial programs and activities in support of the advancement of GIT and UAS education and training by: * Enhancing GIT and UAS curriculum modelling for broad disciplines such as agriculture, public safety and infrastructure inspection. * Establishing collaborative educational pathways by integrating new and existing curriculum across Minnesota State through dual-credit enrollment and 2+2 articulation. * Expanding GIT and UAS professional development opportunities and educational resources throughout higher education through development of curriculum and materials, access to laboratory resources and workshops for college faculty, high school teacher sand students. The activities of the two institutions are funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (ATE) division. This September, NCTC, earned an almost $600,000 grant from the organization to support the work. NCTC has strong programs in aviation maintenance, UAS maintenance , geospatial intelligence and UAS operations, which are training students and conducting research into how new technologies can be used to serve the needs of agriculture, watershed monitors and utility companies, said Jonathan Beck, NCTC UAS instructor and program manager. These NCTC programs are working with St. Cloud State's Spacial Analysis Research Center and programs in geographic information systems and land surveying and mapping sciences to continue to advance understanding of how this technology can be used and how to bring it into the classroom, he said. Beck and St. Cloud State Professor Ben Richason were co-principle investigators on the grant. https://www.suasnews.com/2017/10/nctc-scsu-celebrate-partnership-nsf-grant/ Back to Top Blockchain Startup Aeron is in the middle of Crowdsale for its Decentralized Aviation Record System Aeron is a software company building a global decentralized aviation record system called Aeron Register and focused on flight safety. After a successful presale in September, the Aeron team is launching the public sale of their token which will provide the opportunity for the public to purchase ARN tokens and be part of the first wave of users on the innovative Aeron Register ecosystem. Powered by blockchain technology, Aeron Register includes a global aviation database accessible by online portal or mobile applications. Company has already opened a portal for pilots and flight schools www.aerotrips.com, which beta has already opened to service the first users. The portal provides users with access to the veri?ed global aviation database. Aeron Essence What is Aeron and How Does Aeron Work? As every complex industry aviation uses many huge and versatile, usually isolated and sometimes outdated data systems. Discrepancies in data can cause manifold problems affecting not only revenues and operational integrity, but human lives. The key problem is pilots and flight instructors may fake flight log records to claim experience the pilot does not actually have. Apart from human error accidents are widely caused by incomplete data: whether it came about by data intrusion or just by lack of proper background on aircraft parts, maintenance logs and so on. All of these issues can be solved by blockchain technology creating immutable records for flight logs and maintenance databases. Aeron Register system can track pilot and aircraft log records which are stored in blockchain, available for public audit and can't be forged. It could facilitate data exchange on every step of communication between clients, airports, aircraft maintenance and service companies. Thus, all people, involved in operating and flying an aircraft use customized apps - pilots for personal flight logging, aviation companies to collect and verify log data from flight schools, aircraft operators, fixed base operators and others. The Aeron Register system can be also applied to aircraft maintenance records and tracking of spare parts, to confirm that spare parts are authentic and maintenance has been performed according to standards. Users will have access to the veri?ed global database through a portal for pilots and flight schools www.aerotrips.com which beta has already opened to service the first users. Aerotrips.com is designed to become an online aggregator for aviation developing worldwide database of flight schools. This database provide the users with the opportunity to find any flight in particular areas, commercial charter offers, air taxi and charters, flight tours and excursions, offers from private pilots. Aeron has also announced partnership with Griffon Aviation, the first EASA licensed flight school on Cyprus, operating since 1994. The school offers complete range of pilot courses: from basic introduction to flying to advanced Flight Instructor ratings. Aeron application usage flows presently undergo testing and will be refined based on the feedback from the instructors and the students. The first application prototypes should be deployed at Griffon Aviation before end of the year and integrated in the daily operational activity. Aeron is open to cooperation with other flight schools and aviation companies for early trials. Aeron is lead by Artem Orange, who has more than 15 years of experience in telecommunications and finance. Artem is also ex-CEO of two national cellular operators. Aeron team consists of international experts with proven track record inclusive professional Solidity developers, UX/UI designers and marketing experts Aeron Token Sale In September, Aeron successfully launched a presale of ARN tokens which raised over 1 million USD, demonstrating high interest among cryptocommunity, investors and aviation industry. Now Aeron team has opened the full sale of their token, which will be also listed on Binance, one of the fastest growing digital asset exchange. For the first time, users can also buy ARN tokens with credit or debit cards. Additional token sale details: ? Tokens available for sale: 60 million ARN ? Tokens price: 1 ARN = $0.5 USD Konstantin Gertman, Chief development officer of Aeron comments: "We saw big opportunity for blockchain to revolutionise an outdated system. The advantages of the blockchain is that information is safely stored, can not be falsified and is completely transparent to all the users. It is secured by a multi-sig authentication system, preventing any data alteration. Our long-term aim is to create "airline in a pocket" with a convenient user interface for engagement with the blockchain." To learn more about the Aeron and participate in the token sale, please visit the web-site https://aeron.aeron and reach out atpr@aeron.aero. https://coinidol.com/aeron-crowdsale/ Back to Top The Embraer Phenom 300 Gets Upgraded to the 300E So much for not fixing what isn't broken. At the National Business Aviation Association's Aviation Conference and Exhibition this week in Las Vegas, Embraer Executive Jets introduced the Phenom 300E, an enhanced (thus the E) version of the top-selling Phenom 300, a $9 million light business jet. The Phenom 300 entered service in 2009 and has been the most delivered business jet each of the last four years. EmbraerExecutive Jets, the Florida-based business-jet arm of the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer, delivered 63 last year and 20 through June of this year for a total of 286 since 2013. Many of the deliveries have been to fractional providers NetJets and Flexjet. The aircraft's popularity notwithstanding, Embrear Executive Jets decided it was time for an upgrade, and so the 300E features a redesigned cabin that includes a new cabin- management and inflight-entertainment system by Lufthansa Technik. The system is contained in a panel that runs along the centerline of the aircraft's ceiling and includes two 7-inch swing-down displays. All the components of the system can be easily removed for maintenance purposes. Reading lights and fans have been moved into the panel to create more headroom above the seats. The panel also includes new ambient lighting. Deliveries of the Phenom 300E are scheduled to begin early next year. The price is $9.45 million. The aircraft's cabin design is based on the new interiors of the midsize Legacy 450 and Legacy 500. According to Embraer, the design creates more space, specifically more aisle room (in addition to the aforementioned extra headroom), while also adding larger seats- ones with retractable armrests. The seats have broader backs and extendable headrests and leg rests. Embraer offers a variety of pattern choices and color options for the seat upholstery. Like the Phenom 300, the 300E will be configured to seat six passengers, but a seventh can sit in the copilot's seat because the jet is certified for single-pilot operation. The cabin is 17.2 feet long, 5.1 feet wide, and 4.9 feet tall, and it features unusually large windows, including one in the lavatory in the aft section of the aircraft. The new aircraft has the same range and high cruising speed as its predecessor: 2,270 miles and 521 mph. http://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/embraerphenom300e-2751959/ Back to Top Top 10 OEMs, Tech Suppliers at NBAA 2017 The 2017 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention featured a combined 99 avionics manufacturers, dealers, audio and visual equipment vendors, and suppliers. Though it would be impossible to analyze what all these exhibitors introduced at the event, there are some worth noting. Dassault Aviation is Researching AI Co-Pilot Tech Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier made headlines when he said that the French business jet manufacturer is currently researching artificial intelligence (AI) to introduce into future Falcon jet cockpits. This is a long-term project that will not become a reality any time soon, but Trappier said the company's engineers are actively researching the use of artificial intelligence to assist pilots in future cockpits on a demonstrator aircraft. "Engineers are looking at the artificial intelligence; they're looking at the impact it may have on our civilian activities, for example, how an AI-based co-pilot might work on a business jet," said Trappier. ViaSat's Speedy New In-Flight Internet Hardware On the first day, ViaSat unveiled its new Ka-band business aviation shipset, the "Global Aero Terminal 5510," as well as a new migration path for existing users of its in-flight internet to move to its new faster Ka-band network. The satellite service provider positioned one of its antennas on the roof of the Las Vegas Convention Center and was able to demonstrate the ability of the new hardware to simultaneously stream live television and video conference with an employee at its offices in Carlsbad, California. According to the service plans featured on a product sheet describing the new terminal, its Ultra 40 plan gives business jet operators a data allowance of 40 gigabytes, which can be used to download up to 20,000 documents or stream 6,400 songs. On the Ultra 100 plan, a data allowance of up to 100 gigabytes would let users send up to one million emails or do a Skype group video with up to five people for about 48 hours. Gulfstream G600 Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.'s first fully outfitted G600 made its public debut at the show. It is capable of flying 6,500 nautical miles at Mach 0.85. It can seat up to 19 passengers and comes equipped with Jet Connex in-flight internet from Inmarsat. Honeywell's CNX-900 Router Upgrade Although the Arizona-based OEM had a number of big announcements at the show, one of the most innovative was the software upgrade added to its CNX-900 router. The upgrade allows operators to use wireless database loading and remotely stage flight navigation databases onto aircraft from Honeywell's server. "Traditionally, operators had to bring equipment onboard or strategically plan missions to be home every time they needed to load a database. Now, with Honeywell's CNX-900 router, the database can be stored on the CNX-900 over Wi-Fi or cellular remotely anywhere in the world, and customers can easily initiate loading of database,"said John Peterson, Honeywell's senior director of GoDirect connectivity and flight support services. Rockwell Collins New Jet Connex Management Rockwell Collins introduced a new in-flight connectivity support tool that enables business aviation operators using Inmarsat's new Jet Connex in-flight internet service to manage their "end-to-end" usage. The OEM notes that pre-flight ARINCDirect customers can overlay JX coverage maps on their next flight route to ensure they will not fly outside of internet coverage and thus lose connectivity. During the trip, new advanced troubleshooting capabilities give the ARINCDirect technical support team more insight into a customer's JX utilization. If the technical support team identifies a break of in-flight service, for example, it will contact the user and let them know how the issue is being corrected. Latitude's SkyNode for the PC-24 As the use of satellite communications for safety services controller to pilot data link communications (CPDLC) starts to become more widespread in business and commercial aviation, Pilatus selected Latitude Technologies' SkyNode S200-012 for its new PC-24 business jet. The Iridium-based system is designed to replace the required second high frequency radio for operators that require dual long-range communications systems to meet operational requirements. FDS Avionics New 3-D Moving Maps FDS Avionics could become a major disruptor in its supply of a new type of three- and two-dimensional moving maps technologies. Its moving maps go well beyond showing updated aircraft positioning on a flight route. It allows users to move their iPads around the cabin and look through them to actually view what's outside the aircraft in the style of augmented reality. Further, the maps are integrated with the aircraft's flight management system and can show passengers the updated attitude indictor, airspeed and estimated arrival time. Esterline CMC's LPV Earns EASA Certification Esterline CMC's CMA-5024 satellite-based augmentation system GPS Landing System Sensor Unit has been certified by EASA on the ATR 42 fleet of a regional European airline. Aeroconseil, an AKKA Technologies group company, has developed the EASA supplemental type certificate (STC) - allowing installation of the CMA-5024 GLSSU to provide ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft with localizer performance with vertical guidance system (LPV) approach capability. A total of 13 ATR 42 aircraft are planned to be retrofitted with the CMA-5024 for LPV. As of this date, seven have been provisioned. A second ATR 42 customer, Air Saint-Pierre, has selected the Aeroconseil STC with this CMC Electronics equipment and is already flying with LPV approach capability. Astronics Ballard's New webCS Astronics Ballard introduced its new Wireless Aircraft Communications Server (webCS), an integrated aircraft interface device, server and router that allows flight crews to capture, record and process aircraft data. According to Jon Neal, VP and general manager of Astronics Ballard Technology, the new hardware features an "open-architecture" approach that will allow operators to develop their own software applications running on webCS. Web Manuals Finds Success in U.S. Web Manuals, a Swedish company that provides a web-based application that automates the process of business aircraft operators moving their air- and ground-based operational and maintenance manuals to the cloud, is finding success in the world's largest business aviation market - North America. After opening an office in San Diego in 2016, Web Manuals CEO Martin Lidgard said 20 of its now 115 operators are based in the U.S. http://www.aviationtoday.com/2017/10/13/top-10-oems-tech-suppliers-nbaa-2017/ Back to Top MacroAsia, PTC set up aviation manpower training venture Aviation support firm MacroAsia Corp. has signed a deal with PTC Holdings Corp., one of the country's leading crew management and diversified maritime services group, to set up an integrated aviation career and resource development venture. Based on the joint venture agreement signed by the parties on Monday, MacroAsia will own 51 percent while PTC will own 49 percent of the new business, MacroAsia said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange. The joint venture company will initially invest about $3 million to establish a training and skills assessment center for aviation professionals, the disclosure said. The training facility will be based in Subic Bay International Airport and will start its operations by first half of 2018. Initially, the venture aims to pursue start-up pilot training, certification and career development courses in the field of aviation. "The partnership aims to address the foreseen shortage of aviation professionals for airline clients not only in the Philippines but also in other countries," the disclosure said. At present, MacroAsia provides aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, ground handling, airline catering and foods services management, among others. PTC Group, for its part, provides diversified services spanning ship and crew management, maritime education and training, chartering, ship agency, logistics and freight forwarding, medical diagnostics, travel services, fuel distribution and renewable energy development, offshore business processing, property development, international professional placement, professional and airline support services, among others. http://business.inquirer.net/238727/macroasia-ptc-set-aviation-manpower-training- venture Back to Top Honeywell raises the bar for Asean aviation safety KUALA LUMPUR: Safety enhancements are often associated with higher expenditure on preventive amenities for the aviation business, but US-based Honeywell International Inc is out to change the notion with its "connected aircraft" solutions. The solutions keep aircraft away from hazards, while helping airlines to be more economical. Honeywell's air transport and regional commercial aerospace vice-president for Asia- Pacific, Brian Davis, said the solutions are particularly relevant in the rapidly growing aviation industry in Southeast Asia as air travel demand increases. "In terms of passengers and planes, our statistics showed that Malaysia was up 10.4% year-on-year in the first three months of this year. Think about it, [assuming the remaining] three quarters of 2017 also show about 10% in growth rate, that is just a great amount of surge in growth for Malaysia, as well as the Asean region," he told The Edge Financial Daily in an interview. Aviation safety has been a widely discussed topic in Malaysia over the past few months after a spate of incidents involving Malaysian aircraft at a time when Chinese tourists are coming to Malaysia in droves. On June 25, an AirAsia X Bhd flight bound for Kuala Lumpur from Perth, Australia, turned around due to technical issues. While investigations are still ongoing, the Australian investigator's interim report in August blamed metal fatigue of a fan blade as the cause for the Airbus A330's engine failure. In early July, two Malindo Airways Sdn Bhd aircraft were grounded in Bangladesh and India due to technical issues. The incident gained traction in the media as disgruntled passengers took to social media to complain about the disruption to their flights. Davis said the connected aircraft solutions work by using satellite connection on the plane to download parts maintenance and fault data to predict impending hardware failures. Such fault data is then shared with Honeywell and analysed before being presented to the airline's maintenance team in an easy-to-understand, visual manner. He added that this analysis identifies what maintenance actions are required to fix the parts and avoid an unscheduled maintenance event. "Take Cathay Pacific Airways as an example. The Hong Kong-based airline signed an agreement with us last year to have us monitor their Airbus A330 fleet's auxiliary power units (APUs) - the engine at the back [of an aircraft] that cools the aircraft on the ground and gives it electrical power," said Davis. "In the last 30 years, APUs have always been around. The technology is not new, but what is new is we have found a way to connect to the aircraft and now we can look at different things on that APU that may cause it to fail. And, before it fails, we will send a message to the airline, telling them that they should proactively replace the parts that our system has pointed out," he said. Davis said Honeywell's solution has resulted in a 35% reduction in operational disruptions at Cathay Pacific. "Managing unscheduled maintenance events can be both costly and time-consuming for airlines. The APU monitoring system can save Cathay Pacific several hundreds [of] thousands of dollars in operations and maintenance costs on a single aircraft system," he said. Meanwhile, Honeywell has chosen Kuala Lumpur as its aftermarket headquarters to further strengthen its presence in Southeast Asia. Davis said Honeywell's newly established aftermarket headquarters in Kuala Lumpur will house decision-making level executives to accelerate response time to customers. "We thought that it was important to support the growth in Asean, as well as Malaysia, while making sure that we have not only the leadership, but we have all of the [relevant] decision-makers in the region, and that is of significant difference. A very important part of our growth in Asia is to make sure that we have all of these people and in the right time zone," he added. Davis noted that going forward, Honeywell is expecting 50% of its future growth to come from high growth regions, including Asean. "You've got to have people that are proud of the Honeywell brand, our integrity and our high compliance standard, and there is no way that you are ever going to get that message across to customers if you do that out of the US or Europe. So, we have to be here with the people to take advantage of the growth," he said. Honeywell currently employs 400 people at the headquarters, who form part of the diversified group's total workforce of 1,500 in Malaysia. The other staff work at its production facility in Penang and a regional distribution centre in Kuala Lumpur. Aerospace is Honeywell's largest revenue contributor globally. In the first half of its financial year ending Dec 31, 2017, the Fortune 100 company recorded US$7.22 billion (RM30.47 billion) sales from its aerospace business, equivalent to 36.89% of the US$19.57 billion total turnover. This was followed by US$5.23 billion from home and building technologies businesses, US$4.31 billion from performance materials and technologies division, and lastly US$2.16 billion from the provision of safety and productivity solutions. http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/honeywell-raises-bar-asean-aviation-safety Back to Top Embraer to Establish Major Aviation Training Center in Johannesburg Embraer announced the establishment of a new training center at O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg. The Embraer Training Centre will open in the first half of 2018 and will be the first facility of its kind in Africa to provide this range of training all under one roof, for qualified pilots, maintenance technicians, and cabin crew. The Embraer Training Centre will be equipped with an E-Jets Full Flight Simulator, four Flight Management System Simulators, a door trainer, and an over wing trainer to deliver pilot training and ground school, engineering courses, and E-Jet familiarization training for cabin crew. When fully operational, the center will be able to train around 2000 aerospace professionals a year. Flight crew and engineering technicians from Embraer operators such as Airlink, the center's anchor and launch customer, and others from across the region and beyond, will be trained at the new facility. The training of new aviation professionals to address the critical skills shortages experienced in the region's aviation environment will be a key catalyst in releasing the huge potential of the continent's underdeveloped aerospace sector. "Our investment in this training facility underlines the importance of the African continent to Embraer and our commitment to realizing the potential for improved connectivity across the continent," said Johann Bordais, President & CEO, Embraer Services & Support. "Currently, Africa's share of global air traffic is less than 3%. IATA predicts that by 2034, air traffic in Africa will grow with an average yearly increase of 4.7%, reaching a total of 294 million passengers. Seven of the ten fastest growing passenger markets over the next 20 years will be on the African continent." Rodger Foster, Chief Executive Officer of Airlink, said: "In the future, the opening of this training center will be seen as one of the defining moments in the development of our continent's aviation industry. Skills development and training are an essential factor in unlocking the huge potential of Africa's market - bringing significant economic growth and the connectivity our people deserve. Airlink is proud to be joining with Embraer in this endeavor." The Embraer Training Center in Johannesburg joins existing Embraer facilities in São Jose dos Campos (Brazil), Nashville Tn. (U.S.A.), and at OGMA near Lisbon (Portugal). Embraer also works with other training providers across the globe. Embraer aircraft have been operating in Africa since 1978, when the first Bandeirante turboprop arrived on the continent. Currently, there are 150 Embraer aircraft in operation with 43 airlines in 22 African countries, performing a vital role in connectivity. http://aviationtribune.com/training/embraer-establish-major-aviation-training-center- johannesburg/ Curt Lewis