editorial/ cover story - Air World

AVIATION NEWS
for Gulfstream aircraft,” said
Mark Burns, president,
Gulfstream Product Support.
“Our Westfield staff is certified to
work on nearly 500 aircraft based
within approximately 150 miles
of the facility, including more
than 200 Gulfstream jets. Adding
to the demand for service is a
significant amount of transient
Gulfstream and non-Gulfstream
traffic.”
In May 2012, Gulfstream broke
ground on a 125,000-square-foot
hangar at the site that will sit
adjacent to the existing 85,000square-foot
service hangar. The
new hangar is scheduled to open
in the second quarter of 2013 and
will result in at least 100
additional Product Supportrelated
jobs at Gulfstream
Westfield. Nearly 40 of those
positions have already been
filled.
Gulfstream Westfield is certified
by the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration and European
Aviation Safety Agency, and also
has maintenance approvals from
the civil aviation authorities in
Aruba, Bermuda and the Cayman
Islands.
In 2011, Westfield employees
serviced nearly 850 aircraft,
which included maintenance
support for aircraft located as far
away as Newfoundland, Canada.
Assembly line in China
completes the 100th A320 Family
aircraft
Airbus and
Chinese
partners agree
on a
framework
concerning
FALC project
extension
Visiting German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao presided
over a grand gathering of some
1,000 people in Tianjin to
celebrate the completion of the
100th A320 Family aircraft
assembled at the Airbus A320
Family Final Assembly Line
China (FALC), which is a joint
venture between Airbus and its
Chinese partners. Among the
participants attending the
celebration were government
officials from China and Europe,
representatives of Airbus and its
Chinese partners and customers
as well as employees of the
Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly
Line and Airbus Tianjin Delivery
Centre, a subsidiary of Airbus in
Tianjin.
One day before the celebration, a
framework agreement was signed
by Airbus, Tianjin Free Trade
Zone (TJFTZ) and the Aviation
Industry Corporation of China
(AVIC), the two parties of the
Chinese consortium that hold a
49% stake in the FALC joint
venture, concerning the shared
intention to continue the
cooperation on the project
beyond the current business plan,
which is due to expire in 2016.
The agreement was signed at the
Great Hall of the People in
Beijing as a part of a series of
Europe-China agreements in the
presence of the German
Chancellor and Chinese Premier.
“The completion of the 100th
A320 Family aircraft by the
Airbus Tianjin final assembly
line represents a significant
milestone for the cooperation
between Airbus and China, as
well as the Airbus strategy of
internationalisation, one of the
pillars of the Airbus vision for
our future,” said Fabrice Brégier,
Airbus President and CEO.
“Having a final assembly line in
Tianjin has greatly promoted the
Airbus brand and image in China
and brought us closer to our
customers in one of the world’s
most important aircraft markets. I
would like to congratulate all
those involved in making FALC a
great success and contributing to
a win-win situation for Airbus
and the Chinese industry,” he
added.
The FALC is the third A320
Family final assembly line in the
world after the ones in Toulouse,
France and Hamburg, Germany
and the first Airbus aircraft final
assembly line outside Europe. In
July this year, Airbus has
announced its decision to
establish an A320 Family final
assembly line in the United
States.
In December 2005, Airbus and
the Chinese government signed a
MoU for the establishment of a
single aisle final assembly line in
China. In May 2007, the
construction of the Tianjin
assembly line started. In August
2008, the Tianjin final assembly
line started operation. In June
2009, the first aircraft assembled
in Tianjin was delivered to
Sichuan Airlines. Since then a
total of nearly 100 aircraft have
already been delivered to 11
Chinese operators from Tianjin.
Since the agreement for the
FALC project was signed, China
Etihad Airways, the national airline of United Arab Emirates in
collaboration with Abacus distribution system pvt. Ltd., has recently
announced the winner of their joint promotion – where they gave out
a fully paid vacation to UAE to the highest selling travel agency for
Europe & Africa. Mr. Naveed Ahmed, Sales Manager South Pakistan
Etihad Airways, Ms. Maria Khan, Etihad Airways and Mr. Sam
Wong. General Manager, Abacus distribution are giving away the
prize to Mr. Adnan Zainuddin Darbar from AEG Travels and Mr.
Muhammad Zuhaib from Bukhari Travel.
AIR WORLD October 2012-48