THIS WEEK
6 | Flight International | 6-12 August 2019 flightglobal.comUGANDA AIRLINES GIVEN OFFICIAL GO-AHEAD
REGULATORY Uganda Airlines on 28 July received its air
operator certificate and plans to start flights one month later,
initially to destinations including Dar es Salaam, Mogadishu and
Nairobi. A previous incarnation of Uganda Airlines was
liquidated in 2001, after 24 years in operation. In addition to
two already-delivered Bombardier CRJ900s, plus two it has on
order, Uganda Airlines will also take two Airbus A330-800s.BOEING PLANS DEBT ISSUE FOR EMBRAER BUY...
FUNDING Boeing intends to issue $5.5 billion of debt to fund
the majority of its planned $4.2 billion acquisition of Embraer’s
commercial aviation division. The airframer says it intends “to
use approximately $4 billion of the net proceeds from this
offering” for the Embraer deal. The remainder will be used for
“general corporate purposes”....WHILE COMMERCIAL DELIVERIES ARE FLAT
OUTPUT Second-quarter commercial aircraft deliveries at
Embraer fell by two units year on year, to 26, although the
figure is an increase over the previous quarter’s total of 11. The
airframer also logged a second-quarter rise in deliveries of
executive jets to 25, an increase of five over the same period
last year, and 14 more than in the first quarter of 2019.A220 ASIAN TOUR STARTS IN SEOUL
MARKETING Airbus on 29 July began a six-stop Asian tour
using an A220-300 test aircraft. The twinjet will visit Seoul
before flying to Yangon, Hanoi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and
Nagoya. The demonstration tour will run until 6 August. Korean
Air is the sole Asia-Pacific operator of the former Bombardier
CSeries, although Air Vanuatu has four A220s on order.SCOOT GOES LARGE WITH A321NEOS
FLEET Scoot, the budget unit of Singapore Airlines, is to take
delivery of 16 new Airbus A321neos in the final quarter of 2020.
Six aircraft will be sourced direct from the airframer – a
conversion of existing A320neo orders – while 10 are to be
leased. The 236-seat narrowbodies will be powered by Pratt &
Whitney PW1100G engines.PIA ATR 42-500 BADLY DAMAGED IN GILGIT
OVERRUN Investigators have yet to indicate the main
contributing circumstances to a runway excursion that badly
damaged a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ATR 42-
(AP-BHP) during landing at Gilgit. The turboprop had been
attempting to decelerate after touching down on runway 25,
following a service from Islamabad on 20 July. The aircraft came
to rest on rough terrain 12m (41ft) beyond the threshold of the
opposite- direction runway 07.SPIRIT SETS OCTOBER ASCO DEADLINE
MANUFACTURING Spirit AeroSystems remains interested in
acquiring aircraft component maker Asco despite further
delays stemming from a June cyberattack against the Belgian
firm’s network. Spirit chief executive Tom Gentile says Asco
“remains a compelling” target for Spirit, which it is buying for
$604 million. A deadline to complete the deal has been
pushed back until 29 October, from 15 July previously.BRIEFING
Lead aircraft ZP801 is currently having mission equipment installedBoeingT
he UK Royal Air Force (RAF)
is on track to restore its
lapsed maritime patrol aircraft
capability within the next nine
months, according to Air Com-
modore Rich Barrow, senior re-
sponsible owner for the service’s
Boeing P-8 and E-7 acquisitions.
“From 1 April next year we are
going to have UK maritime patrol
capability operating from UK soil
for the first time in a number of
years,” Barrow said at the Royal
International Air Tattoo on 19
July, one week after the RAF’s
first P-8A Poseidon MRA1 air-
frame had made its flight debut.
The modified 737NG is now
having its mission system equip-
ment installed at Boeing’s Tuk-
wila site in Washington and will
later this year be flown to the US
Navy’s NAS Jacksonville site in
Florida, where the UK’s first two
Poseidon crews have already
completed their training.
Lead aircraft ZP801 will be
flown to RAF Kinloss in Scotland
early in 2020, ahead of relocating
to its home base at nearby RAF
Lossiemouth, following the com-
pletion of runway resurfacing.
“When we get those aircraft we
are going to be using them as
soon as we possibly can,” Barrowsays. Missions will include pro-
viding protection for the Royal
Navy’s continuous at-sea deter-
rent force of Vanguard-class nu-
clear attack submarines.
The RAF has lacked a dedicat-
ed maritime patrol aircraft capa-
bility since 2010, when the last of
its BAE Systems Nimrod MR2s
were retired.
Meanwhile, the service is also
making early preparations for its
future use of the E-7 Wedgetail
airborne early warning and con-
trol system aircraft from RAF
Waddington in Lincolnshire. Its 8
Sqn will transition onto the 737-
based type from the Boeing E-3D
Sentry, with initial operational
capability planned for the second
half of 2023.
Describing the five-aircraft
deal – confirmed earlier this year- as a “really pacey programme”,
Barrow notes: “We couldn’t hang
around – it’s not a capability gap
you can afford to take.”
Barrow says the UK’s plan is to
“stay in lock-step” with lead
Wedgetail operator the Royal Aus-
tralian Air Force with regard to fu-
ture updates to the E-7 system. “It’s
a lot smarter if we work together
with them and effectively co-fund
stuff going forward,” he says. ■
PROCUREMENT CRAIG HOYLE LONDONRAF looks forward
to Poseidon arrival
Service will regain maritime patrol capability for first time
since 2010, once initial P-8A begins duties early next yearFIN_060819_006-007.indd 6 01/08/2019 14: