F_I_2015_02_17_23_

AIR TRANSPORT

18 | Flight International | 17-23 February 2015 flightglobal.com

Keep up with the latest news and expert

analysis from the air transport sector at

flightglobal.com/airtransport

A

irTanker is on schedule to de-
liver an Airbus A330-200 to
Thomas Cook Airlines by May
under a lease arrangement, with
the aircraft having arrived at its
facility in Brize Norton, Oxford-
shire, for preparation to the lei-
sure carrier's specification.
One of 14 A330s being acquired
via the UK military's Future Stra-
tegic Tanker Aircraft programme,
the widebody is the first of five
that could be called on to provide
a ‘surge’ capability for the Royal
Air Force, beyond a core fleet of
nine. The remainder will be deliv-
ered by the fourth quarter of 2016.
Already modified as a two-
point tanker in Spain, the aircraft
arrived at RAF Brize Norton from
Airbus Defence & Space's Getafe
plant near Madrid on 5 February,
having previously been painted
in Manchester.

“It will now go into a three-

month in-house conversion,”

AirTanker says, with the process

to involve the removal of all mili-

tary modifications, such as the

two under-wing hose-and-drogue

refuelling pods and self-protec-

tion equipment. The company

will also install 320 new seats

and a seat-back in-flight enter-

tainment system to the aircraft,

which was completed with a sin-

gle-class, 291-seat layout.

“Once complete, the aircraft

will be registered by AirTanker

on the Civil Aircraft Register as

G-VYGK ahead of its scheduled

operation in support of Thomas

Cook Airlines' UK long-haul pro-

gramme from May,” it says.

In June 2014, Thomas Cook en-

tered into an initial three-year

lease agreement with AirTanker

for the aircraft, outlining plans to

employ the asset on routes from

Glasgow, Manchester and Lon-

don Stansted to locations includ-

ing Cancun, Las Vegas and Or-

lando from 1 May 2015.

“The delivery of the aircraft at

Brize Norton is a major milestone

for our civil leasing business,”

says Tony Carder, AirTanker Ser-

vices' director of aircraft leasing. ■

A

n emerging aerospace cluster

in Mexico could double in

size in the next few years as

manufacturers continue to of-

fload labour-intensive work to

low-cost factories.

That is the view of Kevin Mi-

chaels, a leading aviation con-

sultant, who adds: “I think you’re

going to see Mexico explode.”

The growth would expand the

Mexican cluster’s annual aero-

space output from about $7-8 bil-

lion to $15 billion, Michaels, glob-

al managing director of aviation

consulting and services for ICF In-

ternational, told a meeting of the

Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alli-

ance in Seattle on 10 February.

Such growth bucks an overall

global trend within the aero-

space industry of what Michaels

calls “rightsourcing”.

After a wave of dispersing

manufacturing and design to sup-

pliers in the last decade, Michaels

says, aerospace manufacturers are

bringing more work in-house.

He cites as an example Boeing’s

recent moves to re-assume work

that it had distributed to suppliers

on the 787 programme, and keep

assembly of the composite wing

for the 777X within the company.

While Boeing and other sup-

pliers are bringing more work in-

house that requires advanced as-

sembly skills, Michaels says,

other work that remains labour-

intensive and requires lower

skills will continue to be shipped

to lower-cost regions.

As a neighbour to the USA and

part of a free trade zone that also

includes Canada, Mexico stands

to be a prime beneficiary of the

low-cost trend.

Mexico is also reaping the ben-

efits of a years-long pursuit of

aerospace production. As the

country became gradually less

competitive in the consumer

electronics and automotive in-

dustries, government officials in

Mexico selected the aerospace

industry as a prime candidate for

attracting work and investment.

Honeywell was the first major

aerospace manufacturer to estab-

lish a presence in Mexico in

1979, Michaels says. Since then,

four major clusters have emerged,

centred in Queretaro, Guaymas,

Chihuahua and Monterrey. ■

E

thiopian Airlines is evaluat-

ing an order for between 15

and 20 widebodies, for which the

Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing

777X are both in contention, the

airline has confirmed.

The Addis Ababa-based flag car-

rier says a final decision will be

made in the next couple of months.

Flightglobal’s Ascend Fleets

database shows that Ethiopian

currently has on order 12 A350-

900s and four 777s: two -200s

and two -300s.

It already has 12 777s in ser-

vice, along with 11 787s. Two

more Dreamliners are scheduled

for delivery to the carrier. ■

Ethiopian’s fleet includes 11 Dreamliners, with two more to come

MANUFACTURING STEPHEN TRIMBLE SEATTLE

Mexican aerospace set

for ‘explosion’ – analyst

ORDERS OLIVER CLARK LONDON

Widebodies in Ethiopian sights

AirTeamImages

The A330 arrived from Airbus Defence & Space’s Getafe plant

MODIFICATIONS CRAIG HOYLE LONDON

AirTanker starts

A330 conversion

for Thomas Cook

Military modifications to be removed from Airbus refueller
in preparation for long-haul role at leisure carrier from May

Crown Copyright

“The delivery of the

aircraft at Brize

Norton is a major

milestone for our civil

leasing business”

TONY CARDER
Director of aircraft leasing, AirTanker