Flight Int'l - January 26, 2016 UK

AIR TRANSPORT

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16 | Flight International | 26 January-1 February 2016

P

ortuguese flag-carrier TAP is

to establish a new regional

division, TAP Express, which will

operate Embraer jets and ATR tur-

boprops. The airline is positioning

TAP Express as a successor to re-

gional subsidiary Portugalia

(PGA) from the end of March.

Its fleet will be modernised to

comprise nine Embraer 190s and

eight ATR 72s. “With such a fleet,

TAP Express will become the

most efficient regional airline in

Europe,” says the flag-carrier.

PGA uses Embraer ERJ-145s

and Fokker 100s, as well as ATR

42s, according to Flightglobal’s

Fleets Analyzer database.

The larger Embraers will have

110 seats, while the ATRs will

have 70, says TAP, increasing the

regional capacity by 47%.

PGA’s fleet averages 21 years of

age, it adds, and new aircraft will

reduce the figure to just two years.

“The fast phase-in of aircraft

will only be possible thanks to co-

operation between TAP and

Brazil’s Azul,” the company says.

TAP is majority owned by the

Atlantic Gateway consortium –

including Azul founder David

Neeleman – which secured a 60%

stake following a government pri-

vatisation in November 2015. ■

fleet

davId kamInskI-morrow

london

TAP continues

shake-up with

regional revival

I

ndonesian Aerospace (IAe) is
close to finalising the design
configuration of the N245, a com-
mercial variant of the Airbus
Defence & Space CN235 medium
transport it builds under licence.
Once the configuration is fro-
zen, the manufacturer will pro-
ceed with windtunnel tests of a
mock-up, leading to prodution of
three prototypes by 2018, it says.
The state-owned airframer, also
known as PT Dirgantara
Indonesia, says that the aircraft
will be designed to accommodate

design freeze nears for new Indonesian turboprop

development FIrdaus hashIm sIngAPore

45 to 50 passengers, while offering

better short runway performance

than the rival ATR 42.

By utilising the CN235 as the

basis for the N245, IAe believes it

will be able to reduce the develop-

ment cost and time needed com-

pared with a clean-sheet design.

Creating a commercial variant

will involve re-designing the em-

pennage to remove the cargo

ramp. Several frames will be

added to lengthen the fuselage,

while changes to the interior are

also being considered.

In addition, the N245 will

utilise Pratt & Whitney Canada

PW127 engines, rather than the

General Electric CT7s used on the

current model. These already

power the larger Airbus C295.

IAe is also open to possibly of-

Airbus fering a freighter version. ■

defence &

space

military transport will form basis of passenger aircraft

a

merican Airlines has become
the launch customer for
Rolls-Royce’s new fixed-price
engine overhaul scheme,
SelectCare. The programme is
derived from the UK manufactur-
er’s hours-based TotalCare after-
market support package.
R-R’s deal with American cov-
ers a set number of overhauls for
the US carrier’s RB211-
engines, which power its Boeing
757 fleet.
These were previously serviced
under a TotalCare agreement, but
as American is retiring the 757s,
the airline has sought new terms.
Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer
database shows the airline oper-
ates 66 757-200s, down from 90
two years ago.
R-R says SelectCare sits
between TotalCare and tradition-
al, time and materials-based main-
tenance, repair and overhaul ser-
vices. While TotalCare was
designed to offer airlines maxi-
mum time on wing, predictable
maintenance costs, and coverage
of operational risks from technical
failures, the new scheme “allows
customers the services they re-
quire across an agreed number of
engine-shop visits”, says R-R.
Guarantees regarding time on
wing and operational risk cover-
age become less relevant under

maintenance mIchael gubIsch derby

american picks Selectcare

shrinking 757 fleet spurs Us carrier to change support package for its rolls-royce engines

American Airlines

rb211 powerplants are covered by set number of shop visits

the scheme, while airlines can

still count on cost predictability.

The risk an agreed number of

visits may not be sufficient –

through, for example, unsched-

uled maintenance – will be borne

by the operator, says R-R senior-

vice president of strategy and mar-

keting Richard Goodhead.

The manufacturer says services

such as engine health monitoring

and access to its MRO network

“differentiate SelectCare from

other fixed-price overhaul agree-

ments”. Goodhead says the con-

tract with American has no defi-

nite time period and is based only

on the number of shop visits.

He adds that the SelectCare

programme has been developed

over the past year and is predomi-

nantly aimed at operators owning

the engines in question.

R-R’s contract with American is

not linked to the two partners’

decision last year to close their

joint-venture overhaul shop Texas

Aero Engine Services, in Fort

Worth, says Goodhead.

Citing low overhaul volumes,

R-R and American disclosed in

September 2015 that the facility –

which supported RB211-535,

Trent 800 and Tay engines –

would cease operations by the

end of January 2016. ■