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APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) has reiterated its call for financial support of the global airline industry.

It is backing a proposal from A4A for US$50 billion in US airline support alongside the $150 billion proposed by IATA and proposing that four out of every five dollars of global government support should go directly to airlines with the remaining one dollar held for airline suppliers. For the US alone, an additional $12.5 billion will be required by airline suppliers to successfully weather the COVID-19 crisis.

Both the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) and the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) are encouraging members to contact their US senators and US representatives directly, preferably by phone, to push the case for relief for airline suppliers and vendors.

In a letter to the US Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, APEX and IFSA CEO Dr. Joe Leader wrote:

“As you continue efforts to assist the airline industry, we respectfully request that relief also be provided specifically for airline suppliers and vendors which are a fully integrated part of the airline industry. These include airline caterers, food suppliers, systems manufacturers and installers, connectivity companies, and content distributors, to name a few. These companies and their thousands of employees already are bearing a severe financial burden due to the government- and business-imposed restrictions to air travel, and that burden grows daily…. The urgency of this situation cannot be overstated.”

AVIC International has announced a series of UK executive leadership changes.

Andres Budo has been appointed Senior Vice President, Aftersales and Services, for AVIC Cabin Systems, having previously been CEO of Thompson Aero Seating.

All operational aspects of both AIM Altitude and Thompson Aero Seating will be managed by newly created positions of Vice President & General Manager responsible for Supply Chain, Quality, Operations, Programme Management & Engineering in each business. Wayne Ball has been appointed as VP & General Manager for AIM Altitude and Neil Taggart has been appointed VP & General Manager for Thompson Aero Seating, both having previously served as COO for their respective companies.

Richard Bower (main picture), CEO of AIM Altitude, has become Chief Commercial Officer for AVIC Cabin Systems.

Bower said: “I am delighted to have been appointed Chief Commercial Officer for AVIC Cabin Systems. The companies under the AVIC Cabin Systems alliance have been working closely together for some time, integrating skills and strengthening our position in the market. In my new position, I will be able to continue to enhance this working relationship and deliver value to our customers. Wayne Ball is an excellent choice for Vice President & General Manager of AIM Altitude and I have great confidence that his will prove to be an extremely successful appointment.”

A collaboration led by Molon Labe Seating, has unveiled a prototype of a new airline seat that will allow Passengers of Restricted Mobility (PRMs) to fly on airlines in their own wheelchairs.

Based on Molon Labe’s Side-Slip Seat design, the prototype is modified from a standard economy-class triple seat to a very wide economy-class double seat.

During normal operations it is a normal economy-class seat, but when required, the aisle seat is slid over the top of the window seat and locked into place for normal use. The space opened by sliding the aisle seat over the top of the window seat offers 36” wide space to secure a manual or powered wheelchair in place. A Q-Straint wheelchair docking system; already widely used on buses and trains, is used to secure the wheelchair to the aircraft cabin floor.

One advantage of this design is that airlines do not lose any revenue or real estate, which has been an issue with previous designs attempting to address this problem.

Molon Labe has launched a GoFundMe campaign to expedite the design, engineering, analysis and certification of this seat.

“It costs millions to design and certify an airline seat. We are a small start-up with limited resources and our recently certified S1 economy-class seat is our main focus right now. So, we chose to crowdfund this project so we can get it certified and in the air as soon as possible. We want to be flying within 18 months but we need the public’s help,” said  Hank Scott, CEO, Molon Labe Seating.

The GoFundMe campaign is here: gofundme.com/f/flyingwheelchairs

Follow here – #flyingwheelchairs

Molon has partnered with several accessibility & aircraft-interiors partners to expedite the project.

Primus Aerospace: Manufacturing.
National Institute of Aviation Research: Analysis & Testing.
JPA Designs: Conceptual Design
Q’Straint: Wheelchair Docking System.
Quantum Rehab: Wheelchair Manufacturer.
Allwheelsup.org: Accessibility Advocates US
Flyingdisabled.org: Accessibility Advocates UK/EU

The European Business Aviation Solidarity Initiative (EBASI), a solidarity endeavour which puts the administrative, financial and procurement resources of Luxaviation Group at the service of smaller and operators and fellow contenders during the crisis, has been launched.

During the next three months and starting with immediate, Luxaviation Group will support the European aviation industry by sharing some of its expertise in procurement, purchasing power and finance resources to operators for free, helping smaller or fellow business aviation companies to concentrate on their core business.

Patrick Hansen, CEO of Luxaviation Group said: “As a major group we have to take our responsibility towards our clients, partners and the industry in general. We build our business on resources that smaller operators are lacking during lockdown. This initiative allows them to focus their limited resources on keeping their clients and assets safe, which is paramount to keep the industry as healthy as possible.”

The EBASI initiative shall allow any participating jet operator, to enjoy where possible the same pricing that Luxaviation Group gets from suppliers as well as to take advantage of the Luxaviation Group’s payment terms. It also provides operators with the possibility to get access to all documents required to be sent to authorities and other agencies alike to reduce costs.

“We also invite EBAA to join the EBASI initiative”, said Hansen, “With the financial support of EBAA a ‘guarantee fund’ could be set up and CAA, Eurocontrol and various European Institutions could make sure that the rescue funds are flowing. In case EBAA was ready and on-board the initiative, we would be very much inclined to put EBASI under their supervision or coordination.”

Luxaviation Group also invites suppliers and larger operators that might not have been contacted to join the solidarity initiative. The Group’s initiative focuses currently on Europe but might be extended to other parts of the world.

Operators interested in the initiative get in touch with Chief Operations Officer, Joao Casimiro or Group President of Wholesale, Christophe Lapierre at ebasi@luxaviation.com

AIRE (Aircraft Interior Refurbishment España), has completed the modification and refurbishment of business class seats for Wamos Air upcoming A330 aircraft.

The project included modifying the seat plinth and centre front row monument (FRM) to accommodate the seat’s 44-inch pitch. The entire structure modification was undertaken under the instruction provided by Stelia Aerospace, seat OEM and Part21J in charge of seat structure change approval.

The seats feature a fully leather seat cover with diamond geometry to uniform the design of operator fleet.

With the support of Airline Services Interiors, AIRE also replaced the existing Panasonic IFE system with a new Safran RAVE IFE.

“This project is a step ahead to solidify even more the successful relation between the companies which have been sharing a long way together through last years”, stated Javier Camara, Production Director for AIRE. “Furthermore, this project gave us the opportunity to put in place all our capabilities as a Design, Production and Maintenance organisation for cabin interiors requirements” concluded Camara.

All the project milestones have been endorsed in an STC carried out by Airbus Interiors Services team to certify the final configuration required by the Airline.