WCA May/July 2020

From the Americas

of certification tasks to manufacturers, including Boeing, needs significant reforms to ensure adequate safety oversight. Ron Draper, president of Textron Aviation, said the 2019 certification of Textron’s super-midsized Cessna Citation Longitude was “the most rigorous certification process on any airplane we’ve done in our history.” Speaking at a GAMA event in Washington, Mr Draper told reporters that the delegation system overseen by the FAA remains “rigorous”, and that it would “make no sense to scrap it”. He added, “The FAA orchestrates this like a conductor, from the entire process, and we have to show compliance on every system, every safety aspect, of the airplane.” GAMA said the largest market for corporate aircraft in 2019 was North America, accounting for 67.1 per cent of business jet deliveries, followed by Europe. Gulfstream generated the highest value of deliveries, at almost $7.9bn, with Bombardier delivering $5.7bn. Textron Aviation delivered more jets in 2019 than any other business aircraft manufacturer in its segment, while the Cessna Citation Latitude remained the most-delivered midsize business jet for the fourth consecutive year. Canada witnesses a fall in confidence, in part pushed by the USA-China dispute In February, Canada’s export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC), announced that trade confidence among Canadian exporters had dropped to its lowest level in almost ten years, with businesses beset by protectionist policies and anxiety about the global economy. The findings were part of the agency’s biannual survey of 1,000 Canadian exporters, reporting a trade confidence index of 69.3 per cent – the lowest since the 2012 report and 6 per cent below the survey’s historical average. Stephen Tapp, EDC’s deputy chief economist, said, “The results, an eight-year low in confidence, suggest a soft start is likely for Canada’s exports in 2020. Protectionism and concern about the global economy are key issues weighing on the minds of Canadian exporters.” Thirty per cent of the surveyed exporters said protectionism is affecting their global strategy, while nearly 90 per cent said they expected protectionism to either stay the same or increase in 2020. “Trade barriers are now the number one challenge, cited as a bigger problem than perennial issues like finding skilled talent, logistics and financing,” Mr Tapp added. Thirty four per cent of respondents said they believed they are negatively affected by the US trade dispute with China. Tariff reprieve in sight It should be noted, however, that the EDC’s national telephone survey was conducted between 18 November and 15 December 2019, before the Phase 1 agreement of mid-January. Industry

Aerospace

BigStockPhoto.com Photographer: Aispl

Bombardier steps back Airbus and the Quebec government have joined forces to buy Bombardier’s 33.5 per cent stake in the A220 passenger jet programme, so securing 3,300 Airbus jobs in the province. After the company recently recorded a quarterly loss, Bombardier’s president and chief executive, Alain Bellemare, said, “This transaction supports our efforts to address our capital structure and completes our strategic exit from commercial aerospace.” The A220 is a 110-130 seat aircraft, targeted at the regional aviation market. Airbus now holds a 75 per cent stake in the A220 programme, known as Airbus Canada, while Quebec’s holding has risen to 25 per cent. Airbus and Quebec will accept Bombardier’s share of A220 ongoing costs, while Bombardier will receive $591mn net. The deal moves the date when Airbus can buy out Quebec’s stake in the A220 programme to 2026, three years later than originally planned. Quebec increased its stake for no cash consideration, in return for a larger share of the funding burden. Montreal-based Bombardier relinquished control of the A220 programme to Airbus in 2018 for a token $1 as part of broader efforts to improve its finances. Airbus’s move into the smaller, regional aviation market coincides with US Boeing’s planned alliance with Embraer, a Brazilian regional jet manufacturer. And Airbus steps up Airbus is set to increase production of jetliners at its assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama: by the beginning of 2021, production will have risen to seven per month. The increase, which is part of the overall plan to produce 63 A320 aircraft per month worldwide in 2021, will add 275 manufacturing jobs to the facility over the next year. Airbus will also invest $40mn in an additional support hangar, bringing its total investment in the Mobile complex to over $1bn. Plans are already in place for the production of four A220 aircraft per month in Mobile by the middle of the decade. Business jet deliveries hit a high The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced that worldwide business jet deliveries hit a ten-year high in 2019. The increase was fuelled partly by high market demand for the latest models from Bombardier Inc and General Dynamics Corp’s Gulfstream Aerospace, offering longer ranges and amenities. Industry-wide deliveries rose 15 per cent from 703 to 809 jets, the highest level since 2009, while Honeywell Aerospace’s business aviation outlook for 2020 is predicting a 7 per cent rise. Business jet executives currently bringing new planes to the market have defended the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification process, which was widely criticised following the grounding and subsequent investigation into Boeing’s 737 Max jet. Critics have said the FAA’s traditional practice of delegating “a high level”

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/July 2020

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