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All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd (ANA) and Lufthansa Technik AG signed a comprehensive Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding a technical collaboration project for the Boeing  777-9. The Japanese carrier is one of the launching customers for the 777-9 while Lufthansa Technik is currently preparing its MRO readiness for the arrival of the first Lufthansa aircraft of this type planned in beginning of 2021.  

The collaboration shall contribute to the success of both companies and help to enable the best-in-class dispatch reliablity for ANA and for Lufthansa Technik's future customer fleet from day one of entry into service of the 777-9.  

The two partners have already identified different engineering and maintenance areas in which they want to collaborate or have even started to do so. In the entry-into-service phase of the aircraft the two companies want to share insights and best practice in engineering services and want to collaborate in aircraft production inspection. They will also cooperate in the fields of material planning and sharing, line maintenance services and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) support. Furthermore the partners plan to develop digital maintenance predictors on the technical base of AVIATAR, Lufthansa Technik's independent digital operations suite. Further upcoming fields of collaboration will constantly be discussed between the two companies.   

 "We are proud to work with Lufthansa Technik, a company with a reputation for excellence in maintenance operations, to introduce the Boeing 777-9, ANA's next-generation international aircraft," said Toshihiro Miyamae, Vice President of ANA Engineering and Maintenance Center.  "Combining the strengths of our respective companies will allow us to leverage our superior capabilities and experience to keep the Boeing 777-9 operating at peak efficiency. This exciting partnership will bring engineers from both companies together and make it possible for them to collaborate at a high level, which we believe will advance the relationship of ANA and Lufthansa Technik and serve as a foundation for innovation." 

David Doyle, Vice President Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Innovation Management at Lufthansa Technik added: "We are very proud to join forces with such a renowned airline and long time partner like ANA to prepare for the entry into service of the Boeing 777-9 in the best possible way. ANA has extensive operational experience with the current 777 and 787 aircraft generation. We are convinced that within our collaboration we will generate fast and early learnings as well as relevant insights for both companies. This knowledge will help Lufthansa Technik to efficiently support not only Lufthansa but also our other customers who will order the 777-9." 

Over the past years ANA and Lufthansa Technik have established a trustful partnership based on different contracts regarding technical component and landing gear support for a large part of ANA's aircraft fleet.   

The Swedish charter carrier Nova Airlines AB (Novair) and Lufthansa Technik have signed a long-term exclusive Engine maintenance services contract for the CFM International LEAP-1A engines of Novair's two Airbus A321neo aircraft. Thereby, Novair has become the launching airline customer of Lufthansa Technik's technical services for this new engine type.  

Recently, Lufthansa Technik has received the approval for this engine type by the German federal aviation administration LBA (Luftfahrtbundesamt) and is now in the position to offer comprehensive technical support for the LEAP-1A.  

Covered by the new contract are different services, like engineering, overhaul and testing, mobile engine services (MES), engine parts repair and warranty handling.  

"The Novair operation is all about maximum aircraft use for our business, and minimum environmental effect for our legacy. Every decision and provider selection is scrutinized from these aspects. Lufthansa Technik's long-proven record with Novair has made Lufthansa Technik an essential partner and factor to our success. It is with a feeling of comfort, coming from a period of challenges on the LEAP-1A, we sign this contract with Lufthansa Technik. We look forward to a cooperation that, as it always has, will include Lufthansa Technik's non-compromising effort to learn and develop the service to a market-leader position in support, quality and value for money spent." said Anders Fred, CEO at Novair. 

"The signature of the first LEAP-1A contract is a real milestone for Lufthansa Technik. I would like to thank Novair for the trust they set in us and their willingness to extend our long standing relationship by the technical support for this new engine type," said Dietmar Focke, Vice President Engine Services at Lufthansa Technik. "We are ramping-up our capability and capacity to support our customers in the early phase of their operations and beyond. This agreement with Novair is another milestone to become one of the leading LEAP full service providers".  

Novair and Lufthansa Technik started their cooperation on V2500 engine services in 2005. Lufthansa Technik will be ready for the induction of the first LEAP-1A engines at its Hamburg facility by the end of this year. 

Under  its CBSA (CFM Branded Service Agreement) license Lufthansa Technik is able to offer the widest  range of services to its customers. 

Lufthansa Technik is an authorized LEAP-1A Service Provider licensed by CFM International.

Lufthansa Technik and Japan Airlines (JAL) have signed an agreement on APU (Auxiliary Power Unit) Maintenance services for the carrier's Airbus A350 fleet. The five-year contracted services will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul with spare support for the APU HGT1700 Series. Currently JAL holds 31 firm orders and 25 options for the state-of-the-art long-range jet.

Kojiro Yamashita, Vice President of Procurement at Japan Airlines, said: "The Airbus A350 fleet are such a key fleet for Japan Airlines. We believe this agreement will bring us even more stable and smooth operations and the highest performance for our customers. Furthermore, it provides us added advantage of maintenance cost optimization and advance of engineering ability, while enhancing the long term partnership with Lufthansa Technik."

Gerald Steinhoff, Vice President Corporate Sales Asia Pacific at Lufthansa Technik, said: "I would like to thank Japan Airlines for their repeated trust placed in us and for their willingness to further expand our excellent relationship by this new contract. We will do our utmost to provide our customer with the technical readiness that will enable JAL to run its operations smoothly."

Japan Airlines' and Lufthansa Technik's longlasting partnership includes a variety of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. Among others, Lufthansa Technik has been providing component (TCS®) services for Japan Airlines' Boeing 787 fleet since 2011 and for the carrier's Airbus A350 since June 2019.

Lufthansa Technik is the official warranty station and partner of original equipment manufacturer Honeywell for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of the HGT1700 APU. The company has a vast experience in APU overhauls and value-adding engineering services. Due to its in-house repair capability the company offers a significant cost reduction to it customers compared to a classic parts replacement.

The contract further strengthens Lufthansa Technik's position as the leading MRO services provider for the A350 in Europe and Asia. More than 100 airplanes from different customers already receive comprehensive technical support for components, auxiliary power units, airframe related components, engines and other parts of the aircraft.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has recently entrusted Hawker Pacific Aerospace, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, with landing gear services for the airline's regional aircraft fleet of Embraer E-Jets. The three-year contract encompasses landing gear overhauls for one Embraer 195 and two Embraer 175s. In addition, Hawker Pacific will support Royal Jordanian with landing gear spares on a loan- and exchange-basis. The first overhaul of the aircraft's landing gears in Hawker Pacific's Sun Valley facility is scheduled for November 2019.

Lufthansa Technik already has a decades-long business relationship with Royal Jordanian, that in addition to the new contract emcompasses both landing gear services as well as a Total Component Support (TCS®) for the airline's Airbus A320 fleet.

Royal Jordanian's President and CEO Stefan Pichler said: "We are glad to partner with Hawker Pacific being a leading landing gear repair and overhaul provider. We believe that their high-quality standards and timely services will support Royal Jordanian's continued keenness to maintain our aircraft in their best performance. This agreement will further enhance our historical cooperation with Lufthansa Technik."

Bernd Freckmann, Chief Executive Officer of Hawker Pacific Aerospace, further added that the company „is proud to serve Royal Jordanian with Embraer landing gear overhaul services, a product where Hawker Pacific Aerospace was and is able to demonstrate great experience and quality. We are dedicated to provide Royal Jordanian with the high level of quality they have experienced within the Lufthansa Technik Group".

Today at Dubai Air Show, SCHOTT, jetlite, Etihad Engineering and Lufthansa Technik have signed a ceremonial letter expressing co-operation in further exploring and promoting a new "Human-centric Lighting" technology and bringing it to the market. The collaboration aims at combining SCHOTT's expertise in cabin lighting systems, jetlite's holistic and scientifically-proven solution for jetlag reduction, Etihad Engineering's and Lufthansa Technik's expertise for aircraft systems integration, design certification, and innovation capabilities. The result is an effective system for automated cabin lighting scenarios that will positively affect air travelers' well-being on multi-timezone flights by reducing jet lag and headaches, and enabling higher concentration and energy levels. 

The jointly developed system makes use of SCHOTT's HelioJet® LED cabin illumination technology that enables a homogeneous light distribution as well as a high color stability throughout the cabin. It is combined with jetlite's intelligent automation software integrated into Lufthansa Technik's »nice« cabin lighting control system. The new lighting-pilot technology permanently calculates and executes the optimum illumination sequence for any flight route and phase or any desired lighting choreography, without the need for cabin crew to intervene. Etihad Engineering and Lufthansa Technik bring decades-long experience with aircraft and systems integration, certification, and validation into the partnership, contributing to development capabilities in design and parts manufacturing (EASA Part 21-J and 21-G). 

A first impression of the human-centric lighting technology is given at Etihad Engineering's display at the Etihad Aviation Group chalet at Dubai Air Show 2019. 

Lufthansa Technik Middle East (LTME) has further increased its footprint for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services in the Gulf region and is set to continue on its recent growth path. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG has recently expanded both its production capacity as well as its product and capabilities portfolio. In addition, the company welcomed several new major regional and supra-regional customers and moreover greatly increased its workforce at the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub at Dubai South Airport (DWC).

The number of people employed by LTME recently surpassed the mark of 100 and is set to grow even further in 2020. During the recent expansion, special emphasis was put on the acquisition of local talents, which was moreover fostered by intense cooperation with Middle Eastern universities such as the Emirates Aviation University in Dubai and the American University of Sharjah.

Since the inauguration of the new facility in 2017, LTME's customer base has seen continuous growth and now stretches even beyond the Gulf region with the company also providing regular services to several African and East-Asian airlines. Moreover, the company was recently able to further strengthen its local customer base in the Middle East by providing ad-hoc maintenance services within its repair portfolio for Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Gulf Air's Chief Technical Officer Jamal Hashim commented: "Gulf Air is committed to achieving technical excellence in aircraft maintenance. LTME's vast experience and high quality technical expertise in the areas of maintenance is the primary reason we selected the company as Gulf Air's ad-hoc repair service provider for such critical items like radomes. Secondly, their close proximity to Bahrain has the added benefit that our parts will no longer have to leave the region for maintenance, thereby improving efficiency, decreasing turnaround time, reducing logistic charges and ultimately lowering Gulf Air's operational costs while maintaining the highest quality of safety standards."

"The establishment and further expansion of Lufthansa Technik Middle East is progressing well. Our new facility inaugurated two years ago has significantly strengthened our footprint in the region," said Ziad Al Hazmi, Chief Executive Officer of LTME. "With ongoing investments in our local product and capabilities portfolio as well as in the local people, we are looking forward to even further expand our contribution to this important region."

LTME's local product portfolio has recently been broadened with additional Airframe Related Components (ARC®) and flight control repair capabilities and an extended spare parts pool for engine nacelles of the Boeing 787. Moreover, the company offers ARC® support, AOG (Aircraft-On-Ground) support and engine wash services as well as a local material support desk. The material pool in Dubai now covers parts and components for the Boeing 787, 777 and the Airbus A320 and A350 families.

Work on the world's first ever head-of-state cabin conversion of an Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft will begin next year at Lufthansa Technik AG. So that the German Federal Government's Special Air Mission Wing, the user of the aircraft, can have the first aircraft available as soon as possible, it will be equipped with a special transitional cabin for the transportation of delegations. Preparations have already begun at the company's VIP workshops in Hamburg, where the aircraft is expected in April 2020.

The transitional cabin will be tailored precisely to the customer's specific requirements, featuring an office area and spacious conference area, adjoined by a multifunctional lounge area. The rest of the cabin area will be available to the accompanying delegations. It will be equipped with modern, comfortable seats, a generous number of washrooms and a kitchen designed to cater for up to 150 people.

"The German Air Force was our very first external customer. We have been equipping its aircraft, including government aircraft, for decades, thus forming a comprehensive partnership," said Wieland Timm, Senior Director Sales, VIP & Special Mission Aircraft at Lufthansa Technik. "That we have now been asked to support and equip the latest generation of government aircraft as well is a great vote of confidence. With our wide-ranging expertise for the Airbus A350, we are well equipped to meet the high expectations of the new government aircraft."

Lufthansa Technik provided crucial support in the development of the Airbus A350. Today, the company is one of the leading providers of engineering and maintenance services for this aircraft type and is capable of supplying the majority of A350 components. In early 2017, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) also approved Lufthansa Technik as a design organization (Part 21/J) for the A350.

That same year, Lufthansa Technik already developed and launched an innovative cabin concept for the Airbus A350 XWB called Welcome Home. In total, the company has provided cabin interiors for more than 45 wide-body aircraft to date. The designs realized range from impressive offices and spacious bathrooms and bedrooms to dining and conference areas as well as various forms of seating for the accompanying delegations.

Honeywell (NYSE: HON) and Lufthansa Technik are collaborating to deliver the best of Honeywell Forge for Airlines and Lufthansa Technik maintenance analytics on AVIATAR to help airline operators increase the availability of their aircraft and reduce costs associated with operations, flight delays, and cancellations.

The collaboration will create a comprehensive data analytics solution for airlines - from the data pipe, to a platform that digitizes maintenance data, to realized benefits based on analytics and predictive tools. 

"We are working to provide the world's airlines and other stakeholders in the industry with access to a comprehensive digital operations suite that will ultimately reduce operational costs, improve maintenance turnaround times, and get planes into the sky faster," said Dr. Christian Langer, vice president Digital Fleet Solutions at Lufthansa Technik. "We live in a data-driven world, and the more Lufthansa Technik can support better data analysis for maintenance and other services, the better it is for our customers. The inclusion and collaboration of Honeywell Forge analytics with the Lufthansa Technik offering will further foster that development to help improve airlines' operations at scale."

New aircraft can produce 50 times more data than many older aircraft still in service. That increase in data volume leads to greater complexity, but also provides significant opportunities to increase safety and efficiency. The data not only needs to be stored – it must be sorted, analyzed, interpreted, and translated into meaningful insights and actionable recommendations. Honeywell and Lufthansa Technik, two of the leading maintenance, repair and overhaul service providers in the world, excel at that translation from data to insight. With inclusion of the Honeywell Forge analytics on the AVIATAR platform, customers can broaden their aircraft component coverage and depth, thus enabling customers to make faster and better operational decisions.

"Combining the power of Honeywell Forge Connected Maintenance with the capability of AVIATAR provides a new option for airlines looking for a total aircraft digital maintenance solution," said Jim Currier, president, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and India Sales at Honeywell, Aerospace.  "Honeywell and Lufthansa Technik bring decades of experience with aircraft maintenance to this digital experience. This results in opportunities for airlines to reduce minimum equipment list failures by up to 35% while reducing flight cancellations or delays due to maintenance."

Lufthansa Technik AG and Politecnico di Torino, the polytechnic university of Turin, Italy, recently developed an automated, non-invasive diagnostic procedure for the initial examination of primary hydraulic flight control actuators. The aim of the Hydraulic Diagnostics (HyDiag) project, which will run to the end of 2020, is to make diagnoses for these safety-critical components much more precise, to speed up maintenance and to significantly extend their service life. 

Since they are constantly in motion during flight, primary fly-by-wire flight control actuators in particular are subject to a very high load. If an error message occurs, they are checked for wear and tear at Lufthansa Technik's component workshops in Hamburg and are readjusted. For this purpose, the actuator in question is first extended and retracted in the test bench following an extensive sequence of individual patterns of movement, while a highly sensitive measurement system records its behavior during this input. Repairs are made wherever the results exceed the tolerances prescribed by the Component Maintenance Manual. 

Up to now, this initial test was performed by a mechanic, but owing to human limitations in recognizing errors and making accurate adjustments, this person could only "work by feel" finding individual areas of damage. Many areas of incipient damage remained undiscovered with this approach because they were still within the tolerance limits, but just a short time later, these areas could also trigger a repeated exchange of the actuator. As a result, the actuator's time-on-wing dropped continually with every visit to the workshop. 

To prevent this, the automated HyDiag procedure follows a strictly data-centric approach. In the process, the actuator is stimulated during initial examination with an extensive oscillation pattern developed especially for this process. In a fashion similar to a stress ECG, during the procedure the test bench records all the component-specific reactions to this stimulation. The data gained this way is so informative that conclusions can be drawn about the wear and tear of nearly all individual components. As a result, the mechanic obtains a much more comprehensive diagnosis of the wear and tear on the entire actuator system as early as the initial examination, and can focus afterwards on preventing future wear and tear as well. The service life of the component is prolonged significantly as a result. The procedures for stimulating the actuator and for analyzing and interpreting the test results were created in close cooperation with the polytechnic university of Turin, Italy. 

As a second core component aside from the measuring system, HyDiag uses an industrial robot whose software was developed by the Component Services division especially for this task. The robot can carry out all the necessary adjustments during initial examination completely automatically, and in contrast to a human mechanic it does not require special protection when working in the danger zone of a pressurized actuator. Using the data that is recorded, the robot also always "knows" where the optimum for each of the settings lies, and it delivers additional measurement data that has historically not been available for analysis. As a result, the final adjustment of the actuator – the certification test – is also much more precise than it previously was when completed by hand. 

All the adjustment tools for the robot were manufactured using 3D printing at Lufthansa Technik's Additive Manufacturing Center. In addition, when producing its findings the new data-based procedure uses all the existing service life data of the actuator in question – with up to 16 gigabytes of data generated by every initial examination. The result is a much more extensive and detailed analysis of the status of the actuator, which permits wear and tear to be recognized and treated very early.  

"The automated work process means that devices can be tested faster, more data can be generated, and new diagnostic procedures can be used. That enables us to undertake much more extensive troubleshooting than we ever could before," said Michael Burke, who heads up the HyDiag project for Lufthansa Technik. 

"The HyDiag project has a highly innovative content leading to a technological breakthrough in the maintenance of aircraft equipment. Our work together with Lufthansa Technik has advanced the field of Prognostics and Health Management and resulted in multiple papers acknowledged by the community for their quality and scientific relevance," said Professor Giovanni Jacazio, who supervises the activities of Politecnico di Torino on HyDiag. 

Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), and Lufthansa Technik AG today announced a first-of-its-kind licensing and asset agreement for Airbus A380 main landing gear Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) services. Under the agreement, which spans the life of the A380 program, Lufthansa Technik will be able to provide A380 main landing gear MRO services and access to assets supporting customer layover schedules.  

To help Lufthansa Technik develop MRO capabilities for the A380 main landing gear, Collins Aerospace will provide training, parts and proprietary repair procedures, including access to technical publications required to perform A380 main landing gear MRO services.  Lufthansa Technik will offer asset management services through access to a collaboratively managed main landing gears pool of Collins Aerospace. 
 
"This agreement will provide A380 operators with more options for their main landing gear MRO services from high-quality repair centers," said Ajay Mahajan, president of Landing Systems at Collins Aerospace. "Lufthansa Technik and Collins Aerospace have enjoyed a longstanding, collaborative relationship and we look forward to continuing to work together to better meet the MRO needs of our customers moving forward." 
 
Sandra Eckstein, Vice President of Aircraft Systems at Lufthansa Technik said: "This agreement will enable us to support customers comprehensively, not only for planned repair events but also in the case of non-routine work. Our landing gear experts in London will be ready for A380 services in 2020. Especially for customers in the EMEA region this capability will save time and costs. And the next step to further expand our intensive partnership with Collins Aerospace in this area is already planned as we intend to develop new repair methods for the A380 landing gear which are OEM approved."  

About Collins Aerospace 
 
Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Created in 2018 by bringing together UTC Aerospace Systems and Rockwell Collins, Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio and expertise to solve customers' toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market. For more information, visit CollinsAerospace.com.  
 
About United Technologies Corporation 
 
United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. By combining a passion for science with precision engineering, the company is creating smart, sustainable solutions the world needs. For more information about the company, visit utc.com or follow on Twitter: @UTC