Hey Pal
I am back in Jozi after a very successful trip to Paris. I travelled to our HQ to demonstrate a new bookings and training process we have been working on for the past two years. Ryan and I have poured our hearts and souls into the program, totally worth it.
Jordan Peterson says that “Nothing done well is insignificant”. I delivered the presentation to our executive team, who were suitably impressed. The program will be rolled out amongst the group, including new facilities in India and China. Exciting times for Simaero. I will return to Paris in October for the next project phase.
I look forward to showing off our hard work in the coming months,
Jiu Jitsu Challenge 🥊
Key learnings from the week - Consistency Consistency Consistency!
Consistency, the underrated virtue, holds a critical position in our pursuit of meaning and success. It's a form of self-regulation, a testament to our ability to keep chaos in check and forge forward in spite of life's unpredictability. Much like the story of the tortoise and the hare, it is not necessarily the quick bursts of effort or genius that ultimately win the race, but rather the steady, diligent application of our abilities over time. And yet, we tend to dismiss consistency as unexciting or unremarkable. We crave novelty and yearn for explosive moments of revelation and achievement. However, the truth is that it's through the grit of consistency that the extraordinary is chiselled from the ordinary. Embrace the discipline of consistency, for it transforms our dreams into realities and our chaos into order.
Bryan Air 🆕
INTERNATIONAL AVIATION NEWS ✈️🎙
Airbus 321 XLR faces range limitations after a design change
🔗https://samchui.com/2023/07/22/airbus-a321xlr-faces-range-limitations-after-design-tweak/
Article Highlights
1. Airbus's A321XLR narrow-body jet is facing certification delays due to concerns about the risk of fire and evacuation times. (EASA) has required design changes, including adding a protective liner to the rear fuel tank and other structural reinforcements. These modifications have increased the aircraft’s weight by approximately 800 kilograms.
2. The increased weight is expected to reduce the A321XLR's maximum range by about 200 nautical miles, which could impact airlines such as JetBlue that planned to use the aircraft to expand routes. Airbus, however maintains that the range reduction is minimal and that the aircraft will remain very competitive in the single-aisle segment.
Aircraft lessors set for June 2024 trial over Russia insurance claims
Article Highlights
1. Several of the world's largest aircraft lessors, including SMBC, Avolon, BOC Aviation, CDB Aviation, Nordic Aviation Capital, and Carlyle Aviation Partners, are preparing to go to trial in June 2024 over disputed insurance claims. The claims pertain to more than 400 aircraft that couldn't leave Russia due to Western sanctions, resulting in the termination of their leases.
2. The lawsuits against dozens of insurers worldwide are taking place in Ireland, where over 60% of the world's leased aircraft are owned or managed. However, finding a large enough venue for the anticipated 180 daily trial attendees has proven challenging.
3. In parallel, AerCap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, is pursuing its insurance claims through London's High Court. The company is reportedly discussing with Russian insurers a potential settlement regarding some of its aircraft stranded in Russia. However, due to the sensitive nature of these discussions, further details haven't been disclosed.
American Airlines pilot deal in jeopardy
Article Highlights
1. American Airlines' pilot union has warned that the ratification of the company's new four-year contract is at risk. The union is concerned because United Airlines has set a new benchmark with its own deal, which offers better pay rates and quality-of-life provisions than American's proposed contract.
2. American's proposed contract offers a pay increase of about 42%. Still, United’s four-year pilot deal promises cumulative pay raises of 34.5% to 40%, along with increased sick time, more days off, and restrictions on involuntary and some standby assignments. This discrepancy has caused APA to call on American Airlines to improve its contract to meet these new industry standards.
Korean Air gets its own beer
🔗https://airwaysmag.com/korean-air-own-beer/
Article Highlights
Korean Air has launched its branded beer, 'KAL’s Lager,' in partnership with Playground Brewery. The lager will be available at Korean Air’s lounges at Seoul Incheon (ICN) and Gimpo International Airport (GMP) starting July 27, and will be offered on flights beginning in September.
Zuckerberg obtains student pilot license
🔗https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/zuckerberg-obtains-student-pilot-certificate/
Article Highlight
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is apparently on the long list of high achievers who’s decided the next challenge will be getting a pilot certificate. According to Insider, the social media magnate has successfully obtained his student pilot certificate. We couldn’t verify the Facebook founder is on the FAA registry because it’s closed for maintenance all weekend. It’s not clear if he’s actively training or what his goal is for the effort. There is plenty of speculation, however, that it might be playing catch up with his newly designated archrival Elon Musk.
AVIATION SAFETY⛑️
Indian regulator fines IndiGo $36000 for tail strike incidents
🔗https://simpleflying.com/indigo-fined-for-tail-strike-incidents/
Article Highlights
India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, fined IndiGo for multiple tail strike incidents and directed the airline to make necessary procedural changes to avoid future incidents.
Two IndiGo pilots were recently suspended for a tail strike incident in June, with the pilot in command suspended for 3 months and the co-pilot suspended for 1 month.
Tail strikes occurred on IndiGo's longer A321 aircraft, which are longer than A320s and require more precise nose-up manoeuvres during landing.
Investigation launched after four fatalities in 2 air accidents in Oshkosh
🔗https://simpleflying.com/investigation-4-fatalities-2-air-accidents-in-oshkosh/
Article Highlights
Two separate aircraft crashes near the EAA AirVenture event in Wisconsin have resulted in four deaths and two injuries.
One accident involved a mid-air collision between a helicopter and a gyrocopter, while the other was a small plane crash into Lake Winnebago shortly after takeoff.
Investigations conducted by the FAA and NTSB are underway.
AFRICAN AVIATION NEWS 🌍
Cathay returns to Johannesburg - it took them long enough.
Article Highlights
Passenger numbers at Hong Kong International Airport are projected to fully return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year.
Cathay’s slow return to the international market is due primarily to a manpower crunch at the Hong Kong airport; carriers cant add their desired flights.
Airlink lose their 50M USD claim against SAA
🔗https://airinsight.com/airlink-shrugs-off-upset-in-50-million-claim-against-saa/
Article Highlights
Airlink says it will focus its energies on growing the business, in the aftermath of a court decision this week, which further dimmed prospects for recovery of R890 million ($50.5 million) in ticket revenues, owed by former franchise partner South African Airways (SAA).
Kenya Airways to ditch its Embraer and Bombardier aircraft
Article Highlights
Kenya Airways (KQ) is set to do away with Embraer and Bombardier aircraft from its fleet as it opts for Boeing planes as the company adopts mono fleeting.
NCAA has suspended all 737 Aircraft in the Max Air fleet
🔗https://allafrica.com/stories/202307130351.html
Article Highlight
1. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended all Boeing 737 aircraft operated by Max Air with immediate effect. The suspension was triggered by several incidents involving the Boeing 737 aircraft in Max Air's fleet, including the loss of a main landing gear wheel during a severe incident.
2. Following the suspension, the NCAA has assembled a team of inspectors to audit all Boeing 737 aircraft in the airline's fleet.
Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter. Have a lovely weekend, Chat next week; bye for now.
Big Love
Bryan