Aircraft

FRENCH INDUSTRY WANTS $1.2 BILLION STATE LOAN

French aviation industry body CORAC has proposed that France's government assign it €800 million ($1.2 billion), probably via a public-private partnership, under President Nicolas Sarkozy's national economic recovery loan scheme. The money would be channelled towards research in engine, airframe and avionics technology by companies including Airbus, Dassault and Safran, including for development of Airbus's successor to the A320.

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SPIRIT ENGINEERS APPROVE NEW CONTRACT

After overwhelmingly rejecting two previous contract offers, engineers at Spirit AeroSystems represented by the SPEEA union have voted 266 to 40 in favour of a new three-and-a-half year agreement giving them a 3% bonus, annual salary increases and compensation for overtime above a 40h working week. The contract, which is effective immediately, covers 783 engineers.

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LBBW EXITS AIRCRAFT FINANCE

Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) has terminated its aircraft and ship financing activities as part of a restructuring plan that will see it exit non-core businesses. The loss-making bank is owned by the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the city of Stuttgart and municipally backed local banks.

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BOGUS ELECTRONIC PARTS 'A GROWING THREAT'

Economic pressures have lead to an explosion of aerospace electronic components counterfeiting, according to SAE International. A new SAE parts and supplier management standard - AS5553, which has been adopted by the US defence department - is designed to mitigate the risks of receiving and installing bogus parts. Phil Zulueta, who chairs the SAE's Counterfeit Electronic Parts Committee, says: "We've seen a 140% increase of counterfeit incidents in three years, but ... the majority of incidents go unreported."

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LIQUIDITY BOOST WINS BOMBARDIER DEBT UPGRADE

Moody's has upgraded Bombardier's ratings after the manufacturer obtained a $500 million two-year unsecured committed revolver credit facility. The ratings agency upgraded Bombardier's speculative grade liquidity rating to SGL-2 from SGL-3 and affirmed its Ba2 corporate family, Ba2 probability of default and Ba2 senior unsecured ratings, as Bombardier's transport segment "should continue to perform relatively well [in] the downturn".

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ROLLS-HONEYWELL VENTURE EXTENDS PARTS DEAL

Light Helicopter Turbine Engine, a 50-50 joint venture between Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, has extended by 10 years Aerospace Products International's exclusive global distributorship of CTS800 spare parts, and broadened its role to cover customer credit and receivables management. API currently provides all aftermarket supply chain management functions for LHTEC.

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AIR PARTNER TAKES HIT FROM PRIVATE JET WING

Losses at its private jet operating business and exceptional charges in part to downsize that division offset a profit at Air Partner's core air charter broking business. Pre-tax profits for its year to 31 July were down by 90% at £900,000 ($1.44 million) as sales slid 23% to £194.3 million. Chief executive David Savile cites short-term uncertainty in the economy, but stresses directors' confidence in medium-term recovery: "Air Partner has remained profitable, debt free [and] cash positive."

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