Boeing Investing Around One Million Dollar on New Pilot Scholarships
Boeing is investing $950,000 in scholarships for pilot training to grow and diversify talent required to meet significant long-term demand for commercial airplane pilots. Boeing is donating $500,000 to fund 25 scholarships with five aviation organizations committed to developing future pilots, including: Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Latino Pilots Association, Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Sisters of the Skies and Women in Aviation International. Boeing is also donating $450,000 to Fly Compton, a Los Angeles-based non-profit that introduces minority youth to career opportunities in aerospace. This investment will increase flight training classes offered to students in L.A.'s Compton community and introduce career topics related to designing, building and maintaining airplanes and drones. "The demand for qualified and diverse pilots remains high at airlines worldwide. While becoming a pilot provides a lifelong career, access to training remains a barrier to entry for many," said Ziad Ojakli, executive vice president of Government Operations at Boeing. "These organizations are helping the next generation of pilots realize their full potential while also showing communities that are historically underrepresented in the industry that a future in aviation is possible." Long-term demand for newly qualified aviation personnel remains strong. Boeing projects 602,000 new pilots will be needed to fly and maintain the global commercial fleet over the next 20 years.
EasyJet reports record Q3 results on back of summer travel demand
EasyJet’s third quarter profit improved by £317 million, year on year, as demand for its network and services continues to be strong. A revenue per seat increase of 23% year on year alongside headline cost per seat ex fuel reducing by 2% and EasyJet holidays PBT of £49 million is driving the Group towards a strong outcome for FY23. Based on current booking trends, EasyJet expects Q4 to deliver another record PBT performance with RPS up by around 10% year on year and cost per seat excluding fuel for H2’23 expected to remain broadly flat year on year. This guidance is subject to the operational environment with the whole industry seeing challenging conditions this summer. More constrained air space and flow rate restrictions are resulting in unprecedented ATC disruption as well as increased ATC strike days up 40% year to date vs 2019. Moving into this winter, EasyJet is seeing good booking momentum, with sold ticket yields and load factors ahead year on year, and planned capacity up over 15% for the December quarter. Headline cost ex fuel is expected to reduce year on year and EasyJet holidays continues to see demand growth, with winter bookings up >100% year on year. EasyJet currently has 163 aircraft on order for delivery through to 2028.
TBM 960 turboprop-powered aircraft reaches its 80th delivery milestone
Daher announced the 80th delivery of a TBM 960, marking the latest achievement for this top-of-the-line member in the company’s turboprop-powered aircraft product line. The milestone TBM 960 was provided to a private owner, and the delivery comes just over a year after Daher formally launched the aircraft version in April 2022. As a symbol of this success, Daher’s TBM 960 demonstrator aircraft is displayed on the company’s exhibit stand during this week’s EAA AirVenture fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin’s Wittman Regional Airport. “Owners and operators praise the TBM 960’s outstanding flight experience and increased cabin comfort, as well as the enhanced efficiency and sustainability,” explained Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division. “It takes the maximum advantage of today’s technology to provide digital control for the engine and the propeller, extending into the digitally controlled cabin.” The TBM 960 marks Daher’s fifth evolution of its TBM 900-series aircraft family – with a combined total of 488 aircraft to date in the TBM 900, TBM 910, TBM 930, TBM 940 and TBM 960 versions. This surpasses the delivery totals for the two previous-generation TBM aircraft types, with 324 TBM 700s and 338 TBM 850s provided to customers during their production runs.
People: Passing of Oscar J. Schwenk
Former Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Pilatus Flugzeugwerke, Oscar J. Schwenk, has passed away on July 15th, 2023, at the age of 79. Oscar Schwenk served as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Pilatus Flugzeugwerke from 1994 to 2021. After completing his studies, he initially worked at the Federal Aircraft Factory in Emmen. In 1979, he joined Pilatus Flugzeugwerke, known for its PC-6 aircraft, which are capable of operating from short runways.
Schwenk spent nearly 30 years at the helm of the Stans-based company. He became CEO in 1994 and held the position, with a brief interruption, until 2012. From 2006 to 2021, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Schwenk was widely regarded as the face of Pilatus Flugzeugwerke and was never hesitant to express his opinions. He fervently defended the export of Pilatus training aircraft to countries such as Saudi Arabia, arguing that these planes were not considered war materiel. However, in 2019, Pilatus faced a potential ban on maintenance work in the Middle East.
Under Schwenk’s leadership, Pilatus pursued a successful niche strategy. Since 2001, the company’s headquarters in Stans has employed over 1,000 individuals. In 2013, Pilatus exceeded the billion-franc mark in revenue. Today, the company has more than twice the number of employees in Stans. When Schwenk stepped down in 2021, the company’s revenue reached 1.3 billion Swiss francs. The rollout of the PC-24, Pilatus’ first business jet, was turned into a public celebration with 35,000 attendees in 2014, thanks to Schwenk’s skillful management. The PC-24 is unique in its ability to operate from short runways in remote locations.
The memorial service will be held on Friday, 18 August 2023, at 10:30 in the Church of St. Peter and Paul in Stans.
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