 |
Press Releases & Articles 2nd Annual Flight Operations Conference |
Below are a number of press releases / articles, specific to flight operations. Should you wish to submit a press release / article of specific interest to this conference, then please send details to amsterdam2008@aircraft-commerce.com for inclusion on this page.
CORRECTION: Rolls-Royce promotes turboprop solution for new civil airliners
Kieran Daly, London (28Jun08, 12:23 GMT, 461 words)
Corrects reference to TP400 to clarify that that engine is not itself a candidate to power future civil airliners.
Rolls-Royce is talking up the possibility of a new generation of turboprop-powered aircraft replacing a substantial proportion of today’s jet narrowbodies.
The manufacturer believes high oil prices are likely to drive airframers to sacrifice cruise speed for economics.
Rolls-Royce director – engineering and technology, Colin Smith, said at a pre-Farnborough airshow briefing today: “The TP400 engine for the Airbus A400M military transport is a very efficient propulsion system. There is a very sound argument to be made for the majority of the 150-seat market, which flies mostly for less than 1.5 hours, being turboprop-powered.
“As a passenger I don’t care how fast I fly, I care about the check-in time. As a designer it is silly to fly at M0.82 for that range. But it is sensible to get people on and off quickly.
“There are good sound arguments there. If somebody does want a high efficiency turboprop then have we got one for you!”
President – civil aerospace, Mark King, adds: “More and more manufacturers are looking at whether the bottom half of this market would be better addressed with turboprops.”
But King also stresses that the engine-makers have yet to be asked by the airframers to satisfy a specific requirement.
He says: “Frankly we don’t know the question yet. All we know is that a lot of people who currently fly around in 150-seat aircraft will need transporting in the future. Is that going to be in a single-aisle or twin-aisle? There are plenty of persuasive arguments about what that will be.
“What is the range of this thing? A thousand miles or 3,000 miles leads to fundamentally different machines.”
King stresses, however, that there remains great uncertainty about the timescale of when airframers will launch new programmes in the 150-seat class, and says the timing will in turn affect the technological solutions offered by engine-providers.
He explains: “There are so many different things that affect the timescale. Open-rotor is 2018; turboprop we are in the middle of; advanced turbofan is just the typical engine development timescale.
“And the other thing that will affect timing is the priorities of the airframers. Is it the 150-seater or is it another widebody? But it is about match-fitness and we are right at the heart of it.”
Rolls-Royce will start running a new open-rotor engine test rig in the next couple of weeks, which it says will allow testing of units that “are not core size but are pretty big”.
King adds: “The kind of open-rotors that we are looking at are still quieter than today’s aircraft. They are just not as quiet as they would be if you were to design solely for noise.”
Shell and MRPL in Aviation Fuels
21/01/2008
Shell Gas B. V. and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) today announced their intention to enter into an exclusive joint venture agreement to market and supply aviation fuels initially at two Indian airports, Bangalore and Hyderabad and later to other Indian airports.
The companies will provide complementary services and strengths to the joint venture; MRPL brings its expertise and high quality products, and Shell Aviation brings its global brand, network and customer base in addition to stringent quality control procedures. Together the companies will offer a compelling global refuelling offer to both the Indian and international airlines. The agreement will become effective early in 2008.
R Rajamani, Managing Director, MRPL said, "The Aviation Sector in India is growing at a frantic pace. MRPL has large production of international quality Aviation Fuel, which can meet the rapidly growing Indian demand. The JV between MRPL and Shell in the aviation field will offer the best quality standards and technical service to domestic and international airlines."
L K Gupta, Director (F), MRPL said, "MRPL and Shell bring in significant value to the JV which will ultimately benefit the customers. This JV will also put MRPL on an international level by supplying Aviation fuel in India to foreign airlines on one hand and on the other, by contracting fuel supply for Indian carriers when they fly abroad."
Sjoerd Post, Vice President Shell Aviation, said, "India is an important growth market for Shell Aviation and the industry as a whole. We are pleased to be working with MRPL; this agreement extends our global network offering and will benefit both Indian and our global customers."
Vikram Singh Mehta, Chairman, Shell Companies in India, said, "With the dynamic growth in the civil aviation sector in India, it is indeed timely that we are formally joining hands with MRPL, a subsidiary of ONGC, to serve this large market opportunity with our shared values of quality products and excellent service."
Notes to Editors:
About MRPL
MRPL operates a 12 MMTPA refinery in Mangalore in South West India. Plans are underway to upgrade and increase the capacity of this refinery to 15 MMTPA by 2010. Current production of Jet fuels from MRPL refinery is 1.2 MMTPA, bulk of which is exported. MRPL has a marketing licence and are eligible to market jet fuel. MRPL directly markets its own products including Naphtha, Petrol, Diesel, Fuel Oil and Bitumen.
About Shell Aviation
The Shell Aviation business, part of the Shell Group, is a world leader in marketing aviation fuel, lubricants and greases, operating airport fuelling facilities, and research in fuels, lubricants and greases. Shell Aviation is one of the few oil companies with research and development facilities dedicated to the aviation sector.
Should you wish to advertise in Aircraft Commerce's own bi-monthly publication please contact Ed Haskey on +44 1403 230 700 or ed.haskey@aircraft-commerce.com