Air transport in brief

Comtran hushkit makes MD-80 Chapter 4 ready
Comtran is at Paris having recently won European certification for its Advanced Jet Nozzle for the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. The equipment enables the MD-80 to meet EASA Chapter 4 noise limits in Europe. The milestone means that an MD-80 fitted with the Advanced Jet Nozzle can be brought into full Chapter4/Stage 4 compliance.
“The completion of this certification effort is indicative of our commitment to bring truly significant life-extension programmes to the operators of transport category aircraft,” said Douglas Jaffe, Comtran chief executive.

Dunlop’s the wheel deal
Dunlop Aero Braking Services opened its stand at Le Bourget buoyed up by a deal at the end of last week to provide aftersales support for Irish regional carrier Aer Arann’s fleet of ATR 72 turboprops. Under the deal, whose value is not being released, Dunlop (Hall 2B, J12D) will support 12 aircraft – eight currently in service and 10 that the airline has on order to replace some of the existing fleet.
Coventry, UK-based Dunlop says its research to improve its wheels and brakes for the ATR 72 will include an advanced anti-oxidation system offering ‘significant performance improvements’ that should be unveiled later this year.

Cathay cargo contract Cathay Pacific has chosen Goodrich to provide advanced cargo systems for its new fleet of Boeing 747-400ERF freighters. The system includes user-friendly electronics to allow Cathay to run automated system checks to reduce overall downtime when system maintenance work is required. The contract also includes next generation Power Drive Units which will be integrated into the cargo systems to allow movement of shipments on-board the aircraft.

A taste of Honey
Honeywell has been selected by Air Berlin to retrofit wheels and brakes to its fleet of Boeing 737-700/800 aircraft - a total of 130 by the time the programme is completed. Phil Jones, Vice President, Airlines-Europe, Middle East and Africa says: “When this retrofit is completed, Air Berlin will be the second largest fleet using Honeywell wheels and brakes worldwide.”

Source: Flight Daily News