Nashville order for JBT

JBT Corporation has announced that its JBT AeroTech business has been awarded a contract in excess of US$20m for the supply of gate equipment at the Metropolitan Nashville International airport.

The order, placed by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, includes 36 Jetway passenger boarding bridges, along with JetAire preconditioned air units and Jetpower 400 Hz ground power units. These gate improvements are targeted at Concourses A, B and C.

Boeing to cut 747-8 production

Boeing has announced it will cut the production rate of its 747-8 aircraft as a result of a currently weak cargo market.

In an effort to match supply with demand, from September the Seattle-headquartered manufacturer intends to halve the production of its aircraft from one per month to one every two months.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive, Ray Conner, said: “Global air passenger traffic growth and airplane demand remain strong, but the air cargo market recovery that began in late 2013 has stalled in recent months and slowed demand for the 747-8 freighter.
“While we remain confident in the 747-8’s unique value-proposition and an upcoming replacement cycle for late-model 747-400 freighters, we’re taking the prudent step to further align production with current market requirements.”

On a pre-tax basis at the segment level, Boeing Commercial Airplanes will report a charge of $885m as a result of the production slowdown.

Boeing executive VP of business development & strategy and chief financial officer, Greg Smith, added: “We are closely monitoring the air cargo market as we work to win additional orders to support ongoing future production.
“At the same time, we continue to aggressively drive productivity to lower costs across our production system to offset the current market challenges.”