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Honeywell eyes European engine market
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: With Europe continuing to be one of business aviation’s key growth markets, it should not be surprising that Honeywell Aerospace has chosen to position its
Word Count: 496
With Europe continuing to be one of business aviation’s key growth markets, it should not be surprising that Honeywell Aerospace has chosen to position its vice president for worldwide business and general aviation sales at one of its main European offices, right here near Geneva. In his new posting, Carl Esposito also has responsibility for customer support in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and this too is a growing job as more Honeywell engines and cockpit and cabin systems enter service on this side of the Atlantic.“Honeywell definitely has an increased focus on this region from both a sales and support perspective,” Esposito told EBACE Convention News. The company’s customer base in Europe is poised to swell by deliveries of, for example, Bombardier’s Challenger 300 twinjet which is powered by Honeywell’s HTF7000 engines. The HTF7000 promises 30-percent lower operating costs than previous generation powerplants and it is also claimed to have the lowest emissions for any engine in its thrust class (6,500 to 7,500 pounds). “The engine is continuing to do very well in service,” said Esposito. “It is very reliable, with an outstanding dispatch rate.”At the same time, Honeywell is raising the profile of its avionics business, with deliveries in Europe of aircraft featuring its latest Primus Epic cockpit suite. These aircraft include the Gulfstream 450 and 550, all the current Dassault Falcon models and the Cessna Citation Sovereign. Meanwhile, its new Primus Apex system is being introduced for the Pilatus PC-12 turboprop single and also has been selected for the new Grob SPn.According to Esposito, Europe’s challenging operating environment makes it fertile territory for new safety and situational awareness technology such as Honeywell’s proposed synthetic vision system, which will be integrated into primary flight displays. “The synthetic vision system’s three-dimensional picture will greatly improve situational awareness and will be easy for pilots to use,” he said.Here at EBACE’07, Honeywell (Booth No. 1606) is displaying its new Ovation cabin management system on board a Gulfstream 450 on the static display. The digital E-Series system can be readily scaled for different applications and can be integrated with a wide array of cabin systems, such as satellite communications and the latest DVD technology. It allows both passengers and crew to have full control over their respective areas of the aircraft.The past couple of years have seen a concerted effort by Honeywell to improve the responsiveness of its customer-support operation with significant investments made in technology and training. “We are very happy with the improvements in telephone response times and we are rolling out new Web-based capabilities, such as improvements in managing orders,” said Esposito.Last year, Honeywell opened a customer and product-support facility in the Czech capital Prague that manages orders for all of the company’s products. The manufacturer is doing increasingly sophisticated analysis of shifting worldwide aircraft utilization patterns so it can ensure that sufficient quantities of rotable parts and engines are available where and when they are needed.