A three-year effort to achieve European critical mass in the highly competitive regional airliner market came to an end last week as British Aerospace and ATR announced Monday in Toulouse, France that they will dissolve their regional aircraft consortium - Aero International (Regional). AI(R), outlined at the 1995 Paris Air Show and launched in 1996, was formed to market aircraft made by BAe and ATR, an alliance of France's Aerospatiale and Italy's Alenia. AI(R) also intended to develop a range of regional jets - the Airjet in 58-, 70- and 84- seat versions.
ATLANTIC COAST AIRLINES board of directors declared a two-for-one common stock split, payable as a stock dividend on May 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 24. The stock split is contingent upon approval by the company's stockholders, at their first annual meeting set for May 5, of an increase in the number of shares authorized. Atlantic Coast operates nearly 220 departures every business day to 46 cities in 20 states. It operates seven 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jets and 60 Jetstream 41 and Jetstream 32 turboprops.
NAV CANADA officials are "extremely disappointed" by the outcome of a Canadian Air Traffic Control Association vote on a proposed new contract. CATCA members rejected the proposal by a 95 percent margin. Nav Canada said the contract, negotiated with a CATCA bargaining team since October, offered wage increases of 11 to 38 percent. CATCA President Dave Lewis told BA that Canadian controllers had been prohibited from engaging in collective bargaining since 1991 and their wages have been frozen since then.
IT WILL COST $540.80 to land a Gulfstream IV at the new Hong Kong International Airport and park for 24 hours, according to the new pricing formula for the airport's Business Aviation Center announced May 1. Business aircraft will pay a landing charge based on aircraft weight and a parking charge.
Buoyed by positive feedback from both registrants and exhibitors at a joint Aviation Services&Suppliers Supershow last month in Kansas City, officials of the National Air Transportation Association and the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association are planning to hold another joint industry exhibition in conjunction with their respective conventions next April in Phoenix, Ariz.
GEORGE J. KLEROS was appointed technical manager-Northeast U.S. for Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI) of Chicago. Kleros, who is based in New Haven, Conn., will oversee all maintenance work and technical matters on behalf of JSSI's clients in the Northeast section of the country. Most recently he was president of Shoreline Aircraft Maintenance, a division of Shoreline Aviation, Inc., of New Haven. He formerly was a contract maintenance technician with a Canadair/Learjet service center and was a quality assurance inspector for Textron Lycoming Flight Services.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION has been inundated in recent weeks with calls from members who want to know where the association stands on fractional aircraft ownership programs.As a result, NATA plans to solicit the views of members to help it determine how best to respond to proposals being considered by FAA for regulating operations involving fractionally owned aircraft.
LADISH COMPANY, INC., a manufacturer of engineered forgings, invested $1.6 million to upgrade its six-story, 15,000-ton hydraulic forging press. The upgrades include installation of a new fabricated ram with quick-tool- change capabilities, a total rebuilding of the press's hydraulic cylinders and hydraulic power systems; and installation of computerized controls. Ladish, headquartered in Cudahy, Wis., with operations in Wisconsin and Connecticut, produces high-tech components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets.
GAMA also got some good news on Capitol Hill last week when the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved an amendment to the Fastener Quality Act that would recognize FAA as the sole oversight authority for aviation fasteners. GAMA members have been concerned that the Fastener Quality Act of 1990, as interpreted by rules issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), would require aviation fasteners to meet a whole new set of standards in addition to meeting FAA requirements. The NIST standards are scheduled to become effective next month.
Raytheon Aircraft reported record first quarter sales of $459.5 million, an increase of six percent compared with the same period a year ago, and operating income jumped 18 percent to $34.2 million.
Cessna named three employees to directorships at the company's single- engine production facility in Independence, Kan. John Daniel is director of assembly, responsible for production aspects of all single-engine piston models, assembly, paint and flight operations. He had been product manager of the Caravan and CitationJet assembly lines at Cessna's Mid-Continent facility in Wichita. He's been with Cessna for nearly 20 years.
ELITE AVIATION, INC., an aircraft management and charter company based in Van Nuys, Calif., moved into a new facility at the Van Nuys Airport. Richard Hodkinson, president and chief operating officer, named James Baroni, vice president and general manager, a move designed to accommodate the "continued growth and expansion" of the company. Baroni has logged more than 14,000 hours of jet time and served as director of flight operations and chief of maintenance for a Gulfstream IV operator.
Randall P. Lincoln, a veteran avionics marketer who joined McGraw-Hill last year as publisher of Business&Commercial Aviation magazine and A/C FLYER, will return to the avionics marketing business later this year. Lincoln accepted an offer to join Sony Trans Com of Irvine, Calif., as vice president of sales and marketing, effective in mid-June. The California firm has positioned itself as a major provider of in-flight entertainment systems for the commercial airline market.
GENERAL AVIATION MANUFACTURERS recorded "their best first quarter billings in history," according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. First-quarter billings were up 28.8 percent over the same period last year to $1.14 billion. Total aircraft shipments soared 92.4 percent to 456 units, compared with 237 units in 1997's first quarter. Jet deliveries also set a record with 82 units shipped, up 30.2 percent over a year ago. "The numbers really speak for themselves," said GAMA President Ed Bolen.
Researchers at Ohio State University are developing a color-changing paint that, in time, could save maintenance crews from having to tear aircraft apart to check for corrosion. The paint reveals newly formed corrosion cavities "as shallow as 15 micrometers," according to Gerald Frankel, associate professor of materials science, and graduate student Jian Zhang. The pair presented their results to date at a recent meeting of the Materials Research Society. The U.S.
BRUCE VAN ALLEN, the veteran fixed-base operation executive, was named president and chief executive officer of Signature Flight Support Friday. Van Allen, 43, was named executive vice president of the FBO chain just last summer (BA, July 14/16). He has been in the FBO business for more than 25 years and joined Signature in 1993. Dick Dodson, who had been president of Signature, is president of the BBA Group's Aviation Division, which includes Signature and five other companies.
B/E Aerospace, Inc., Wellington, Fla., completed the $118 million cash acquisition of Aircraft Modular Products of Miami, Fla., last month, a major provider of cabin interior products for both new and used business jets (BA, April 20/176).
BMW Rolls-Royce GmbH of Germany signed a partnership agreement with Rolls-Royce Turbomeca Ltd. of the United Kingdom for the RTM 322 helicopter engine program. The partnership includes development, production, marketing and customer support. BMW Rolls-Royce is taking a 23.2 percent share in the NH90 engine program. The engines for the NH90 helicopters to be purchased by the German government will be assembled and complete final testing at the company's Oberursel headquarters.
LINE SERVICE TRAINING SEMINARS have been scheduled in four locations this year, the National Air Transportation Association announced. The series kicks off May 4-5 at The Air Museum in Hartford, Conn., with other sessions set for June 1-2 at Million Air Cleveland, in Cleveland, Ohio; Aug. 10-11 at Galvin Flying Service in Seattle, Wash., and Dec. 7-8, at Cutter Aviation in Phoenix, Ariz. Call (703) 845-9000 for details.
The U.S. Air Force accepted the first of two C-38A (Astra SPX) business jets April 17 that it will use to replace C-21s (Model 35A Learjets). The first C-38A will be based at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland for use by the D.C. Air National Guard.
Christine Baird, executive vice president of Canadian Helicopters International (CHI), was named acting president of CHI this month. Baird steps in to replace Sylvain Allard, who was recently named acting president of Canadian Helicopters Corp., the parent company of CHI (BA, April 6, 153). Baird joined CHC in 1982 and has been executive vice president of the international division for the past five years.
AL JACKSON, a veteran aviation lobbyist in Washington, D.C., was named director of legislative affairs for The Boeing Company. Jackson, a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, began his career with the General Aviation Manufacturers Association where he was a key member of the legislative team that successfully lobbied Congress for passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act that reformed product liability laws.
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) scheduled a hearing this Thursday (April 30) on Airport Improvement Program reauthorization legislation and National Civil Aviation Review Commission legislation. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey will testify at the 2 p.m. hearing, which will be chaired by Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.).
ATLAS AIR became the first cargo carrier to sign up with MedAire, Inc. for provision of medical help and advice to crew members around the world. Under the agreement, in the event of any medical-related emergency or concern, crew members can directly contact emergency physicians at MedAire's MedLink Emergency Tele-medicine Center in Phoenix, Ariz. by radio or telephone.
ERA AVIATION, which operates Alaska's largest regional airline, has joined the list of carriers requiring passengers to wear their seat belts at all times while seated on the company's flights. "Our primary concern is for passenger safety," said James Vande Voorde, Era's senior vice president, noting that "incidences of passenger injury during clear air turbulence have been on the rise lately." Era operates 50-passenger Convair 580s, 37- passenger de Havilland Dash 8s and 18-passenger de Havilland Twin Otters.
