Sam Jantzen has been tapped to lead sales and marketing at BDN Aerospace Marketing, Mesa, Ariz. He has held senior executive positions at Cessna Aircraft, Fairchild Aircraft, Commuter Air Technology and Raisbeck Engineering.
American Airlines is pursuing a lawsuit that, if successful, could have broad implications for the business models of global distribution systems (GDS). In doing so, the carrier is launching another offensive in its distribution war just as the fight seemed to be abating.
Contractors and wannabes will push hard in the weeks ahead to capture some of the $18.5 billion NASA has to spend by the end of September. Congress's compromise continuing resolution finally puts some new money behind the space policy Congress and the White House have debated since President Barack Obama issued his fiscal 2011 NASA budget request in February 2010.
Andrew Gibson has been named interim chief executive officer of Zurich-based Gategroup, succeeding Guy Dubois, who has resigned. Gibson is group senior vice president and president for North America.
The U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin are planning April 22 to encapsulate the first Space-Based Infrared Satellite, GEO-1. Mating to the United Launch Alliance Atlas V launcher is set for April 25 in advance of a May 6 launch attempt. The satellite took on about 5,000 lb. of fuel April 8-11. Baseline integration testing has been completed on GEO-2, and it is being readied for environmental testing. Air Force officials expect to have GEO-2 ready for launch in about one year.
Northrop Grumman Corp.'s shipbuilding business was so inefficient that the company, after a year of trying to find a buyer, spun it off. The new entity, christened Huntington Ingalls Industries, started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on March 22 under the ticker symbol HII. Some industry observers may wonder why investors would even consider putting money into the new stand-alone if it was unable to meet Northrop Grumman's performance expectations.
The U.S. has had remotely piloted aircraft in service for years. With the nuclear accident in Japan in mind, I am curious as to why there are no drone helicopters that can be controlled to pick up large quantities of water and dump them on hazardous sites.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) appears finally ready to move forward with a program to speed pilots through the security screening process, freeing up screeners to process regular passengers. Although it has been tested for the past three years at three East Coast airports, more testing will now begin at a limited number of airports later this year. The tests will run for 90 days or so, and if successful, will expand to additional airports.
Phil Winters (see photo) has been named vice president of aircraft sales and charter management at Greenwich AeroGroup of Wichita. He was vice president of sales and charter at the company's Western Aircraft location in Boise, Idaho.
Josh Connor has joined New York-based Barclays Capital as head of global transportation investment banking within the firm's Global Industrials Investment Banking Group. He came from Morgan Stanley, where he was managing director and co-head of the Transportation and Infrastructure Group.
Determination of the probable cause of a Gulfstream G650 crash April 2 at Roswell International Air Center, N.M., that killed all four people onboard may be more than a year away, the NTSB believes. But Gulfstream Aerospace says it plans to resume flight testing once it and the FAA are satisfied it is safe to proceed.
Dr. Baruch “Barry” Blumberg, a Nobel laureate in medicine who was the first director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, died April 6 of an apparent heart attack at the NASA Ames Research Center. He was 85.
A deal between American Airlines and Expedia has restored American flights to the online travel agency's searches after a months-long absence, but many uncertainties remain about the broader war between the airline and global distribution systems.
Thomas Woldbye has been named chief executive officer of MAp Group-owned Copenhagen Airport, effective May 1. He has been chief executive of Norfolkline Group, a subsidiary of A.P. Moller Maersk.
Virgin Galactic is looking for a few good pilots—very good pilots—to fly paying customers to the edge of space and back in its SpaceShipTwo rocketplane. The Virgin Atlantic space-tourism spinoff plans to hire another aviator by June to help David MacKay, its lone test pilot, prepare for the start of spaceflight as early as next year.
Many maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company executives feel cautiously optimistic as the airline aftermarket rebounds, but they are readily cognizant of market forces, such as rising fuel prices, that could undo the uptick. “Cautious” is a key word because “it's not time to break out the champagne bottles and get too euphoric about what the future picture is,” says Chris Spafford, an Oliver Wyman partner.
Norwegian Air Shuttle has selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 to power its Boeing 787s. The carrier, which is looking to greatly expand its network with the nine-aircraft purchase that will break it into the long-haul market, also has opted for the Rolls-Royce TotalCare maintenance and support package. The deal, still only existing in a letter of intent, is worth around $450 million. Norwegian expects to receive its first 787s from International Lease Finance Corp. in the fall of 2012.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is poised to complete development of the RS-68A, the most powerful hydrogen-fueled engine ever made, and this week is expected to deliver the third flight-test engine for integration into a Delta IV launch vehicle. The RS-68A is designed to provide 705,000 lb. of liftoff thrust, or 42,000 lb. more than the basic RS-68.
Jim O'Keefe (see photo) is the new director of business development for APIC Corp. of Los Angeles. He was director of naval systems marketing at Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems after retiring as a captain from a 26-year U.S. Navy career.
The U.S. Army has hit yet another wrinkle in its plan to quickly produce and field the Enhanced Medium-Altitude Reconnaissance System (Emarss) signals intelligence-collection aircraft based on the Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350. Northrop Grumman, one of the losing bidders, filed a second protest late last month taking issue with the Army's agreement to reevaluate bids. The Army opted to reexamine the bids after the first round of protests from the losing Emarss bidders.
The Sun 'n Fun International Fly-in is aviation's annual rite of spring, a full-throated, color-splashed harbinger of airshows to follow through the summer and into fall. This year's gathering, held March 29-April 3 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Florida, promised to be a lollapalooza with high-G performances by storied aerobats—Corkey Fornof, Patty Wagstaff and Sean Tucker, among them—the Navy's Blue Angels and an F-22 Raptor. On the flight line, a C-130, DC-7, P-3 and homebuilts galore.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) delivered 104 aircraft in the first quarter, four less than in same period in 2010, reflecting the reduction in Boeing 777 production for the first half of this year. In all, 13 777s were delivered, six fewer than a year ago. Deliveries of 777s are expected to rebound at mid-year. Those of Boeing 737s increased by one to 87 and 767s grew to four. Boeing Defense, Space and Security delivered seven new-build CH-47 Chinooks, three C-17s, four F-15s and a total of 13 F/A-18E/Fs and EA-18Gs. It also delivered a 767 tanker to Italy.
Steven Lott (see photo) is the new vice president-communications at the Washington-based Air Transport Association. He joins ATA from the International Air Transport Association, where he was head of communications for North America. He also was a reporter and editor for Aviation Daily and Aviation Week & Space Technology.
Indra is ramping up flight test activity for its Pelican unmanned helicopter in the hope of convincing the Spanish navy to acquire the system for its offshore patrol vessels and, eventually, for frigates.
Hugh Jones will be joining Sabre Holdings, South Lake, Texas, as president of Sabre Airline Solutions, effective April 25. He has been president and chief executive officer of Travelocity, where he will be succeeded by Carl Sparks, president of online retailer Gilt Groupe.
