American Airlines’ withdrawal and ouster from two of the three largest online travel agencies in the U.S. is merely the opening salvo in a broader battle over how its seats are sold, with potentially widespread ramifications for the airline industry in the U.S. and beyond. Two global distribution systems have retaliated against the carrier, underscoring the scope and stakes of the showdown.
Engineers from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. will help NASA develop two robotic-technology demonstrations on the International Space Station, using Canada’s Dextre special purpose dexterous manipulator to simulate repair and refueling in space by locating and operating valves, transferring simulated liquid fuel and testing tools and other gear for capturing spacecraft in orbit. The U.S. agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center is funding the demos as part of its ongoing work on robotic in-space servicing.
The Italian military is looking to add several combat capabilities on the heels of a series of newly awarded contracts. On the near-term agenda is fielding of the first Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master advanced jet trainers, which are to be assigned to the Pratica di Mare-based experimental test wing near Rome. The unit will carry out extensive operational testing before the aircraft is handed over to training squadrons, replacing MB-339CDs in the advanced training role.
Rob Stewart has been appointed a New York-based managing director and U.S. head of Aerospace & Defense Investment Banking . He held a similar position covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Credit Suisse.
French space agency CNES has approved full-scale development of a microsatellite mission, dubbed Taranis, aimed at studying magnetospheric-ionospheric-atmospheric coupling involved in lightning, sprites and other transient optical phenomena, as well as precipitated energy electrons. The U.S., Japan, Poland and the Czech Republic will also take part in the seven-instrument mission, which is scheduled to be orbited in 2016.
Recent public disclosures, including the revealing article that ran in this magazine about China rolling out its first known stealth aircraft (AW&ST Jan. 3, p. 18), will keep military strategists and interested observers in the West busy for a long time trying to accurately establish the full implications—accurately being the operative word. U.S. intelligence knew about the J-20, but not that it would begin taxi tests in December.
NASA is finalizing expansion of its Integrated Systems Research program to tackle the problem of integrating unmanned air systems (UAS) into national airspace, but is re-assessing its immediate project priorities while awaiting the release of funding for 2011.
Doreen Gonzales (see photo) has been named senior manager-G650 procurement at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. , Savannah, Ga. She has been senior purchasing manager for the company’s completion facility and had worked for parent company General Dynamics’ Convair division in San Diego.
Amy Butler (Washington), Graham Warwick (Washington)
The recently signed per-unit cost targets for the F-35 indicate its price is coming down with added orders, but the Pentagon’s top procurement executive says more steps are needed. The Pentagon’s most recent per-unit target price for the conventional-takeoff-and-landing (CTOL) version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is $111.6 million, according to program officials.
China is advancing its space capabilities by developing staged combustion, an engine technology that is likely to offer greater performance for the Long March 6 and 7, two of a family of launchers that the country will field around the middle of the decade. The smaller of the two, the Long March 6, may be the first to go into service, beating the flagship third member of the family, the Long March 5 heavy launcher.
As a long-time fan of your art and photography issue (AW&ST Dec. 20/27, 2010, pp. 33-70), I have to say that this year’s winners deserve special praise. The photographers in the Space category shone especially bright. Ben Cooper and Philip Christensen submitted entries that were not just beautiful, but thought-provoking as well. Nice!
Your articles and editorial (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2010, pp. 37, 58) regarding the French criminalization of the Concorde accident brought to mind an observation I made last October after landing at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. While traveling along its extensive taxiways, I commented: “This airport is the worst FOD nightmare I’ve ever seen.” Of course, this is purely anecdotal, but it was a valid observation. Perhaps the French have not sufficiently focused on foreign object debris (FOD) prevention at Paris CDG now or at the time of the accident.
Oliver Herberling has been appointed managing director for IEWC’s subsidiary, Peter Augsten Wire and Cable GmbH . He has been account manager and sales center manager. Herberling succeeds Gerald Mueller, who has stepped down from the position but will remain as a consultant. IEWC also named Cory McFarlane managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Amy Butler (Arlington, Amarillo and Fort Worth, Texas)
Officials at Bell Helicopter hope that work on a small Kiowa cabin conversion contract and a cockpit upgrade are strategic footholds that will position the company to win back the U.S. Army’s future scout helicopter work after its Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) was terminated in 2008.
Raymond J. Quinlan has been named executive vice president-banking at the New York-based CIT Group . Before joining CIT, Quinlan spent more than 30 years at Citigroup.
Maile Topliff has been elevated to chief administration officer for Seabury Group . She has held management positions with UnitedHealth Group and Comcast Cable/AT&T Broad Band/MediaOne.
Cynthia Marcondes Ferreira Benedetto has been appointed Embraer ’s new chief financial officer, succeeding Luiz Carlos Aguiar, who will become president and CEO of the recently created Embraer Defense and Security unit. Benedetto has been with the company since 1986, most recently at the helm of Embraer’s Finance Department.
India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, is set to see a second international airport with a $2-billion price tag, as the city’s international hub is so overcrowded that carriers are shifting flights elsewhere, especially to New Delhi. In the past year alone, infrastructure and space constraints forced the civil aviation ministry to refuse permission to airlines from Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to start operations in Mumbai, home to 18 million residents.
I have a slightly different take on your editorial “Is Safety a Victim of Justice Awry?” (AW&ST Dec. 13, 2010, p. 58). In March, I attended the final sessions of the Concorde crash trial because the subject interests me for many reasons: I’m a retired Boeing 747 pilot, a California attorney and a French-born (but U.S.) citizen Concorde afficionado.
European planners hope the process to approve the use of the European GPS augmentation System (Egnos) can be put back on track, following the apparent correction of a problem with one of its monitoring stations. Egnos was certified for air navigation in July and was expected to transition to operational use for en-route and non-precision lateral guidance approaches (LNAV) starting on Aug. 2. A formal declaration by the European Commission, which owns the system, approving the Egnos safety-of-life service was due by October or November.
Movie audiences may identify him with characters he has played—Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Jack Ryan—but Harrison Ford’s most recent award has nothing to do with Hollywood. The actor last month received the 2010 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy for his advocacy of aviation, particularly among young people. The award, established by the National Aeronautic Association in 1948 to honor the memory of Orville and Wilbur Wright, was presented on Dec. 17 in Washington.
LAN Airlines has finalized discussions with Airbus over the purchase of 50 A320-family aircraft. The deal puts Airbus within reach of breaking the 500 gross-order threshold for 2010, almost matching the number of aircraft delivered in 2009.
Peter Lynas has been appointed group finance director at BAE Systems, succeeding George Rose, who plans to retire on March 31 but continue as an executive director. Lynas is group director-financial control, reporting and treasury. He was group finance director of GEC’s Marconi Electronic Systems when BAE Systems was formed.
China Eastern Airlines’ planned takeover of Great Wall Airlines and Shanghai Airlines Cargo marks a major consolidation within China’s air cargo market that may adversely affect a host of airlines of various sizes. The Shanghai-based airline group told the Hong Kong stock exchange that its dedicated cargo carrier China Cargo Airlines plans to acquire the air cargo transport businesses and related assets of Great Wall and Shanghai Airlines Cargo. The assets include all aircraft, personnel, routes and contracts.
A wave of new carriers will be entering the Asian market this year to fill the void created by players that exited earlier. Economic growth in Asia is fueling demand for domestic air travel, and greater political stability is helping to attract foreign tourists.
