Holly Nelson has become chief financial officer of Virgin America . She was senior vice president-finance/controller of Xojet Inc. and had been vice president/controller/chief accounting officer of JetBlue Airways.
Mexico has essentially grounded Aviacsa Airlines after officials reported maintenance irregularities. The Communications and Transport Ministry said the suspension applies to 25 planes, and “doesn’t imply the total suspension of its operations.” However, Aviacsa has only 26 planes, all Boeing 737s serving 17 Mexican cities and Las Vegas. Last year, the government grounded several regional airline fleets due to non-payment of fees, but the ministry said this most recent suspension is not related to an ongoing legal dispute with the airline.
Just as Alitalia is showing signs of recovery, new threats are emerging that could jeopardize the reborn Italian airline’s future. A high-speed rail connection could take away some of Alitalia’s lucrative Milan-Rome business, while European regulators are pushing the Italian government to allow more flights at Milan Linate Airport, potentially strengthening rival Air Italy as well as Lufthansa’s Italian operations. British Airways and others are also keen on more slots there. Alitalia currently controls 80% of Linate’s slots.
A decline in the “jet crack” spread—the difference between the price of oil and the premium that refiners charge for jet fuel—has helped cushion the impact of rising fuel prices on airlines. But carriers are still paying the equivalent of more than $75 a barrel for jet fuel, a 50% increase since March.
The Transportation Security Administration, citing what it calls “a credible threat to civil aviation in East Africa” and airport security issues in Liberia, indefinitely scuttled part of Delta Air Lines’ expansion of direct service to Africa just as flights were about to begin.
Tom van der Linden (see photo) has been named vice president-sales for the Chromalloy subsidiary of the New York-based Sequa Corp. He was vice president-operations for Chromalloy Gas Turbine.
Nesrin and Marti Sarigul-Klijn Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Dept. University of California (Davis, Calif.)
The White House has tasked the independent panel chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine to examine future U.S. human spaceflight activities and assess architecture options (AW&ST May 11, p. 31). Should the U.S. continue to develop two new launch vehicles, the Aries I and Aries V, or should we adopt a lower-cost approach to achieve the same goals? One alternate approach calls for developing only a single “Jupiter” launch system.
Senior British military officials recognize they are stretched to the limit when it comes to aircrew on critical platforms, including WAH-64 attack helicopters and elements of the Sea King fleet.
ATR and Afrijet Airlines have signed an agreement for the purchase of four ATR 72-500s. It is the third Nigerian airline to operate the turboprops and a new customer for ATR. The deal is a shot in the arm for ATR, which, like other aircraft makers, has seen a dearth of orders this year. The agreement will bring the introduction of turboprops at Afrijet, which otherwise operates MD-80s from its Lagos hub.
Ricardo V. Soria, assistant principal of Choctawahatchee High School, Fort Walton Beach, Fla., has received the 2009 Alan Shepard Technology in Education Award, which is given by the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, NASA and the Space Foundation . He was selected for his role in creating the Engineers for America program, an elementary school initiative that promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics education through hands-on flight, aviation and aerospace activities.
Mount Fuji Shizuoka airport has opened, connecting its region with eight domestic and international destinations, including Sapporo, Fukuoka, Shanghai and Seoul. All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, China Eastern, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and Fuji Dream Airlines are operating from the facility.
Russia’s Mil Mi-38 medium-lift helicopter faces a minimum 2-3‑year delay because of the likely shift to a home-grown engine, but the change would open the door for a Defense Ministry procurement.
The FAA has begun research into determining whether the national metric for aircraft noise, currently an averaging of sound levels during a 24-hr. period, is the best way to measure noise pollution. Complaints from residents affected by operations on Chicago O’Hare International Airport’s new runway, R9/L27, which opened last November, served as a catalyst for the agency to begin the study, says Brian Gilligan, executive director of the O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission.
Outraged lawmakers are exercising a rare legislative tool to force the Navy to release its annual shipbuilding plan. When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told the House Armed Services Committee he will not submit the report with the Navy’s Fiscal 2010 budget request, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and seven other panel members filed a resolution of inquiry. Their aim is to force Defense Secretary Robert Gates to pressure the Navy to deliver the plan.
With conventional gas turbines reaching the limits of their capacity for improvement, U.S. powerplant developers are preparing to compete for the chance to demonstrate a radical new engine architecture that promises substantial reductions in fuel consumption.
David A. Fulghum (Osan AB, South Korea), Amy Butler (Washington)
North Korea is teeing up several more missiles for launch as part of its long-term strategy to antagonize countries trying to rein in its nuclear and missile testing and its contraband exports of those technologies.
With the eventual return of U.S. military unmanned aircraft from Iraq and Afghanistan expected to create huge demand for access to civil airspace for training, pressure is mounting to find ways for them to coexist with manned aircraft. Although the long-term goal is the development of onboard “sense and avoid” systems, their certification remains years in the future, so early efforts are directed at using ground-based radar and air traffic control procedures to ease restrictions on airspace access.
Testing of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial system (UAS) at Edwards AFB, Calif., was halted pending investigation of a May 28 emergency landing that was prompted by a spoiler malfunction during a test sortie.
France has agreed to acquire 1,200 additional Mk82 guided bombs as part of a plan to meet urgent operational requirements with economic stimulus funding. The 250-kg. (550-lb.) general-use bombs, to be delivered by weapons-maker SAMP in 2009-10 under a €9-million ($12-million) contract, will be integrated into the AASM precision weapon—carried by Rafale fighter aircraft. The deliveries are intended to meet requirements through 2014.
Bental Industries will integrate its MicroBat-275 starter generator systems on Innocon’s Micro Falcon UAVs. Bental’s systems are already on Innocon’s Mini Falcon UAV platforms. This new agreement will intensify the level of cooperation between the Israeli companies. The MicroBat operational system is integrated on air and land UAVs as well as on a variety of other platforms. The small, compact, stabilized payload system for mini and micro UAVs meets surveillance, reconnaissance and observation missions needs.
The paucity of information about the whereabouts of the downed Air France Flight 447 Airbus A330, combined with strong currents that threaten to quickly disperse debris, is pushing aviation authorities to deploy an unusually vast fleet of air, sea and space assets (see p. 24).
Another key component of the Watchkeeper unmanned air system project was logged when Qinetiq and other stakeholders delivered the needed infrastructure and facilities at ParcAberporth, Ceredigion, South Wales, as part of its ongoing £5-million ($8.1 million) support contract, all but ensuring that the Watchkeeper trials program can begin at the site this fall. Thales, the Watchkeeper prime contractor, is now cleared to migrate the test program to the U.K. by October 2009.
July 16—Demonstrating the Value of Corporate Aircraft Management Forum. New York. Aug. 5-6—Required Navigation Performance Management Forum. Dallas. Aug. 12-13—Program Risk Management Forum. Washington. Sept. 22—Green Europe. Hamburg. Sept. 22-24—MRO Europe Conference & Exhibition. Hamburg. Oct. 6-7—Human Capital and Talent Acquisition/Labor Management Forum. Chicago. Oct. 13-14—Aircraft Parts Recycling Management Forum. Miami. Oct. 21-22—Supply Chain Management Forum. San Diego.
The British Royal Air Force last week marked the end of 19 years of Iraq combat operations with the return of XIII Sqn. Tornado GR4 strike aircraft and 101 Sqn. VC10 tanker aircraft. Since 2003, GR4s have been based at Al Udeid in Qatar as part of 901 Expeditionary air wing. The GR4s returned to RAF Marham in Norfolk, while the VC10s went back to their home base of RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Tornado GR4s are due to replace Harrier GR9s in Afghanistan beginning of next month.
