Placing blame mainly on the economy, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the New York region’s major airports, is reporting large first-quarter traffic declines. Compared to the same period in 2008, air cargo decreased 29.8% and passenger traffic, 11.6%, at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty International Airports. Bridge and tunnel traffic dropped 5.4% and cargo volumes at the ports, 17.4%—the biggest quarterly decline in more than 15 years. Port Authority Chairman Anthony R.
A “lack of realism” continues to hinder British Defense Ministry procurement, according to the Parliamentary Accounts Committee. Its report on procurement in 2007-08, released in London on May 15, criticizes the ministry’s defense equipment purchasing management. The committee flags what it sees as a failure to learn from “previously identified” errors. It notes that “in the last year (2007-08), the 20 biggest projects suffered a further £205 million ($311.6 million) of cost increases, and 96 months of additional slippage.
Lockheed Martin Corp. engineers and scientists received 30 awards, and eight Raytheon Co. employees were honored during the 2009 Black Engineer of the Year Awards . Among the Lockheed Martin winners is Nikki Boone, senior electronics engineer at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth, who received the Black Engineer of the Year Community Service Award.
The EC has selected Inmarsat Ventures Ltd. and Solaris Mobile Ltd. to provide hybrid mobile satellite services (MSS) across the European Union. The selection completes a process that began last August and culminated in the shortlisting of four candidates in December. Two of the candidates, TerreStar and ICO Global Communications, were eliminated; both are already engaged in North American hybrid MSS projects, which use terrestrial repeaters to augment satellite coverage.
Eutelsat has selected Astrium to build a new satellite intended to boost capacity at its 7 deg. W. Long. neighborhood, which it operates in partnership with Egyptian operator Nilesat. The spacecraft, known as Atlantic Bird 7 and set to be launched in late 2011, will replace W4A at the position, which will be rebranded Nilebird. It will carry up to 60 Ku-band transponders providing direct-to-home broadcasting across the Middle East and North Africa plus consumer broadcasting and Internet Access to northwestern Africa. W4A, launched Feb.
The threat of cyberattacks on industry and the military will be the focus of a White House announcement expected this week concerning a recent 60-day cybersecurity assessment. The study is based on the report “Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency” sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. One CSIS finding calls cybersecurity “among the most serious economic and national security challenges [the U.S.] faces in the 21st century.”
More than 85% of Austrian Airlines shareholders last week gave the green light for Lufthansa’s planned takeover. The offer by Lufthansa was contingent on a 75% approval rate. Both Lufthansa and Austrian will now await results of a European Commission analysis of the deal’s projected effects on competition as well as the commission’s approval. If Lufthansa regards any conditions imposed on it as unacceptable, it can back out of the takeover, which is now a matter of urgency as Austrian is burning cash at an astonishing rate.
Look closely and you might be able to discern the Pentagon’s plans for unmanned aerial vehicles in last week’s congressional testimony by Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen on the Fiscal 2010 defense budget.
The U.S. Air Force is proposing to proceed with development of two new variants of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile even while the system continues to struggle with reliability. During acceptance tests in February for Lot 5, four of 10 Jassm flights were failures, according to USAF officials. Three of the four performed nominally through impact; the fourth impacted outside the target area.
Boeing and General Electric hope to boost the export sales potential of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EF-18G Growler by offering a new, more powerful derivative of the F414 with 20% increased thrust as well as greater durability and reduced fuel burn.
As Etihad continues with its fleet expansion, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier says operations should increase 15% to top 7 million passengers with revenue reaching $3 billion, up from $2.5 billion last year. Etihad has taken delivery of three new aircraft this year and eight more are to arrive as the airline increases its fleet to 52 units by year-end. Another Airbus A320 is due this month, followed by an A340-600 in August and another in September. One more A320 is due in October, November and December each.
Their production slowed, workforces slashed, products and reputations besmirched, and giddy forecasts turned into fiction, the battered and bruised makers of business aircraft are beginning to express cautious optimism that the current market downturn may be changing direction.
Peter Koch, who has been managing director of Swiss European Air Lines, has been appointed CEO of Swiss PrivateAviation . He will be succeeded by Andreas Thurnheer.
Lockheed Martin and Sensis have won competitive contracts to develop prototypes of USAF’s next-generation long-range radar, which will replace the TPS-75 transportable air surveillance radars now deployed. Lockheed Martin has been awarded $24.9 million and Sensis $21.9 million for the 20-month technical development phase of the Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar program. After each builds a prototype mobile phased-array radar, the two teams will compete for a four-year development contract.
The expert panel set up to review human spaceflight options for the Obama administration will be working within the new Fiscal 2010 budget request, which trims more than $3.1 billion from exploration accounts after 2011. Former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine said May 8 the panel he is to chair will start with an examination of the Ares I/Orion crew vehicles now in development to replace the shuttle after it is retired in 2010, and probably won’t generate many different options. “So there’ll probably be a couple of options,” he says.
Beijing is shoveling yet more money into loss-making China Eastern Airlines, with a 2-billion-yuan ($294-million) allocation to the carrier’s parent company. The government had previously given 7 billion yuan to the airline, which says it needs the latest wad of money to reduce its financial strain. The total allocated is less than the 13.9 billion yuan that China Eastern lost last year, although trading conditions may be better this year.
Paul Gregory (see photos) has been named vice president-investor relations, Gaston Kent vice president-finance and Bernard McVey vice president/chief information officer of the Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman Corp. Gregory was vice president/chief financial officer of the company’s then-Space Technology Sector. He succeeds Kent. McVey was vice president/chief financial officer for then-Information Technology Sector.
Sagem says the French army has field tested a new tactical terminal intended to allow ground troops and forward observers to directly receive and transmit images acquired by sensors on unmanned aerial vehicles. The unit, known as ERS-RVT (for End Reception Station-Remote Video Terminal), comprises a terminal and man-portable transmitter/receiver designed to supply real-time high-resolution displays of geo-referenced images and digital maps. It also provides feedback from previous missions, along with threat assessments.
Hit by “uniquely harsh business conditions” spilling over from fiscal 2008, JAL Group expects its ordinary loss to reach ¥25.9 billion ($269 million) in fiscal 2009, which began Apr. 1. The group says it expects international travel to decline from last year’s levels due to “unremitting sluggishness in demand” and a decrease in yield as fuel surcharges fall along with the price of fuel. Operating revenue is expected to drop ¥203.1 billion from 2008’s level, which, at ¥1.95 trillion, was 12.5% lower than for 2007.
Steven Barnoske (see photo), formerly director of tactical missile programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, has been named president of Meads International , Orlando, Fla. He succeeds Jim Cravens, who is retiring from Lockheed Martin.
Amy Butler (Washington), Michael Bruno (Washington)
The U.S. is increasingly pushing Israel away from an Arrow 3 system for its own missile defense against Iran, and Washington is proposing a land-based version of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System’s Standard Missile-3 for the Middle East ally instead. Without U.S. funding, it will be difficult to continue the Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing Arrow 3, which is what Israeli officials had preferred.
The sustained drop in traffic and yields is driving Iberia to implement further restructuring measures—and quickly, with the airline signaling it is ready to take further steps should the declines accelerate. The severe downturn has also further slowed merger talks between British Airways and Iberia. The two airlines still have not formally set the equity stake each will receive in the joint company or unveiled planned cost savings from the combination.
Eurocopter is introducing a new version of the EC145 equipped with an interior that approximates business jet comfort levels. The interior, dubbed Stylence, features technologies to dampen noise along with anodyzed metal and carbon fiber inserts, visible aluminum structures, leather seats and other equipment to “provide fully equipped inflight offices,” says Eurocopter.
The market downturn has delivered an unexpected benefit to Dassault Falcon Jet, according to President/CEO John Rosanvallon. It is helping the company reduce a bottleneck in deliveries at its completion facility in Little Rock, Ark. The jam, which has particularly affected the 7X, was due mostly to the FAA’s imposition of new data validation criteria that require many more burn tests on various combinations of materials. But engineering and production ramp-up issues have also been factors.
