Publicly held air cargo companies outshined their passenger-carrying peers in the 2008 Top-Performing Companies study, and they appear to be better prepared for a hazardous future of fuel highs and economic lows. United Parcel Service (UPS) heads the cargo rankings over rival FedEx and growing freight operator Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. UPS scored a remarkable 99 out of 100 in the financial health category, as it has in each of the past eight years. The company ended the year with a cash and accounts receivable balance of $10.4 billion.
Airbus reports it has won 711 net orders so far this year, or 754 gross orders, through the end of July. The intake for last month was 229 units, including a 100-aircraft order from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise first announced in November. The aircraft maker had delivered 286 aircraft by Aug. 1.
In a campaign speech Aug. 2 in Titusville, Fla., near Kennedy Space Center, presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) expressed support for the addition of an extra space shuttle mission beyond the currently planned shuttle phaseout in 2010 to carry the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer instrument to the International Space Station.
During the last airline industry downturn, low-cost carriers capitalized on the woes of the legacy airlines to expand market share. But their much-admired lean business models now appear inadequate to protect them from the fallout of record fuel prices. “They were fine at $40-a-barrel oil, but not at $140,” says Raymond Neidl of Calyon Securities. He expects troubles to continue as long as fuel remains high, or until carrier managements pull themselves out of their vulnerable state.
David Chesmore has become product engineer for Flight Display Systems , Alpharetta, Ga. He was an electrical engineer at Bombardier Aerospace/Learjet, Wichita, Kan.
The FAA on Aug. 6 amended its July 12 emergency airworthiness directive to clarify the inspection process for the Eclipse 500 very light jet’s throttle quadrant assembly. The amended directive mandates following standardized procedures for testing and modifying the throttle lever, as outlined in Eclipse’s July 22 Service Bulletin. Under the new AD, Eclipse 500s tested under the previous directive may complete checks during next scheduled aircraft maintenance visit or within 60 days.
Malev Hungarian Airlines is cutting staff and fleet to deal with economic pressures. The airline is taking five Boeing 737s out of service temporarily, a move that comes on top of plans to withdraw two 767s from operations for the winter period. Malev plans to generate some revenue by leasing the 737s to other carriers. To keep its European and Middle East network intact, the airline also is redeploying aircraft and adding more fuel-efficient Bombardier Q400 turboprops.
There have been many calls for energy independence. But a political calling is not a political or economic result. As both the head of acquisition for the Pentagon and as Air Force secretary, I focused on realistic and feasible ways to move forward on the concept of energy independence, fully realizing that this was going to be a multi-year process, and possibly one with multiple paths to achievement. There were several imperatives driving the Air Force to underwrite this development.
Sometimes science and the Internet don’t mix. Aviation Week.com reported Aug. 1 that NASA informed the White House, as a courtesy, about a planned headquarters briefing on intriguing new Mars Phoenix soil data. The findings involved the potential habitability—not the actual presence or absence—of life on Mars. Even though Aviation Week reported that Phoenix instruments are not capable of detecting life, web sites around the world, seeing the report, inferred that the data meant the spacecraft had actually detected life on the red planet.
Two U.S. pilots took off Aug. 7 to try to set a new speed record for an around-the-world helicopter flight. Scott Kasprowicz, former chief executive of Texel Corp., and Steve Sheik want to land their Italian-built AgustaWestland Grand AW109S after traversing 20,046 naut. mi. and making 65 fuel stops within two weeks. According to promoters, no additional fuel tanks or mission-specific modifications have been added to the rotorcraft—powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW207s—unlike previous attempts at the world helicopter speed record.
Slot auctions? Not at my airports, so says the Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA). The port authority vows to block all efforts to implement slot auctions—the Transportation Dept.’s favored solution to reduce congestion and delays at major New York area airports. Transportation has scheduled an auction Sept. 3 for slots at Newark (N.J.) Liberty International Airport. In response, the PA issued a Proposed Notice of Action that in effect would block flight activity—excepting emergency operations—for auction-acquired slots at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace has delivered the first of two Boeing 757-200s to the Royal New Zealand Air Force converted for combination freight and passenger/VIP or special operations missions. With 127 orders from FedEx and DHL, ST Aero has carved a niche when it comes to 757 Special Freighter conversions. But the New Zealand contract called for a new twist: installation of a cargo door forward of the left wing, a crew access ladder to the electronics equipment bay and a permanent airstairs unit in Door 4R at the rear of the aircraft.
With FAA certification in hand, Boeing has delivered its first 737 with weight-saving carbon brakes to Delta Air Lines. These brakes are common on wide-body transports but until recently were unable to cool off fast enough to meet the turnaround times typical of single-aisle airplanes used on shorter routes. Boeing says Messier-Rugatti’s carbon brakes are 700 lb. lighter than comparable high-capacity steel brakes used on 737-700/-800/ -900ERs and 550 lb. lighter than standard steel brakes used on 737-600/ -700s.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) remains in the game to develop a commercial route to the International Space Station after a third try to get its Falcon 1 rocket into orbit ended in failure.
India will not apply its recently updated offset policy to its high-profile Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft bids from six European, Russian and U.S. suppliers. The contenders to make 126 new fighters to replace the Indian air force’s aging MiG-21s are the EADS Eurofighter, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Mikoyan MiG-35, Boeing F/A-18E/F, Lockheed Martin F-16 and Dassault Rafale. The contract is expected to be worth $12 billion, with the winner committed to achieving a 50% offset in the value of the contract through investments in India.
The Russian airline sector is bracing for a shakeout despite continued high traffic volume. But there are clear signs of a slowdown, and strong passenger-growth figures may mask financial weakness. For now, the upswing remains impressive, with operators seeing a 21.8% volume increase in the first six months to 22.9 million passengers (last year saw an 18% hike over 2006 levels). But industry-wide traffic growth in June has already cooled, and the July trend was expected to be the same—although carriers have not yet reported those figures.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is planning for more complex testing of its $12.5 billion Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) development project next month while the Army is continuing to receive equipment for its first active battery.
Managing air traffic through 4D trajectories is a cornerstone of airspace system modernization, but exactly how the concept will be implemented is still being defined. 4DTs—based on the three spatial dimensions plus time—are part of both the FAA’s NextGen ATC upgrade effort and Europe’s Sesar (Single European Sky ATM Research) project. They allow pilots and controllers to negotiate a flight path that optimizes efficiency using precise timing and highly accurate position data.
Eutelsat’s Eurobird 3 spacecaft is not suffering from a solar panel failure, as indicated (AW&ST Aug. 4, p. 22). An article on EADS and the Airbus Military A400M misidentified the Europrop International TP400-D6 engine (AW&ST Aug. 4, p. 36). It’s an 11,000-shp. turboprop.
Aircraft sales and debtor-in-possession financing are raising cash for Frontier Airlines as it writes a reorganization plan under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. On Aug. 5, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved a $75-million commitment from an unsecured creditor group including Republic Airways Holdings, Credit Suisse Securities and AQR Capital. The court overruled protests by the Frontier Airlines Pilots Assn.
Davud Kasparov has been named design engineer and Aaron Jo-Nes technical support manager for Raisbeck Engineering of Seattle. Anne Lockemy has been promoted to advertising and public relations manager from marketing assistant.
The Defense Dept.’s new national strategy aims to balance conventional war-fighting capabilities—which now dominate its force structure and planning—with irregular and asymmetric skills and weapons. “U.S.
Ground systems developed as part of the U.K.’s Astraea program to examine the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in non-segregated airspace are being tested throughout all this month. Pilots, navigators and air traffic controllers are taking part in trials using the ground station to fly a simulated UAV mission. Results of the tests will be used to help further development of ground control station software.
Canada is leasing helicopters and unmanned air vehicles to increase support for its troops in Afghanistan. Up to eight Mil Mi-8 chartered commercial helicopters will be available later this year under a renewable one-year contract worth C$36 million ($34.2 million). They will precede six used Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopters that are to be purchased from the U.S. for $292 million and available by February 2009.
