French railway SNCF is proposing a venture with Air France-KLM that would offer fast-train feeder service to the airlines’ major hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. The offer is intended to head off a possible collaborative move by Air France-KLM and Veolia Environment, announced in early July, and to prepare for liberalization of European rail traffic in 2010. It would allow the carrier to capture some of the short-haul traffic it has been losing to high-speed rail while freeing up slots for higher-margin long-haul traffic.
USAF Gen. Duncan J. McNabb has been named commander of U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill. He has been Air Force vice chief of staff. Lt. Gen. William M. Fraser, 3rd, has been nominated for promotion to general and assignment as vice chief of staff. He has been assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lt. Gen. William L. Shelton has been appointed chief of warfighting integration and chief information officer in the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force at the Pentagon.
The European Commission’s competition authority plans to rule by Aug. 25 on the proposed Air France-KLM takeover of the remaining 50% in Martinair. The airlines submitted their request to competition authorities late last month. The initial review will determine if there are any objections. If not, the deal can go through. If there are objections, a more detailed review will follow, requiring 90 working days.
In reading Pierre Sparaco’s dissection of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustainment of the Boeing tanker protest (AW&ST July 7, p. 61), I’m struck by his attitude of “we’re better than that here in Europe.”
Having failed to unload its Spanair arm, the SAS Group now is trying to streamline operations at the Spanish carrier. One step in that direction is the decision to sell its tourism operator, Club Vacaciones. Having to hold on to Spanair isn’t good news for the SAS Group.
The U.K. may be on the brink of embarking on development of the Chinook Mk4, but other critical elements of its core rotary program remain in disarray. The Defense Ministry is delaying by at least 12 months launch of the assessment phase of its Future Medium Helicopter program, with the overall competition phase a minimum of 18 months late.
AgustaWestland has signed a contract with the Qatar government for the sale of 18 AW139 helicopters. The deal, worth in excess of €260 million ($413.4 million), includes crew training and initial logistic support and spares.
Regarding Prof. T. Nejat Veziroglu’s letter “Hydrogen, Future Airline Fuel?” (AW&ST June 12, p. 12), hydrogen is not a viable aircraft fuel for these reasons: •It has to be in the liquid state. Even then, it is about 4.5 times as bulky as jet fuel for equal energy content, so there is a tankage volume problem. There would not be enough room in the wings.
Capt. Dave Carbaugh of The Boeing Co. has received the Aviation Week & Space Technology Distinguished Service Award from the Alexandria, Va.-based Flight Safety Foundation . He was recognized for his career-long achievements in aviation safety, including work to promote flight safety awareness, training, standard operating procedures, and tools for pilots and maintenance technicians. Carbaugh is considered an expert on airplane tail strikes, inflight upset recovery, wake turbulence, controlled flight into terrain, and approach and landing accident reduction.
Embraer has completed another round of selections for its new Legacy 450/500 midsize business jet line. Heroux Devtek will supply the landing gear, Pacific Scientific the electrical power system, Meggitt the bleed system and Intertechnique the oxygen system. The thrust control and rudder pedal systems will be provided by SKF and the insulation by Polyfab. FACC will provide the interior, BE Aerospace the passenger seats and Goodrich, the pilot seats.
Frederick W. Reid has been appointed president of Bombardier Aerospace ’s Flexjet and Skyjet, effective Aug. 25. He will succeed Michael McQuay, who is now president of Bombardier Aircraft Service Centers. Reid has been CEO of Virgin America and was president/chief operating officer of Delta Air Lines.
European telecommunications satellite operators have called on the European Union to protect access of satellite communications services to required spectrum and ensure they do not suffer from unwarranted interference from other users. Unless amended, a new regulatory framework for electronic communications currently being debated within the European Parliament could jeopardize the long-term stability of satcom services, the operators said during a meeting of space ministers in Kourou, French Guiana.
The rapid growth in Indian air traffic during the past eight years has become a bane, not a boon, to the existence of airlines here. Domestic air services have mushroomed to about 7,000 weekly departures in 2007 from slightly more than 1,000 a decade ago, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s air regulator. Last year’s growth rate was 23%. But it shrank to 8% last month and is expected to enter negative territory as the year progresses. Cumulatively, India’s airlines have already cut 10% of their flights.
The next two leaders of the U.S. Air Force are pledging to take a fresh look at the service’s aircraft fleet requirements, as well as providing full cooperation to meet intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) demands from combat commanders and the nascent ISR Task Force set up by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
B. Zane Faught (see photos) has been promoted to general manager of the Computers and Software Div. from principal director of Control Systems in the Navigation Div. and Randolph L. Kendall general manager of the Launch Systems Div. from principal director of the Launch Directorate in the National Systems Group for The Aerospace Corp. , El Segundo, Calif. Edward B. Diamond has been appointed principal director of the Facilities Directorate and Douglas L.
The screening of airline and cruise ship passengers arriving in Bermuda is expected to go faster now with the installation of an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) data connection using the company’s global AviNet network. Annapolis, Md.-based Arinc is also providing a backup data connection via the Internet and custom software capability to accommodate private and charter vessels.
Build a new aircraft and Oshkoshers will come. Barring weather or operating problems, Cirrus Design Corp. plans to show off the newest addition to its family, the Vision SJ50 single-engine personal jet, at EAA AirVenture ’08. “Oshkosh is the perfect place to bring our new airplane,” says Mike Van Staagen, Cirrus vice president of advanced development group-design. It will be the first time the public catches a glimpse of the v-tailed Vision SJ50, formerly known as “the jet” (see cover).
Arianespace has been selected to launch the fourth MSG-4 weather satellite for Eumetsat, in the second half of 2013. Arianespace had been chosen for MSG-3, set for launch in 2010, and the first two MSG spacecraft, currently in orbit. It was the third launch deal for the Ariane 5 operator this year.
Bombardier plans to give its new CSeries the best of both Boeing and Airbus approaches to fly-by-wire systems and a cockpit with all of the latest situational awareness systems, including some not yet flying on any commercial passenger jets. When it comes to fly-by-wire, Bombardier is going to avoid having to choose between the Airbus philosophy that focuses on envelope protection and the Boeing philosophy that gives pilots full access to all-control authority. It’s going to give its customers both.
Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon told government and business executives in Australia on July 22 that the global aviation industry faces more than a mere crisis. What is occurring now is a “permanent transformation” driven by “permanent high fuel prices.” Dixon says Qantas is well positioned with a five-year cost-reduction program making it possible to raise the capital to purchase $30 billion in new, fuel-efficient jets. But Qantas has been forced to suspend recruiting, cut jobs and reduce capacity as it pays $2 billion more for fuel this year than in 2007.
Good news for general aviation safety—the number of fatal accidents and fatalities has been in a steady downward trend since 1989, and advanced technology and training will continue driving that number down.
French defense minister Herve Morin says the government will push a string of measures to facilitate the creation of a functioning European defense industry during its six-month stint at the head of the European Union presidency (see p. 32). The measures include launching new defense initiatives through the European Defense Agency (EDA); consolidating the defense industry base, in particular in the fragmented naval and ground-systems sectors; and establishing new regulatory mechanisms.
The U.S. Agriculture Dept. will conduct plant research on the International Space Station under a memorandum of understanding signed July 23 by NASA Adminstrator Michael Griffin and Agriculture Secretary Edward T. Schafer. The MOU, part of NASA’s effort to develop the U.S.-controlled facilities on the ISS as a national laboratory (AW&ST June 16, p. 38), will make experiment racks available to the Agricultural Research Service for research into biological cellular mechanisms.
As a high-profile defense contractor, General Dynamics Corp. has been shielded from the investor sell-off that led to sharp declines in the prices of commercial aerospace stocks (AW&ST July 21, p. 12). So it’s ironic that the standout in the company’s impressive second-quarter financial results is its commercial Gulfstream Aerospace unit, which accounts for about one-fifth of overall sales. GD reported a 25% increase in net income from a year earlier amid an 11% sales gain (see earnings summary, p. 26).
