How much longer can the paradox last: airlines are going bust yet demand for aircraft remains strong? Aircraft makers are increasingly anxious about the financial turmoil shaking their customers and what it all means for them. At least one senior industry official says a sharp downturn in orders is inevitable. But so far, delays in deliveries and canceled orders due to bankruptcies are being offset by airlines looking for more aircraft, says Airbus CEO Tom Enders.
At a recent AVIATION WEEK executive roundtable in Brussels, European Parliament Member Peter Liese—usually a voice of reason when it comes to debating airlines’ role in curbing carbon emissions—told the gathering of thought leaders, “We have to take care that we don’t kill the industry.” Let’s hope the majority of Liese’s colleagues and members of the U.S. Congress are capable of making the same enlightened observation, and soon (see story, p. 24).
Thales Alenia Space has been selected to build a new telecom satellite for Cairo-based Nilesat. The 3.2-metric-ton spacecraft, Nilesat 201, will carry 24 Ku-band and four Ka-band transponders and will be launched in February 2010. Arianespace will be the launch provider, according to Egyptian sources. Nilesat officials say its two existing units, Nilesat 101/102, also supplied by Thales Alenia, are both fully booked as strong demand in the Middle East and North Africa taxes existing capacity.
USAF Maj. Gen. Philip M. Breedlove has been nominated for promotion to lieutenant general with assignment as commander of the Third Air Force, U.S. Air Forces in Europe, Ramstein AB, Germany. He is vice director for strategic plans and policy of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
Less than two years ago, it was easy to speculate on the emergence of a completely new economic model for airlines. Analysts and bankers were monitoring low-fare carriers’ two-digit traffic growth and healthy profitability while expressing concerns about legacy airlines’ struggle for decent financial results.
Emirates can finally look forward to delivery of its first A380. Airbus is to hand over the first A380 to the biggest customer for the aircraft, on July 28, at Airbus’s Hamburg facility. The aircraft will begin service to New York soon after. The delivery also will put into service the GP7200 engine, which is built by the Engine Alliance joint venture of General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.
Canadian and European Union negotiators say they are making progress toward a single open skies pact that would replace 19 bilateral agreements. One negotiator predicts an agreement will be in hand by fall. The objective of talks, which began last November, is creation of an open aviation area where direct services would be permitted from any point between Canada and EU nations. A U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement took effect in March.
Regarding Daniel Dugan’s response to my Mar. 24 letter, my suggestion to reconsider an extended buy of V-22s to replace CH-46s and CH-53s was a plea to keep an open mind when more promising alternatives seem to be on the horizon.
Boeing has put its hat into the ring as a potential competitor for the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial System (NG-UAS) program, which aims to field a Predator and Reaper replacement by 2015 that is more maneuverable and survivable than today’s systems. USAF expects to issue a request for information from would-be NG-UAS contractors soon. The service says it wants a solution that incorporates technologies that are proven in an operationally relevant environment by 2010.
Air travelers avoided taking 41 million trips in the past year and the U.S. economy took a $26.5-billion hit as a result, according to a Travel Industry Assn. (TIA) survey of 1,000 people. The survey was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Winston Group for TIA. Half of the respondents said the air travel system was likely to improve in the near future. The problem cost U.S. airlines $9 billion in revenue, hotels $6 billion and restaurants $3 billion, the survey found.
U.S. government spending on information technology systems and services is forecast to grow at 3.9% per annum over the next five years, compared to 7% during the past 20 years. Total IT spending is expected to reach $87.8 billion by 2013, up from $71.9 billion in 2008, according to the latest five-year forecast by Input, a market intelligence and analysis company in Reston, Va., that focuses on the federal IT sector.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center)
The crew of the space shuttle Discovery should wrap up a busy International Space Station assembly mission this week, but their on-time launch May 31 left a mess on the ground that has cast a shadow over the future launch schedule for the shuttle and perhaps even its follow-on vehicle.
David E. Beaman has been promoted to manager from deputy manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket Booster Project within the Shuttle Propulsion Office at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center , Huntsville, Ala.
Anne Lambert has been appointed director of government and European affairs for U.K.-based NATS . She was the U.K.’s deputy permanent representative to the European Union in Brussels.
The Pentagon is honing at least part of its airborne electronic attack road map. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be the “threshold” platform, say aerospace industry officials. That’s a surprise since there seems to be a dearth of antennas on the design. Moreover, electronic attack (EA) hasn’t been deemed compatible with stealth. The Defense Dept.-mandated electronic attack package would be integral to the F-35, but likely it would be added later in pods on existing aircraft.
Surrey Space Technology Ltd. says it has concluded a preliminary agreement to supply a third imaging satellite, Alsat 1b, to Algeria. A final agreement is expected by year-end. The company lost out to Astrium for the second Algerian spacecraft, after having won the first. SSTL also has been selected to supply a multispectral imager for the European Space Agency’s Earthcare satellite.
The Phoenix Mars lander footpad to the left of an apparent large block of water ice, which was cleared of topsoil by descent rockets, indicates the spacecraft literally touched down on top of the primary sampling objective of the mission near the Martian North Pole on May 25. A wider version, with more elements of the false-color mosaic, is above.
Arianespace says it has set June 12 as the new launch date for the U.K.’s Skynet 5C military communications satellite. The launch, which will also orbit the Turksat 3A commercial spacecraft, has been delayed twice.
Shelly Simi has become a communications strategist for business and general aviation for Jeppesen , Englewood, Colo. She was public relations counsel for Adam Aircraft Industries and had been vice president-communications for the General Aviation Manufacturers Assn.
SkyTeam alliance members Air France-KLM and China Southern hope to have their cargo joint venture up and running by year-end. The two parties signed a framework agreement in Istanbul during the International Air Transport Assn. (IATA) annual general meeting. Regulatory approval is still required. Air France-KLM would hold 25% of the venture, and the airline group would have a managing role, not just supervisory responsibilities.
Alenia North America is proceeding alone with its plans to assemble the C-27J Spartan Joint Cargo Aircraft in Jacksonville, Fla., after failing to reach agreement with Boeing on the business case for joint production of the intra-theater transport for the U.S. Army and Air Force and other potential customers. Alenia needs to break ground on a final assembly facility by year-end to begin deliveries in 2010. The site would employ around 200 people and be able to assemble 20 aircraft a year, says Alenia. Talks on incentives are underway with the State of Florida.
The U.S. House Science Committee last week approved a Fiscal 2009 NASA authorization bill that includes $1 billion to accelerate the Constellation program and boosts NASA’s top line to $20.2 billion, which is $2.6 billion more than President Bush’s request. Committee leaders praised the legislation as a bipartisan measure that sends a strong message to the next President’s administration on the importance of NASA. “I think we’ve laid out a great starting place no matter who the next president might be,” says Tom Feeney (R-Fla.), who represents Kennedy Space Center.
Foreign air travelers permitted to enter the U.S. without a visa will now have to fill out electronic registration forms at least 72 hours before they begin their trips. Under a new regulation, which goes into effect Jan. 1, foreigners not required to obtain U.S. travel visas—nationals of the 27 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program—will be required to obtain an electronic travel authorization.
David McMillan took over the reins of Eurocontrol on the first day of 2008—the year he believes will be “most pivotal” for the organization as it works to implement the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The forthright McMillan met with Aviation Week & Space Technology editors in Washington to discuss major challenges ahead for Eurocontrol—including alignment with U.S. NextGen efforts, aviation’s impact on the environment and capacity constraints. Managing Editor James R.
