Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, posted a $10.3-million net loss in the first quarter, traditionally the weakest for the Seattle-based operation. Officials blamed a soft revenue environment and increased competition that eroded yields since January. Alaska plans a 4-5% capacity increase and Horizon's capacity growth will be in double-digits this year.
NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) flew for the first time Apr. 26 after extensive modifications to accommodate a German-built 45,000-lb., 2.5-meter (8.2-ft.) infrared telescope. L-3 Integrated Systems of Waco, Tex., modified the Boeing 747SP with a 16-ft.-tall door that can open in flight to give the telescope a view of the heavens at altitudes as high as 45,000 ft., above 99% of the water vapor that hampers infrared observations at ground level. The initial 2-hr.
The Aerospace and Defense sector's thirst for product lifecycle management software remains strong, according to projections by infotech market research entity Daratech. It projects software and services sales of $13.4 billion this year, up 8% on the $12.3 billion achieved in 2006. Those returns represented an 8% growth over 2005. This boost occurred despite several challenges faced by some of the industry's biggest firms as they integrated recent acquisitions.
L-3 Communications CEO Michael Strianese is making good on his pledge to be more selective in acquisitions. The company last week announced its first two purchases of 2007: Global Communications Solutions, a supplier of portable satellite communications products; and Geneva Aerospace, a small company that specializes in technologies for UAVs. The two entities are expected to add about $100 million to L-3's annual sales. L-3 is slowing from its robust acquisition pace of 2005 and 2006, when it closed 12 and 14 deals, respectively.
Norway has restored parity in its future fighter aircraft competition, having awarded Saab a $25-million contract to work on future versions of the Gripen. After signing on earlier to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Oslo had promised to put some funding also against the other contenders. A similar deal covering the Eurofighter Typhoon will be signed May 15. The Gripen contract runs for two years and should buy access for Norwegian firms to benefit from more industrial cooperation. An initial industrial participation deal was signed with Eurofighter in 2003.
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USAF Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant has been named commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Kirtland AFB, N.M. He has been deputy chief of staff of the United Nations Command and U.S. Forces Korea, Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea. He will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Johnny A. Weida, who has been commander of the Air Force Security Assistance Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Weida, in turn, will be succeeded by Brig. Gen. Joseph M.
Safran is undertaking a thorough reexamination of its research and development plans as part of a revamped R&D policy aimed at ensuring that funds are directed at real sales prospects and not just technology for technology's sake.
The Air Force isn't giving an inch in its quest to become the military's focal point for unmanned aircraft. Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley says he has had lengthy discussions with the Marine Corps commandant, the chief of naval operations and the last two Army chiefs of staff. "What their staffs say, or what people say in an emotional moment, may not be what a service chief says," he contends.
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Patrick Gavin (see photo) has been appointed executive vice president-engineering of Airbus. He succeeds Alain Garcia, who will become technical adviser to the CEO prior to retiring June 30. Gavin was executive vice president-customer services and has been succeeded by Charles Champion (see photo), who was head of the A380 program.
David A. Fulghum (Patuxent River, Md., and Bethpage, N.Y.)
The world's navies have a new reality: They are facing rapidly changing threats and taking on more missions with fewer aircraft and ships. The following three articles focus on some of the ways the U.S. Navy is adapting to prolonged, low-intensity warfare. Its venerable P-3s are being deployed for overland reconnaissance and monitoring of the sea lanes used for weapons smuggling and the movement of insurgent leadership.
Recent letters on the difficulties experienced by F-22 Raptors heading for Japan brought to mind my first encounter with a "simulator test pilot" in the British Airways Flight Simulator Unit, which I managed in the 1990s.
In the aftermath of the Airbus A380 debacle, two major questions remain: Can Europe Inc. expect to become a strong reality if economic nationalism reigns unchecked? And will so-called cultural divergences eventually vanish and enable efficient cross-border governance to finally emerge?
Malaysian Airline Systems is looking for 55 aircraft to replace its 39 Boeing 737-300s, says a local newspaper, The Business Times. Proposals from Airbus, for A320s or A321s, and Boeing, for 737-800s and -900ERs, are due by June. The company has said it already knows which model it wants to buy.
The latest Citation to emerge from the drawing board is evolutionary, not revolutionary. But at $2.6 million for a well-equipped jet, the Mustang breaks the price barrier for entry into that exclusive club and provides pilots with significant gains in performance over turboprop-powered competitors.
Chances for a late May/early June launch of Germany's TerraSAR-X 1-meter-resolution commercial radar imaging satellite look better following the successful Apr. 18 sendoff of EgyptSat-1, a remote-sensing/scientific satellite, by a Russian Dnepr-1 rocket (the intended TerraSAR-X launch vehicle). Dnepr-1 had been sidelined since a July 2006 failure caused by a premature first-stage engine shutdown.
Rockwell Collins won't say how much it is investing in 787 research and development, but it will start ramping down next year. Despite the focus on this one big program, the company is actually spending much more of the $800 million it will devote to R&D this year on business aviation, not air transport projects. The company spends 17-19% of sales on R&D.
The European Commission has sanctioned the proposed acquisition of Smiths Aerospace by General Electric, even though the announcement at first raised some questions about market consolidation among European aerospace firms. But the EC says "the proposed transaction would not significantly impede competition and that rivals would not be hurt." Moreover, it notes that since GE already buys from Smiths, suppliers will not suffer unduly from the arrangement. There are several other engine makers for suppliers to court, the EC argues.
Emirates plans to place an additional order for up to 15 Airbus A380s as the airline is finalizing details of a wide-ranging fleet study. "We could easily absorb 5-15 more A380s," Emirates President Tim Clark told Aviation Week & Space Technology on the sidelines of the company's annual media conference here. A current in-depth analysis of traffic flows "is reshaping our thinking," Clark said. "We see growth everywhere in the network," and this would justify higher-capacity aircraft on more routes than previously anticipated.
Russia has cleared the re-export of the Klimov RD-93 turbofan engine from China to Pakistan to power the Chengdu JF-17 light fighter. India had been pressing Moscow not to allow Klimov to provide the engine for the JF-17. Klimov has already delivered an initial batch of 15 engines out of the 100 it is contracted to deliver.
Paul Drayson, Britain's minister for defense equipment and support, last week confirmed the Defense Ministry wants to deploy the Royal Air Force's Eurofighter Typhoon to operate in Afghanistan in 2008. The air force is scheduled to declare the Typhoon operational with a limited air-to-ground capability in July 2008.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the FAA and India's Ministry of Civil Aviation have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP). India becomes the second country after China to participate in the ACP, which is to serve as a mechanism through which India and U.S. aviation officials will highlight specific areas of technical cooperation. Initially, the ACP is expected to focus on air traffic/airspace management enhancements and the challenges of rapidly increasing aviation traffic in India.
