NASA hopes to launch its first crew into space on an Orion crew exploration vehicle in October 2013, only slightly ahead of the 2014 deadline President Bush set for Orion's first piloted mission. The agency had been trying to hold open the possibility of a first flight in 2012 (AW&ST July 24, 2006, p. 54). But a new draft request for proposals for production of the Ares I crew launch vehicle's upper stage shows the longer gap between the final space shuttle mission in September 2010 and the first Orion mission.
The European Regions Airline Assn. has prevailed in a dispute with the EC over information on air passenger rights. The lobbying group had charged the EC with disseminating inaccurate information, which gave rise to passenger claims against airlines. The European ombudsman sided with the association, arguing that the EC should apologize for the problems.
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The Japanese Defense Agency became the Defense Ministry Jan. 9, gaining greater status as the country more confidently deploys personnel overseas. It was previously a mere branch of the cabinet office. In another subtle change, those overseas deployments, such as peacekeeping operations, are now counted among the main duties of the organization, not tasks that are merely incidental to defending Japan. The forces themselves remain the "Self-Defense Forces."
Army Air Wing Aerospatiale SA330C (1) Aerospatiale SA330G (1) Bell Helicopter Textron 206L II (2) British Aerospace HS748-2A (1) Britten-Norman BN-2T (2) Eurocopter AS332 (1) HAL Dhruv (2) HAL SA316B (2) Mil Mi-17 (5) PZL M-28 (2) Shorts SC-7 (1)
Airlines and the British government are haggling over whether key carriers are doing enough to curtail their environmental impact. Top management of both British Airways and Ryanair are rebutting allegations by U.K. Environment Minister Ian Pearson over their respective green credentials. Pearson described Ryanair as the "irresponsible face of capitalism" regarding environmental issues, and suggested British Airways was barely doing enough to address its carbon emissions. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary was dismissive of Pearson's allegations.
33rd Floor Bangunan, MAS, Jalan Sultan Ismail Kuala Lumpur 50250, MALAYSIA Code: MH Employees: 22,513 www.malaysiaairlines.com Tel. (60-3) 2161-0555 Fax (60-3) 2161-3472 Ownership: 100% government Executive Management Chairman Dato Mohd. Munir Bin Abdul Majid Executive Director & CFO Tengku Azmil Zahruddin bin Raja Abdul Aziz Senior General Manager Flight Operations Dato Capt. Mohd Nawawi bin Awang
The European Commission has begun a consultative process to assess whether it should revise the rules governing the investigation of civil aviation accidents. One question is whether a centralized accident investigation group needs to be established. Input is being sought through Mar. 2, with results to be published in the second half of the year.
Asian lessor SALE is ramping up its business as it becomes a tool for deploying part of China's mountain of foreign exchange into the global aviation industry. SALE's orders for 20 Airbus A320-family aircraft and 20 Boeing 737s announced last week were just part of a strategy that is looking for ways to spend the money of the lessor's new owner, Bank of China--which, like all big Chinese banks, has more deposits than it knows how to invest. Orders for around 150 more aircraft are likely in the next few years.
Fontanastrasse 1, A 1107 Vienna, AUSTRIA Code: OS Employees: 8,468 www.aua.com Tel. (43-5) 1789 Ownership: 43.5% free float; 5.0% Austrian Airlines; 1.5% Air France; 10.3% Austrian institutional investors; 39.7% OIAG (Austrian Industry Holding) Executive Management CEO Alfred Otsch CFO Thomas Kleibl Chief Commercial Officer Josef E. Burger
AEROSPACE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (Taichung) (www.aidc.com.tw): Produces various helicopters and aircraft, primarily under license agreements. Aircraft include Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter, F-5E/F fighter under license to Northrop Grumman, AT-3 Tzu-Chung military trainer/close support aircraft. Helicopters produced include the Bell 205/UH-1H.
Six former U.S. Navy SH-3 Sea King helicopters, now stored at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center in Arizona, will be sent to two contractors to be refurbished before being loaded on board the former USS Trenton, the amphibious transport (LPD) recently purchased by India, to be shipped in April. Another project under consideration by the Indian navy is development of a rotary-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a joint venture with an international partner to help bolster maritime surveillance.
Any U.S. military surge in Iraq will be far more than a troop increase. A key element in the deployment will be an accelerated effort to bring more and newer technologies to bear on the foe, in part by targeting insurgent commanders, often through their communication networks, say Pentagon and aerospace industry specialists. Even the F-22 with its advanced electronic surveillance and analysis capability is being considered for deployment into theater from Okinawa this year during the stealth fighter's first air expeditionary force assignment.
The most novel measures proposed by the FAA to deal with long-term congestion problems at New York LaGuardia Airport are, to the surprise of no one, drawing the heaviest fire from the airlines that serve the airport. The Air Transport Assn. (ATA), five of whose 18 members operate more than half of LaGuardia's capacity, and the Regional Airline Assn. (RAA), three of whose 43 members offer nearly one-third of the rest among LGA's top 10 carriers, just plain don't like two of the FAA's central ideas:
