Struggling Asian carrier China Eastern Airlines is relaxing restrictions on ownership of its shares, opening the way for another carrier, probably Singapore Airlines, to buy a stake in the company and offer much-needed management help. The move may give Singapore Airlines (SIA) some of the beyond rights that it is always hankering for, connecting China with the U.S., though at the risk of putting money into a money-losing business that could be quite a challenge to reform.
The Czech Civil Aviation Authority has issued an airworthiness review certificate for the Ibis Ae270 utility aircraft, says Aero Vodochody, which designed the turboprop single in partnership with AIDC of Taiwan. The certificate, for aircraft No. 0006, clears the aircraft for type training and aerial work, permitting commercial operation to begin. European Aviation Safety Agency type certification for the Ae270 was issued in December 2005.
Doncasters, the British specialist engineering group, is looking to make a major acquisition in the U.S. aerospace manufacturing sector as it aims to bolster its position in the American market. The company is intent on growth in its traditional aero-engine metal components business, and in further expanding into the aerostructures business.
Korean Air is aiming for a 14% rise in operating profit to 640 trillion won ($685 million) this year, helped by a predicted 4% rise in revenue to 8.6 trillion won. "It is difficult to paint a rosy picture for next year with volatile factors like oil prices, but next year will be the year for Korean Air to step up efforts to become a major global player," a company official tells Yonhap news agency.
France will join a select group of nations, including the U.S. and Russia, that possess a homegrown naval cruise missile capability, following issuance of a full-scale development contract last week.
Steve Hixson (see photos) has been named vice president-advanced concepts; Timothy J. Frei vice president-intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance business development; and Brian Chappel vice president of contracts, pricing and programs business management, all for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif. Hixson was director of one of the sector's programs directorates, while Frei was the sector's director of engineering operations.
Not all hubs are created equal, and the industry needs to take a fresh look at the definition of a hub because data reveal vast differences across the U.S. airlines. By measuring hubs differently from the government's methodology, some airlines may lose their long-held claim of having some of the largest hubs in the U.S.
Robert Manelski, director of the Operations Center for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, has been selected to receive SAE International's Marvin Whitlock Award. This award recognizes technical contributions related to the operational availability of aircraft, and commemorates the late Marvin Whitlock, senior vice president-maintenance for United Airlines.
Ball Aerospace will build the second-generation commercial Earth-imaging WorldView 2 satellite for DigitalGlobe, set for launch late in 2008. The Boulder, Colo.-based spacecraft manufacturer is already at work on WorldView 1 for DigitalGlobe, with launch scheduled by the middle of this year, and it also built the company's QuickBird spacecraft in orbit now. ITT is building the high-resolution sensor for the new spacecraft, which will be designed to deliver as much as 950,000 sq. km. (366,800 sq. mi.) of 0.5-meter (1.6-ft.) resolution imagery a day directly to customers.
Pemco World Air Services has entered into a new contract with Iceland's Bluebird Cargo to convert two Boeing 737-400s to freighter configuration. Pursuant to Pemco's 2005 partnership pact with Xiamen-based Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. and Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. of Shandong (Staeco), the work will take place at the Staeco facility in Jinan, China. "We see the 737-400F as a natural next step in our fleet, which now includes five 737-300s," says Bluebird Cargo CEO Thor Kjartansson.
Eclipse Aviation Corp. delivered the first Eclipse 500 very light jet to David Crowe and Jet Alliance, co-owners of the twin-engine, six-seat airplane on Dec. 31. Crowe says he plans to use the jet (front in photo, with the six other aircraft being prepared for delivery) chiefly for recreation, but Jet Alliance, based in Westlake Village, Calif., will operate the aircraft to "serve a growing list of clients," according to Eclipse President and CEO Vern Raburn.
Apparently the F-22 Raptor, the newest aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, isn't the Cold War anachronism its detractors thought it would be. In fact, evidence to date suggests the stealthy fighter is worth more than skeptics expected.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace, already the world's largest third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul business, is targeting rapid growth and reckons it can achieve it without damaging its superb profitability. The company is developing a growth strategy based on its global spread of facilities and on packaging services as so-called total aviation support--doing almost everything for an airline except flying the aircraft and selling the tickets.
Continental Airlines expects a "modest loss . . . excluding special charges" for the fourth quarter of 2006, compared with the small profit forecast earlier by some analysts. Unit costs will be "in line with [the company's] most recently provided guidance," the carrier said, so the culprit was revenue. Continental estimates that consolidated and mainline unit revenue increased year-over-year 4.1-4.4% and 5.5-6.5%, respectively. The carrier will finish 2006 solidly in the black--its nine-month profits totaled $448 million operating and $370 million net.
Egypt has accepted the last of the 35 remanufactured AH-64D attack helicopters it ordered from Boeing. The remanufactured Apaches will be maintained by Boeing through a support contract.
US Airways has taken delivery of its first 99-seat Embraer 190. The carrier has 25 firm orders for Embraer 190s and 32 options. The aircraft type will begin flying in February from the airline's Philadelphia hub to Hartford, Conn.; Boston; Dallas/Fort Worth; Providence, R.I.; and Manchester, N.H.
Eumetsat is studying two alternatives for a planned third-generation geostationary orbit weather system, designated MTG, that is intended to replace the existing second-generation network around 2015. Three instruments--an imager, infrared sounder and lightning imager--are planned for the new system. However, the European Space Agency says development of the IR sounder is on the critical path and could take until 2017. A fallback solution of buying one from the U.S. has been rejected by Eumetsat as too expensive.
I must disagree somewhat with the reader Mark Greenaway's letter "Expand To Meet Demand at PHL" (AW&ST Dec. 11, 2006, p. 8), especially after the chaos there Dec. 13-16. US Airways is a disaster at Philadelphia International Airport; no amount of added capacity will get that airline or city's employees to load luggage and try to deliver their paying passengers on time. I am also appalled that what happened that week occurred before, which received lots of coverage and promises never to let it happen again. This time, there was not a bit of news coverage.
A 3-hr. contact with a Block IIR GPS satellite provided a successful demonstration of the Architecture Evolution Plan that Boeing is implementing for a new GPS ground station at Schriever AFB, Colo. Boeing is migrating the current ground control system to a distributed Unix-based system that is to be operational in April. The Schriever control center commands 32 GPS satellites now in orbit and replacements.
After years of discussions at the Pentagon about a common system, the Marine Corps has decided to shift from its Pioneer unmanned aerial vehicles to the Shadow, a newer system also used by the Army, for future short-range reconnaissance. The Pioneer, jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and AAI, has been a Navy and Marine Corps mainstay. But a Pentagon official says the Marines can buy three times as many Shadow UAVs, also made by AAI, with funding now allotted to Pioneer, which will be phased out as the Shadows are purchased and put into service.
Germany's air traffic controllers are threatening a potentially devastating strike for as early as this week if they cannot agree on negotiations with air traffic control provider Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS).
The new Category-2 instrument landing system at Ramstein AB, Germany, was used the day after Christmas to land, in low visibility, a C-17 carrying 14 American patients from Iraq. The system had been declared operational only four days before. The base requires Cat.-2 (100-ft. ceiling and 370 meters visibility) or Cat.-3 (ground-level ceiling and 200 meters visibility) operations on an average of 35 days a year. The capability is part of the Rhein Main Transition Program, which shifts military traffic from Frankfurt International Airport.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, FAA and General Electric are aiding Indonesian investigators to determine why an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 cruising at 35,000 ft. with 102 people on board vanished from radar screens. At the same time, Indonesian search-and-rescue team members late last week were using military aircraft to search for wreckage.
The French government has issued a call for tenders to upgrade 18 aging Alphajet advanced trainers. The upgrade will include a new cockpit, head-up display, weapon management system, inertial guidance system and GPS receiver. The kits will be installed by air force shops in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne. Bids are due Apr. 27.
