Changes in Europe's air transport market are driving Air France-KLM to pursue several new avenues, including establishing a low-cost adjunct, while trying to retain the fundamental character of its two airline operations. But overshadowing such efforts is a slight change in the airline group's attitude to a potential tie-up with neighboring carrier Alitalia. Air France-KLM has lowered the bar on such a match, but a deal remains a distant possibility.
Air Force acquisition chief Sue Payton says her work will be her "swan song" before retiring from public service, and she's determined to make her mark. She has already begun a plan to "divest," or terminate, some Air Force programs that are over cost or underperforming, or address outdated requirements. "I did not come into the acquisition realm in the Air Force to be a cheerleader" for its programs, she says. Citing a $10-billion loss in recent years from Air Force modernization programs, Payton says the service must tighten its belt.
Flattening the operational peaks and valleys of a large U.S. hub is crucial to improving productivity and cutting costs. A new analysis by Aviation Week's Aviation Daily and partner Eclat Consulting indicates that American Airlines is still leading the way in this work since it first "depeaked" its Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) hub two years ago. Other carriers are lagging, however, and may be paying a hefty price as a result.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. IS EXPANDING THE NUMBER of field service engineers for Citation series business jets by three people, bringing to 25 the number of field service representatives worldwide. The additional engineers will be assigned to Stuttgart, Germany; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; and Milwaukee. In addition, by the end of this year three other field service engineers are scheduled to be added in Denver; Calgary, Alberta; and Farnborough, England. In other news, Icecraft Ltd., Cessna's sales agent in Scandinavia, has added six aircraft to its original order of four.
Spectacular profits in the long-haul business plan of Australian budget airline Jetstar must be on the minds of private equity investors who are proposing a buyout of its parent, Qantas.
James R. Clapper, Jr., has been appointed to the board of directors of GeoEye, Dulles, Va. He has been senior vice president/chief operating officer of DFI Government Services and was director of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
NATO members will face critical equipment decisions in the coming months after a summit of the group's political leaders failed to resolve several key operational and modernization questions.
Union members have ratified variable-length contracts with Mesaba Airlines in hopes that a 15% cut in labor costs will preserve Mesaba's Saab 340 operations with long-time partner Northwest Airlines (AW&ST Nov. 27, p. 64). Contracts for the Air Line Pilots Assn., the Assn. of Flight Attendants and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. will be in effect for four years if the Saab fleet remains at 49 aircraft, but will lengthen to 5.5 years if the aircraft fleet increases to 79 aircraft or more.
Many aviation economists believe there are too many airlines with too much capacity plying their trade in the U.S. Consumers enjoy the resulting low fares in the short run, but in the long run, everyone suffers when airlines lose money. Much of the industry's five-year financial disaster is believed to have grown out of the market paralysis to which an overcrowded field contributes. Let markets rule, with fewer airlines the likely result, these industry observers conclude.
Cincinnati Inc. has sold four high-speed laser cutting systems this year exclusively for aerospace use. The latest system, the CL-707, features interchangeable 8 X 20-ft. cutting tables, which are twice the size of competing systems, according to the company. The CL-707 operates with a 5,000-watt GE Fanuc laser resonator that generates the cutting beam. It can slice through 18-gauge steel at up to 1,000 in./min. The U.S. Air Force has acquired one laser cutting system and has a second on order. Other buyers were not identified.
EUROCOPTER HAS SOLD AN EC135 AND ONE EC145 light, twin-engine helicopter to corporate customers in Poland, marking the first sales of each type in that country. Deliveries are scheduled early in 2007. In addition, Eurocopter is offering the EC135 for Poland's Ministry of Health project that calls for 23 helicopters equipped for emergency medical service.
BELL HELICOPTER TEXTRON AFFILIATE AERONAUTICAL ACCESSORIES has received FAA supplemental type certification for "Hi-Visibility" doors for the Model 407 single-engine, turbine-powered helicopter. The modification kit, previously available to law enforcement agencies, is now an option for all 407 customers and replaces standard passenger, pilot and cabin doors with new doors that provide increased viewing area.
Sukhoi plans first flight of the Su-35 by August 2007, according to Chief Executive Mikhail Pogosyan. The aircraft is a derivative of the Su-27 Flanker with improved avionics, engines and weapons.
As if its struggling regional jet (RJ) business isn't trouble enough, Bombardier Inc. now faces questions about whether its corporate aircraft unit is losing ground to competitors. The company last week announced 57 new orders for such aircraft in the quarter ended Oct. 31, essentially even with the same period a year earlier and down 10 orders from the previous quarter, despite record demand for business jets (AW&ST Oct. 16, p. 28). "You clearly have lost market share," GMP Securities analyst Marko Pencak told company executives during an earnings call last week.
Britain will carry out fast-jet trials simulating the control of unmanned combat air vehicles from a single-seat combat aircraft within the next few months.
NATO is developing an expansive unmanned aircraft roadmap to overcome persistent material and operational shortfalls highlighted during recent operational deployments. The Flight Plan for Unmanned Aircraft Systems calls for an array of actions to be taken by the alliance and individual members, ranging from NATO acquiring its own system, to members buying high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) systems, to NATO improving frequency management to properly employ UAVs.
G. Scott Hubbard has received the Carl Sagan Memorial Award from the American Astronautical Society and The Planetary Society. Named for The Planetary Society's co-founder, the award is presented to a person who has demonstrated leadership in research or policies advancing exploration of the cosmos.
Jim Burin, Director of Technical Programs (Flight Safety Foundation, Alexandria, Va.)
Thank you for the article "Ways To Go" on the recent International Air Safety Seminar in Paris (AW&ST Nov. 6, p. 46). I would like to make one correction to the accompanying graph. As was highlighted at the seminar, the Flight Safety Foundation now uses the classification of "major accidents" to measure accident rates versus "hull losses." A major accident is one in which: *The aircraft is destroyed. *There are multiple fatalities. *There is one fatality and substantial damage to the aircraft.
South Korea has signed a $1.59-billion contract with Boeing to supply four airborne early warning and control aircraft, based on the 737 airframe, for the EX program. First delivery is scheduled for 2011 with the other three to follow in 2012. The primary sensor will be Northrop Grumman's Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array 360-deg. radar.
India is beginning to define its first Mars orbiter for launch as early as 2013 on its geosynchronous space launch vehicle. The small spacecraft, costing only about $70 million excluding the booster, would carry instruments to research the Martian atmosphere and subsurface, possibly including a radar. The mission's main significance at this point is probably India's intent to do it, rather than its explicit scientific goals. With this project, India joins China in defining new Mars exploration for Asia (AW&ST Nov. 27, p. 53). "Mars is emerging on our horizon.
An article about the use of 737-700s for the U.S. Navy's P-8A program (AW&ST Nov. 27, p. 78) should have said peak P-8A production rates per year will be about the same as commercial rates per month.
Reading Joseph C. Anselmo's article on program management failures (AW&ST Nov. 13, p. 45) and reader Hugo Beit's letter in the same issue (p. 7), I am surprised at the short term and selectivity of memories. I am sure Airbus richly deserves the castigation it is receiving from all and sundry for its program failure on the A380 (although the airplane itself will be certificated shortly).
Canadian satellite communications startup Ciel has filed nine applications for new orbital positions across several frequencies. The company submitted the applications in response to the largest call for proposals ever issued by the Canadian government. Ciel already has a slot at 129 deg. W. Long., where it plans to deploy its first dedicated spacecraft, Ciel-2, in late 2008.
