Korean Air is planning new service next year to Houston and is eyeing flights to Miami in 2008, according to President Jong Hee Lee. He says the carrier hopes for strong traffic feed from Continental Airlines, a SkyTeam alliance partner. At the same time, Korean Air may pull out or scale back service at Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). SkyTeam member Delta Air Lines cut service radically at DFW in January 2005, which led to a drop in passenger feed to Korean's flight. The carrier serves 14 North American cities, more than any other Asian airline.
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The French government has removed security clearances from employees at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, deeming the mostly Muslim workers security risks. The employees are challenging the claims made against them.
Comair is seeking bankruptcy court approval to impose pay cuts on its pilots, but will continue to negotiate with the Air Line Pilots Assn. unit toward achieving a consensual agreement. Under a previous management commitment, pilots are scheduled to receive a pay increase on Jan. 1 that would add $8 million to pilot costs. Comair says it is asking for $15.8 million in wage cuts. On Nov. 14, Comair and its Teamsters-represented flight attendants will learn results of a vote on a proposed contract that would reduce the contract cost by $7.9 million.
Alcatel Alenia Space has been selected to supply the X-band transponder, power-specific checkout equipment and mission hardware for Europe's Pathfinder probe. To be launched in 2009, the probe will serve as a precursor for the ESA/NASA Laser Interfero-metry Space Antenna. Prime contractor is EADS Astrium.
Ashley Moore has become manager of government and industry affairs for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. She was an associate editor of Professional Pilot magazine.
John Carroll has become chairman of the SatCon Technology Corp. of Boston. He was an independent director, and succeeds David Eisenhaure, who will remain president/CEO and a director. Carroll also is chairman of the Newgrange Co.
Spirit, the Mars Exploration Rover designed to last only 90 sols--Martian days--has surpassed 1,000 sols in service. Each sol is about 40 min. longer than an Earth day, meaning Spirit has been functioning on Mars more than 1,026 Earth days. During this period, the plucky robot has transmitted more than 87,100 images to Earth. Opportunity, its sister rover that landed on the opposite side of the planet a little later in January 2004, has surpassed 980 sols and returned more than 79,000 images.
Russian state transport company Rossia and Pulkovo Airlines have completed their merger (AW&ST Aug. 8, 2005, p. 55). The combined, state-owned airline maintains the Rossia brand and designations, and absorbs Pulkovo Airlines. The latter's aircraft will be given the Rossia livery by the end of next year. State-owned Pulkovo was the second-largest Russian scheduled international airline after Aeroflot, with 2.8 million passengers carried in 2005.
A longer-range Milan anti-tank missile has begun its formal, system flight trial phase. MBDA completed the first test of the weapon last month at a government test facility in Bourges, France. The trial also involved the weapon's new Advanced Technologies firing post. The missile, which uses a wire-guidance system, hit a target at a range of 3 km. This was the first test involving all elements of the Milan-ER systems, which were previously tested separately. This trial phase should lead to user evaluations next year in France and Germany.
Telesat reported net earnings of $19.8 million for the third quarter, down 22% over a year earlier, chiefly because of one-time charges related to the retirement of Chief Executive Larry Boisvert. Revenues were down 1% to $113.5 million.
A Democratic House and a Republican Senate? That's a likely outcome of this week's national elections, and some financial analysts think it wouldn't be pretty for military contractors. JPMorgan analyst Joseph Nadol, 3rd, says a Democratic-controlled House "would likely mean more investigations of everything from Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib to specific contracts and contractors." And he notes that if the GOP holds the Senate, the likely Armed Services chairman is John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose oversight of Boeing contracts landed two company officials in jail.
Steven H. Flajser has become a principal at Washington Technologies Strategies. He was manager of government relations for Loral Space and Communi- cations.
Saab has inked a deal with Denmark's Aerotech to provide the government with about $34 million of work for mechanical, electrical and electronic components, but there's a catch. The deal pre-supposes that the Danes will choose the Gripen fighter as the F-16 replacement. A decision is due in 2008. The Eurofighter consortium as well as Lockheed Martin have their eyes on the order.
Three of the six Discovery-class mission proposals NASA wants studied in-depth would use scientific spacecraft already launched that have completed their primary missions. Two of the "missions of opportunity" picked for $250,000 concept studies would use the Deep Impact mother ship that blasted a hole in the comet Tempel 1 with a copper projectile, while a third would use the Stardust comet sample return spacecraft to take another look into that hole.
PLATINUM JET CENTER BMI HAS OPENED ITS NEW 34,000-sq.-ft. aviation and business facility at Bloomington-Normal Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Ill., offering charter, leasing, sales and maintenance services. The hangar is designed to accommodate a Boeing Business Jet based on the 737-700.
Regarding the article about the new airport in Tibet, "The Future of Navigation on the Roof of the World" (AW&ST Sept. 25, p. 52), the Chinese name for the airport site, "Linzhi," is a bad transliteration from Tibetan to Chinese to English of the name that is more accurately transliterated directly from Tibetan to English as Nyingtri.
Gol has exercised options for 20 more Boeing 737-800s, raising its total order to 87 aircraft. The fast-growing Brazilian carrier, which is expanding its routes to other South American countries, now operates 56 737s and plans to expand its fleet to 101 aircraft by 2012. Gol also took new options for an additional 20 737-800s.
Spain's largest airline expects to exceed many of the targets set last year in a major competitiveness initiative, although some challenging labor issues still need to be resolved. Iberia's management last week provided the first update to its so-called Directors Plan, which aims to ensure the airline's long-term financial viability in the face of increasing fuel costs and massive competition from low-fare carriers. The goal is to generate cost cuts and operational improvements valued at a combined €600 million ($762 million) per year.
Jonathan B. Penn in his Viewpoint (AW&ST Oct. 23, p. 78) recommends occupying "the principled high ground" of what amounts to unilateral nuclear disarmament to rein in the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran. His faith in the effectiveness of the international community is touching.
Stacie Suggs (see photo), who is the lead hardware test equipment engineer at the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif., has received the Community Service Award as part of the the Career Communications Group's 2006 National Women of Color Awards. Suggs was honored for her commitment to increasing the number of women and people of color pursuing studies in math and science.
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USN Rear Adm. (select) Peter J. Williams has been appointed executive officer for tactical aircraft programs at NAS Patuxent River, Md. He has been assistant commander for logistics at Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River and will be succeeded by Rear Adm. (lower half) William E. Shannon, 3rd, who has been the command's assistant commander for acquisition and operations. Rear Adm. (lower half) (select) Kenneth E. Floyd has been named director of the Aviation Plans and Requirements Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
Virgin Blue Airlines has ordered three Embraer 170 and 11 Embraer 190 jets and holds options for another six aircraft. The Brisbane, Australia-based airline is right-sizing its fleet and plans to operate the new aircraft in its domestic and South Pacific markets.
