Italy's second largest airline, Air One, plans to buy 10 additional Airbus A320-family aircraft, exercising some of the 60 options for the aircraft type it holds. The aircraft will add to the 30 firm orders it holds, the delivery of which is to start in September. Air One expects to retire its Boeing 737s, which are the backbone of its fleet, and looks to starting longer-range routes sometime in 2007. The carrier's regional arm, CityLiner, is planning route expansion next year. It has five Bombardier CRJs in its fleet and expects to add a sixth before year-end.
The Georgian government by year-end should be flying VIP helicopters upgraded with enhanced electronic warfare systems. The move reflects increasing concern among officials about the threat of heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles, even in noncombat environments. Georgian officials have signed up to become the launch customer for an EADS effort to remake the company's helicopter-based, self-protection system offering. The new device will be fitted to Eurocopter EC145 and EC155 helos, as well as a Mil Mi-17 and Mi-18.
As NASA launches its final push to complete the International Space Station (see p. 73), it is also gearing up changes on the ground to see the ISS through its remaining service life. In Houston, the station program has outgrown the control room originally set up for it, with spacewalk controllers having to "hot bunk" by sharing work consoles with robotics engineers and Russian interpreters.
Launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-115 mission to reinitiate station assembly is approved for as early as Aug. 27, pending the resolution of questions about the integrity of bolts holding the heavy K u-band antenna in the payload bay. Liftoff here would be at 4:30 p.m. EDT and move about 25 min. earlier for each day of delay that might occur in the 12-day window.
Chris Hamilton has become executive vice president/chief financial officer of Proxy Aviation Systems Inc., Germantown, Md. He was senior vice president/CFO of Thales Communications.
The Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s AirVenture 2006 show held late in July at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wis., ranks as the most energetic in the association's 54-year history. This year's aerial extravaganza exceeded expectations in terms of new aircraft introductions, with an emphasis on airframe, engine and avionic technologies, while underscoring the strong pulse of the sport aviation movement.
USAF Maj. Gen. Richard Y. Newton, 3rd, has been appointed assistant deputy chief of staff for air, space and information operations, plans and requirements at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He has been director of plans and policy at U.S. Strategic Command Headquarters, Offutt AFB, Neb. Newton will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. Roosevelt Mercer, Jr., who has been director of the command's combat and information operations. Brig. Gen. Silvanus T.
International Space Station assembly is set to resume as early as Aug. 27 with the space shuttle Atlantis lifting the heaviest piece of structure yet flown to the orbiting facility.
Subject to government approval, Japan Airlines will increase flights to China, India and Thailand beginning Oct. 29, relying on its Tokyo home base and Nagoya for the outbound services. It also is cutting to seven from 14 the number of Tokyo-Chicago flights per week and suspending the four-times-weekly services it offered to Manila. JAL also has asked transport ministry permission to increase its fuel surcharge for all international passenger tickets as of Oct. 1.
Airline representatives in Europe are bemoaning inconsistent security demands imposed after the Aug. 10 disclosure of an alleged plot to blow up airliners bound for the U.S. The Assn. of European Airlines' secretary general, Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, argues that "the U.S. is imposing extra measures on flights originating outside the U.S. without proper communication to airlines' national governments.
I'm not an expert in finance or economet- rics but it appears your Top-Performing Companies survey has a problem, at least in the airline rankings (AW&ST July 10, p. 68). It shows Gol in the top spot among carriers with revenues between $1-4 billion.
Four of the six big U.S. legacy airlines are or have been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since fall 2002; one of them, United Airlines, took three years to reorganize. Is this an abuse of bankruptcy laws and a distortion of the market? Or is it nothing more than what the bankruptcy laws were enacted to provide? In these pages, Julius Maldutis argues the former and A. Peter Lubitz the latter. Maldutis is president of Aviation Dynamics, a consultancy he founded in 2002 to advise institutional investors and airline managements.
Should an early shuttle engine failure ever require a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) abort, the maneuver would place the crew and orbiter in a perilous, undemonstrated flight regime.
Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) is testing in the facility's 4-ft. transonic wind tunnel the feasibility of using stereo particle image velocimetry (PIV) to measure and assess airflow (see photo). The PIV technology, currently under development by the Aerospace Testing Alliance team at AEDC, measures the velocities and uniformity of the airflow in a small area of the tunnel.
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) says it is stunning that the U.S. government won't be able to properly screen baggage at airports until 2024, according to estimates from the Government Accountability Office on how long it will take U.S. airports to install explosives screening systems (EDS) in-line to examine bags automatically. Currently, most U.S. airports have EDS as standalone units in airport lobbies, an arrangement that requires many more Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel to handle bags than when they are screened automatically. Rep.
Reader Carey Matthews is incorrect in his statement (AW&ST Aug. 7, p. 10) that "for the first time, a radar will provide pilots a vertical profile of a cloud. . . ." Vertical profile depictions have been around for a number of years, and there are other vendors than Honeywell.
Japanese industry is exploring whether technology employed on an indigenously developed maritime patrol aircraft could offer an entry into the thriving regional jet market, although a viable product is years from being offered. The regional jet interest among the Japanese is mounting as design activities on two other large development programs are coming to their peak: the four-engine, turbofan-powered PX patrol aircraft and the CX twin-jet transport. The two were conceived to share parts and components to reduce cost.
Rockwell Collins expects to deliver its first Tailwind 300 satellite television system for mid-size and larger business jets by mid-2007. The system features digital electronics, computer-based functions, radio-frequency technology and the latest software. By teaming with DirecTV for satellite entertainment content, Rockwell Collins will be able to offer CNN, Fox, Bloomberg, ESPN, Weather Channel, A&E, Discovery, local networks, sports subscriptions, pay movies and other channels.
Consulting company Gestalt has won a $30-million U.S. Air Force contract to provide advanced modeling and simulation technology to prepare war fighters and homeland security personnel for mission-critical operations. Gestalt is leading a team that comprises Raytheon and CACI International Inc. The Air Force Modeling and Simulation Training Toolkit program supports 25 training exercises each year.
Benjamin Burton (see photo) has become Washington-based director of compliance and regulatory affairs for FlightSafety International. He was senior director of safety and compliance for America West Airlines.
Thailand Transportation Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisarn says Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi ("su-wan-na-poom") Airport is to open Sept. 28. Located 15 mi. from downtown Bangkok, the airport will have two parallel runways, two taxiways and 120 parking bays and gates. Thai officials say its passenger terminal will be the world's largest. Annual capacity is expected to be 45 million passengers and 3 million metric tons of cargo.
Consolidation in the German air transport sector is progressing rapidly, as Air Berlin takes over rival DBA and strengthens its position in the competitive domestic market. The two carriers will comprise Germany's second-largest airline group behind Lufthansa. Air Berlin will also be able to significantly narrow the gap between it and Europe's leading low-fare airlines, Ryanair and EasyJet.
Portuguese carrier TAP has trimmed by 3 million euros ($3.85 million) its first-half losses over last year by improving the efficiency of its operations, but the airline still is solidly in the red with a 51-million-euro loss. Around 12 million euros of that is because of exchange-rate problems with the euro compared to the Brazilian real and the dollar. Nevertheless, airline management maintains its projection to be in the black by year-end.
U.S. aerospace industry orders, shipments and backlog are at record-setting paces, if trends set in the first half of 2006 continue. Toting up this year's data, the Aerospace Industries Assn. reports that civil aviation and defense products booked $116 billion in orders. Projecting this rounded number to an annual figure of $233 billion, the AIA says such a pace would exceed last year's record $219 billion. Similarly, first-half shipments of $88 billion could reach $177 billion if current rates persist. Last year's total shipments were a record at $162 billion.
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