AirTran, which eked out a seventh consecutive year in the black with all of $2.7 million in net earnings, will look for the best places to grow as it takes delivery of 18 Boeing 737s and the last two 717s in the coming year. ExpressJet, which netted $98 million, will try to figure out whether it can find a use for 69 Embraer ERJ 145 regional jets that Continental Airlines has withdrawn from the Continental-ExpressJet capacity purchase agreement. "We've got eight months to decide whether these aircraft have a home," says ExpressJet CEO Jim Ream.
You can now register ONLINE for Aviation Week Events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Apr. 5-6--U.S. Defense Dept. Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. Apr. 25-26--MRO Military Conference, Phoenix. Apr. 25-27--MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix. May 16-17--MRO Military Europe, in conjunction with ILA air show, Berlin. Sept. 19-21--MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition, Xiamen, China.
One of the professionals guiding India's emergence as a center for aerospace development is Prahlada (who goes by one name), director of the government's Defense Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad. DRDL is working on a number of programs, including intermediate-range ballistic missiles, air-defense systems and a joint venture with Russia on the Brahmos cruise missile. A notable success is a hypersonic flight vehicle using an airbreathing scramjet engine that's patented in India and has pending applications abroad.
Bell Helicopter Textron's 412EP candidate for the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter program maneuvers near Hillsboro, Tex., during a test flight from the company's XworX facility (see p. 56). The 412EP is an upgraded version of the Model 412, which has been in production since 1994. The Army is planning to buy more than 300 commercial, off-the-shelf helicopters for utility, humanitarian and transport missions within its commands and Army National Guard units. Bell photo by Sheldon Cohen.
The Netherlands is emerging as the first likely export customer for the Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopter. The Dutch Defense Ministry and Boeing have signed a preliminary agreement covering the purchase of an unspecified number of new-build CH-47Fs, along with an option for upgrading its 11 Ch-47Ds to the F-standard.
European aerospace giant EADS launched a joint project in December with China's AVIC II to develop civil transport helicopters, raising fears that this might benefit Beijing's military capability. The five-year development phase kicks off early in 2006. The helicopter is due to make its first flight in 2009, with European and Chinese certification set for 2011, when production is to start, according to Eurocopter, the rotorcraft subsidiary of EADS. Each company will invest 300 million euros ($360 million) to develop the helicopter.
On Feb. 11, Kenneth M. Mead, the longest-serving U.S. Transportation Dept. Inspector General, plans to resign. Then-President Clinton appointed Mead to the position in May 1997. Mead's Jan. 23 letter of resignation does not cite specific reasons for his departure. Deputy Inspector General Todd J. Zinser will be acting Inspector General until a successor is named.
Major airlines serving the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport will get a substantial credit against this year's landing fees because 2005 was a boom year for passenger traffic. The airport reports a surplus, estimated at $4.5-5 million, that resulted from higher-than-expected revenues from parking fees and concessions and lower-than-anticipated expenses. The surplus will be credited against landing fees charged to Delta Air Lines, Comair, Northwest, Continental, United and American airlines, the airport's signatory carriers.
Libya is initiating the overhaul of the country's helicopter fleet in an effort to restore luster to a force that has been largely grounded by years of sanctions. AgustaWestland is the first western company to benefit from the undertaking, winning a contract to supply 10 A-109 Power helicopters for the police force.
Seven air transport lobbying groups in Europe are calling for creation of an industry consultation body that would work with the European Commission and European Union members on the issue of security. The EU is revising its civil aviation security framework, and industry officials want to ensure any policy measures undergo risk and impact assessments and that the financial burden is borne by states, not the industry.
Top managers of the five International Space Station partners will hold a critical meeting in March to discuss a new plan for completing assembly of the orbital facility. Jean-Jacques Dordain, director general of the European Space Agency, admits that the agency heads won't be able to redraw the shuttle manifest definitively because the second of two post-Columbia shuttle test flights isn't scheduled until later in the spring.
Gerald F. (Fred) Pease (see photo) has been appointed executive director of the U.S. Defense Dept. Policy Board on Federal Aviation at the Pentagon. He also will be deputy chief of staff for Air and Space Operations at U.S. Air Force Headquarters. Pease was deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for basing and infrastructure analysis and succeeds Carl P. McCullough, who has retired.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authorities has temporarily grounded another airline, EAS, to force it to address safety concerns. It is part of a crackdown after a series of crashes late last year. Three airlines were grounded, but have resumed operations. Airlines have been told to register for the International Air Transport Assn.'s safety program.
Air navigation services provider NavCanada plans to break ground this summer for a new air traffic control tower at Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport. The C$2-million ($1.7-million) facility, expected to be operational by June 2007, will replace the existing facility that was built in 1967. From the new tower, 12 traffic controllers and two support staff are to handle the airport's 150,000 aircraft movements per year. New technology will include NavCanada's auxiliary radar display system and state-of-the-art voice communications switch.
Japan Airlines (JAL) is Asia's second carrier (after Singapore Airlines) to provide passengers live access to global television through their laptops. JAL uses the wireless local area network connection capabilities of Connexion by Boeing, which is rolling out the service worldwide on Jan. 23. JAL Inflight Internet Service allows passengers to view general, financial and sports news through NBC Universal, Euronews, EuroSport and BBC World.
Air India Engineering Services, a new subsidiary of Air India set to be operational by year-end, wants to tap third-party airframe and engine work as the country's relatively modest fleet of 215 commercial aircraft is expected to more than double by the end of the decade.
Patrick Ross (see photo) has been appointed faculty chairman of the new Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Los Angeles Metro Center campus, Long Beach, Calif.
United Airlines is moving closer to an early February exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. A management stock incentive program that raised the ire of unions won approval last week from U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. The program will preserve for managers and directors 11% of the 125 million new common shares. United also reached a tentative agreement with the Assn. of Flight Attendants on a defined contribution pension plan. AFA members will vote on it next month.
Pure science is taking a backseat to long-term exploration goals as NASA prepares to send robotic scouts to the Moon. Still, a rich scientific haul will be inevitable, even without the peer-review wrangling that normally picks targets for expensive space-science missions.
Capitol Hill space cadets see a silver lining in Rep. Tom DeLay's fall as House majority leader. The Texas Republican, whose Houston district includes NASA's Johnson Space Center, resigned his leadership post, as required by House rules, after he drew money-laundering charges in state court back home. But the 22-year-veteran lawmaker reclaimed his seat on the powerful Appropriations Committee, where seniority rules and NASA can always use another friend.
Joseph Smyth has become vice president-tanker operations for EADS North America, Arlington, Va. He was advanced concepts group leader for Modern Technology Solutions Inc. and is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel.
While not yet announced, the U.S. Air Force has deployed its two new Global Hawk UAVs to the Persian Gulf region's main reconnaissance base in the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, the Navy has used a Global Hawk with maritime radar modes in its latest Trident Warrior exercise, and it was able to capture a Tomahawk cruise missile launch at sea off California. The Navy is keeping this mum since it doesn't want to telegraph its intentions in the upcoming Broad Area Maritime Surveillance competition.
Over the Atlantic Ocean this winter, the U.S. and Britain are proving that their command-and-control and intelligence aircraft, by working together, can pinpoint moving targets within seconds--a fraction of the time thought possible until only a few years ago. By sorting through enemy electronic transmissions and communications from radars, ships, unidentified air tracks and moving vehicles, they can positively identify, track and target a foe.
Hungary has joined the NATO members that contribute to the alliance's E-3 AWACS fleet. Hungary will help fund the $1.6-billion AWACS upgrade and will contribute ground and air crew as part of its commitment.
