Aviation Week & Space Technology

A new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unit is being set up to coordinate risk management efforts across all modes of transportation. The unit, Transportation Sector Network Management (TSNM), will harmonize policy, programs, industry stakeholders and the assessment of threats, vulnerabilities and consequences. Each transportation mode will have a TSA general manager to coordinate policies and strategies and "interface completely, one-on-one with the industry," says Mike Restovich, the head of TSNM.

In the coming months, the British government will determine its course for acquiring the Joint Combat Aircraft--whether to try to secure U.K. final assembly of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The decision has far-reaching implications for the U.K. aerospace sector, while in the near term the Defense Ministry's approach will also help determine the tenor of negotiations with Washington.

In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy told Canadians that "Geography has made us neighbors; history has made us friends; economics has made us partners; and necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature has so joined together, let no man put asunder. What unites us is far greater than what divides us."

The low-fare, all-business-class MAXjet Airways plans to launch service from its base at Washington Dulles to London Stansted on Mar. 15. The new carrier is offering $999 introductory round-trip fares (inclusive of taxes and fees), according to airline CEO Gary Rogliano. Everyday round trips start at $1,750 (see www.Maxjet.com for details). MAXjet also serves London from New York JFK International, where it began service Nov. 1, 2005. MAXjet operates Boeing 767s to transatlantic business destinations.

Meanwhile, Connexion has changed to an inflight Internet fee system that resembles the way hotels typically charge their guests. Per-minute charges are being replaced by hourly rates (starting at $9.95 for 1 hr.). Users can log in and out any time during their flight. For those changing planes, there's a basic $26.95 24-hr. fee for access on any leg of the trip. The revision comes in response to user feedback that the earlier system was confusing. It also cuts $3 off the 24-hr. fee.

U.S. airlines lost a whopping $10 billion in 2005, fuel prices remain sky high, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines are operating under bankruptcy protection, and startup Independence Air closed down on Jan. 7. Fred Reid thinks it's the perfect time to start a new domestic airline.

I note an interesting congruency between two articles in the Dec. 12, 2005, issue (pp. 23 and 52). The upcoming report of the acquisition reform commission, chaired by former Missile Defense Agency Director Ron Kadish, is hitting the nail on the head by attempting to move away from "best-value" to technical risk for source selection.

Kathy Tyler (see photo) has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the Cincinnati-based Aviation Research Group/US. She was an official of Executive Jet Management.

The past few years have seen the introduction of several new aircraft to the military trainer market. The emergence of these contenders, though, has come against a backdrop in many countries of program postponements and force downsizing that likely will result in declining worldwide sales of military trainers for the next several years. As the market shrinks, the competition for sales will intensify in all sectors of the market: jets, turboprops and pistons.

The strength of the Asian air freight market was illustrated once again last week as Japan Airlines converted four options to firm orders for the Boeing 747-400 Converted Freighter program and added another firm order. The five new aircraft are in addition to three orders they already hold. JAL also took another four options. Work on JAL's first conversion started at Boeing's preferred supplier, Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Co. in Xiamen, China, in December. The delivery is set for May.

The first test firings of a Raytheon AIM-120C-5 Amraam integrated on a British Royal Air Force Tornado F3 have been carried out using the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center at Pt. Mugu, Calif. Fitting the Tornado F3 with the C-5 variant is part of the British Defense Ministry's sustainment program for the aircraft.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey has received the Williams Trophy from the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

Itzhak Nissan, new president and acting CEO of Israel Aircraft Industries, was incorrectly identified in last week's issue (AW&ST Jan. 9, p. 18). IAI's chairman is Yair Shamir. Nissan was promoted from corporate vice president and general manager of the systems missiles and space group. In the meantime, Ovadia Harari, executive vice president for operations, has announced his retirement. Harari was manager and chief engineer of the Lavi fighter program.

With the airline industry undergoing a wave of change and restructuring, commercial transport manufacturers are attempting to adjust to new competitive realities and offer products that respond to the industry's needs. The long-term market outlook for airframers depends on the types and quantities of aircraft that carriers will require. Hub-and-spoke network airlines continue to be challenged by low-cost, low-fare carriers in North America and Europe and increasingly in Asia, as well.

Advances in information technology have the potential to revolutionize the aviation experience, from the cockpit to the cabin to the gate. Although current U.S. market conditions may conspire to keep the future at bay temporarily, market demand and the inexorable push toward networked systems will drive IT into every nook and cranny of civil and military aviation.

Over the next several years, the production of new military aircraft types and launch of modernization programs in a number of countries will create a steady demand for advanced avionics systems. Through 2015, 4,020 fighter aircraft are expected to be produced, and roughly $20 billion will be spent on various retrofit and modernization programs, creating ample opportunity for companies engaged in the development of new technology.

Britain's Airborne Stand-Off Radar (Astor) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft is beginning to produce imagery as the program enters the final stages of development.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is deploying explosives-detection trace portal machines at Washington's Reagan National, Dulles International and Detroit Metro airports, bringing the number of airports equipped with the anti-terror technology to 26. The walk-through scanners, manufactured by Smiths Detection and GE Infrastructure Security, analyze microscopic particles dislodged from a person's hair, skin or clothing by small bursts of air. Trace portal machines are in place at airports in 15 states and Puerto Rico.

New high-speed data technology demonstrated on an F-15E slashed the time it takes to transfer the image of a target from the aircraft to a Joint Direct Attack Munition on its wing to one-half second from 11-12 sec.

The composition of the world combat aircraft market is likely to undergo substantial changes in the coming years, prompted primarily by force reductions announced by the U.S. Defense Dept. in early January 2005. These changes could gain further momentum as indigenous programs grow in nations that formerly bought off-the-shelf Western equipment.

A pending acquisition likely represents the first round of a consolidation among India's carriers. Jet Airways is expected to acquire Air Sahara. The deal would boost Jet Airways' market share to 50% from 40%.

An extremely bad idea moves one step closer to reality as France's misplaced decision to levy a "poverty tax" on airline tickets receives parliamentary approval. The tax, scheduled to go into effect July 1, will range from one to 40 euros (up to $48), depending on a route's length and fare category.

The FAA's foot-dragging on fuel tank inerting is deplorable (AW&ST Nov. 21, 2005, p. 46). To say recent "technological innovations were allowing affordable and efficient . . . systems" is a bureaucratic smoke screen. Given a mandate, engineers easily could have done this decades before the TWA Flight 800 explosion in 1996.

Indianapolis International Airport Authority soon plans to launch Verified Identity Pass ID's Clear registered traveling program. Clear, which was installed at Orlando International in July 2005, enables registered passengers to pass quickly through security checkpoints via special lanes. Prior to start of Clear service, BAA Indianapolis LLC, which manages airport operations there, is to submit a request for approval to the TSA.

Although the Boeing C-17 and Lockheed Martin C-130J will maintain their hold on the military transport segment through this decade, some major changes are in the offing. Boeing will deliver the last of 180 C-17 heavy-lifters on order by mid-2008 and, although it appears likely that an additional 40 units will be procured, these new aircraft would only sustain the line until the end of 2010. Boeing hopes to be building KC-767 tankers for the U.S. Air Force by then.