Delta Air Lines, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, ended the third quarter with $2.6 billion in cash and short-term investments after recording a net loss of $1.1 billion. The carrier's operating loss for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $240 million, 43% less than in the third quarter of 2004. Passenger unit revenues rose 4.2% and quarterly load factor was 79.2%, an increase of 1.6 points from a year earlier. Operating expenses rose 3.8%, as a 24% reduction in salary expenses was not enough to offset a 53% spike in fuel costs.
Peter Ingram has been named chief financial officer of Hawaiian Airlines, effective Dec. 1. He succeeds interim CFO Steve Jackson. Ingram has been vice president-finance/CFO for American Eagle Airlines. Matt Bernier has become senior director of labor relations. He was manager of labor relations for America West Airlines.
With one quarter left to go, the SAS Group believes it can meet its positive year-end earnings target, if the business environment does not change significantly. In reporting third-quarter results, the airline says operating expenses including fuel fell during the first nine months, albeit at a modest 1%. Operating income in the quarter grew to 703 million Swedish kronor ($86 million), compared to a 629-million-kronor loss in the same period last year. The passenger growth rate so far this year has been 5.2%.
A proposed Transportation Dept. rule that would relax restrictions on foreign ownership of U.S. airlines is having less effect than intended and may even complicate the second round of aviation liberalization talks between the U.S. and the European Union, scheduled this week in Washington. Statutory requirements, including a 25% limit on foreign ownership of an airline's voting stock, would remain. But where the department has discretion, it would relax the rules.
Swiss International Air Lines losses for the first nine months have increased to 81 million Swiss francs ($62 million) from 17 million Swiss francs for the year-ago period. Fuel prices eroded the operating performance. In the third quarter, the carrier's strongest, it was in the black by 8 million Swiss francs, but management warned it "expects to post a significant net loss in the fourth quarter."
The commercial aerospace industry rebound is reawakening an old concern: a dearth of skilled workers. A recent survey of aerospace and defense executives by Computer Sciences Corp.'s consulting unit finds that 66% are experiencing this shortage, up from 39% a year ago. The category most affected? Engineers in the aero/mechanical and software sectors. Results are scheduled to be presented this week at Aviation Week's Programs and Productivity conference in Phoenix.
Boeing and GE Transportation/Aircraft Engines expect a spurt of sales of GE90-powered 777s to Asian and Middle Eastern airlines that are finalizing negotiations. The Dubai 2005 air show later this month is the likely venue. Orders for 777s by Air Canada and Air-India have been announced, but contracts for as many as 100 777s, including 10 freighters, are pending. GE has improved the cruise performance of the 777-300ER powerplant by 3.6% from a preflight base. GE officials say twin-engine fuel efficiency is the big draw in these days of high fuel prices.
THE USAF BOEING C-17 HAS BEEN FLYING for a decade, but now new aircraft rolling off the production line are being fitted with the latest radar technology based on a commercial product. The Honeywell RDR-4000M is a derivative of the RDR-4000 technology developed for the Airbus A380. The C-17 uses the RDR-4000M as a stand-alone radar unit, while on the A380 the radar is part of an integrated aircraft environment surveillance system. The radar uses 3D volumetric scanning to capture and update rain and turbulence data up to 320 naut. mi.
OHB Technology posted an EBITDA of 14.7 million euros for the first three quarters, nearly double that of a year earlier, on the strength of the first-time consolidation of MT Aerospace, which was acquired in midyear. Revenues were flat, at 73.4 million euros, but the value of orders zoomed to 393 million euros, from 272 million euros. Troubled MT Aerospace, a major Ariane 5 supplier, reported EBIT of 1.5 million euros, because of restructuring and an increase in Ariane 5 launches.
European space agency heads are debating the merits of a policy change that would give institutional buyers some latitude in using lower-cost non-European launch systems, just as industry executives have renewed warnings of dire consequences if new launcher development projects are not undertaken soon. According to European Space Agency Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain, the two issues threaten to mar what otherwise is seen as a relatively problem-free slate of proposals to be submitted at the agency's ministerial summit in Berlin on Dec. 5-6.
U.S. civil and military officials met in late October to coordinate their respective user-communities' evolving needs as Global Positioning System upgrades come online. The Sept. 25 launch and ongoing checkout of a new Block IIR-M GPS spacecraft with two civilian signals prompted the conference (AW&ST Oct. 3, p. 28). Gen. Lance W. Lord, commander of Air Force Space Command, initiated the "Civil GPS Focus Day" and hosted a team of senior Transportation Dept. executives to review issues of mutual interest.
News Breaks 16 Dassault sues Honeywell over business jet flight deck delays 16 Zenit-3SL launches Inmarsat-4 into geostationary transfer orbit 17 German air force to receive Taurus land-attack cruise missile 18 AW&ST's Covault receives Kolcum News and Communications Award 18 Band leader and WWII aviator Skitch Henderson dies World News & Analysis 20 European probe focuses attention once again on Venus
Those involved in the Quadrennial Defense Review say there are probably more budget surprises coming to the aviation community since U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley is calling for a new road map for every major system the Air Force is buying and operating.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines has begun flights from London's City Airport, with Monday-Friday twice-daily flights to Copenhagen. The weekend will see a single service. The airline is operating the routes using its Bombardier Q400 turboprop regional commuter aircraft. Flight time between London and Copenhagen is around 2 hr. 15 min.
WITH AS MANY AS 6,000 AIRPLANES AIRBORNE OVER THE U.S. at any one time and the prospect of three times as many in 20 years, one thing is clear: "Airplanes can't fly backward," quipped Charlie Keegan, director of the Joint Planning and Development Office. Keegan--who is also the vice president of operations planning for the FAA's Air Traffic Organization--outlined the latest efforts by JPDO to triple air traffic capacity by 2025 at the 50th Annual Air Traffic Control Assn. conference in Dallas. But aircraft are still kept 3-5 mi.
British Airways is selling its one-third share in the London Eye Ferris wheel, which overlooks the Houses of Parliament, to the Tussauds Group for 95 million pounds ($165.8 million).
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A Zenit-3SL lifts off Nov. 8 with Inmarsat-4 (I-4) on board, bound for a successful insertion into geostationary transfer orbit by the vehicle's Block DM-SL upper stage. The satellite, which is intended to provide high-speed broadband mobile communications across the Americas from an orbital slot at 53 deg. W. Long., weighed 5,958 kg. (13,108 lb.) at launch. Sea Launch Co. positioned its Odyssey floating pad in the equatorial Pacific at 154 deg. W. Long.
Boeing has validated its claim that the 777-200LR is the industry's longest-range jet by settingf a distance record of 11,664 naut. mi. in a nonstop west-to-east flight from Hong Kong to London. The Nov. 9-10 flight took 22 hr., 42 min., capping a nine-month testing period that's expected to yield FAA certification Dec. 5. First delivery to Pakistan International Airways (PIA) is set for February.
Italy and Germany appear poised to transfer their national space agencies, ASI and DLR, away from the traditional home of space activities in European countries--the education and research ministry--and closer to the center of power. The Italian parliament is considering a new bill that would place ASI under the direction of an interministerial committee, with responsibility for policy, strategy and coordination directly in the hands of the prime minister. The administrator would be selected by the prime minister and named by the cabinet.
Eclipse Aviation has won firm orders for 40 additional Eclipse 500s, bringing the total order book for the very light jet "air taxi" to 1,592 firm orders and 765 options. Charter operator Linear Air of Lexington, Mass., placed 15 firm orders and took 15 options. JetStar Air placed 25 firm orders with 25 additional options for U.K.-based air taxi and shuttle services. The six-seat Eclipse 500, still in flight test, lists for $1.4 million. The Albuquerque, N.M., airframer is aiming for FAA certification in the first quarter of 2006.
Skitch Henderson, founder of the New York Pops, former "Tonight Show" bandleader and World War II aviator, died Nov. 1 at home in New Milford, Conn., of natural causes. He was 87. British-born Henderson enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 and, after becoming a U.S. citizen, joined the Army Air Corps as a fighter pilot. A self-described "fanatic when it comes to machinery," he kept an extensive collection of aviation memorabilia at his home.
After much soul-searching, Navy officials in Washington said last week they are officially naming the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft the Growler. That's been its unofficial name for several years. But they still have a problem because Prowler (the EA-6B) sounds too much like Growler for use in flight operations where deck noise and radio static demands distinct differences in names. So the search is on for a "ball call" name with Lightning and Thunder both in the running so far, but usually more earthy names like Rhino and Warthog win out.
The International Space Station is ready to receive two more sections of its backbone truss structure, after the two-man crew overcame a misaligned valve to complete the first extravehicular activity (EVA) using U.S. spacesuits in 2.5 years.
Hugh McElroy (see photo) has been promoted to president/CEO of the Dallas Airmotive Inc. subsidiary of the BBA Aviation Services Group, Orlando, Fla. He was vice president/general manager of Dallas Airmotive Millville.
