A General Electric unit that is a leading financier of corporate aircraft and helicopters is acquiring nearly $1 billion in leases and loans on 380 aircraft from commercial lending giant CIT. GE Commercial Finance is buying most of CIT's corporate aircraft portfolio, including $700 million in loans and $200 million in leases. CIT, which seeks to increase focus on high-growth areas, will retain $500 million in fractional aircraft shares and "select" leases.
A wide array of U.S. military air, sea and land forces and European military support is moving into position to thwart any terrorist threats against the shuttle and to provide search and rescue if necessary for Discovery's crew no matter when launch occurs. In the U.S., those operations are being coordinated by the U.S. Northern Command in cooperation with NASA and the Defense Dept.'s Manned Space Flight Support Office.
A chart in the Top-Performing Companies issue (AW&ST June 6, p. 42) contained inaccurate figures on EADS. In 2004, the company recorded sales per employee of $391,387 and profit per employee of $12,690, ranking it ahead of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Also, incorrect revenues for 2004 were listed for Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and China Eastern Airlines. Korean had revenues of $7.123 billion and should have been listed as a large airline. Asiana Airlines had revenue of $2.917 billion and should have been listed as a medium-sized airline.
The Space Shuttle Main Engine, developed 30 years ago, remains a strong candidate for use in the new Exploration Initiative as part of a shuttle-derived heavy-lift expendable booster. This is because the Boeing-Rocketdyne man-rated SSME remains the most highly efficient liquid rocket engine ever developed. There are only enough parts for 12-15 existing SSMEs, however, so one NASA option is to reinitiate SSME production to use it as a throw-away, as opposed to a reusable, powerplant for NASA's new heavy-lift booster.
Boeing says its new chairman, CEO and president, James McNerney, Jr., will be paid up to $53 million during the life of a three-year contract that began July 1. The contract will have automatic two-year extensions unless either he or the company gives notice. The intent, Boeing says, was to make McNerney "whole" on what he was paid by 3M as chairman and CEO. His base salary is $1.75 million plus an annual bonus from $2.98-4 million. The bonuses will be paid from 2005-10 and then revert to bonus plans like those of other senior executives.
Honeywell Aerospace has become the first original equipment manufacturer to support Boeing's Integrated Materials Management program, which maintains an airline's spare parts inventory on an as-needed basis. The IMM initiative is aimed at trimming airline operating costs by reducing inventory levels. For IMM, Honeywell will provide a variety of mechanical products, such as valves, switches and seals. IMM's current customers are AirTran Airways, All Nippon Airways, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, KLM and Japan Transocean Air.
NATO's efforts to broaden the command structure of its rapid reaction force are moving forward, as evidenced by the recent transfer of air operations to France and the U.K. On July 1, the two countries took over the air command element of the NATO Reaction Force (NRF), duties previously handled by the alliance's Joint Command headquarters at Brunsum, Germany, and Naples, Italy. France will take the lead for the first six months and Britain, for the remainder of the 12-month tour.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. AND PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA CORP. have teamed to offer PowerAdvantage Plus to operators of Cessna Citation-series business jets. The program includes the Citation Bravo, Encore, Excel, Sovereign and the new Mustang, all of which are powered by various turbofan engines such as the PW530A, PW535A, PW306C and the PW615F. The new plan provides Citation owners with an engine management cost plan that is "predictable and dependable," according to Jack Stiffler, vice president for Citation parts distribution.
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin may be fired if "we goof" on thermal protection system repairs, but the astronauts will die. Astronauts know the risk will be there, but Griffin, in his words, is "at the top of that pyramid" and should be sure he can live with his decision to go on without the proper solution in place if NASA goofs. Many people at the Marshall Space Flight Center do not want to risk another goof just because we really need to get the shuttle flying again. The International Space Station will continue with or without the shuttle or U.S.
The British Defense Ministry should consider introducing approaches used to meet Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) into its mainstream procurement system, according to the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The PAC contrasted the ministry and industry's ability "to innovate quickly and economically" in meeting UORs with the "interminable time and cost problems" associated with mainstream procurements.
Raytheon Network Centric Systems was awarded a $37-million contract increase to develop a steering system for all-electric laser access communication beams. The work is to be completed by mid-2007. Northrop Grumman Space and Mission systems was awarded a $16.8-million contract modification, also to develop the steering system with a deadline of spring 2007.
Although a Supreme Court nomination battle may slow much of the Senate's business this summer, aviation and aerospace industry interests say they aren't worried about their pet legislation--yet. Even before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation from the high court on July 1, Senate leaders were telling members that floor time will be at a premium--there are still nine appropriations bills to clear. Observers predict Senate fireworks for her successor, depending on President Bush's nominee. But Jon Etherton of the Aerospace Industries Assn.
AirAsia, a low-cost carrier based in Malaysia, has signed a 15-year avionics service and support contract with Rockwell Collins for an undisclosed sum. The agreement covers Rockwell Collins equipment on 60 Airbus A320s now entering service and potentially 40 more under an option.
According to James Greb, any airline that gives its passengers "no alternative to turboprops . . . will be rewarded with empty cabins and reduced revenues" (AW&ST June 6, p. 8). Three factors suggest otherwise: *What do the airlines have to lose? Most are either bankrupt or nearly so. With the price of oil at $60 per barrel and still climbing, turboprops are looking better every day. The risk of alienating a few potential customers is the lesser evil to liquidation.
George R. Bravante, Jr., has become non-executive chairman of Houston-based ExpressJet Holdings. He succeeds Thomas E. Schick, who has resigned. Bravante has been a board member and is founder/general partner of Bravante-Curci Investors.
On Oct. 1, Emirates plans to operate four-times-weekly flights from its base at Dubai to Malta via Larnaca, Cyprus. Emirates will operate two-class Airbus A330-200s on the route and code-share with Air Malta on the Malta-Larnaca flights. Emirates has been serving Malta since 1998 and Larnaca, since 1994. Demand spurred the additional services, according to Ghaith Al Ghaith, Emirates' executive vice president of commercial operations worldwide.
Europe's low-fare airlines will have to live with much flatter growth rates in the next five years and need to adopt new strategies in order to survive, according to a study released by McKinsey & Co.
Jack Carmola has become president for airframe systems of the Goodrich Corp., Charlotte, N.C. He was president for engine systems and has been succeeded by Cindy Egnotovich. She was president for electronic systems. Carmola succeeds John Grisik, who is now president for electronic systems.
The NASA/ATK Thiokol space shuttle solid rocket motor program has doubled ground test firings and enhanced manufacturing quality and process control to increase safety for Discovery's return to flight. "There are a number of places where we've strengthened our engineering and our processes," says Mike Kahn, ATK Thiokol vice president of space launch systems. Protecting the booster against corrosion in the humid Florida environment is one area that has been addressed.
AMERICAN HONDA MOTOR CO. WILL FLY ITS EXPERIMENTAL HondaJet on July 28 during the Experimental Aircraft Assn.'s AirVenture show. Powered by two Honda HF-118 engines mounted above the wing instead of on the aft fuselage, the HondaJet uses a wing featuring natural laminar flow and an airframe built of composite materials. In addition to Honda, Eclipse Aviation will fly its Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet at the show. American Honda has been flying and developing the HondaJet since 2003 at its base of operations in Greensboro, N.C.
Raymond J. Johnson has won the Nile Gold Medal of the Lausanne, Switzerland-based Federation Aeronautique Internationale in recognition of his contributions and achievements in the advancement and enhancement of aviation and space education. Among his projects has been to lead an effort to collect, catalog, digitize and distribute a CD of the FAI art contest paintings from 1986-2004. The medal is donated annually by the Aero Club of Egypt. Johnson, an American, was president of the FAI Aviation and Space Education Commission for the past five years.
Little progress has been made in reducing fuel tank flammability on transport aircraft, claim National Transportation Safety Board investigators, in the nine years since the July 17, 1996, crash of TWA Flight 800. "We are not significantly different than we were in '96," says NTSB Executive Director Dan Campbell.
RascomStar-QAF, a pan-African telecommunications satellite operator that will begin providing low-cost universal rural telephony services in late 2006, has contracted with Alcatel for the ground segment of the system. Alcatel's space unit is already providing the Rascom-QAF 1 spacecraft (AW&ST June 23, 2003, p. 32).
NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's remark regarding decisions affecting the space shuttle's return to flight ". . . if we goof I expect to be fired" (AW&ST June 27, p. 21) is disturbing. NASA has goofed before; astronauts have died, and their families have been devastated. Safety of flight requires a systemic, aggressive safety infrastructure and organizational culture. This mindset from the individual at the top of NASA's pyramid, who should be the prime advocate for flight safety, sends the wrong message to those responsible for flight safety.
Thomas J. Bach has been appointed vice president-network planning and revenue management for Northwest Airlines. He has been vice president-market planning and Airlink. Jim Cron has been named vice president-passenger marketing and sales as well as CEO of Northwest subsidiary MLT Vacations. He has been vice president-domestic pricing and yield management. Crystal Knotek, who has been vice president-reservations sales and services, now will be vice president-reservations and customer care.
