There is growing unease in the U.K. that core elements of the government's two-year-old commercial aviation development strategy face major delays. So far, the government has not come clean on the issue, but industry executives believe it will have to when it unveils a planned "progress" report on the so-called 2003 Aviation White Paper.
On a single day in June, all of the elements of airborne terrorist attack came into play at Boston's Logan airport in order to test the mettle of more than 50 law enforcement and emergency response organizations (see p. 48). Aviation Week & Space Technology was the only news organization allowed in critical areas of the Operation Atlas exercise such as the Emergency Operations Center. These photos are a montage of many by Aviation Week Conference Editorial Director Ed Hazelwood, who reports from Boston.
The Israel Air Force has taken delivery of the first of three Gulfstream G550 signals intelligence aircraft during an arrival ceremony attended by the country's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz and Maj. Gen. Elyezer Shkedy, who replaced Halutz as IAF commander. The aircraft is fitted with Elta's Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence System (Aisis).
News last week of the nomination of Ron Sega, the Pentagon's director of defense research and engineering, to be Air Force undersecretary draws some surprise. The undersecretary oversees all Pentagon space acquisition programs and also has been director of the National Reconnaissance Office, which develops and operates spy satellites. Now, the two jobs may be split. The surprise at Sega's nomination is twofold. First, the administration hasn't yet nominated someone to be Air Force secretary, Sega's future boss.
Southwest Airlines will make the Fort Myers area its sixth destination in Florida and 61st overall, launching service at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in October. The carrier said it will announce fares and schedules this month.
The FAA has extended its limit on flight operations and allocation system for slot exemptions at New York LaGuardia Airport from Oct. 31, 2005, through Dec. 31, 2006, the day before High-Density-Rule limits at the airport expire and a new, long-term congestion management system is to be in place. One change: In response to a Northwest Airlines petition, airlines that don't currently offer service to small communities will be allowed to participate in the FAA's allocation of exemptions when airlines return such exemptions to the pool or lose them through disuse.
Privately owned Italian airline Meridiana, now controlled by the Aga Khan, may be a target for a management buyout. The move would be spearheaded by a group of ex-Meridiana managers, including the former CEO, Giovanni Sebastiani, financed by private equity funds. AirOne is also named as a potential buyer, although the airline denies it. In the past, Alitalia also was considered as a potential buyer.
Capt. Denny Breslin, National Communications Chairman (Allied Pilots Assn., San Diego, Calif.)
Allied Pilots Assn. takes strong exception to Jack A. Milavic's ("Enough Is Enough") characterization of airline pilots seeking the safest way to defend the cockpit against hostile attack (AW&ST June 20, p. 6).
Drilling down through all the talk about frequent-flier benefits and marketing pizzazz surrounding the US Airways-America West merger leaves two key questions: Will the combined carrier be able to cut expenses to the level of low-cost carriers (LCCs) and will it achieve a revenue advantage?
David M. DiCarlo (see photos), who has been vice president-engineering of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Space Technology Sector, Redondo Beach, Calif., is now vice president-programs. He succeeds Edward J. Nowacki, who is retiring. Clayton K.S. Kau, who was vice president/program manager for Advanced Extremely High Frequency, will succeed DiCarlo. And succeeding Kau will be John F. Daegele, who was vice president/director of systems engineering.
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A collaboration has been formed between thin-film optical-coating specialist Advanced Technology Coatings and electro-optics manufacturer Oxley Development Co. to develop and supply laser protection coatings. The partnership builds on an existing relationship in which optical filters are manufactured for use in night-vision products. The focus is on specialist equipment needs such as for instrumentation required to offer protection from laser energy.
Ukraine-based Donbassaero Airlines has taken delivery of an Airbus A320 single-aisle aircraft. The CFM56-5-powered aircraft will be based at Donetsky Airport and operated on international routes, according to Airbus. The aircraft is being converted from a single- to a two-class layout.
Things aren't always as they appear with Boeing's new chairman, president and CEO, W. James McNerney, Jr. The former head of 3M Co. initially said he didn't want the job, but he remained the top candidate throughout the nearly four-month search process.
Boeing has developed a suite of software tools to unify airline maintenance activities from start to finish, much as text, data and graphics suites are integrated for "front office" business operations.
PanAmSat Corp. and JSAT Corp. have agreed to make a $140-million investment in a 50-50 joint venture to launch the Horizons-2 satellite in 2007. A satellite provider has not been selected, but the U.S.-Japanese team previously turned to Boeing Satellite Systems for Galaxy XIII/Horizons-1, which they launched in October 2003 to serve the U.S. market. The new spacecraft also will blanket the U.S. from 74 deg. W. Long., where it will replace PanAmSat's SBS-6. Horizons-2's focus will be on high-definition TV and Internet protocol services.
I was amazed by the quote at the end of the article "Watching, Waiting" (AW&ST June 6, p. 30): "Get the right people on the bus, then figure out [where to put them]." No project manager worth her/his salt would operate this way. And how is an airliner like a bus? An airliner may be analogous to a bus, but the whole company? And what do you do when all the "right people" want window seats in front? Wait until you've got them on board to work it out? Sure, but only if your goal is discontent.
USAF Col. (ret.) James DeFrank has been appointed Washington-based executive director for research and analysis of the Space Foundation, effective July 18. He has been deputy USAF director of public affairs at the Pentagon.
Lockheed Martin officials say its Joint Common Missile design has passed a subsystem preliminary design review. The missile, intended to replace eight existing weapons, offers a trimode seeker and multipurpose warhead to help identify and precisely strike targets, even when moving, in cluttered urban situations where friendly troops and civilians are present. The warhead has both a tandem-shaped charge for armored targets and a blast-fragmentation charge for structures. The missile also carries a semi-active laser, an imaging infrared sensor and a millimeter wave radar.
The aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul sector in Europe is seeing a flurry of activity with forces realigning to capitalize on the lucrative and growing business. In addition to high-profile teaming arrangements, most notably Air France Industries and Lufthansa Technik for Airbus A380 support, the sector has realized a spate of mergers and acquisitions. Moreover, several large maintenance deals were announced at the Paris air show last month.
Aerion supersonic business jet designers (AW&ST June 13, p. 80) are missing a critical breakthrough needed for SSBJ travel--more fuel capacity. In the mid-1990s, I participated on an SSBJ design team. We designed an SSBJ very similar in range to the Aerion. Unfortunately in both cases, there was/is not enough fuel capacity to fly 5,500 naut. mi. supersonic nonstop across the Pacific--the major market segment for the SSBJ.
SITA SC and INS of Santa Clara, Calif., a provider of business and technology consulting services, have joined forces to provide transport industry-related companies with a wide range of information technology-related professional services and software. The stated goal is to help SITA's airline and airport customers cut costs, an objective most of them are pursuing aggressively in an increasingly competitive environment. Service will help airlines improve networks that rely on the Internet.
Stakeholders in Italian flag carrier Alitalia are slated to meet in the coming weeks to issue their verdict on the struggling carrier's latest restructuring plan. In order to cover losses accrued through the end of March 2005, Alitalia must reduce its capital from the current 1.42 billion euros ($1.71 billion) to a mere 291 million euros. This is after having already depleted its reserves in order to reduce the 2004 loss from 810 million euros to 575 million.
Robert Barron has been appointed vice president/chief operating officer of Dallas-based Kitty Hawk Aircargo Inc. He has been vice president-maintenance and engineering.
NASA scientists David Alexander and Michael G. Bosilovich have received Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. Alexander is associate professor of astrophysics at Rice University in Houston. Bosilovich is a meteorologist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The awards honor the U.S.' "most promising young researchers within their fields."
