India is discovering the fare war. Four more budget carriers say they will start operations by year's end, joining SpiceJet and Kingfisher Airlines, which began flying within the past two months. The "establishment"--two-year-old discounter Air Deccan--is serving up its own enticements: a 1-rupee (2.5-cent) fare for 1,000 lucky travelers a month.
CFM International says it took 218 engine orders, worth $1.3 billion. Included were orders from Egyptian carrier Air Cairo, a new customer, which is purchasing CFM56-5B/P engines to power six Airbus A318s. The carrier is slated to be Airbus' first A318 customer in the Middle East. Other orders included those from Air Europa, which will use CFM56-7Bs to power 18 Boeing 737-800s and Alaska Airlines, which will do the same for the 35 737-800s for which it placed firm orders. The Alaskan agreement eventually could include 100 aircraft.
Hi-Tec Systems has been awarded a five-year security consulting contract by the Advanced Airport Systems Technology Research Consortium (Astrec) in Japan to strengthen security procedures for all modes of transportation, including those at Narita International Airport. The goal is to improve the "Hands-Free Travel" initiative for intermodal transportation, which includes use of Radio Frequency Identification luggage tags. This would permit travelers to arrange luggage pickup at home or hotel," says Ronald R.
United Airlines could have avoided terminating its defined-benefit pension plans if the Air Transportation Stabilization Board hadn't turned down the carrier's application for a $1.1-billion loan guarantee in June 2004, CEO Glenn Tilton tells the Senate Finance Committee (see p. 60). The loan was to have lifted United out of Chapter 11, but instead the board sent the carrier to the private financial and capital markets to pursue its exit financing.
The proliferation of modern laser and radar-guided missiles is driving electronic warfare developers to pursue new aircraft self-protection options. But so far, customers are slow to embrace these devices.
The European Commission and African community have endorsed a project aimed at using satellite data to improve management of water and land resources--an important link in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems initiative (AW&ST Feb. 21, p. 32). The African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development project will distribute space-based data via Eumetsat's EumetCast system and a network of 53 Puma ground stations being installed to serve its Meteosat Second-Generation satellites.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Neelam Mathews (New Delhi)
Eurocopter is hoping an attempt to set a high-altitude landing record by alighting atop Mount Everest will not be marred by a dispute with the Nepalese government.
Gorik Hossepian (see photos) has been appointed vice president-situational awareness systems, Mark Casady vice president-navigation and positioning systems and Carl A. Alleyne, vice president-components, commercial and overhaul and repair, all for the Northrop Grumman Corp. Electronic Systems Sector, Woodland Hills, Calif. Hossepian was the sector's executive leader for situational awareness systems, while Casady was director of precision guidance systems for the Raytheon Co. Alleyne was sector director for software engineering.
I agree with your timely article "Turboprop Turnaround," which described the resurgence of demand for turboprop transports due to better fuel economy compared to small jets (AW&ST May 23, p. 46).
Robert D. Collet has become vice president/chief engineer for the Transformation, Training and Logistics Group of the Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego. He was vice president-engineering/chief technology officer for AT&T Government Solutions.
THE CIVIL AIR NAVIGATION SERVICES ORGANIZATION (Canso), a group of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and affiliated suppliers, declared at a meeting last month that ATM harmonization and greater cooperation among ANSPs should be top priorities. Canso members have been researching how cooperation can deliver operational and economic benefits to the industry. And it has created a customer relations working group so members can exchange information on best practices in this field.
In a series of closely guarded tests, Raytheon researchers have shot down a variety of shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles--the nightmare of airline operators--with pulses of microwave energy at a distance of several miles.
U.S. Air Force officials say a Dec. 20 crash at Nellis AFB., Nev., that destroyed an F/A-22 Raptor was the result of a flight control system problem. The malfunction was caused by a power interruption to the aircraft's three rate sensor assemblies (measuring pitch, roll and yaw), which made them fail and left the aircraft unflyable. When the engines were shut down for maintenance servicing before takeoff, the pilot had left the auxiliary power unit running, believing it would supply continuous power to the flight control system, the report says.
Bravo to reader Claude G. Luisada's reference to his "decades-ago suggestions" for runway/taxiway intersection stoplights to reduce incursions (AW&ST May 16, p. 8).
Broad government-industry support is mounting to roll out many more Required Navigation Performance approaches in the U.S., but don't expect this to happen overnight. RNP's accuracy and integrity monitoring provide even more precision than conventional area navigation (RNAV) procedures. But the two are quite similar in that both free an aircraft from having to fly over a series of ground-based navigation aids.
Nikolai Sevastianov, 44, the new head of Energia, Russia's largest space company, is preparing to make major personnel and policy changes after ousting long-time company President Yuri Semyonov, 70, after a major stockholder battle for control of the company. Semyonov had earlier hired Sevastianov to commercialize Energia's Gazkom communications satellite business, but the younger manager turned against his old boss with the support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The space shuttle Discovery will be moved back to Launch Complex 39B this week as the program advances toward critical reviews aimed at clearing the shuttle's return-to-flight in mid-July. Discovery is to roll out of the Vehicle Assembly Building back to the pad as early as June 14 after being restacked on the external tank and solid rocket boosters originally planned for use by Atlantis on the second mission this year.
EADS is expanding its military transport facility here in anticipation of final assembly of the A400M. As part of the construction project, EADS CASA will also relocate production for its current stable of transport projects, the C-212, CN-235 and C-295. The new, 600,000-sq.-meter facility that will house final assembly of all the transport aircraft should be inaugurated late next year. The bill is about 284 million euros ($347 million), excluding tooling.
Susan E. Mullen (see photo) has been named group vice president-human resources at Carlyle Group subsidiary Firth Rixson Ltd., East Hartford, Conn. She was senior human resources process executive for the United Illuminating Holdings Corp.
Christopher S. Bryan has been named vice president-finance for the North American Airport, Post and Parcel Div. of FKI Logistex, Frederick, Md. He held the same position at affiliate company Harris Waste Management Group Inc.
The Asia-Pacific Div. of Arinc is setting up a joint venture with China's Aviation Data Communication Corp. to develop new products and services for the global aviation market. One of the first projects will be airport tarmac management services to provide real-time monitoring and oversight of aircraft while they are on the ground. Arinc will help ADCC distribute its products worldwide, and ADCC will assist Arinc in adapting its offerings for the market in China.
France, Portugal, Spain and the U.S. are joining the ranks of countries relying on commercial satellites for defense and government communications needs.
Last week's Senate hearing on the derailed Air Force-Boeing tanker lease proposal could leave Michael Wynne without a job (see p. 36). He is out of work now, replaced recently as Pentagon acquisition chief, but he clearly has been pushing to get back into the Pentagon's inner circle. Senators seemed to go easy on him--the Defense Dept. inspector general found only that he was "tacitly" responsible for pushing the $23.5-billion KC-767 program forward--but questions remain whether the White House will nominate him to be Air Force secretary.
The Transportation Dept. Inspector General is calling for improvements in FAA safety oversight of an airline industry in transition. The June 3 IG report sought to determine if the FAA's risk-based oversight and data analyses systems are effectively monitoring financially distressed network and low-cost carriers during times of growth and change.
