Willie Walsh, the former Aer Lingus boss (right), is to take over the reins at British Airways as CEO from Rod Eddington (left), who plans to retire at the end of September. Walsh will join BA on May 3, as chief executive-designate. He resigned from Aer Lingus in January over policy differences with the Irish government as to the future of the carrier. Eddington joined BA from Ansett in 2000, and has had to guide BA through considerable turbulence in the commercial sector. Aggressive cost-cutting, and job losses, have marked his tenure.
Activities in the Kinetic-Energy Interceptor (KEI) and Airborne Laser programs are a flyoff of sorts, Missile Defense Agency (MDA) chief Lt. Gen. Trey Obering says. Much of $1 billion worth of cuts to MDA's budget in the Fiscal 2006 spending request brought on a yearlong delay to KEI's high-speed booster to 2008, dovetailing with the Airborne Laser's first flight, also expected at that time.
Frederick L. Kocher has been appointed general manager of AAR Aircraft Services in Indianapolis. He was senior vice president-customer support for Rolls-Royce North America.
David Hughes (Brussels, Washington and Maastricht, Netherlands)
Growth in civil aviation--and perhaps in the Western world's economies--will depend over the next 20 years on similar efforts by the U.S. and Europe to transform their air transportation systems in time to avoid gridlock. But both face huge challenges in keeping pace with air traffic growth. Major airport improvements will be needed. In Europe, all the projects including runway additions now planned will not be enough to provide the capacity needed by 2020. And only one major new airport is being developed near Madrid.
Stan Koniz and Hana Rocek have been appointed interim deputy managers of aviation for Denver International Airport. Koniz was chief of finance and succeeds Vicki Braunagel, who is now co-manager of aviation, along with Turner West. Rocek, who was engineering manager, succeeds West.
USMC Brig. Gen. Duane D. Thiessen has been nominated for promotion to major general. He is commanding general of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan. Nominated for promotion to brigadier general are: Cols. Robert E. Milstead, Jr., commander of the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward), Cherry Point, N.C.; Raymond C. Fox, the 2d Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine liaison officer to the Combined Air Operations Center, Yuma, Ariz.; and David R. Heinz, who is program manager for the AV-8B at the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.
Current Position: Chairman and CEO, 3M Co. Age: 55 Pros: Aerospace industry veteran, sits on Boeing board. Widely considered one of the most effective Fortune 500 CEOs. Previously considered for top Boeing job. Cons: Says he's happy at 3M.
Brad Gorsuch, director of production operations for the Boeing 767 tanker, says in David A. Fulghum's "First off the Line" (AW&ST Feb. 7, p. 59) that "since the boom fairing protudes slightly below the fuselage, you must slightly decrease the rotation angle at takeoff [so the boom doesn't strike the runway], thus, slightly increasing takeoff speed." Surely the opposite is the case?
Firouz M. Naderi has been named associate director for programs, project formulation and strategy at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. He was manager of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Naderi will be succeeded by Fuk K. Li, who has been deputy manager of the Mars Exploration Program. Succeeding Li will be Peter C. Theisinger, who has been project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory mission in development. And succeeding Theisinger will be Richard A. Cook, who has been his deputy.
A REPORT PREPARED BY FROST & SULLIVAN STATES that certain segments of the commercial aviation industry--such as business jets, maintenance, MRO, fractional ownership and avionics--will expand by about 15% during the 2004-05 period. The report urges investors to watch the business jet market, which is projected to grow 11% in the next six months, and as a result of increased orders, could deliver high margins.
Current Position: President and CEO, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems Age: 54 Pros: Booming defense business carried Boeing through the commercial aircraft downturn. Cons: Little commercial aircraft experience. Defense unit was focus of embarrassing procurement scandals.
Engineers conceived the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1970s. Engineers designed it in the 1980s. HST was born, and when it was sick, healed by engineers in the 1990s. And now engineers are seeking to end HST's life.
The Air Courier Conference of America (ACCA) has adopted a new name, the Express Delivery & Logistics Assn., and will be known by the acronym XLA. The nonprofit association's president, Keith Storey of Midnite Express, says the new title better describes the work of the member companies which transport 20 million packages a day. They use all modes and are involved in logistics. At the annual membership meeting last week in San Diego, XLA officials introduced the new executive director, Sue Presti, who has served as head of the association's international committee.
Adm. Timothy J. Keating's glib assertions about Norad's airspace protection capabilities smack of overconfidence (AW&ST Feb. 28, p. 28). Here are two scenarios which Norad probably has not anticipated and would catch it flatfooted: *A small Bell JetRanger or "Loach" type helicopter is clandestinely trucked into or near Washington. After liftoff with a high-explosive payload, it could reach its target in less than a minute.
The FAA has awarded a type certificate to General Electric's CF34-10E engine, rated at 18,500 lb. thrust, which will power JetBlue Airways' twin-engine Embraer 190s scheduled for delivery later this year. The CF34-10E is the sole powerplant type for the Embraer 190 and 195.
DELTA AIRELITE HAS ADDED A LEARJET 31A TO ITS CHARTER FLEET, in addition to two Learjet 45s already flying for the charter company. The 31A is based at Fort Wayne (Ind.) International Airport, and will be operated through a strategic partnership agreement with Speedbird Aviation, also based at the airport. Michael B. Green, president and CEO of Delta AirElite, says growth in charter operations in the Fort Wayne and Chicago markets required a third airplane to meet demand.
CESSNA AIRCRAFT CO. HAS BEGUN INTEGRATING the Citation CJ2+ into the production line at its factory in Wichita, Kan., and plans to begin building the smaller CJ1+ soon. Both jets are upgrades to the CJ1 and CJ2 and feature Collins Pro Line 21 avionics systems. Cessna has designed the production process to allow the CJ1+, CJ2+ and the CJ3 to be built on the same modular tooling, thereby facilitating flexibility in adjusting production rates. The CJ1+ flight test program has accumulated more than 175 hr.
Stephen Phillips has been named director of communications for New York-based FlightSafety International. He succeeds Roger Ritchie, who will be retiring. Phillips was director of marketing for Dallas-based Bombardier Flexjet.
Mark K. Perehoduk (see photo) has been named vice president-contracts for BAE Systems Platform Solutions, Johnson City, N.Y. He was director of contract management for the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. in Fort Worth.
NASA probably won't be converting any of its other field centers into Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, despite a strong recommendation from the presidential panel on changes needed to carry out President Bush's deep-space exploration mission. In an internal review after the panel made the recommendation, analysts found that problems with the approach outweighed the flexibility that might be gained, says James Jennings, associate administrator for institutions and management.
Gary H. Lott (see photo) and Terry Bumpus have become airport design managers for the Columbia (S.C.) Aviation Unit and Raleigh (N.C.) office, respectively, of the LPA Group Inc.
Southwest Airlines and Chapter 11 carrier ATA Airlines will expand their code-share Apr. 3 to put passengers with Southwest tickets on ATA flights between Phoenix and two points in Hawaii, Maui and Honolulu. Both Hawaii services will connect at Phoenix with Southwest flights to and from Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Tex.; Houston's William P. Hobby Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport, plus six other U.S. points for Maui and four for Honolulu. Southwest launched operations Mar.
Air France has exercised an option to buy four more Boeing 777-300ERs, adding to the eight it already had on order. Deliveries of the GE 90-115B-powered aircraft are set to commence in April 2006. Air France currently operates eight other 777-300ERs.
Franz Fritz has been named European marketing manager for the Watlow Electric Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis. He was divisional global product manager for Johnson Controls Inc. of Milwaukee.
