Patrick Reilly has become senior vice president-communications of New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio. He was vice president-corporate communications at BMG Music.
The top management of MTU Aero Engines is being reshuffled in the wake of difficulties in preparing the company's initial public offering. Shortly after longtime Chief Executive Klaus Steffens' resignation, the Munich-based company's supervisory board appointed Udo Stark to replace him. Stark was at the helm of MG Technologies, a German industrial conglomerate.
Aviation bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic now offer a gloomy prognosis on the chances of striking a multilateral open skies agreement anytime soon, while opponents--particularly in Washington--are bolstering their arguments against a deal. Paul Gretch, the director of the office of international aviation in the U.S. Transportation Dept., is warning that the failure to seal an agreement last June, when the European Council rejected the proposed plan, means "essentially we are back to square one."
Raytheon Aircraft Co. and Aeromech Inc. have developed a program to provide owners of King Air-series business aircraft with certification for Reduced Vertical Separation Minimums (RVSM) operations. FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificates have been issued for Models 200, 300 and 350 equipped with Rockwell Collins APS-65 or APS-80 autopilot and ADC-80 air data computers. RVSM kit solutions are available through Raytheon Aircraft Parts Inventory and Distribution. After Jan. 20, non-RVSM-certified aircraft will not be allowed to operate above 28,000 ft.
Andrew Miller has been appointed director of consulting for the Center for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney. He was chief operating officer of Air New Zealand.
Thomas L. Williams (see photo), vice president-program integration for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector, El Segundo, Calif., has received a 2004 Outstanding Aerospace Engineering Award from his alma mater, Purdue University. Recipients of the award must have demonstrated excellence in industry, academia, governmental service or other endeavors that reflect the value of an aerospace engineering degree.
Sydney Isaacs has been named senior vice president-corporate development/chief legal officer of Air Canada parent ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. He was senior director of restructuring for Air Canada. David J. Shapiro has been promoted to vice president/general counsel of Air Canada from assistant general counsel. He succeeds John Baker, who has resigned. Johanne Drapeau has been promoted to corporate secretary from deputy secretary of ACE and Air Canada. She succeeds Paul Letourneau, who has retired. Jack McLean has become controller of ACE and Air Canada.
The U.S. Air Force and Navy are going separate ways in meeting their future air-defense suppression needs, breaking their long-standing alliance. While the Navy has decided to bet on a new-generation, anti-radar missile--the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (Aargm) being developed by Alliant Techsystems--the Air Force has decided to go with one more incremental upgrade to Raytheon's High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM).
Boeing's Mike Lewis believes "there's no other way" to increase capacity in the U.S. air transportation system. I suggest he takes a ride on a high-speed train (TGV) from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to, say, Lyon to see firsthand that there is "another way" to increase capacity.
Regarding the article "2025 Squeeze Play" (AW&ST Nov. 15, p. 44), Boeing's seven-step plan to triple air traffic control capacity is admirable, but is something vital missing? The Boeing plan had better be incorporated into a system whose response is more than just "rapid" or when things go wrong and effects begin to cascade, a lot of compensating directions can be issued, received and acted upon very fast. Airplanes don't like to fly straight up.
FSF ALSO IS SUPPORTING THE USE OF FLIGHT Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs for airlines and business aviation around the world. FOQA centers on the collection and analysis of data recorded during flight that is used to improve the safety of flight operations and identify any trends that could lead to an unsafe operation. Air traffic control, airport and aircraft design and maintenance are other areas that benefit from FOQA. Although the program is used internationally by many airlines, only a small number of operators in the U.S. have implemented FOQA.
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A recent Merrill Lynch study on civil aircraft sales and Embraer's dramatically revised annual market outlook highlight the ongoing structural shift in regional jet demand and point to new patterns of competition among manufacturers.
The business aviation community is defending its safety record and aiming to restore public confidence following three high-profile bizjet accidents in a month.
In March 2005, the BF Scandinavian Aviation Academy of Sweden will add six Cessna 172R Skyhawks equipped with Garmin G1000 avionics to its fleet of 27 other Cessnas. The European order is the first for Cessna's 172R equipped with a glass cockpit.
BOMBARDIER HAS BEGUN OFFERING SERVICE around the clock for operators of Learjet, Challenger and Global business aircraft at its service center network in the U.S. Facilities participating in the new program are located in Clarksburg, W. Va.; Dallas; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Hartford, Conn.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Wichita, Kan. In addition, overnight service is available at line stations at Addison Airport near Dallas and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey.
Southeast Airlines made its final landing last week, in part due to fuel prices (see p. 54). Since 1992, the Largo, Fla.-based carrier has been operating public charter flights in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest. Ticketed passengers may either seek a credit card or cash refund or, for a $50 fee, re-book on AirTran Airways.
How high is too high? That's a question with which defense stock investors are grappling these days as the industry roars into the final month of one of its strongest years in recent memory.
Finmeccanica is now sole owner of AgustaWestland since buying out GKN's 50% share of the former joint venture for 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion). This sum includes 92 million euros for industrial plants and facilities used by AgustaWestland. The contract also requires that 52 million euros be paid back to Finmeccanica by May 2008 if the U.K. passes over AgustaWestland for the future Lynx program, set to supply new helicopters for its army and navy.
China and Iran have signed an agreement to increase space development cooperation, including the exchange of technology and expertise. Iranian engineers have been working on an imaging system that would be tested on a Chinese spacecraft, and Iran plans to launch as many as two spacecraft in early 2005. U.S. intelligence analysts are concerned the Iranian space development effort is a "Trojan horse" for the improvement of Iranian ballistic missiles under the guise of a civilian program.
Smiths Detection has won a 10-million-euro ($13.2-million) contract to supply Sydney International Airport with 15 fully integrated Hi-Scan 10080 "ED+S" explosives detection machines. The purchase is part of a complete overhaul of checked baggage screening systems at the airport. Smiths will also provide explosives trace detection equipment and Smiths Heimann X-ray machines to two other Australian airports, in Perth and Cairns, as well as some 10080 ED+S machines.
Continental Airlines recently loaded an extra 10,000 lb. of jet fuel on a flight from Houston to Cancun, Mexico. With prices running 17 cents a gallon cheaper in Texas, Continental managers calculated it would be less expensive to haul the fuel to Mexico for the return flight. They were right. Even accounting for the cost of transporting the additional fuel, the airline still generated a savings: a whopping $112.
A French plan to combine EADS and Thales into the world's biggest aerospace/defense group is still on the agenda. However, Germany's approval is predicated on France's being relegated to an equal or lesser share (AW&ST Nov. 29, p. 42). The Franco-German impasse is further exacerbated by France's attempt to eliminate EADS' dual management and grant the top job to Airbus Chief Executive Noel Forgeard. This fractious climate has spawned far-reaching repercussions. On Nov.
The court dispute over WestJet's alleged unauthorized access of an Air Canada internal web site underscores the need for vigilance in protecting vital information on traffic and fares. It also raises questions about the vulnerability of data that rival airlines might find useful in day-to-day competition.
Final shipboard testing of the V-22 tiltrotor has been completed with a 10-day deployment of the aircraft to the Wasp amphibious assault ship. Engineers believe they have cured a roll-on-deck problem discovered during previous trials. Developers also are looking to tweak deicing on the V-22 after a test aircraft was damaged by ice during extensive cold-weather trials.
