Delta Air Lines pilots, 235 strong, opted for retirement Dec. 1, the day a 32.5% pay cut goes into effect. Of that number, 202 pilots are taking early retirement, according to the Delta unit of the Air Line Pilots Assn. Of the 99 pilots who retired Oct. 1, 71 were early retirements; of the 69 in November, 55 were early. A high number of early retirements could lead to shortage of crews and disruptions in operations.
Having swallowed hard at the billion-dollar "sticker shock" of ballistic missile defense, Japan's political parties, Finance Ministry and Defense Agency are headed for a compromise over the transformation of the country's defense forces.
Indonesia's Transport Ministry is investigating the cause of the Nov. 30 crash of Lion Air Flight JT583 at Indonesia's Solo-Adi Sumarmo Airport. The budget carrier's MD-82 was en route from Jakarta and overran the runway upon landing. As of late last week, the death toll, estimated to be 33 of the 153 people on board, had not been confirmed.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office has dismissed Space Imaging's protest of a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency contract awarded to Orbimage, arguing the complaint was filed too late. Space Imaging says NGA misjudged its bid for the second of two $500-million NextView contracts; DigitalGlobe won the initial contract. Space Imaging remains on contract to deliver Ikonos imagery to NGA and expects to receive about $36 million next year for the service.
Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner program is acting as a catalyst for overdue consolidation in the aerostructures sector, according to a study by London-based Counterpoint Market Intelligence. The report foresees the emergence of eight Super Tier 1 suppliers, in a market worth $22 billion in 2003. Their emergence will force the pace of consolidation among the other 30 main suppliers.
FLIGHTSAFETY INTERNATIONAL (FSI) has had its third Cessna CJ-3 full simulator qualified as a Level D device by the FAA. The simulator is based at FSI's training center in Wichita, Kan., and is equipped with a VITAL-9 high-definition visual system as well as a motion base featuring six degrees of freedom. To date, FSI has qualified 35 Citation simulators as Level C or D devices.
A twin-engine MBB HFB-320 Hansa jet, operated by charter company Grand Aire Express, crashed Nov. 30 at about 8:15 p.m. local time shortly after its takeoff from St. Louis, killing both occupants.
Pinched by competition, government-owned Air-India has put a fleet acquisition plan for 68 aircraft--a mix of midsized ultra-long and long-range types--on the fast track. At least by India's standards. The acquisition plan--AI's second this year--came after Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel asked for the original idea of ordering 28 aircraft to be expanded to include eight Boeing 737-800s with winglets on behalf of the carrier's new low-fare carrier, Air-India Express, which is to be launched next April.
Jim Blair has become assistant administrator of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration for aviation operations. He succeeds Ken Kasprisin, who was acting in that post and will return to Minneapolis-St. Paul as area director/federal security director. Blair was federal security director for McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. He will be succeeded by Dennis Clark, who has been deputy assistant administrator for aviation operations.
Sun Laiyan, the new head of the Chinese National Space Agency, wants NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe to pay him a visit the next time he's in Beijing. Sun dropped by O'Keefe's Washington office Dec. 2 for a "courtesy visit" that the Chinese requested last summer, when Sun was named to his post. O'Keefe and Sun shared their respective space exploration plans, and O'Keefe may accept Sun's invitation if the schedules can be worked out, NASA says. No concrete plans for cooperation emerged from the Washington get-together, and the pair issued no communiqué.
The DGA French armaments agency on Dec. 2 awarded to Thales a 1.3-billion-euro contract covering the ground segment of the Syracuse III satellite communications system. Alcatel Space will have a 30% share in the program that includes 600 satcom terminals.
With all the gloom brought by continued high fuel prices, Boeing's midsized 7E7, which boasts the promise of a 20% overall savings in operating costs, should be attracting a lot of orders--but the company's best customers lack cash.
David Tamir, vice president of aviation consulting firm Carter and Burgess of Fort Worth, has been appointed chairman of the Information Technology and Systems Committee of the International Airport Consultants Council. Vice chairman will be Enrique M. Melendez, senior director of aviation security and airline applications for Arinc Inc., Annapolis, Md.
NetJets Europe has ordered 25 Hawker 400XP business jets from Raytheon Aircraft Co. worth $160 million. The fractional ownership operator will receive 10 airplanes in 2005 and the remainder by the end of 2007. NetJets has 500 customers in Europe.
Dan Kidder has become manager of communications for the Alexandria, Va.-based National Air Transportation Assn. He was director of communications for U.S. Rep. Michael A. Collins (R-Ga.).
FlightSafety International's Learning Center in West Palm Beach, Fla., is training an increasing number of military, governmental and commercial helicopter pilots to fly the Sikorsky S-92 and the UH-60L Black Hawk on missions ranging from corporate trips to counterterrorism and drug interdiction missions.
Russia's Energia space corporation has unveiled the full-size mockup of a new 6-passenger reusable Clipper lifting body spacecraft to replace the Soyuz design that has been used for Russian manned flights since 1967. The first Clipper test flight could occur as early as 2010-12, depending on Russian government or international funding. The Clipper could be launched atop the Ukrainian Zenit-2 booster or new Onega that Energia is developing.
India may rethink buying upgrades to ex-U.S. Navy P-3B anti-submarine warfare aircraft "if Washington goes ahead with sales of these naval spy planes to Pakistan," says the navy's chief, Adm. Arun Prakash. Last month, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a proposed sale to Pakistan of eight P-3Cs at $970 million, six Phalanx close-in weapon systems at $155 million, and 2,000 TOW-2A missiles at $82 million (AW&ST Nov. 29, p. 38).
Using automation to free up controllers for more strategic management of air traffic is one approach being studied by NASA as it seeks to boost airspace system capacity and efficiency, thereby saving fuel. Heinz Erzberger, a NASA Ames Research Center senior scientist, says the Advanced Airspace Concept (AAC) has been studied for several years. It could increase efficiency 15% by providing optimal routes that cut airlines' direct operating costs. A 25% increase in landings on existing runways could follow, an important benefit.
Traffic flow management upgrades provide the best prospect for the FAA to help airlines cut fuel consumption during the next 10 years, but overall budget pressures on the agency have forced a nearly $20-million cut in improvement efforts for Fiscal 2005.
Establishing a KC-135 replacement plan in the wake of the defunct KC-767 lease proposal is going to take longer than first thought and could engulf Boeing, EADS, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. The slow pace at which the Pentagon is expected to proceed may open the door for a new U.S. bidder that could provide the Pentagon the competition it wants without alienating influential members of Congress who want no part of an Airbus offering. But low production rates may foul up everybody's calculations.
Repositioning the Soyuz TMA-5 spacecraft on the International Space Station has cleared the way for the U.S./Russian crew to perform two extravehicular activities to finish configuring the station to receive Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). The EVAs are planned in late January and late March to support ATV dockings that are set to begin by early 2006. With the U.S. spacesuits on board out of commission, the crew will wear Russian suits that require use of the Russian Pirs airlock.
The U.S. Air Force is raising the bar for the future combat search-and-rescue helicopter, with an eye on improved electronic warfare and combat capability. The HH-60 replacement program, called the Personnel Recovery Vehicle (PRV), is already shaping up as one of the fiercest competitions next year, with the award of a contract for more than 100 aircraft at stake. Likely bidders include Sikorsky, with the VH-92; Lockheed Martin, with the US101; Northrop Grumman and EADS, with the NH90; and Bell Helicopter Textron, with the CV-22 tiltrotor.
Aerospace executives looking to sell their company should keep Frank Lanza's phone number handy. Lanza, the chairman and CEO of L-3 Communications Holdings, has been on a $600-million buying spree--six acquisitions in six weeks. The latest: a $185-million deal to buy General Dynamics' Propulsion Systems, a manufacturer of engines, transmissions and drive systems for combat vehicles. The acquisition is expected to close in first-quarter 2005. Wall Street seems to approve. L-3 stock began December by nearing $75 a share--up 12% since Nov. 1 and 47% since January.
