Singapore Airlines has become the first carrier in Southeast Asia to begin nonstop service from Singapore to Cape Town, South Africa. The carrier has configured cabins of the Boeing 777-200ERs used on the route with 30 business and 255 economy seats. Officials at SIA expect high load factors because of traffic from China and Australia heading for Cape Town. The airline is not using its Airbus A340-500 on the new route because it has too few of the airplanes.
I, like all American Airlines pilots, went through the Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program (AAMP) upset recovery training in the mid-1990s (AW&ST Oct. 25, p. 45). In the aftermath of the Colorado Springs and Pittsburgh 737 upset accidents of the early '90s, AAMP was considered a sensation in innovative training toward prevention of further fatal upset events. Representatives of other airlines and the FAA frequently sat in on those classes. None of them had objections then.
CAE will build the first full-flight simulator for the ARJ21 regional jet under development by China Aviation Industry Corp. Commercial Aircraft Co. The simulator is scheduled to be delivered to the Chinese airframe manufacturer when the new ACAC flight training center is opened in 2008, according to CAE. The ARJ21 is China's first airplane to be designed and built in the country. It will feature 70-90 seats and is tentatively scheduled to enter service in 2008.
I am disappointed with your continued insistence on bloodletting when it comes to airline pilots' pay and not covering any other aspect of airline employee expenses. When was the last time you conducted an analysis on what airlines pay top executives?
John F. McDonnell, a member of the Boeing board of directors and retired chairman of the McDonnell Douglas Corp., has been inducted into the Cambridge, Mass.-based American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
A NASA spacecraft set for launch Nov. 17 is designed to help scientists determine the origin of gamma-ray bursts by pinpointing their sources in the sky and quickly focusing optical/ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes on them. Built by General Dynamics Spectrum Astro, the Swift satellite should give astronomers their most complete data set yet on the mysterious explosions which momentarily generate more energy than the rest of the Universe combined and could strip the atmosphere from Earth if they detonated nearby.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense reportedly has cautioned an EADS-led air tanker consortium once again that it may break off talks on a contract for the Royal Air Force's Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft program unless it agrees to further contractual changes. The ministry had warned the consortium in mid-year that it was unhappy with the terms proposed (AW&ST June 28, p. 35). Meanwhile, the French government says it is studying the possibility of joining FSTA to meet its own requirement for a multirole air transport/tanker.
The latest flurry of U.S. political activity concerning the Taiwan Strait--and the provision of advanced air defenses to Taipei--is likely sparked by Beijing's moves toward deploying land-attack cruise missiles. Two programs, the DH-10 ground-launched cruise missile and the YJ-63 air-launched weapon, appear to be heading into the final phases of development. Their entry into service will effectively mark the People's Liberation Army (PLA) debut in the long-range precision strike arena.
General Dynamics C 4 Systems of Scottsdale, Ariz., has received FAA approval to begin the certification process for satellite communications equipment as a component of the FAA's Capstone Communications Control System in Alaska. The GD system relies on Iridium's polar-orbiting satellite communications network to improve flight tracking, inflight information and weather services in remote regions where line-of-sight systems aren't available. The system is expected to be especially useful to Alaska's many leisure/bush pilot general aviation operators.
As someone who travels weekly on U.S. airlines, I have no doubt why passengers are deserting the legacy carriers in turn for low-cost carriers. Recently, I flew on US Airways Express Flight 3014 operated by Chautauqua Airlines from Buffalo to Philadelphia.
Eumetsat has awarded Alcatel Space a 135-million-euro ($172.8-million) contract to build a fourth Meteosat Second Generation weather satellite. Work on long-lead items for the spacecraft, to be launched in 2011, is underway under a preliminary agreement signed in April 2003. The first satellite in the series, MSG-1, was launched in August 2002, and the second is set to launch next spring.
An Indian air force Cheetal, a Lama-derivative from Hindustan Aeronau- tics Ltd., set a new world record last week for high-altitude landings by a helicopter. It landed at 25,150 ft. at Saserkangri, Kashmir. Power came from a TM333-2B2 engine. Recently, one of the air force's workhorse Cheetahs, powered by an Artouste-3C, rescued casualties from a moutaineering expedition at 23,240 ft.
Rolls-Royce has received airworthiness certification of its Trent 900 engine, which is destined to power the Airbus A380 on its first flight at the end of March 2005. The company is using seven development powerplants in the program. While it will enter service with a 70,000-lb.-thrust rating, the engine was certificated at 80,000 lb., to provide a growth path.
USAF Brig. Gen. (ret.) James Morehouse has been named vice president-strategic programs for the Telos Corp., Ashburn, Va. He was group vice president for Air Force programs for the Anteon Corp.
A capacity crisis may be looming in the U.S., but Australia has dodged that bullet in the near-term, says Bernie Smith, CEO of Airservices Australia. Smith agreed with other officials at the Air Traffic Control Assn. conference, held recently in Washington, that Australia has less traffic than the U.S., but said the Sydney-Melbourne route is the third-busiest in the world and the country does account for 11% of the earth's surface--a fact that presents its own challenges.
Hurricanes were big news in Florida this year, but their equivalent in Asia also caused havoc. Repeated major storms during the August-October typhoon season prompted Japan Airlines to cancel 2,200 flights and All Nippon Airways to halt 1,800. The combined revenue loss was nearly $100 million.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Arrivals is a collaborative effort between Aviation Daily, a sister publication of Aviation Week & Space Technology, and partner Eclat Consulting. It is dedicated to analyzing the airline industry's most compelling issues, and will appear in the magazine once a month. Reader feedback is welcome, and should be sent to Aviation Week's editor-in-chief or the managing editor. Comments and suggestions for future topics should be sent to Aaron Taylor at [email protected]
With human exploration of the Moon and Mars still on the national agenda after President Bush's election victory, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe is looking for some help on how to accomplish it. The day after the election he announced formation of an "Exploration Systems Advisory Committee" of outside experts that, like the broader NASA Advisory Council, will give second opinions on NASA's plans to build the rockets and spacecraft needed for the push beyond low-Earth orbit.
Some American air traffic control industry executives believe Europe is moving ahead with modernization faster than the U.S., and is taking the lead in a critical area of technology in civil aviation where the U.S. has long been dominant.
The U.S. will start firing man-portable surface-to-air missiles at engines as part of a growing Air Force and NASA initiative to identify vulnerabilities of large commercial aircraft and ways to address them.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA, WILL GET THE SECOND national military command-and-control center in Eastern Europe that will be fully compatible with U.S. and NATO systems. Northrop Grumman is building the center under contract from the Air Force Electronic Systems Command at Hanscom AFB, Mass. Operation is slated to begin in March 2005. Military commanders will receive read-only feeds of radar data from the air sovereignty operations center and will be able to customize the system for civil emergencies as well.
Your article on Darleen Druyun's malfeasance shines a bright light on U.S. Air Force denial (AW&ST Oct. 11. p. 45). Past issues have told the tale of the incredible power wrought by Druyun. In a stunning admission, "service representatives" assert that the fault lies not with "inadequate rules governing acquisition decisions or employees transitioning from government to the private sector." With deficiencies of the acquisition process ruled out what else is left? Adult supervision.
Chapter 11 carriers US Airways and United Airlines finished the third quarter with cash problems. In separate announcements Oct. 28, United reported it burned through nearly $1 million per day and US Airways said it will review "all aspects of operations" to conserve cash and comply with financing covenants. United finished the quarter with $1.5 billion in unrestricted cash, up about $140 million from June 30, but only because it accessed $503 million from its expanded debtor-in-possession financing during September.
Uncertainty and questions continue to dog the U.S. Army's plans to replace its C-23B Sherpas and some C-12 Huron transports with the Future Cargo Aircraft. Even the service's senior officials are still not in step about the way forward. Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody says the Army plans to buy 25-50 FCAs. He's also committed to the concept that, in combat, these light transports--like other fixed-wing aircraft of similar size--will be under the control of the Joint Forces Air Component (JFAC) commander, usually a USAF general officer.
