A bankruptcy-protection filing by ATA Airlines will lead to the kind of realignment that airline observers have been expecting but not seeing so far-- the transfer of an endangered airline's assets, however limited in scope, to an up-and-coming competitor.
Stefan Pichler has been named chief commercial officer of Australia's Virgin Blue. He was chief executive of Thomas Cook AG and a director of parent company Lufthansa.
Frank Morring, Jr. (Vancouver), Michael A. Dornheim (Los Angeles)
A reusable air-breathing space-launch first stage growing out of the successful X-43A Hyper-X test flight in March could be ready to send 20,000-lb. payloads to low-Earth orbit (LEO) by about 2015, say the engineers who developed the Mach 7 testbed.
Rolls-Royce is trying to shake up its helicopter business to address changing market dynamics and a perceived slip in customer focus, and potentially to expand gas turbine engine sales into new markets.
The rover Opportunity, its instrument deployment arm with the Rock Abrasion Tool elevated in the foreground, takes a final look at its NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory lander on the dark-red Meridiani Planum of Mars. Note the Martian pink sky and rover tracks in this Cornell University/JPL Pancam image from the mission's "Lion King" mosaic. With Mars now about 250 million mi. from Earth, both the Opportunity and Spirit rovers continue to explore new terrain rich with evidence of past water, a key factor in NASA's advanced Mars mission planning (see p. 28).
Michael P. Bonds has been appointed senior vice president-human resources and labor relations of Continental Airlines. He succeeds Michael H. Campbell, who will be retiring. Bonds has been vice president-human resources.
With demand for frigates, corvettes and other light combat ships multiplying around the globe, MBDA engineers are increasing efforts to transfer aerial and terrestrial missile technology to the naval domain.
The victors of American Airlines Flight 587 are future air crews and passengers who will reap benefits of safety actions rising from the Nov. 12, 2001, tragedy that killed 265 people. Neither Airbus nor American Airlines, who have waged a finger-pointing battle since the accident occurred, have been exonerated in the NTSB probe that has taken nearly three years, 100,000 man-hours and $3.75 million dollars to complete. And the battle continues.
New York JFK International is the latest airport to be tapped by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to test explosives trace detection portals, and the first one where the trials will involve Smiths Detection's Sentinel II. The unit will be housed in Terminal 1, where several international carriers operate. TSA is exploring the use of portals to test passengers who have been selected for additional screening. As the units can scan only 4-7 people per minute, screening everyone would be impractical.
Honeywell is attempting to drum up interest from the airline community for its Runway Awareness and Advisory System, which it claims can substantially reduce runway incursions.
Feeling its way in the network-centric world, the British Defense Ministry has opened a "battlelab" at its Warminster Land Warfare Center as part of its Joint Effects Tactical Targeting System (Jetts). The Jetts program, now in the assessment phase, is intended to develop a software-driven command-and-control tool which will allow the management and utilization of a broad range of sensor-platforms, offensive and defensive systems. The army will use the battlelab to evaluate tactics and doctrine in a virtual environment.
Loren Neuenschwander has been appointed London-based head of operations in the U.K., Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India for Delta Air Lines. He succeeds Carolyn Ezzell, who has been named Atlanta-based vice president-airport customer service for the Eastern U.S.
Independence Air's transformation from a regional feeder for large airlines into a free-standing low-cost airline is floundering, raising speculation of a possible bankruptcy filing by early next year.
James B. Garvin, who has been chief scientist for NASA's Mars and lunar exploration programs, has been appointed the agency's new overall chief scientist. He succeeds astronaut John Grunsfeld, who will return to the Johnson Space Center in Houston to train for an assignment to a long-duration mission.
Sally Howes recently became director general of the Society of British Aerospace Companies, a British industry lobby organization. Her immediate goal is a revamping of that bureaucratic institution, which is viewed by many as being out of touch with industry today.
A French government decision to allow partial privatization of state-owned shipbuilder DCN could hasten an expanded alliance with defense electronics giant Thales and trigger consolidation of the European naval systems sector around a strong aerospace component, as in the U.S.
The Transportation Security Administration has put its new "Secure Flight" passenger prescreening program on a fast track, but the latest comments from privacy and business-travel groups show the plan is controversial like its stillborn predecessor. The Computer-Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (Capps II) was killed before going operational by TSA under a withering fire of complaints and skepticism from Congress. Privacy groups disagreed with the broad strokes of Capps II and said they weren't told how it would work.
A series of naval agreements with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman could further plans by EADS and Thales to sell their products in the U.S. defense market--reversing the traditional trend of technology flow. Lockheed Martin agreed last week to use EADS' TRS-3D radar for the first phase of the U.S. Navy's Littoral Com- bat Ship (LCS) and Coast Guard's Inte- grated Deepwater System programs. The two companies also will evaluate the feasibility of producing and marketing TRS-3D for third-party markets and developing further upgrades.
Airbus, which has been more hopeful about the airline industry recovery, has begun boosting its combined production rate. This year, the European airframer is scheduled to deliver 315-320 commercial transports, up from 305 previously forecast. In the next two years, 107-185-seat A320-series production will gradually grow to 30 aircraft per month, up from 20, while monthly A330/A340 deliveries will increase to eight aircraft, from six. The first A380 delivery is scheduled for the second quarter of 2006.
Charles A. Picasso has been named president/CEO for Information Handling Services Inc., East Englewood, Colo. He succeeds Bob Carpenter, who has resigned. Picasso was president/chief operating officer of IHS Engineering.
AT THE FAA'S AND AIR TRANSPORT ASSN.'S request, the RTCA is launching an investigation into the danger posed by portable electronic devices (PEDs)--particularly cell phones and other transmitting devices--to aircraft systems. A previous review was conducted in 1996 (AW&ST Sept. 9, 1996, p. 82). The challenge will be to develop a process that can be applied to a wide variety of equipment, including ultrawideband devices, transmitting personal digital assistants, pico-cell networks for cell phones, wireless medical devices and RFIDs.
The French government nixed a proposal to rely on a private financing initiative to accelerate deliveries of NH90 army helicopters, set to begin only in 2011, using funds earmarked for the renovation of the Puma and Cougar fleet. Defense officials say the plan would have permitted the acquisition of only 18 NH90s, creating a potential transport capability gap; they also say the ability of the supplier to meet delivery deadlines was uncertain. Furthermore, the amount earmarked for renovation of the existing fleet has yet to be decided.
James (Rusty) Rentsch has become lifecycle management director of the Arlington, Va.-based Aerospace Industries Assn. He was an executive in engineering design and product support engineering at Textron Lycoming and Messier-Dowty.
