Maintenance, repair and overhaul in Latin America is poised to explode in the next 10 years as low labor costs and quality work lure more airlines to do business "south of the border."
Alitalia's top executives, government officials and union leaders late last week were struggling to devise a survival plan for the carrier. Hundreds of flights were canceled on Apr. 28-29 in the wake of surprise walkouts, further aggravating the controversy. Unless bailout funding arrives rapidly, Alitalia may cut 5,000-6,000 jobs and phase out more than 30 aircraft.
A new study by Forecast International is projecting that 5,835 large commercial jets worth about $545 billion will be produced between 2004-13. Boeing's share is estimated to be 2,911 aircraft compared with 2,778 for Airbus. The long-term outlook for Boeing and Airbus, however, diverges significantly with each company developing a new airframe that reflects its viewpoint of the global market. According to the study, the A380 is aimed at airlines requiring a transport with more than 550 seats for use on high-traffic routes between major hubs.
XCOR Aerospace, which is developing liquid-fuel rocket engines as a first step toward suborbital human-piloted rocket planes, has received FAA's second reusable launch vehicle (RLV) license. The Mojave, Calif.-based company will be allowed to validate RLV technology with a piloted test vehicle as it works toward revenue-generating suborbital flights for space tourists.
Joseph E. Hart has become vice president-marketing for aviation and unmanned programs for DRS Technologies Inc.'s Washington Operations. He was senior vice president of DRS Unmanned Technologies.
American Airlines has reported that 50 lives have been saved on its aircraft in the past seven years with automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), which are designed to treat sudden cardiac arrest. The survival rate with American's use of AEDs is 56% of the 89 people treated. On Apr. 27, a 67-year-old man became the 50th person to be helped, when he collapsed while deplaning at Reno, Nev. He was revived after three shocks restored a normal electrical rhythm.
Capt. Mark S. Boensel is among U.S. Navy officers who have been nominated for promotion to rear admiral (lower half). He is commanding officer of NAS Jacksonville, Fla. Others are: Michael R. Groothousen, commanding officer of the USS Harry S. Truman, Norfolk, Va.; James M. Hart, deputy for naval aviation and tactical air systems to the deputy director for Defense Systems-Air Warfare in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense in Washington; Ronald H. Henderson, Jr., commanding officer of the USS John F. Kennedy, Mayport, Fla.; Archer M.
American plans to start nonstop Honolulu-Tokyo service once it obtains unused flight frequencies available under the U.S.-Japan air transport services agreement. American's filing with the U.S. Transportation Dept. on Apr. 29 requested seven unused weekly round trips.
Loren B. Thompson, Chief Operating Officer (Lexington Institute, Arlington, Va.)
You reported that plans to develop a kinetic-energy interceptor (KEI) to counter intermediate- and long-range ballistic missiles are being viewed as a threat by proponents of other programs (AW&ST Apr. 19, p. 36). The two programs said to be threatened are the ground-based midcourse interceptor to be deployed in Alaska and California, and the Airborne Laser.
President Bush's space exploration proposals may have gotten a boost from House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), who has taken over from Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Science Committee, the job of sponsoring on the House floor legislation authorizing the White House plan. While Boehlert has publicly expressed doubts about Bush's space initiative (AW&ST Apr. 26, p.
NASA has scrubbed the planned shuttle flight to service and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, the source of an incredible bounty of findings and pictures, and the pride of NASA, America and the world. The stated reason is astronaut safety; the shuttle will not be safe in time to help the Hubble. It will be allowed to decay and fall--at a cost of billions of dollars to ensure it lands in an ocean.
In an unusual move, the British Defense Ministry is calling in the two remaining bidders for its high-profile Watchkeeper UAV-based surveillance and reconnaissance system to address "issues" with their respective submissions on the 800-million pound ($1.42-billion) program. The ministry received final bids from only Thales and Northrop Grumman on Mar. 18. It normally follows an iterative process of written questions and answers in obtaining further details on proposals.
French space agency CNES has given the green light for a follow-on oceanographic satellite, allowing the 120-million euro ($144-million) Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM), and its Jason-2 spacecraft, to enter full-scale development. NASA, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Eumetstat also have approved funding for Jason-2/OSTM, which will allow oceanographic data to be used in operational weather and climate forecasting for the first time (AW&ST July 7, 2003, p. 36).
Moss, the Thales-EADS joint venture responsible for upgrading France's Sccoa air control-and-command system and integrating it with NATO's ACCS Loc 1, says the first portion of the upgrade, known as Sccoa-3, has been delivered and the remainder cleared for production. CEO Bruno Poitou said both Sccoa-3 and an associated deployable component, C3M, being developed by ThalesRaytheonSystems, will be handed over on time--C3M in late 2004, Sccoa-3 in 2006. Poitou admitted being puzzled by statements by French armaments agency DGA that the program was seriously behind schedule.
Hong Kong, which administers its own bilateral air service agreements, has reached an agreement with Australia that would increase flight rights for Hong Kong airlines from 35 to 55 per week to the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. By March 2006 rights would increase again to 70 per week. "The expanded capacity will allow an additional Hong Kong carrier to launch service to Australia," said Wilson Fung, Hong Kong's deputy secretary of economic development. The change results in new competition for Cathay Pacific.
The 70-ft.-long HyperMach ultra high-speed, 5-axis linear motor profiler, built by Cincinnati Lamb, gnawed into an aluminum billet at an estimated 450 cu. in./min. removal rate at a recent demo for 100 aerospace company representatives at the machine toolmaker's new Hebron, Ky., plant. Brek Manufacturing Co., of Gardena, Calif., will take delivery of the first HyperMach profiler this summer.
A "new" Canada 3000 Airlines plans a return to the skies in December, operating two Boeing 757s to Mexico and the Caribbean. According to an airline spokesperson, a group of employees decided to relaunch the carrier. In November 2001, Canada's then-second largest airline suddenly ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy protection, as a result of economic downturn, labor issues, terrorism and decreased travel demand.
China's largest carrier, China Southern Airlines, eked out a $1.8 million profit in fiscal 2003 that stands in stark contrast with 2002 when it reported 40 times that amount. The travel industry's second quarter slump was attributed largely to the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus that struck the region. Chairman Yan Zhi Qing expects a rebound in traffic this year.
ESA, JAXA, the government of Japan and Arianespace are negotiating an agreement that would allow the Ariane 5 booster to be used as a backup for Japanese government satellite launches. CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall said he hoped the agreement, which would complement a mutual backup pact at the industrial level between Arianespace and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, operator of Japan's HII-A launcher, could be concluded by year-end. The move is prompted by the possibility of a prolonged shutdown of the HII-A.
The Carlyle Group has sold 2.5-million shares of aviation parts and aftermarket services company Aviall, cutting its holding to 27.5% from 35.3%. Carlyle said it sold the Aviall shares for $42.25 million in an offering underwritten by Wachovia Securities. In December 2001, Carlyle led a $135-million investment into Aviall. The parts maker recently reported net earnings up 39% to $10 million in the first quarter versus $7.2 million in the same period last year. Operating income rose by $2.4 million, up 14%, and net sales improved to $283.5 million, up 13%.
French President Jacques Chirac has given implicit signs that he will not oppose measures announced by new Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to freeze 7 billion euros ($8.4 billion) of expenditures in the 2004 budget, including 1 billion euros for defense.
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. intends to implement a restructuring plan after a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida scheduled for July. The cargo carrier would eliminate all equity and common stock but continue to negotiate with creditors. In a Jan. 30 filing for protection under Chapter 11, Atlas Air listed assets of $1.33 billion and debts of $1.31 billion.
Aspiring to be the industry of choice among the most capable engineering and technical talent is one thing--achieving that goal is another. Such is the challenge for U.S. aerospace/defense companies, which will have to replenish their ranks in the years ahead as the workforce ages and other high-tech sectors lure the "best and brightest." Couple this with the fact that the net employment has been steadily declining in the last 15 years and the situation becomes troubling, according to many industry observers.
Federal investigators are expanding their probe of Boeing launch vehicle bidding practices to study how the company won NASA contracts, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company had possession of proprietary data from competitor Lock- heed Martin when it made proposals to the U.S. Air Force and NASA, and Boeing has been suspended from bidding on new launch vehicles for the Air Force since July 2003. A recent development is that a Boeing employee in charge of assessing Lockheed Martin's costs for USAF bids quit on Apr. 1 and received immunity from the U.S.
