Air Canada, with time running out on creditor protection, is hell-bent on pursuing recovery initiatives as its chief restructuring executive resigns and a key equity investor bails out. The carrier last week won Canadian court approval to extend its Apr. 30 exit from bankruptcy protection to May 21. This provided breathing room to regroup following a couple of one-two punches.
Investment funds are reportedly setting their sights on PanAmSat, an affiliate of DirecTV acquired by News Corp. in its purchase of Hughes Electronics and now on the block. The action comes after funds have secured large stakes in Eutelsat, Inmarsat and other aerospace firms. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which took control of engine manufacturer MTU last year, is said to be among the potential bidders for PanAmSat, as is Carlyle, a minority partner in Italy's Avio.
June 16 is when Atlantic Coast Airlines transforms itself into Independence Airlines and begins offering low-cost service from Washington Dulles International Airport. United Airlines last week released ACA from its fee-per-departure contract, leaving the regional carrier free to pursue life as a low-fare carrier. In related action, Delta Air Lines last week ended its partnership with ACA, which also operated as a Delta Connection carrier.
The Brazilian ministry of defense has denied reports that the air force has recommended acquisition of the Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter for its advanced fighter requirement. The ministry said all three of the aircraft tendered--Dassault Mirage 2000-BR, Gripen and Su-35--remain in the running for the contest, which is to be decided by month's end.
Michel Tellier (see photo) has become vice president-services for PLM Americas for Paris-based Dassault Systemes, president of Montreal-based Dassault Systemes Inc. (Canada) and president of DSS.
Members of NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) are dissatisfied with the agency's progress in changing the bureaucratic "culture" cited as a contributor to the Columbia accident. Vice Adm. (ret.) Joe Dyer, former head of the Naval Air Systems Command and ASAP chief, describes NASA's efforts to create the independent technical authority recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board as "a work in progress" that needs greater clarity.
The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory is beginning to officially plan for Mars rover surface operations extending well into September, following assessments that show the major systems on Spirit and Opportunity can be expected to last at least five months beyond the original 90-day warranty. This should enable a much more extensive exploration of the Gusev Crater and Meridiani regions than rover managers dared hope during initial mission planning. Public interest in the mission remains high with rover-related web-site hits pushing beyond nine billion.
Kathleen Jackson Harris has been named vice president/deputy general counsel for US Airways. She was senior counsel for global compliance and acquisition integration for GE Energy. Keith D. Houk has been appointed president/ CEO of the combined Allegheny/Piedmont Airlines subsidiaries. He succeeds John F. Leonard, who has retired.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank has signed an agreement with its Italian counterpart, the Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE), that would allow the two banks to provide one-stop trade financing services for developing countries purchasing both goods and services from the two nations. The agreement, which is targeted, among other things, at facilitating cooperation in the reconstruction of Iraq, follows similar accords with Canada and the U.K.
France has adopted a convenient method for revisionist history as has Andre Fournerat (AW&ST Mar. 22, p. 6). It is important to consider the effect of history as opposed to creating the effect you wish history to have. The fact that the U.S. provided so much aid to Europe after World War II is what allowed various European governments to disburse the sparse funds that they had to the industrial sector. This spurred the growth in Europe that was fostered further by the requirements of the remaining Allied forces.
WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP 16 FAA licenses Rutan Space- ShipOne for X-prize bid 17 French demonstration proj- ects aimed at data exchange 17 Snecma selloff to kick off new French aerospace policy 18 Wreckage found of noted writer's P-38 from 1944 crash WORLD NEWS & ANALYSIS 24 Boeing selects GE's Gen X, Rolls' Trent 1000 for 7E7 26 Being left out is a mixed bag for Pratt & Whitney 27 Boeing may be ready to insti- tute new name regime
Carolyn Martin Pittman (see photo) has been promoted to vice president-finance/controller of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Integrated Systems Sector, El Segundo, Calif., from director of its Financial Service Center operations and site manager in Irving, Tex.
Cathy Bradley Berg (see photo) has become Western U.S. managing director of sales for American Airlines. She was director of its Premium Services organization.
Technicians are completing new wiring installation on the space shuttle Discovery that is directly related to inspection capabilities mandated by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Discovery is slated to return the shuttle program to flight in March or April 2005. The added crew-cabin wiring will enable astronauts to operate the new boom-mounted sensor on the shuttle's manipulator arm to inspect thermal tiles and wing leading edge panels for damage during launch.
The first extraterrestrial samples since Apollo 17 have been stowed and will soon be en route to Earth on NASA's Genesis spacecraft, heading for a mid-air helicopter recovery over the U.S. Air Force Testing and Training Range in Utah. Controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory deactivated the Genesis collectors, which are hexagons of gold, sapphire, diamond and pure silicon that have spent the past 27 months collecting particles of solar wind at the L-1 libration point about 1 million mi. toward the Sun.
Boeing may be ready to institute a new name regime. Since the 727, the company has marched by 10 up the 700 column from 737 to 777. In that case, its new mid-range, twin-aisle jet would be the 787. But rather than talk of it with an "X" in its name, officials have called it the 7E7 from the start, saying the "E" stands for efficient or efficiency. But they won't confirm that the 7E7 will remain once it's officially launched, which Boeing hopes will happen this year.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. has granted nine airlines 22 slot exemptions at Washington Reagan National Airport, the first allocated there since July 2000. The exemptions were mandated under Vision 100 legislation, which focused on promoting competition and increased services at Reagan.
Germany has completed the verification program for its Taurus KEPD 350 cruise missile, despite the necessity of aborting one of the last two shots during flight due to the failure of an engine sensor. The German air force is purchasing 600 missiles, with series production to begin in November. Also, the defense ministry recently concluded the ship integration contract for the Saab Bofors Dynamics RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missile for the navy's K-130 class frigate. German missile manufacturer BGT will act as the production prime.
Orbimage Inc., the Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp. commercial remote-sensing spinoff that emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of 2003, has boosted its staff by about 50% to handle operations of its new high-resolution OrbView-3 spacecraft and new U.S. government business. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) awarded Orbimage a fixed-price contract with a minimum two-year guarantee of $27.6 million, for OrbView-3 imagery under the $500-million NGA ClearView data-purchase program.
FBI and TSA agents searched three Northwest Airlines aircraft for explosives last week after a bomb threat was made, but found nothing and cleared the flights to continue. One aircraft bound for Detroit was searched at Los Angeles, one bound for Miami was searched at Memphis and then again at Miami, and a third bound from Miami to Detroit was searched at Detroit.
Companies that specialize in passenger-to-cargo conversion programs are expecting a stream of modification work to meet rising demand for cargo aircraft. Israel Aircraft Industries' Bedek Aviation Group is gearing up to be a strong player in the conversion of 747-400 passenger aircraft to special freighters. Citing forecasts that 300 747-400s will be converted to -400SFs, the IAI group aims to take a 40-50% piece of the market during the 2005-20 period.
Kenneth E. Gazzola, who is executive vice president/publisher of the Aviation Week Group, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, has become president of the New York-based Wings Club. He had been chairman of the Membership Committee and a member of the board of directors for seven years. Gazzola succeeds James M. Guyette, who is president/CEO of Rolls-Royce North America.
The Pentagon's aggressive plan to double the size of its elite Army aviation unit will strain recruitment and could lead to an increase in the number of new pilots that do not meet the rigorous training requirement.
SpaceDev will build three micro-satellites for the Missile Defense Agency with an option for three more under a newly awarded $43-million contract. The satellites will be part of the Pentagon's larger Ballistic Missile Defense System and are to be built by February 2009.
Nigel L. Page (see photo) has become New York-based senior vice president-commercial operations for the Americas for Emirates. He was senior general manager of commercial operations for Europe and North America.
