The private-sector-led, $278-million project to construct Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) has been given the green light. The decision follows an exhaustive effort to win defense, environmental and federal approvals. The airport, located at India's software capital, is to be completed by July 2006 and have a 4,000-meter (13,120-ft.) runway. It will handle 4 million passengers and 140,000 metric tons of cargo, compared with the present facility's 2 million passengers and 30,000 tons of cargo.
Low-cost carriers, beware! Sir Richard Branson is stirring the competition pot again, this time on American soil. By the end of the month, the Virgin Atlantic Airways CEO is expected to outline final plans for his low-cost carrier operation in the U.S. According to Virgin Atlantic, executives of Virgin USA, the company that oversees Branson's American business interests, were busy last week choosing the carrier's operations base. Boston, Washington and Philadelphia are believed to be strong contenders.
David A. Fulghum (Washington), Robert Wall (Washington)
There is no sharp focus in the proposed $401.7-billion Fiscal 2005 U.S. defense budget to provide a clear picture of the lighter, faster responding military force so widely touted in recent years. More obvious are signs of a bitter fight between senior Pentagon civilians and military planners--and the latter appear to be losing.
Dassault Systemes' revenues in the fourth quarter of 2003 increased 8% to 227.8 million euros ($284.7 million). However, the French management and design software company's annual revenues decreased 2% to 754.8 million euros, a negative trend tied to the economic downturn and the euro's unfavorable exchange rates against the U.S. dollar, according to company executives.
Nippon Cargo Airlines has bought its first Boeing 747-400 freighters, three aircraft to be used on European and North American routes as replacements for 747-100/200 freighters. At list prices, the deal is worth $600 million.
The unprecedented exploration of Mars by Spirit and Opportunity is shifting to a more dynamic, ever-changing "tactical" operation. Their ensemble of imaging, chemistry and mineralogy instrumentation will be tasked increasingly in a more synergistic manner by twin Jet Propulsion Laboratory teams as these modern explorers begin moving about the surface.
Brazil's national space agency, the AEB, has signed a space-cooperation agreement with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), which will deploy a Brazilian micro-satellite in polar orbit for atmospheric studies using a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Weighing 50-100 kg. (110-220 lb.), the Brazilian microsat will ride to polar orbit piggyback on an Indian payload to be determined later.
The European Commission says it will formally request that Italy end its practice of awarding government civil helicopter contracts without open tender, which it says violates EC public procurement codes. If the practice is not stopped, the EC said, it may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. The ECJ docket already includes an EC referral for violation of the code in an Italian forestry helicopter award. The matter could affect sales at AgustaWestland, the Italian-British helicopter maker that supplies most of Italy's government rotorcraft.
The Pentagon has only begun to set in motion the contentious base realignment and closure (BRAC) process and already lawmakers are nervous. The move to shed excess infrastructure is going to take well over a year. This week, Defense czar Donald Rumsfeld is supposed to consider criteria the BRAC commissioners must weigh as they assess which bases to keep or close. But Rep.
Joseph R. Cleveland, who is chief information officer of the Lockheed Martin Corp., and Brian Leinbach, senior vice president-operations for Delta Technology, have been named Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2004 by IDG's Computerworld magazine. Cleveland is also president of Lockheed Martin's Enterprise Information Systems, Orlando, Fla. The award recognizes technology leadership, innovative approaches to business challenges and effective execution of comprehensive IT strategies.
USAF Brig. Gen. (ret.) Thomas L. Hemingway has been recalled to active duty and named legal adviser to the appointing authority in the Office of Military Commissions. He has been a senior judge on the Air Force Court of Military Review and director of the U.S. Air Force Judiciary.
European regulators need to move quickly to clarify and flesh out a landmark ruling on airport state subsidies to airlines to avoid courting a rash of complaints, amid concern and apprehension as to long-term implications of its findings.
If it turns out that the Flash Airlines Boeing 737 that crashed into the Red Sea on Jan. 3 ingested a flock of vultures, which tend to enjoy that area, more than concern about charter safety will be involved. Getting airports to properly monitor land- ing and approach zones has always been a problem. Bird avoidance is within our technology, but then so are a lot of things we have not done.
Worldwide traffic declined overall in 2003, but had "a robust recovery" in the last quarter, according to the International Air Transport Assn. IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani attributed the rally to gradual disappearance of negative factors, including SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and the economic downturn, and to the airlines' aggressive cost-cutting measures. Compared with 2002 year-end figures, passenger traffic was down 2.4%. The 72.2% load factor, 1.8 percentage points lower than 2002, is based on a one-percentage-point capacity increase.
The first of the British Royal Navy's three Sea Harrier F/A2 squadrons will be withdrawn from service in March 2004, with the second 12 months later, and the final unit in March 2006.
Investigators are sifting through emerging contradictory data regarding the crash of Egypt's Flash Airlines Flight 604 into the Red Sea. The Boeing 737-300 crashed shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport on Jan. 3, at dawn, under clear weather conditions, killing all on board.
Flight Options will begin training company pilots at CAE SimuFlite's Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport center under an exclusive three-year agreement, with an option for an additional two years.
Northrop Grumman Corp. reported a 47% increase in sales during the fourth quarter of 2003, boosting the company's backlog of production and development programs to $58 billion. Sales for the quarter were $7.1 billion, up from 2002's $4.8 billion. Quarterly income from continuing operations was $203 million, compared with $226 million for the same period in 2002.
Joseph Schaefer, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Prediction Center, has received the 2003 Presidential Rank Award for long-term accomplishments. He was cited for leading the SPC to an "international reputation as a center of expertise in the prediction of hazardous, small-scale, mid-latitude weather." The award goes to senior federal executives who have provided service over an extended period of time.
Bob Yancey has been appointed president of the Des Moines, Iowa-based Turbine Fuel Technologies Div. of the Goodrich Corp. He was vice president/general manager of operations and test systems for Goodrich's Sensor Systems Div., Burnsville, Minn.
Luc Vigneron has been elected president of the Cidef French defense industries association. He is chairman/CEO of Giat Industries. Vigneron succeeds Philippe Camus, co-CEO of EADS.
The Italian government is exploring the introduction of new midweight battlefield and scout rotorcraft models to meet changing operational requirements and streamline inventory. One new requirement involves the provision of rotorcraft assets to support new European Union and NATO rapid-reaction forces now entering service. Areas targeted include the Balkans, Iraq and possibly Afghanistan, where NATO is seeking to expand its peacekeeping mission (AW&ST Jan. 26, p. 48). A meeting was planned for Feb. 6 to firm up initial Afghan commitments.
DutchBird has concluded a long-term agreement with Snecma Services covering pay-by-the-hour maintenance of the carrier's CFM56-5B4/2P turbofans, which power Airbus A320s.
The economic downturn and other difficulties besetting regional carriers have changed the face of the regional market: Twinjets under 50 seats could no longer be operated economically on short routes, according to Avions de Transport Regional's top executives. And, faced with the same stagnant conditions, the 40-70-seat twin turboprop market declined to an historic low last year, in a trend that forced ATR to slash production rate. Similarly, Canadian rival Bombardier Aerospace temporarily put the Q-series Dash 8 on hold before restarting deliveries.
