Boeing kept its 2003 financial performance intact in the fourth quarter, with record defense orders and a $1.1-billion tax refund. The year ended with $50.5 billion in revenues, representing a 7% growth over 2002. Leading Boeing's performance were an "unprecedented" $50 billion in orders for its Integrated Defense Systems unit, including $14.8 billion for the U.S. Army's Future Combat System, $8.6 billion for an F/A-18 multiyear production extension, and key orders for the Small Diameter Bomb, EA-18G Growler and Apache helicopter.
Pilots flying combat in Iraq say some aircraft damage and losses from shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles are the result of new tactics used by insurgents and the introduction of the more sophisticated and lethal SA-16 and SA-18 missiles into the theater.
Adoption by the European Council and European parliament of heavily revised "air passenger rights" could result in unfair practices, according to leaders of the International Air Transport Assn., European Regions Airline Assn. and International Air Carrier Assn.
Administrator Sean O'Keefe's decision to forgo another servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope raises the possibility that NASA will eventually use it as a testbed for some of the robotic rendezvous and capture technology needed to send humans to the Moon.
Robin Wohnsigl has been named president/chief operating officer of the Customer Services Div. of Airbus North America, Herndon, Va. He will succeed Clyde Kizer, who will be retiring. Wohnsigl was a consultant to VirginaUSA and had retired as president of the Technical Services Group of Air Canada.
Planned industrial action, which threatened to close Dublin's airport on Jan. 22, was called off by the union involved, SIPTU, only the day before the strike was due to take place. The union has decided to defer industrial action pending the outcome of talks.
Triumph Group Inc. plans to acquire Rolls-Royce Gear Systems Inc. from Rolls-Royce North America Venue I Inc., which is located in Park City, Utah. Primary products include aircraft and engine-mounted accessory drives, utility actuation components and systems, high-lift actuation systems and flight trim actuators for both civil and military aircraft. Triumph will pay $36 million, although the acquisition--if approved--is expected to add about $55 million in revenues in 2005 and be accretive to earnings.
A Belgian trade court is desperately trying to find a buyer for charter operator Sobelair. The former subsidiary of the ill-fated Sabena Belgian World Airlines ceased operations last week. The Italian Azzurro Group reportedly is interested, although it could not obtain funding to acquire Air Littoral, a French regional carrier operating under bankruptcy protection rules comparable to the U.S.' Chapter 11. Although both TUI Belgium and Brussels-based carrier Birdy indicated interest in acquiring segments of Sobelair, they have failed to submit proposals.
Uh-oh, O'Hare signals capacity problems are back. And delays of the variety that hobbled the National Airspace System at decade's end may not be far behind. So it's time to start thinking of solutions, and before summer arrives. This summer, airlines are expanding schedules to meet demands spurred by economic recovery. Capt. Duane Woerth offers a few observations and a solution on behalf of the Air Line Pilots Assn. members in the U.S. and Canada.
JetBlue Airways has ordered 13 additional Raisbeck enlarged overhead bin systems for installation on its Airbus A320 deliveries during 2004. JetBlue has taken delivery and installed 57 Raisbeck bin systems, has 13 on order and 120 more on option. The order is valued at more than $18 million.
Archie Hughes (see photo) has been appointed chief executive of the U.K. Defense Aviation Repair Agency, which is based in St. Athan, Wales. He was a senior executive at Rolls-Royce and had been chief executive of Vickers Defense Systems.
Laurence Barron and Guy McLeod will be switching jobs within Airbus. Barron, who has been senior vice president/head of the Asset Management Group within Airbus' Customer Affairs Directorate in Toulouse, France, has been appointed president of Airbus China. He will succeed McLeod, who will take over for Barron in Toulouse.
Southwest Airlines, in an 8-10% growth mode this year, is taking the tactic of offering discounted fares to fill seats. The $39 short-haul and $99 long-haul fares, available off-peak on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, are offered on a limited basis for flights through June 11. Southwest is offering discounts via an e-mail campaign that applies to certain regions in the U.S. In addition to filling seats in this period of weak yields, Southwest may be protecting itself from incursions by low-cost competitors, according to Raymond E.
As predictions abound for an air travel boom in Asia this year, budget carrier Orient Thai Airlines says it will introduce smart cards in March. Two versions are to be offered: One with a 10% bonus above its purchase price will be aimed at ordinary travelers; a second will target frequent fliers. The cards will include passengers' personal details.
My windshield was filled with the jagged peaks surrounding Donner Pass in California's Sierra Nevadas. My old Piper PA-12 was struggling mightily to hold 9,500 ft. MSL on a warm September day. Abruptly, the engine went silent and the tachometer wound down. Before it reached zero, the powerplant coughed and ran about 3-4 sec., then quit again. I was already well into a 180-deg. turn, heading back down the mountain, searching for flatter ground. I called to my wife in the back seat: "I think we have a problem!"
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Brazil has reportedly joined the ranks of nations, including Israel and Canada, discussing participation in Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system. The size of the investment under discussion is thought to be close to the sums already committed by China and India. Brazilian reports suggested that an announcement might come during a forthcoming visit by the European Union's representative for foreign affairs, Chris Patten.
The French SNPE group, Finland's Patria Industries and Sweden's Saab on Jan. 22 agreed to combine their propellants and explosives businesses into a joint subsidiary, the European Energetics Co. SNPE will have a 60.2% stake, while Patria and Saab will own 19.9% each.
NATO member states are considering deploying additional air force units to Afghanistan, including attack helicopters, potentially paving the way for an eventual drawdown in the number of U.S. forces in the country. While the notion expressed by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell that NATO ultimately could replace the U.S. presence appears improbable, some states are looking to bolster their commitments.
Stephen M. Younger will be returning to the Los Alamos (N.M.) National Laboratory as a senior fellow, effective Feb. 27. He has been director of the Pentagon-based Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
Separately, the French government ordered the second unit of its Syracuse 3 third-generation military satcom system, which will be the first in Europe, along with Italy's Sicral, to offer an EHF communications capability. The contract, awarded under a 1.4-billion-euro framework deal concluded in 2000, went to Alcatel Space, which is also supplying the first unit. Syracuse 3A is scheduled to be launched later this year, and Syracuse 3B in late 2005.
USAF Col. (ret.) Sigmund Alexander (San Antonio, Tex.)
Congratulations on the article "From Kites to Pegasus" by Michael A. Dornheim in the issue celebrating 100 years of flight (AW&ST Dec. 15, 2003, p. 56). Numerous periodicals have printed articles pertaining to the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight, but Dornheim's is the only one to recognize the impact of the B-47 on commercial aviation.
M. Anthony Johnson has been named president of the Chem-Fab Corp. subsidiary of the Wayne, Pa.-based Triumph Group Inc. He was vice president/general manager.
France has awarded Astrium a 124-million-euro ($156-million) contract to build a demonstration early-warning satellite system capable of detecting ballistic missiles in the powered phase, just after launch. The program, dubbed Spirale, was established last year along with an experimental medium-range ground-based early warning radar, M3R, under an effort aimed at fielding an extended-theater anti-ballistic missile defense system by early in the next decade (AW&ST Nov. 17, 2003, p. 28).
If it's the year after an FAA authorization, there must be Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) slots to allocate. The four-year FAA bill signed into law in December includes the usual mandate for more DCA slot exemptions, this time involving 12 slots--six daily round trips--for service beyond the 1,250-mi. perimeter that used to be the limit on flights to and from DCA, plus eight slots for within-perimeter service and two more from previous legislation that went dormant. In a proceeding to dole out these highly prized assets, the Transportation Dept.
