BYE-BYE BILATERALS India's cabinet has said farewell to tedious bilateral air service agreements in favor of an open skies policy with the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As of Dec. 1, all ASEAN airlines can fly daily to 18 destinations in India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The change is being hailed by the tourist industry because travel is projected to increase by more than 15% this winter.
Leo Mullin, who experienced the heights and depths of the turn-of-the-century airline business during more than six years as CEO of Delta Air Lines, will leave the company in 2004 as it struggles to cut its costs and regain profitability.
Prof. John-Paul Clarke (see photo) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Aeronautics and Astronautics Dept. has been selected to receive this year's FAA Excellence in Aviation Award. He was cited for developing a three-dimensional noise simulation and design tool that factored in atmospheric conditions; creating a method for noise abatement procedures; forming and leading the research team that designed and flight-tested a noise abatement procedure that reduced community noise, and developing a system for assessing global emissions.
Learning how to interface with the Airbus A380's onboard information system will likely offer pilots more of a training challenge than learning to fly the mega-transport. "Flying the airplane will be like flying a fly-by-wire Airbus. The A380 is going to look and feel like a standard A340-four-engined aircraft. So, from a flying standpoint, we do not see any difficulties," said Capt. Jacques Drappier, senior director-programs, Airbus Flight Training Dept. He is also in charge of A340/500/600 training.
Robert G. Costantini has become chief financial officer of First Aviation Services Inc., Westport, Conn. He was senior vice president/CFO/general counsel of FocusVision Worldwide.
Michael A. Taverna (Paris), Douglas Barrie (London)
A seeming island of tranquillity in the sea of turmoil engulfing the Middle East, Dubai is hanging out the "business as usual" sign as it prepares to open what organizers hope will be the biggest edition ever of its biennial air show on Dec. 7. The high hopes rest on experience at the last show in 2001, which survived the shock of the Sept. 11 attacks; exhibit and chalet reservations, which have been running above levels in 1999, which was the best event on record; and the region's healthy economy (AW&ST Nov. 12, 2001, p. 32).
Airline industry officials warn that pricing pressure from low-cost carriers in Europe and the U.S. could spread to the Middle East, despite the strong position of flag carriers and the relative dearth of regional and no-frills competitors. "Here in the Middle East, you probably don't feel this kind of pressure yet," International Air Transport Assn. Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani told an air transport meeting in Muscat recently. "However, it would be unwise to say: 'It can't happen here.'"
A British Airways Concorde took off once again from New York John F. Kennedy Airport, but this time via a water route. On Nov. 25, the aircraft was transported by barge at a stately pace (3 kt./3.5 mph.) from the airport, through New York harbor, past the Statue of Liberty and up the Hudson River to become part of the permanent collection at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum. The 204-ft., 88-ton supersonic jet will be placed on a 260-ft. barge attached to the museum complex, where it will house exhibits on supersonic flight and related information.
Boeing Aerospace Support has won the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's highest honor for performance excellence. Headquartered in St. Louis, Aerospace Support has annual revenues in excess of $4 billion and is part of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems. It provides maintenance, modifications, training, spares and logistics services for aircraft and other military systems. The unit's focus is on reduced life-cycle costs and increased readiness.
Michael L. Brady (see photo) has been named vice president/chief financial officer for the Aerospace Group of Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Lynnwood, Wash. He was vice president/general manager of Crane subsidiary Hydro-Aire.
Richard Clark has become president of Airborne Nacelle Services Inc., Hot Springs, Ark., and Aerospace Technologies Inc. of Fort Worth, both subsidiaries of the Wayne, Pa.-based Triumph Group Inc. He was president of the Nordam Group Repair Divs. Clark succeeds Anthony McAnly, who has been named vice president-strategic business development for the Triumph Aftermarket Services Group. Joseph Greenwood has been appointed vice president-sales and marketing and Michael Abram vice president-operations for Airborne Nacelle.
COST ESTIMATE NASA says returning the three surviving space shuttles to flight safely will cost at least $235 million for hardware modifications and checkout. According to the first preliminary estimate by NASA's space shuttle program, the agency will spend at least $60 million in Fiscal 2003 funds, and $175 million in Fiscal 2004, for fixes recommended by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and additional "raise-the-bar" activities NASA has decided to undertake.
Emirates is planning to accelerate its already rapid expansion next year to operate to six new destinations and introduce passenger service to the U.S. for the first time.
Another Southeast Asian carrier, itself a spinoff of a recent startup, is ready to challenge the powers-that-be with discount services. Known now as Air Asia Aviation, the discounter is to begin operations from here next February to six domestic points using two Boeing 737-300s. It expects to add two more -300s by the end of 2004. Some tourist destinations--Bangkok, the island resort of Phuket and the mountainous area of Chiang Mai--are well known to foreigners, while others--Hat Yai, Khon Kaen and Nakhon Ratchasima--are less visited.
Richard Langseder has been appointed interim president of the Flow Control Div. of the Curtiss-Wright Corp., Roseland, N.J. He has been vice president-military programs and succeeds the late Joseph Napoleon.
ABRACADABRA Like magic, the most intractable of congressional stalemates gets settled when lawmakers want to go home for the holidays, and this year's FAA reauthorization bill is no exception. The measure had been stalled since July, when conference-committee Republicans watered-down language against ATC privatization in the initial Senate and House bills. The legislation passed after Bush administration assurances that could have been made months ago--ATC jobs, including staffing at FAA-operated VFR towers, won't be contracted out during Fiscal 2004.
8 Correspondence 12 Who's Where 14-15 Market Focus 17 Industry Outlook 19 Airline Outlook 20-21 World News Roundup 23 In Orbit 25 Washington Outlook 53 Inside Avionics 73 Classified 76 Contact Us 77 Aerospace Calendar
Jeff Pollack has been named senior director of market planning for Atlantic Coast Airlines. He was a principal consultant in the Washington office of Sabre Inc.
PLAYING BOTH SIDES Alcatel Space is playing two horses in the race to land a communications payload award in Vietnam, expected to be decided toward year-end. The French company is teamed with two different bus providers, Astrium and NPO/PM of Russia, for VinaSat, which has been in discussion for two years. At least one U.S. supplier is also known to be in the running. If Vietnam opts for the Franco-Russian solution, it will mark the first time the two companies have cooperated on a project outside of Russia.
Japan Airlines says it will extend a biometric passenger identification project to South Korea's Incheon International Airport beginning Jan. 8. Backed by Japan's transport ministry, the experiment involves a facial recognition system for the check-in process and confirms the passenger's identity by an iris check.
Tomas Samuelsson has been appointed president of Sweden-based Saab Bofors Dynamics. He has been president of its infantry business unit. Samuelsson succeeds Ingemar Andersson, who has become executive vice president of Saab AB and will be chairman of Saab Bofors Dynamics.
