American Airlines and Finnair have applied for antitrust immunity with the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. The two carriers want to cooperate on scheduling and pricing to improve the codeshare arrangements they already have. Both are members of the Oneworld alliance. An American official said the two carriers have no overlap in service. Finnair has daily service from Helsinki to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, where American wants to expand after the completion of a new terminal. The U.S. and Finland have an open skies agreement.
Competitors for the U.S. Navy Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, the P-3 and EP-3 replacement, are busy highlighting their respective strengths in the multi-billion dollar race. Boeing is fighting the perception its two-engine, 737-based solution may be less than ideal for low-altitude anti-submarine operations. It has flown Navy officers on the aircraft, cutting an engine at 200 ft.
Activity is increasing surrounding Brazil's expected purchase of 12-24 fighter aircraft under its $700-million F-X BR program, with executives of some of the competing companies saying a downselect could come as early as the end of next month.
The Rectodyne Model R-400 ground power unit features high currents for accurate turbine spooling and regulated DC power for avionics and lighting system services. This three-phase 28-VDC rectifier has 50/60Hz., 208, 230, 380 or 460-VAC input power. Power is applied through a manually adjustable input voltage selector and power input control circuit connected to a three-phase power transformer. It includes a heavy-duty thermostat for overload protection and an airflow sensor that shuts the GPU down in the event of fan failure. Christie, Div.
The MRO industry is beginning to emerge from the aftermath of Sept. 11, but maintenance providers are grappling with an intensely competitive business climate that demands diligent management of assets to attain and maintain revenue streams.
U.S. Army officials are beginning to assess what upgrades they may want to make to early AH-64D Longbow Apaches now that the first production run is complete. Army and Boeing officials last week commemorated the end of the first multiyear contract that remanufactured 232 AH-64Ds from the older AH-64A configuration. The event coincided with delivery of the first of 269 AH-64Ds built under the second multiyear contract that was awarded in 2000.
The Global Hawk unmanned recon system will receive sensor suite improvements and increased gross takeoff weight under two contracts, worth about $300 million, that have been awarded to Northrop Grumman. Work is to be performed in California at Edwards AFB, and at company facilities in Palmdale and San Diego. The Global Hawk program is managed by USAF's Aeronautical Systems Center at Ohio-based Wright-Patterson AFB.
Brazilian military officials are expected to begin field evaluations of the three medium-lift transport aircraft that are candidates in the country's $270-million CL-X program--the Alenia Aeronautica/Lockheed Martin C-27J Spartan, EADS/CASA C-295 and Antonov An-32--according to an Alenia executive. Pilots will be sent to the facilities where the aircraft are built--Italy, Spain and the Ukraine, respectively--to evaluate the candidates. Brazil is expected to buy 12 of the transports, which will be based in Manaus for the country's Amazon River basin-surveillance program.
David A. Bolger has been appointed director of public relations in the Washington public affairs office for the United Parcel Service. He was vice president-communications for the United States Telecom Assn.
An International Launch Services Russian Proton booster fired from the Baikonur Cosmodrome placed the Space Systems/Loral Intelsat 903 spacecraft into a geosynchronous transfer orbit Mar. 30. The new Intelsat will be placed at 34.5 deg. W. Long., where it will provide communications services to the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. On Apr. 1, a Molniya M booster launched a Russian missile early warning satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.
This company was recently recognized with a Design-Build Excellence Award for the F-22 Robotics Coating Facility. Designed and constructed for Lockheed Martin, the hangar received the top award from the Design-Build Institute of America for industrial/process projects valued at more than $25 million. The facility in Marietta, Ga., is a 78,500-sq.-ft. hangar that houses a robotic system for applying the coatings that contribute to the performance capabilities of the stealth fighter.
In the14 months since Integrated Defense Technologies Inc.'s (IDT) initial public offering at $22 a share, investors in this defense electronics pure play have done well. As of last Thursday, when it closed at 30.25 a share, the stock had appreciated more than 37%, thus meeting or exceeding the price targets of several leading market professionals. But they believe there could be additional upside.
Registration has begun for dot.aero, the new Internet domain for the aviation industry. The domain is sponsored by SITA, an industry-wide IT group, and is intended to protect and promote existing aviation brands. Martin Gaskell, SITA's director for the dot.aero project, said, ``Large numbers of aviation companies missed out on registering their brands as dot.com domain names and will now want to protect them under dot.aero.''
The Spectroline AP-800 UltraWand UV lamp is designed for tight areas, such as between jet-engine turbine blades, and as a replacement for UV borescopes. It can also be used for conducting internal wet magnetic-particle and liquid-particle examinations. The 8-watt lamp is 1 in. in diameter and 30 in. long. The AP-800 plugs into an AC outlet or generator with a 12-ft. cord. It delivers steady-state UV-A (365-nanometer) irradiance. The 16-ounce unit causes less fatigue during inspection sessions, according to the company.
Raytheon Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. have teamed up to pursue business opportunities in the explosives-detection systems market. The U.S. government has mandated the deployment of enough systems to screen 100% of checked baggage at all 438 U.S. commercial airports by Dec. 31, 2002.
Bill Prochazka has become executive vice president/general manager of Michigan operations for Lincoln, Neb.-based Duncan Aviation. He was vice president-aircraft and customer service.
Curtis Robb has become acting chief information officer of Delta Air Lines and acting president/CEO of Delta Technology. He was senior vice president/chief technology officer of Delta Technology. Robb succeeds Robert DeRodes, who is now executive vice president/CIO of The Home Depot.
The U.S. Navy is playing a key role in increasing military satcom bandwidth, coordinating satcom capabilities and providing unique space imagery to support Navy, Marine, Air Force, Army and Special Forces operations in Afghanistan and other theaters in the war on terrorism. The Space&Naval Warfare Systems Command (Spawar) in San Diego, Calif., and Naval Space Command in Dahlgren, Va., are the focal points for this support.
France has become one of the first countries to sign a new Common Agreement outlining German funding and penalty details for its contribution to Europe's A400M airlifter program (AW&ST Apr. 1, p. 21). French defense officials said all eight participating nations planned to ink the document by mid-April, which would allow a definitive contract to be signed by month's end.
Brussels-based VG Airlines, a startup carrier, expects to obtain an air operator certificate in the next few days and plans to inaugurate scheduled services to the U.S. East Coast soon. VG, named after founder and Chief Executive Freddy Van Gaever, has taken delivery of three 229-seat Airbus A330-200 twinjets under a lease agreement with the International Lease Finance Corp. They were previously operated by Sabena Belgian World Airlines and were parked in Chateauroux, central France. Late last year, Sabena filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations.
Phil S. Gray has been appointed president of Radarsat International, Richmond, British Columbia. He succeeds Roland Knight, who has become operations manager of parent MacDonald Dettwiler&Associates' Information Products Group.
U.S. Undersecretary of Defense E.C. (Pete) Aldridge, Jr., is one of four recently named honorary fellows of the Reston, Va.-based American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The others are: Duane McRuer, a consultant with Systems Technology Inc.; Philippe Poisson-Quinton, a senior consultant with Onera in Paris; and Robert C. Truax, president of Truax Engineering.
John Capeci (see photo) has been named director of marketing for ITT Industries' Avionics Div., Clifton, N.J. He was director of technology and systems engineering for Honeywell International, Teterboro, N.J.
Manfred Brennwald has been appointed deputy head of flight operations for the new Swiss Air Lines. He was head of flight operations for Swissair. Brennwald succeeds Rainer Hillebrand, who has been assigned to Zurich Airport.
