The European Commission's competition directorate has authorized an alliance between Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines. The approval was given for six years--the longest period allowed under European regulations. Ratification occurred after Slovenian national carrier Adria Airways began daily flights between Frankfurt and Vienna. As part of the directorate's consent, Lufthansa and Austrian had to provide takeoff/landing slots to Adria because EC officials want to encourage competition in the air transport market between Germany and Austria.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, a new government agency to be formed in early 2002, is to provide the country's airport security services--many of which will be getting a boost from the C2.2 billion ($1.4 billion) allocated in the country's budget for air transport security enhancements.
Airline pilots worldwide have reported more than 600 incidents involving an encounter with laser light beams. According to the Flight Safety Foundation's ``Human Factors&Aviation Medicine,'' these incidents feature a sudden impairment of vision to cockpit crewmembers, but long-term damage to the eye is rare. Although a majority of laser lights are associated with complex displays used by hotels, individuals who use lasers for a hobby also contribute to the problem. The U.K.
Randall Greene (see photos) has succeeded his father Leonard M. Greene as president/CEO of the Safe Flight Instrument Corp., White Plains, N.Y. Leonard Greene will remain chairman. Joseph M. Wilson has been appointed vice president-operations. Joseph H. Gordon has been promoted to vice president from director of engineering.
Frank W. Milian, Jr., has been named vice president-business development for aircraft management and charter management sales in the Northeast U.S. for Executive Jet Management Inc. of Cincinnati. He was senior vice president of the Atlantic Aviation Corp., Teterboro, N.J. Todd Spangler has become vice president-national accounts for the NetJets program of Executive Jet Inc., Woodbridge, N.J. He was vice president of Executive Jet Management.
Airbus late last week denied the A300-600 that reportedly sustained aft fuselage damage in a Dec. 3, 1987, windstorm at Toulouse was the American Airlines Flight 587 accident aircraft, as had been initially reported in The Washington Post. The aircraft, tail-heavy because its twin engines weren't yet attached, was tipped by the force of the wind, according to the report. Airbus told Aviation Week&Space Technology last week that the accident aircraft, Serial No. 420, was undergoing engine runs at the time.
AEROFLOT HAS SELECTED JEPPESEN to provide tailored instrument approach charts for its crews worldwide. The flag carrier is required to follow Russian regulations for airport operating minima at each of the 140 destinations it serves around the world. Aeroflot will provide its required minima to Jeppesen, which will custom tailor its industry standard instrument approach charts to reflect the airline's requirements. The tailored charts will first be issued for U.S. destinations, followed by European, Asian and African airports.
The European Council has approved a move that would establish common rules for baggage and passenger screening and other activities at Europe's airports, improving protection against terrorist acts.
The U.S. Navy has completed the second guided flight test of a next-generation anti-radar missile and, for the first time, collected data using a critical mode of the weapon's seeker. The Dec. 19 test at the Naval Air Systems Command Weapons Div. at China Lake, Calif., involved an F/A-18 firing the advanced anti-radiation guided missile (Aargm) against a simulated air defense radar. The inert missile struck the target within the required area to destroy it.
Ibis Aerospace has named four new distributors for the Ae270 propjet, bringing to eight the number of regional sales centers selected for the Czech-built utility aircraft. The distributors are Field Aviation Sales of Mississauga, Ontario; Woodland Aviation of Woodland, Calif.; Cutter Aviation of Phoenix; and Elliott Aviation of Moline, Ill. Ibis holds 69 orders for the Ae270, which recently added a second aircraft to its flight test program.
The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is making strides toward its goal of adding transpacific air service as early as 2005. The FAA has approved two runway projects--the first is a 2,000-ft. extension of the east/west runway to 12,000 ft. to accommodate nonstop flights to Asia; the second is a new, 8,000-ft. runway to allow simultaneous operations of what would be three north/south runways. The airport has applied for federal funding to cover $100 million of the $230-million cost, and a passenger facility charge would fund the airport's portion.
NASA has awarded another $94.6 million in Space Launch Initiative contracts, completing the first round of awards for the $4.8-billion technology effort (AW&ST May 28, 2001, p. 30). Northrop Grumman and Orbital Sciences will work on systems engineering and architecture definition under contracts worth $15.7 million and $4.9 million, respectively, that also carry renewal options. Boeing got $5.4 million to start studying crew survivability and escape systems, while Rocketdyne and TRW won options to existing contracts for potential work on advanced propulsion systems.
Airbus has selected Hamilton Sundstrand subsidiary Ratier-Figeac to supply the trimmable horizontal stabilizer actuator for the A380 ultra wide-body transport. The French firm was teamed with Hamilton Sundstrand's Rockford, Ill.-based Actuation Systems Group for the contract, which could ultimately be worth $200 million.
Pascale Sourisse has been named president for space activities of Paris-based Alcatel and president/CEO of Alcatel Space and Alcatel Space Industries. She was chief operating officer of Alcatel Space. Sourisse succeeds Jean-Claude Husson.
A minor change in the assembly process of honeycomb structure commonly used for aircraft floors and partitions could help extinguish flame fronts and greatly reduce the blast effects from a bomb in the cargo hold, passenger compartment or an explosion in a center fuselage tank, according to officials at BlastGard.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. has won a $1.1-billion contract to begin the system development and demonstration phase of the U.S. Air Force C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program. The program is the second phase of an upgrade plan for the C-5 airlifter fleet.
Sydney celebrated Christmas and New Year's under clouds of smoke from forest fires apparently set by arsonists. By late last week, 150 homes and 741,000 acres had been consumed on the city's outskirts and the forests of surrounding New South Wales. Aircraft played a critical role in suppressing the fires, particularly a Sikorsky S-64 modified by Erickson Air Crane Co. of Central Point, Ore., on yearly contract to Australia's Natural Resources and Environment Dept. It carries a 2,500-gal.
Indian Airlines asked the government for permission to add three international routes to its network--Kabul, Hong Kong and Dubai. Choice of frequency, aircraft type and service launch dates would be made if the approval is obtained. The carrier's wet-lease of two Airbus A320s would allow it to offer new services from Delhi to the three destinations. In addition, the airline has been granted permission to provide charters during the hajj from Hyderabad and Srinagar to Jeddah this year.
Ivory E. Tucker has been named vice president of the Norwalk, Conn.-based Norden Systems unit of the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Electronic Systems Sector (ESS). He was director of major subcontract management and administration for ESS in Baltimore. Tucker succeeds D. Wayne Snodgrass, who is now vice president-engineering and manufacturing for ESS. William Mitchell has been named vice president/assistant general counsel/sector counsel for Newport News (Va.) operations for Northrop Grumman. He was associate sector counsel for ESS.
Delta Air Transport, a regional subsidiary of bankrupt Sabena Belgian World Airlines, and Richard Branson's Brussels-based Virgin Express tentatively plan to conclude a merger agreement in the next few weeks. The two carriers would be combined into a unified company and focus on European city-pairs. In the shorter term, they will operate routes under code-sharing arrangements.
The FAA should start regulating airspace of a different kind--cabin air on commercial transports. So says a panel convened by the National Research Council. According to ``The Airliner Cabin Environment and Health of Passengers and Crew,'' the FAA should conduct extensive scientific tests to identify harmful contaminants and their potential risk to passengers and crew. The agency also should establish an air quality monitoring system, as well as review and update current regulations as necessary to protect the public health.
American Airlines and Washington lawyers for an Arab-American Secret Service agent barred from a Dec. 25 American flight from Baltimore to Dallas sparred last week on whether the agent or the pilot was at fault.
Boeing delivered 527 commercial transports during 2001, five more than company officials had predicted in their latest revision of delivery estimates following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. A total of 144 commercial aircraft were delivered by Boeing during the fourth quarter of last year, including 85 Next-Generation 737s, 16 777s and 13 757s. Prior to the terrorist attacks, Boeing had been projecting delivery of 538 commercial transports for all of 2001.
Airport security concerns are growing in the wake of an attempt by a passenger to bomb an American Airlines Boeing 767 operating from Paris to Miami. The continuing investigation is expected to conclude that conventional passenger screening systems, primarily designed to detect metallic objects, no longer cover the complete spectrum of risks.
A two-year-old startup space launch company in Seattle, drawing on experience gained with Kistler Aerospace, Lockheed Martin's VentureStar and Boeing, has turned the tables on the traditional ``if you build it, they will come'' approach to reusable launch vehicle (RLV) development.
