Mary Carroll Linder has been named senior vice president-corporate and brand communications for Northwest Airlines. She was senior vice president-corporate communications.
Linda S. Cook (see photo) has been appointed vice president/director of Advanced Extremely High Frequency Projects within the Atlanta-based EMS Technologies Space&Technology Group. She was director of engineering for EMS Wireless.
Slowing demand continues to be felt throughout Asia. Air India is closing 20 ticket agencies in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia and laying off 52 employees. . . . Cathay Pacific has cut 4% of its Asian and transpacific flights. . . . All Nippon Airways is increasing flights into South Korea and China to try to counterbalance the 30% drop in demand on transpacific routes. . . . Delta Air Lines will terminate daily service between Los Angeles and Nagoya, Japan, and Tokyo's Narita Airport on Dec. 1 and plans to eliminate Tokyo -New York JFK services until March. .
Raytheon is offering to sell its business units in Waco, Garland and Greenville, Tex., where the company works on special-mission, intelligence-gathering aircraft. Boeing, L-3 and Northrop Grumman are the three top contenders, according to sources.
Of the many proposals to enhance aviation security in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., none may be more controversial than arming aircrews. To explore the pros and cons, Aviation Week&Space Technology turned to two veteran airline captains. On the left, Tracy W. Price, who flies Boeing 737s for a major carrier, argues in favor. On the right, Roger Waldman, a U.S. citizen who flew for Air Canada, argues against firearms on the flight deck.
Paul Cofoni and Mike Laphen have become corporate vice presidents of the Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif. Cofoni and Laphen are presidents of CSC's Federal Sector and European Group, respectively.
The Pentagon's National Imagery and Mapping Agency has trumped the old debate about high-resolution commercial reconnaissance satellites compromising U.S. military operations. For $1,912,500 a month, NIMA has bought exclusive rights to all images of the Enduring Freedom area of operations collected by the Ikonos commercial satellite operated by Denver-based Space Imaging. That effectively gives the U.S. military ``shutter control'' of the 1-meter-resolution spacecraft for cash. If NIMA actually uses Ikonos pictures, it must pay another $20 per square km.
The National Technical Information Service has released a report assessing the strategic consequences of globalization and its implications for U.S. national security and defense policy. ``The Global Century: Globalization and National Security'' recommends an increased interagency coordination in Washington, closer ties with European and Asian allies, and a flexible and adaptive military force structure with a wide spectrum of capabilities. Check www.ntis.gov/product/featured/terrorism.htm for details.
Pierre Beaudoin has been appointed president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace. Previously, he was president of the business aircraft division and president and COO of Bombardier Recreational Products. He succeeds Michael Graff, who plans to pursue other interests in the U.S.
ST MICROELECTRONICS RESEARCHERS will describe the smallest manufactured NMOSFET (Negative-Metal-Oxide Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor) at the 2001 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEEEDM) in Washington, Dec. 3-5. Using a polysilicon notch technique, they have achieved a 16-nanometer gate with conventional lithography, producing transistors, which, at one-fifth the size of state of the art today, are the smallest gate length reported, using conventional bulk Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor transistors.
The use of missile-firing Predator unmanned aircraft in Afghanistan has achieved ``good success,'' said a Pentagon official familiar with the CIA-led activity.
About 600 New Zealanders last week protested a government decision to disband the air force's combat wing, after more than 100 termination letters were received by service personnel at Ohakea air base. The defense minister, Mark Burton, told protesters that tough fiscal decisions had to be made, and other military units would be better equipped as a result. Opponents claimed New Zealand is simply adopting an isolationist stance, and is relying on other nations for its defense.
SAAB AVIONICS AB, WHICH SUPPORTS SAAB AEROSPACE in electromagnetic interference (EMI) for aircraft including the Gripen, is turning to automobiles for insights to prevent EMI problems. The increasing variety of electronics packed in the small volume of a car creates more complex EMI challenges than in aircraft, according to Saab. Plus, the automotive side spends more money on research to find solutions.
The slowdown in cargo shipping that followed the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks has prompted a closer look at the realities of just-in-time (JIT) shipping. Ford, which had to shut down plants for lack of JIT parts, is evaluating whether to move to warehousing of strategic parts, according to ARC, a consultancy. A slowing economy will open capacity and could cause a shift away from air cargo, ARC said. That raises questions about the use of third-party logistics suppliers for air shipments.
Japan Airlines, which was looking forward to a 25-billion yen ($208-million) profit in fiscal 2001, says all those hopes were washed away by the ``flight phobia'' that has ensued since Sept. 11. Japan's largest international carrier--60% of its revenues come from international traffic--now predicts a 40-billion yen loss for the fiscal year that ends next Mar. 31, its first since 1997. For the first time in four years, it will not pay a dividend and is planning layoffs.
Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter team is developing advanced manufacturing and assembly techniques aimed at significantly reducing build time and costs, compared with methods used to build legacy fighters.
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin's surprise resignation last week leaves the U.S. space agency struggling for lift in a Bush Administration that paid scant attention to the red-ink space program even before the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
An Airbus security task force has made available free of charge to customer airlines plans for reinforced cockpit doors. The strengthened door design, which covers the European manufacturer's range of single-aisle twinjets, was approved by the European Joint Aviation Authorities. Similar upgrades are being developed for Airbus' twin-aisle aircraft while additional measures are being contemplated to minimize terrorism-related risks, company officials said.
Deep Space 1 acquired the first resolved pictures of a comet's nucleus on Sept. 22, despite the spacecraft being designed as a technology demonstrator rather than a cometary explorer. Engineers were amazed that it survived the close encounter through the surrounding dust with no apparent damage.
Alenia has placed an initial order for C-27J components with SME Aerospace, a subsidiary of Aerospace Industries of Malaysia (AIM), under a Memorandum of Understanding concluded in 1999 (AW&ST June 28, 1999, p. 63). The order, for an undisclosed amount, concerns the first set of forward lower lobes on the airlifter, built by Alenia-Lockheed Martin venture LMATTS. The C-27J is in the ``final evaluation'' stage with the Malaysian and Greek air forces, according to Alenia.
Randolph L. Kendall has been promoted to principal director of missions and analysis in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Div. from systems director of its Mission Integration Directorate at The Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, Calif.
Christian Bittencourt has been named London-based managing director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for L-3 Satellite Networks. He was director of sales engineering for Gilat Europe.
Major U.S. airports have joined the long line of financially stressed businesses reeling in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The ailing status was affirmed recently when investor services Standard&Poor's, Moody's and Fitch independently lowered credit ratings or flagged investments at many of the country's largest airports.
