Travel agent commissions, one of the few airline cost centers that have declined in recent years, are expected to plunge again this quarter in the wake of a new round of cuts imposed by the carriers. North American airlines, led by American and its merger partner TWA, reduced the maximum cap from $50 to $20 for each round trip sold in the U.S. and Canada. The new one-way maximum is $10. Most major airlines including Air Canada matched the offer as of last week. The base commission rate remains unchanged at 5% (see p. 27).
Maj. Barry R. Cornish has received the U.S. Air Force's Koren Kolligian, Jr., Trophy for 2001, the service's highest safety award. It is presented to an air crewmember who uses skill, alertness, ingenuity or proficiency to minimize or avert an accident. While assigned to the 58th Fighter Sqdn. at Eglin AFB, Fla., one of the main landing gears on Cornish's F-15 failed on the first attempt at landing and caused severe damage to the aircraft. He got the plane back in the air and with just enough fuel left to get back on the ground, landed approximately 30 ft.
NavCanada's $5.7-million Air Operations Center in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, opened for business last week. The center, which is staffed by 18 air traffic controllers, 10 electronics technologists (who maintain navigation, communication and other systems) and eight Flight Service Station specialists, is set to handle some 110,000 aircraft movements annually.
Reacting strongly to Indian reports that blame ``poor quality MiG aircraft for the high accident rates of the Indian air force,'' Russian officials have counterclaimed that MiG fighters wouldn't crash so often if the Indians stopped buying ``low-quality'' spares. The Russian reaction has occurred as the Indian air force (IAF) has begun talks with the Israelis about upgrading more than 100 MiG-27 and 66 MiG-29 fighters.
The Polish air force has ordered eight C-295 twin-turboprop airlifters produced by EADS Espana, formerly known as Construcciones Aeronauticas. They are scheduled to be delivered in 2003-05.
Japan's Ministry of Education and Science has ordered the nation's three space-related bodies to merge into a single organization as part of the wide-ranging reforms instituted by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The decision involves bringing together the National Space Development Agency (NASDA), which heads the largest of Japan's space efforts, with the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Aerospace Laboratory.
Neal E. Minahan has been named general counsel of the Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass. He was vice president/deputy general counsel/assistant secretary. Minahan succeeds Thomas D. Hyde, who has joined Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Terrance D. (Bart) Barcellos has been promoted to vice president-corporate business development for Army programs from director of Army direct and indirect fire programs for Raytheon in Arlington, Va.
NASA has dropped an effort to help startup space launch services win private financing by offering payloads for the first flights of untried launch vehicles. The agency cited a weak commercial market for launching small payloads to low-Earth orbit (LEO) and unresponsive proposals from the two bidders who replied.
Moody's Investors Service analysts are concerned that 2003 will mark the start of an anemic period for the commercial aircraft industry. High deliveries of commercial jetliners in 2001 and 2002 and projected low traffic growth--combined with airlines' mediocre profitability and an unfavorable economic environment--will create a noticeable aircraft surplus, they predict.
Boeing Satellite Systems says it will add 33,000 sq. ft. to its 100,000-sq.-ft. high bay test and integration facility at its El Segundo, Calif., factory. The expansion work includes additional test equipment and new facilities for containerization and acoustic testing. The expansion was prompted by a need to prepare to build 12 Block IIF Global Positioning Satellites beginning late next year (see rendering). The Air Force's GPS satellites had been built at Boeing Space&Communication's Seal Beach, Calif., facility, which will no longer handle satellite construction.
The U.S. Army has initiated development of a signals intelligence capability for its Shadow-200 Tactical unmanned aerial vehicle, with the hope of addressing a long-standing requirement that has repeatedly proven difficult for service officials to meet. Now, after about a year's worth of risk-reduction work involving nine companies, the Army Communications and Electronics Command has awarded $3.5-million contracts each to Raytheon, BAE Systems and Applied Signal Technology. The target platform is AAI Corp.'s Shadow-200.
NASA has decided to shut down the Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite (UARS) on Sept. 24 to save the $10 million a year it costs to operate the 10-year-old spacecraft for other Earth Science projects. Eight of the satellite's 10 instruments are still working, but there are no funds in the federal budget that begins Oct. 1 to support observations. Designed to measure ozone and other chemicals as well as stratospheric winds and temperatures, UARS contributes to scientific understanding of the role of the upper atmosphere in climate.
Geoffrey Hopkins has become vice president/general manager of Jet Aviation Singapore. He succeeds Ruedi Kraft, who is now vice president-marketing and sales for Jet Aviation Basel (Switzerland). Hopkins was director of maintenance at Singapore. Alvie Barron has been named director of sales, maintenance and avionics for the West Palm Beach, Fla., facility. He was avionics manager for General Dynamics, also in West Palm Beach.
Chet Marchwinski has become director of communications for The Lean Enterprise Institute, Brookline, Mass. He was head of the newsletter unit at Productivity Inc. and managing editor of Lean Production Report newsletter.
Pilots down at sea, or even on land, have a new way to attract rescuers' attention, with a bright orange See/Rescue streamer that can be deployed in seconds and floats indefinitely.
Firefighters in the western U.S. are using imagery from NASA's Terra satellite to help detect wildfires and decide which ones pose the greatest threats to people, property and the environment. The Terra satellite beams pictures showing wildfires in the West to NASA. Then, with the help of the University of Maryland, imagery with maps overlaid is relayed to the U.S. Agriculture Dept.'s Forest Service.
Michael Kolman and Peter Vasconcelos (see photos) have been appointed sales directors for the Eastern U.S. for Bombardier Aerospace Business Aircraft. Kolman will oversee sales of the Learjet 31A, Learjet 45, Learjet 60 and Continental. Vasconcelos will oversee sales of the Challenger 604 and Global Express.
Turkey has offered to lease F-16s to its NATO ally Hungary as part of an expanding U.S.-Turkish agreement to offer older versions of the fighter throughout Central Europe. The combined Turkish/U.S. offer is one of several competing proposals the Hungarian government has received. Budapest is expected to name the winner in its fighter competition soon. The country wants to replace its aging Russian-made MiG-29A/UB fighters with a Western aircraft that would be interoperable with NATO forces.
Tony Batista has been appointed manager of U.S. sales and distribution and Matt Strong national accounts manager for the U.S. for AeroMexico, both based in Houston. Batista was market development manager, while Strong was regional manager in Dallas/Fort Worth.
GE Aircraft Engines and Honeywell have begun the test phase of the LV100-5 turboshaft engine development as part of the U.S. Army's Abrams-Crusader Common Engine program. The LV100-5 is slated for the General Dynamics M1 Abrams tank and United Defense Crusader self-propelled howitzer.
The FAA's top enforcement official, Tom McSweeny, is leaving. He is the second biggie in the agency's regulation and certification operation to depart this summer. Nick Lacey, erstwhile chief of flight standards under McSweeny, was reassigned in May. Then he left the agency to take a job with a local consulting firm. McSweeny will sign on with Boeing's office here, according to Aviation Daily, an Aviation Week newsletter.
Chris Reid has been appointed president/CEO of the CFX Div. of AEA Technology Engineering Software, Waterloo, Ontario. He was an independent management consultant for the Open Options Corp.
