Michael Gregory (see photo) has been promoted to senior vice president-FBO services for all of Jet Aviation International's U.S. facilities from vice president/general manager of the West Palm Beach, Fla., company headquarters.
The U.S. specialty cargo market for automotive parts has dropped off sharply compared with last year, reflecting the decrease in automotive production due to the economic slowdown. The automotive air charter market began to falter in September 2000 and is ``absolutely stopped right now,'' according to one cargo operator at the recently held BC-17X industry conference in Long Beach, Calif.
John H. Dressendorfer has become Washington-based vice president-government relations of the Titan Corp. of San Diego. He was vice president-government and external affairs for American Forest and Paper Assn.
Finmecannica/Alenia Aerospazio will not acquire a 5% stake in the proposed Airbus Integrated Co., as planned. The Italian holding company last year negotiated a two-year option with Airbus' partners to become a full-fledged member of Airbus as well as a risk-sharing partner in the A380 transport. Although Italy will not become an Airbus shareholder, it will ``definitely participate in the A380 program,'' said EADS co-CEO Philippe Camus. He said business links with Italy are becoming stronger, such as the proposed EADS/Alenia Emac joint military aircraft venture.
Congressional opposition to airline mergers is hardening. Senate antitrust authorities have enlisted the Transportation Dept. as a backstop to the Justice Dept. in the federal review of the United and American mergers with US Airways. Transportation officials should not grant the necessary approvals without first completing a thorough investigation of their own, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate antitrust subcommittee urged last week. Specifically, Sens. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) want a no-holds-barred Transportation Dept.
For the first time since last July's accident, optimism about the possibility of reinstating Concorde's airworthiness certificate is being expressed by French and U.K. officials. However, retired Air France cockpit crews are disputing the findings of the accident investigation.
The departure of William Cohen from the Pentagon does not necessarily mean unmanned aerial vehicles will go unchampioned. Cohen inherited a growing UAV field when he became Defense Secretary, and he supported those programs. Advocates, however, are concerned that the Bush Administration may not share his enthusiasm. But Diane Wright, who oversees UAV projects at the Pentagon, said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has insisted he sign off on a congressionally mandated report on unmanned vehicles, instead of delegating the authority to lower levels.
A TWO-AXIS SENSOR on a single chip has been developed by Honeywell Solid State Electronics Center. The HMC 1052 uses magnetoresistive sensors to give orthogonal two-axis measurements, accurate to within 0.01 deg., and has on-chip set/reset straps that reduce the effects of temperature drift and stray magnetic fields. It is available in a 10-pin miniature surface-mount package with a total envelope of 3 X 3 X 1 mm., and can operate on a supply voltage as low as 1.8 volts. Uses include handheld wireless devices, watches and GPS receivers.
Robert L.Vence (see photos) has been named vice president-product development for Final Analysis, Lanham, Md. He was vice president-operations of SkyTel. Mary Kay Williams has been promoted to vice president from director of corporate relations.
Edward Hart has become vice president/general manager of Advanced MicroMachines Inc., a subsidiary of the BFGoodrich Co., Charlotte, N.C. He was president of Wabash Technologies.
BAE Systems Canada has signed an agreement to sell all outstanding shares of the company to ONCAP, a Canadian investment partnership created in 1999 by Onex Corp. BAE Systems Canada (BSC), formerly Canadian Marconi Co., has been a minor contributor to the business base of parent company BAE Systems Plc. The acquisition will allow BSC to expand into areas of technology in civil aerospace and business. The transaction is scheduled for approval in about 60 days, when a new company name will be announced.
John Wood has been named vice president-external relations for the Americas for British Airways. Tony Fortnam is scheduled to retire as vice president-U.S. government affairs later this year.
Boeing will use Japan Airlines as launch customer for its Global Airline Inventory Network (GAIN), which will manage JAL's supply chain for roughly 70,000 expendable airframe spare parts (those replaced rather than repaired) used in its Boeing fleet. GAIN will be responsible for purchasing, inventory management and logistics. Parts will be forward deployed to service JAL.
Edmond Gormel (see photo) has become executive director of the Spaceport Florida Authority. Gormel was executive director of the NASA/USAF Joint Performance Management Office at Cape Canaveral and director of plans for the USAF 45th Space Wing. He succeeds Edward A. O'Connor, Jr., who is retiring.
New consumer protection law appears nearly certain, now that federal authorities have documented that the airlines are not doing enough to improve customer service. Passenger rights bills are multiplying and gaining bipartisan momentum on Capitol Hill, pumped up by fears that this summer's peak travel season will be even worse than last year's. A new Transportation Dept. inspector general's report has hardened government and consumer advocate opinion that the nation's major airlines must:
A U.S. Air Force plan to commercialize a small fleet of C-17 transports has sparked interest among some air cargo officials attending an industry conference here, although there are a number of significant issues to be resolved in a relatively short time if the plan is to move forward. As one air cargo official put it, the conference was both inspiring and sobering because of the significant costs involved for the proposed BC-17X, as well as the scope of the economic and regulatory issues to be worked out.
Charles Powell (Lord Powell of Bayswater) has been appointed to the board of directors of Textron Inc., Providence, R.I. He was private secretary as well as foreign affairs and defense adviser to then-British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
Airbus Industrie is trying to convince Japanese industrial groups to join the A380 program as risk-sharing partners in a move that could significantly strengthen the European consortium's marketing posture in the Pacific Rim. The mega-transport's design is frozen and major work-sharing agreements are being completed with Airbus' partners and associates, but several work packages covering subassemblies still could be assigned to additional participants.
Boeing has finished flight testing the X-32A conventional version of its two Joint Strike Fighter prototypes, which was gathering data for the U.S. Air Force and Navy, and is readying the X-32B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) version for a first flight in March. The X-32A ended its flights on Feb. 3, after accumulating 50.4 hr. in 66 sorties flown by six pilots. These missions were split roughly 50-50 between Air Force and Navy tests.
Aircraft manufacturing is destined for dramatic change. Responding to relentless customer demands for lower costs and faster response, senior managers are embracing practices that promise to transform their companies. Yet, the path chosen at the start of this journey is critical; decisions that leaders make now will lay the groundwork for success, not compromise their ability to achieve sustainable improvement.
R. David Hoover (see photo) has been named president/CEO of the Ball Corp., Broomfield, Colo. He succeeds George A. Sissel, who has retired as CEO but remains chairman of the board. Hoover was president/chief operating officer.
Aerolearn.com has developed an ``e-learning hub'' geared to the needs of aviation maintenance technicians, engineers, inspectors, managers and executives. The site was created by and for industry professionals and is financially sponsored by aviation companies and other businesses to promote professionalism and safety in the aviation industry. The self-paced courses are provided by individuals and organizations representing every segment of the industry. The curriculum covers such subjects as technical, management, professional development and personal growth courses.
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta says he will push hard for full funding of the FAA called for under the Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st century (AIR-21), the three-year plan to boost spending on infrastructure that was signed into law last year. Departing from his prepared text, he told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce ``aviation summit'' that he had just come from a meeting with the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and would have to rally a bipartisan brigade to keep funding levels up.
Brit Air of Morlaix, France, has taken delivery of the first of its 12 ordered Bombardier Aerospace CRJ700s. Brit Air, launch customer for the 70-seat, stretched version of the 50-seat CRJ200, expects the first CRJ700 to enter revenue service on an Air France route by mid-February. Four CRJ700s will be in use this summer. The CRJ700 was launched on Jan. 21, 1997, with 67 orders, options and memoranda of understanding from eight airlines.
A second runway at Manchester Airport, the first full-length runway to be built in the U.K. in more than 20 years, opened for business last week (see p. 32). The airport, the 12th busiest in Europe, handled 18.5 million passengers in 2000 and estimates increase to 40.7 million by 2015.
