Rolls-Royce, Thales Defense, EADS, Cobham and Brown&Root Services have joined forces to bid for the U.K.'s future strategic tanker aircraft program. The new consortium, called AirTanker, plans to offer a solution based on Airbus A330 or A340 aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines. AirTanker combines the bids of two previous consortia, Rolls-Royce-led Air Reach and Eurotanker. BAE Systems and SSM, a consortium led by Serco, have also been invited to bid (AW&ST Jan. 1, p. 19).
SAirGroup has jettisoned its strategy of investing in smaller carriers, to forge a strong European airline network and intends to focus on its improving profitability at its three main carriers--Swissair, Crossair and Sabena. Problems at Sabena, of which SAirGroup owns 49.5% in what amounts to a virtual merger, reached critical levels last week as the Belgian carrier sought approval from unions for a massive restructuring plan (see p. 26).
Yoel Katzir has been named president/CEO of BVR Systems, Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel. He was vice president-business development of the Elisra Group. He succeeds Zvi Kanor, who has resigned.
THE U.S. AIR FORCE HAS AWARDED A $30-MILLION CONTRACT to Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector for 17 AN/ALQ-135 Band 1.5 electronic countermeasures subsystems for the F-15E. The Band 1.5 jammer has been under development for many years to provide a more compact replacement for the Band 1 and Band 2 jammers used on earlier, single-place F-15s. Until now, the F-15E has been equipped only with the Band 3 jammer.
The American Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Assn. of Professional Flight Attendants Union (APFA), conducted leaflet distribution last week at more than 55 U.S. airports nationwide to inform and prepare travelers for the prospect of a strike. American and the APFA have been in contract negotiations for more than two years and both parties have been recessed indefinitely by the National Mediation Board. Strike ballots will be mailed to flight attendants later this month. A majority vote would authorize the union's board to call a strike.
Signposts for the year ahead promise continued growth of the U.S. airline business, higher fares and a string of upheavals from airline consolidation and developments in the cargo sector.
The design of instruments intended to fly in 2005 on the Solar-B satellite has been completed by NASA. The spacecraft is being developed by Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). The satellite will be placed in a Sun-synchronous orbit to observe how magnetic fields of the Sun's surface interact with its outer atmosphere which extends millions of miles into space. NASA is working with scientists in the U.S. to design and build the major elements of the three instruments for Solar-B.
Lloyd DeFrance has become vice president-administration and human resources for 800 Travel Systems Inc., Tampa, Fla. He was vice president-human resources of the Crown Marketing Group.
While that may be wishful thinking, skipping, say, the F-22 seems unlikely, too. Even critics of the aircraft within the Pentagon believe about 100-150 of the fighters are needed, says F. Whitten Peters, who just bowed out as Air Force secretary. The Air Force, of course, wants to buy far more--even more than the 340 in its plans. Most of this debate is predicated on the service and Lockheed Martin meeting ``exit criteria'' the Pentagon established to allow the fighter to go into low-rate production.
Brazil has a new low-cost regional airline. Gol Transportes Aereos, owned by transport concern Aurea Group, will soon begin service between seven of Brazil's larger cities, including Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The founders' aim is to find a niche in domestic service, not to compete directly with any of the four established airlines. Nevertheless, Gol could become a competitive threat and prompt the restructuring of Brazil's airline industry, according to industry observers.
Bruce Rudy has been appointed managing director for Europe of Austin, Tex.-based Wayport Inc. He was vice president-network acquisition for GTS Network Services.
Boeing is sticking to its game plan of developing a family of 747X derivatives, including a stretched fuselage freighter designed to carry up to 314,000 lb. of cargo. Boeing Chairman and CEO Phil Condit last week said the company still sees a strong international cargo market, but will look at each opportunity on a case-by-case basis.
TERRY D. STINSON, CHAIRMAN and CEO of Bell Helicopter Textron, said accidents involving the U.S. Marine Corps' MV-22 tiltrotor have not affected customers holding orders for the BA609 civil tiltrotor version. Bell has more than 80 orders for the aircraft.
The Pentagon's initial Fiscal 2002 budget request submitted to Congress calls for $310 billion. That is about $16 billion higher than projected last year, which includes inflation adjustments. The Bush Administration is expected to boost that further (see p. 22).
Launch of the shuttle Atlantis with the Destiny laboratory for the International Space Station has been delayed three weeks until at least Feb. 6 so the shuttle's solid rocket booster wiring can be checked. The situation has forced a rare rollback of the orbiter from the launch pad to the Vehicle Assembly Building. The action follows the discovery that a small percentage of booster wiring in the ground parts inventory is defective.
Three years after a recession hit South Korea so hard that many international carriers stopped flying to Seoul, Japan Airlines is coming back in a big way. Korea is a major destination for Japanese carriers, so JAL didn't abandon Korea, but the market was weak. However, JAL's fiscal 2001 plan, which begins Apr. 1, indicates 10 additional flights per week (depending on the season) to Seoul from Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Komatsu, as well as Tokyo.
The reentry module for China's Shenzhou 2 second unmanned flight test of a manned spacecraft design returned to Earth Jan. 16 after spending a week aloft and making 108 orbits of the Earth. The parachute landing was in inner Mongolia. Shenzhou's orbital module, however, was left in space, where it is expected to remain operational for several weeks. As anticipated, the overall spacecraft maneuvered to change its orbit and deployed solar arrays from the orbital module. These operations are more complex than what the Chinese conducted on the first test in late 1999.
The Storm Shadow/Scalp EG precision standoff missile has successfully completed its first test firing, moving Europe one step closer to obtaining an indigenous cruise missile capability. The firing, from a Mirage 2000N flying at 20,000 ft. and Mach 0.9, hit a target more than 250 km. (135 naut. mi.) away ``well within'' the CEP (circular error probable) specification, fully validating the missile's autonomous IR terminal guidance system, according to prime contractor Matra BAe Dynamics.
Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) is having to reassess its future plans following the landslide victory in last year's parliamentary elections of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). The state-owned airline was expected to be partially sold off by the end of 2000 under the previous government's plans to privatize state companies. The carrier was looking to injections of private capital to modernize its fleet and underpin expansion plans. But the MPRP made clear that it would scale back the pace of reforms and privatization in Mongolia.
Rion Needs, Robert M. Rogulic and John Muehlstein have been named to the board of directors of Indigo parent NewWorldAir Holdings Inc. of Chicago. Needs is a business unit leader at American Express One, while Rogulic is founder/chairman of Midwest Freightways. Muehlstein is managing partner of the Chicago law firm Pedersen&Houpt.
PILATUS BUSINESS AIRCRAFT LTD. reports delivering 70 Pilatus PC-12 single-engine turboprop airplanes worldwide last year compared with 55 in 1999. Deliveries in the North American market reached 56, from 45 the previous year, and 14 airplanes were shipped to international customers. Company officials expect deliveries will increase 10-15% this year. More than 250 PC-12s are in service, the majority with North American operators.
Peter F. Longo has become vice president/chief information officer of Pratt&Whitney, East Hartford, Conn. He was vice president/general manager of enterprise resource planning.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. has agreed to sell its Dallas-based engine overhaul and repair business to BBA Aviation, a British-owned company specializing in regional airline and business aircraft service and overhaul. As part of the pact, Gulfstream will acquire BBA's Regional Maintenance Centers in Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and West Palm Beach, Fla. The agreement, scheduled for completion by the second quarter of this year, is aimed at reinforcing the aftermarket business of both companies.
