Northwest Airlines President John Dasburg last week told a gathering of aviation industry professionals that labor unrest has become the industry's most serious problem in trying to deliver reliable service. He predicted that if unionized workers continue their present combative strategy, labor rates and benefits ultimately will be set by the government through the Presidential Emergency Board process.
The Lockheed Martin X-35C Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Navy demonstrator completed medium-speed taxi testing Dec. 14 at Palmdale, Calif., in preparation for first flight as early as Dec. 16. The aircraft, with a larger wing and control surfaces than the X-35A, will undergo about 20 hr. of flight test at Edwards AFB, Calif., before being flown to NAS Patuxent River, Md., for the continuation of demonstrations.
F-22 flight testing has received a slight reprieve, with a Pentagon decision to move a critical review of the program to Jan. 3 from Dec. 21 for scheduling reasons. The slip also gives the Air Force more time, though, to complete required milestones. But the service also has received some bad news. Pentagon estimaters believe the F-22 program will cost about $8 billion more than the Air Force projects.
A federal appeals court judge last week refused to grant an emergency injunction sought by Delta Air Lines against the Delta Air Lines Pilots Assn. aimed at forcing pilots to accept overtime flying. The judge said Delta had not presented sufficient evidence. Oral arguments are scheduled for Jan. 11. Delta is appealing an earlier decision by another federal court that refused to grant a temporary restraining order against the union. Pilots have declined to accept additional flying, forcing Delta to cut 125 flights from its daily schedule.
Virgin Express is discussing the sale of its loss-making Irish subsidiary to one of several potential buyers as it looks to concentrate on operations at its Brussels hub. Virgin Express Chairman David Hoare said the low-cost carrier will ``vigorously pursue'' approaches by investors to run the Shannon, Ireland-based subsidiary as a ``stand-alone operation.'' Two investment firms and an airline have expressed interest.
Embraer received a $900-million order from Johannesburg-based SA Airlink for 30 ERJ-135 regional jets with options for 40 more in the next decade. The first delivery is set for April 2001.
C&N Turistik, which is partly owned by Lufthansa, will become the second-largest holiday tour/charter operator in Europe following an agreement to acquire Thomas Cook of the U.K. The combined entity will have a fleet of 75 aircraft and annual sales of more than 7.5 billion euros ($6.6 billion). Separately, Thomas Cook and British Airways plan to merge their scheduled tour operations into a new 50/50 joint venture to be operational next spring.
Virgin Atlantic was expected late last week to commit to buying six A3XXs from Airbus Industrie and placing options on a further six. The deal, estimated to be worth $3.8 billion, would provide Airbus with commitments from airlines for 50 of the 555-seat aircraft, the target number often cited by the consortium to formally launch the project.
The Thai Ministry of Finance has at least temporarily put on hold plans by Thai Airways International to acquire Boeing commercial transports due to pricing concerns. Thai Airways plans to order five Boeing 747-400s, two of which would be needed by summer 2001. Airline officials said negotiations are ongoing
The first ``Harry Kolcum Memorial News and Communications Award'' was presented Dec. 11 by the National Space Club Florida Committee at a ceremony at Cape Canaveral attended by about 250 aerospace managers and journalists. The award is named in honor of the late Edward H. (Harry) Kolcum, the Aviation Week&Space Technology managing editor who later was senior editor at Cape Canaveral from 1980-93. Kolcum died in 1994. The award recognizes news and public affairs contributions that bring the story of space to the public.
Thomas R. Pickering, U.S. under secretary of State for political affairs, is to become Boeing senior vice president for international relations in January following retirement from government service and approval from Boeing's board of directors. Pickering, who will be based in Washington to oversee Boeing's increased international dealings, has served as U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation, India, Israel, El Salvador and Nigeria.
The U.S./Canadian crew of Endeavour completed its 12-day International Space Station assembly mission with a flyaround of the ISS followed two days later by a night reentry and landing on Runway 15 here on Dec. 11. Endeavour's deployment of 65-kw. solar arrays on the ISS clears the way for launch of the 32,000-lb. Boeing Destiny U.S. Laboratory Module as early as Jan. 18 on Atlantis.
A report by the Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) on the December 1997 crash of a Silk Air 737-300 in Sumatra indicates investigators found no explanation for the accident, which killed all 104 on board. The flight data and cockpit voice recorders stopped operating minutes before the crash, and there is ``no evidence'' the two pilots were incapacitated physically or mentally during the flight, according to the report.
Honeywell conducted the first run of the gas generator for its ``Multi-Purpose Core'' turbofan technology demonstrator. The MPC could lead to a family of 3,000-6,000-lbf. engines replacing Honeywell's ubiquitous TFE731, with cost of ownership reduced 20-30% by features like 50% fewer airfoils (AW&ST Oct. 16, p. 22).
Airbus Industrie and Pratt&Whitney last week were attempting to determine the cause of cracks in barrel nuts used on engine/pylon mount bolts for A330 transports powered by PW4000-series engines. Pratt officials said there are ``no obvious manufacturing defects'' and that the nuts were made from correct material and manufactured according to specifications.
TRW Corp.'s board of directors chose David Cote, president and COO, to lead the company next year. He will be named president and CEO in February, then assume the chairmanship in July when Joseph Gorman, 63, retires.
The Taiwanese government has begun an inquiry into commissions allegedly paid by Thomson-CSF, which was recently renamed Thales, to land a contract for electronic countermeasures on four frigates. Thomson Chairman/CEO Denis Ranque declined to comment, except to say a new code of ethics put in place within the company strictly prohibits payment of commissions on military contracts, and that French law is stricter than in other countries, including the U.S.
The SAirGroup soon will inject $266 million in bailout funding into Air Liberte, Air Littoral and AOM, the Swiss group's troubled French affiliates, in preparation for a wide-ranging restructuring scheduled to be completed in late 2001. The three carriers' flight schedules will be tightly coordinated next spring.
JUDGES Dana Bell is an archivist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington. Previously, he was a photo researcher at the U.S. Air Force Central Still Photo Depository. Bell has written 17 books on aviation and is considered an authority on U.S. military color schemes and markings. He has lectured at the U.S. Air Force Museum and Air Force Academy. Bell also is an aviation photographer with air-to-air time in a wide variety of USAF aircraft.
The Air Line Pilots Assn.'s Executive Council agreed to a merger with the Independent Assn. of Continental Pilots. The agreement provides ALPA membership for IACP members and transition to representation in the ALPA structure. IACP pilots will vote on the merger agreement in March 2001.
Rockwell International plans to exit the aerospace industry by spinning off its Collins electronics unit to compete independently against the combined General Electric and Honeywell International. But this David-and-Goliath matchup may not be as one-sided as it might appear.
