Third-quarter earnings of U.S. major airlines displayed a stark split between winners and losers. Rising fuel costs were largely to blame for disappointing results. Fuel price hedging eased the cost problem for most of the profitable carriers, but analysts are beginning to question what may happen after hedges come to an end in 2001.
Boeing, Northrop Grumman and United Technologies all reported strong third-quarter earnings, as productivity gains continue to take hold and companies press for higher operating margins. ``The common thread here is the improved management by these companies of their portfolio of businesses,'' JSA Research analyst Paul Nisbet observed. ``Instead of focusing on growth by acquisition, their primary attention is on programs with good growth potential and pruning the ones that don't fit.''
Computer Sciences Corp. has won a five-year, $36-million contract to provide test support services for the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirkland AFB, N.M.
Charter operator American Trans Air has contracted with Rolls-Royce to upgrade the RB211-524B4 engines on its fleet of 19 L-1011 Tristars. The three-year modification package, worth $63 million, includes an enhanced combustor and improved high- and low-pressure turbines, as well as spare engines.
MICRO-ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SYSTEMS (MEMS)-based photonic switches will help boost bandwidth in all-optical networks of the future, according to analysts at Cahners In-Stat Group. Currently fiber-optic networks are slowed by converting photons to electrons for switching, and then back. Over 24 companies are working on photonic switches, and some are already shipping products, the company says. It forecasts photonic switches will be the first MEMS devices to pass $1 billion in sales by 2004.
GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE CORP. WILL OFFER THE SANDERS AN/ALQ-204 Matador infrared countermeasures system as an option/retrofit on the company's long-range Gulfstream V business jet. Six Gulfstream IVSPs have already been equipped with the system, which is designed to protect the airplane from IR-guided missiles.
The South African government has chosen BAE Systems as the preferred bidder for a minimum 20% stake in Denel's aerospace and ordnance businesses. Negotiations on exact equity percentage and the final structure of the deal are to be completed by the end of the year. Denel already has a close relationship with BAE Systems and Sweden's Saab following South Africa's decision to purchase Gripen and Hawk aircraft.
El Al's board of directors has appointed David Hermesh as president of the Israeli carrier pending government approval. Hermesh, an executive at the Israeli Discount Bank, succeeds Joel Feldschuh, who resigned in September.
RANNOCH CORP. WILL INSTALL an airport surface monitoring and surveillance system to prevent runway incursions at the Naval Air Station North Island, in the San Diego area. Rannoch has developed a number of different technologies for advanced surface movement guidance and control systems, including multilateration, automatic dependent surveillance- broadcast, radar data fusion and aircraft inductive-loop surveillance systems.
Scott J. Paige has been appointed executive vice president/head of the special finance group for aircraft, aerospace and satellite businesses for the Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp. in New York. Angela Bozorgmir has become a vice president in that group.
Boeing plans to acquire Hawker de Havilland--which had revenues of more than $92 million last year--through its Boeing Australia Ltd. subsidiary. Hawker de Havilland, which designs and builds commercial and military aircraft structures, has manufacturing operations in Sydney and Melbourne. The company is being acquired by Boeing from Tenix Holdings International Pty Ltd., a privately held company.
Austrian Airlines' plans for its membership in the Star Alliance are in question following a European Commission letter expressing ``serious doubts'' about the carrier's application for exemption from European Union competition rules for close cooperation with Lufthansa and SAS.
The Globalstar satcom system will provide satellite-based voice and data communication for the Arnav Aeronautical Network (AAN). Arnav Systems plans to offer general aviation cockpit services such as satellite telephony and data services, graphical weather services, e-mail messaging and cockpit Internet connections. The initial market envisioned for such services includes cargo aircraft, emergency services, search and rescue, government agencies and other aircraft with long-range telephony and data link requirements.
The market for commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) through the course of the next decade is likely to grow to about $44 billion by 2010 from around $31 billion this year, according to analysts. So there is no doubt that somebody is going to make a lot of money in the MRO business. The question is, who?
Fearful that the F-22 program could grind to a stop if it can't meet established performance milestones in the next two months, senior U.S. Air Force officials are asking lawmakers for help to keep the program going.
Bob Jacobs has been named chief of news and information at NASA headquarters in Washington. He was projects manager for the Washington-based Broadcast Technology Div. of Associated Press.
ADAM AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES PLANS TO BEGIN construction of four M-309 prototype aircraft for FAA certification to FAR Part 23 standards. The Englewood, Colo.-based company anticipates beginning production in 2003. The twin-engine Adam M-309, designed by Burt Rutan, features centerline thrust configuration and a composite airframe. Projected performance includes a maximum cruise speed of 250 kt., range of 1,500 naut. mi., and a 2,300-lb. useful load. No price has been set, according to the company.
Aer Lingus was forced to ground all of its flights last week due to a 24-hr. strike by cabin crews over pay. Officials at the Irish carrier said most operations were back to normal the following day. The dispute has been referred to the country's Labor Relations Committee, and a series of meetings between airline and union representatives were planned for late last week. Aer Lingus, which is set to be privatized, has been hit by a series of industrial disputes. Baggage handlers have staged a series of 2-hr.
A rush of revenues from strong third-quarter traffic growth allowed AirTran Airways to overcome a 96% increase in fuel costs, compared to the third quarter last year, and produce net income of $8.9 million. The earnings, an increase of 127% over the third quarter last year, represented the airline's seventh consecutive profitable quarter.
Air Afrique has chosen Pratt&Whitney Engine Services to maintain and overhaul PW4168A engines on the two Airbus A330-200 aircraft that the carrier is leasing from International Lease Finance Corp. Pratt&Whitney will provide off-wing overhaul and repair under a seven-year program.
Raytheon Aerospace Co. has received a one-year, $77.2-million contract from the U.S. Navy to provide contractor logistics support for 312 T-34C and 55 T-44A aircraft. The contract comes with four, one-year options to renew.
THE NEW JERSEY AVIATION ASSN., WHICH INCLUDES representatives from Honeywell, Boeing, Lucent Technologies, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and airport operators, has been formed to highlight positive economic contributions generated by airports and aviation businesses in the region. There are about 100,000 aeronautical jobs in New Jersey, which boasts a $1.8-billion aeronautical industry, according to the association.
CSA Czech Airlines is set to become the fifth member of SkyTeam in the spring of 2001, boosting the alliance's competitive position in Central and Eastern Europe.
NATO and European Union military officials are entering a critical phase as they try to iron out the details that would govern military coexistence and cooperation between the two multinational institutions. Some of the specifics to be negotiated in coming weeks are substantial. They involve intelligence sharing, how a EU-led military operation could use NATO military assets, and what the role will be of the deputy NATO commander, traditionally a European officer, in EU operations.
Senior U.S. Air Force officials have expressed concern that BAE Systems' proposed acquisition of Lockheed Martin's Sanders unit could jeopardize sensitive signals intelligence technology. For instance, Sanders builds the low-band component of the Pentagon's Joint Sigint Airborne Family, a suite of sensors that will be used on intelligence-gathering aircraft such as the RC-135 Rivet Joints, U-2S and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. ``We are a little bit concerned about possible ramifications downstream if this merger occurred,'' one service official says.
