Uncertainty about Thai International's future in the Star Alliance has forced yet another postponement of the government's divestment of 23% of the national airline, planned for mid-1998. Despite its founding-member status, Thai International's position in the Star Alliance hangs in limbo after archrival Singapore Airlines (SIA) joined in April. Thai's President Thamnoon Wanglee claimed the postponement is due to the low stock price, but analysts say the delay revolves entirely around the future direction of the airline's alliance strategy.
Vice Adm. Joseph W. Dyer (see photo) is the new commander of the Naval Air Systems Command (NASC), NAS Patuxent River, Md. He was commander of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Div. there and assistant commander of NASC for research and engineering.
Ulrich Schwierczinski (see photo) has been named director of the German Federal Office of Aviation. He was head of the Flight Operations Dept. within the Ministry for Transport.
Boeing officials expect to secure at least 28 additional firm orders this year for the 717, saying they have signed preliminary purchase agreements with four airlines. The company is working on modifications to the aircraft to allow it to operate from short runways, such as those at London City Airport and Florence, Italy. Alitalia, which wants to replace its fleet of MD-80s, has made operating at Florence a requirement for any potential successor aircraft.
BAE Systems North America emerged last Thursday as the winning bidder for Lockheed Martin Aerospace Electronics Systems--which includes the Sanders business unit--dashing Northrop Grumman's hopes of greatly enhancing its defense electronics franchise through a single acquisition.
Eight of the U.K.'s leading airlines, including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and British Midland, have joined with British Telecommunications and the Irish Aviation Authority to bid to run the U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services (NATS). The so-called Airline Group, which is vying for the 46% stake set to be sold off to the private sector, said it would run the air traffic control service on a ``not for commercial return'' basis.
Governments, civil aviation authorities and the airline industry should adopt strict measures to deter unruly passengers and ratify new laws designed to eradicate air rage, according to international flight attendant unions. Reports to aviation agencies indicate that air rage incidents are rising rapidly to an estimated 5,000 a year--posing a serious threat to flight safety and undermining travelers' confidence in the air transport system.
The third China International Air Show, also known as Airshow China, is on track to be the biggest ever. More than 60 major foreign companies say they plan to participate as exhibitors as of last month, according to show organizers. The exhibition and accompanying flight demonstrations will be held in Zuhai, a coastal city near Hong Kong, on Nov. 6-12. Companies planning to attend come from the U.S., Europe, Israel, South Africa, South Korea and Russia, show organizers said.
GE Engine Services Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., the aircraft maintenance unit of Malaysia Airlines System Bhd., has won a $140-million, 10-year contract with Japan Airlines and its subsidiaries to overhaul CFM-56-3C1 engines on 19 Boeing 737-400 aircraft. GE President Peter Karl Jerin expects other contracts to follow shortly. The facility has the capability of overhauling CF56-3, PW4000 and PW4168 engines. GE Engines Services Malaysia's biggest customer is Malaysia Airlines.
Donald Campbell has become executive vice president-military simulation and training of CAE Inc. in Toronto. He was deputy minister of the Canadian Foreign Affairs and International Trade Dept.
Alcatel Space will build a 28-transponder Ku-band telecommunications satellite for Hispasat intended to provide digital broadcasting and fixed satellite services, including Internet and multimedia, to customers in Europe, Africa and the Americas. To be launched by ILS in the fall of 2002, the 3-metric-ton spacecraft will be co-positioned with Hispasat 1C, launched earlier this year by an ILS Atlas 2AS, and two other Hispasats at 30 deg. W. Long. Hispasat 1D will use Alcatel's Spacebus 3000B platform.
Matthias Hanke has been named head of the network department at Swiss carrier Crossair. He held a similar position at parent company SAirGroup. He succeeds Thomas Frischknecht, who has resigned. Kurt Renggli will become head of personnel at Crossair on Oct. 1.
French national space agency CNES has joined with Onera and DLR, the French and German aerospace research centers, to create an R&D program in liquid propulsion systems for space launch vehicles. To last a minimum of five years, the program will focus on LH2/LOX and hydrocarbon/LOX combustion systems and phenomena associated with high-frequency combustion and nozzle jet separation. The move is part of an effort to rationalize Europe's R&D resources by creating centers of excellence in specific areas of aerospace research.
Participants at recent French Senate ``Man in Space'' hearings voiced strong support for bolstering Europe's modest manned space effort. Experts underscored the benefits of research in the fields of medicine, physical sciences and technology, noting that France owes much of its eminent position in sensorial-motor pathologies, for example, to experiments carried out by astronauts.
An increasing number of airlines are installing electrical ports at passenger seats to power laptop computers. With many laptop batteries only good for a couple of hours, the airlines say road-warriors welcome the availability of in-seat power. Providing such service was one factor that motivated US Airways to put new Airbus A320 series aircraft onto its Washington-New York-Boston shuttle. The carrier is taking regular deliveries of narrow-body Airbus A319s and A320s, and every seat is equipped with a laptop port.
Continental Airlines' Error Management Training program is proving to be an effective accident prevention tool for helping cockpit crews identify, respond to and resolve mistakes before they become a threat to flight safety. In developing its error management philosophy, Continental has redesigned basic awareness, behavioral and recurrent training elements of traditional crew resource management courses into a program that emphasizes CRM by teaching pilots how to manage error in the cockpit.
Boeing delivered 167 commercial transports in the second quarter, including catch-up work remaining from a 40-day engineers' strike earlier this year. The output means Boeing has ``essentially'' recovered from the effects of the strike, according to Boeing Chairman/CEO Phil Condit. In the first quarter, the company delivered only 75 airplanes out of a planned 125. Through the first half of the year, 242 commercial transports were delivered; the year-end goal is 490. By comparison, Airbus delivered 145 transports during the first six months of 2000.
Lucy Reilly Fitch has been named vice president-acquisitions and strategy for BAE Systems North America. She was director of business development and strategic planning at Lockheed Martin.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is expected to increase the limit of foreign investment in its domestic airlines and aviation companies to 49% from 35%. According to Yang Yuanyuan, CAAC deputy commissioner of general administration, the change will attract new foreign investors. Such investors will bring advanced management expertise to China's airlines as well as assist them in debt reduction, he said. CAAC believes the number of China's domestic aviation companies, now more than 20, should be reduced to only three or four.
Peter McHugh has been appointed president/CEO of Travel Services International Inc., Delray Beach, Fla. Joseph Vittoria will continue as executive chairman. John Balson, who has been presi- dent/chief operating officer, will return to the private equity business. McHugh was president/COO of Holland America Westours Inc.
Italy-based charter operators Air Europe and Volare concluded a merger agreement and plan to combine operations soon under the umbrella of the Volare Group. The as-yet unnamed airline will operate 24 Airbus A320-series and Boeing 767/777 twinjets. The SAirGroup, Swissair's parent company, owns a 49.5% stake in the Volare Group.
A DC-4 crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport at Villavicencio on Colombia's eastern plains, according to Reuters. Three of seven police officers on the aircraft died along with nine others in the July 9 accident. There were seven survivors, and one said an engine caught fire and then the airplane went down.
Bell Helicopter Textron has started designing a four-rotor, C-130-size tiltrotor aircraft. The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (Darpa) recently awarded the company a $750,000 contract to begin building a six-foot model of the transport aircraft and to launch a study to validate the design's ability, in a full-scale version, to lift a 20-ton payload.
