Robert Khoury has been appointed president/CEO of B/E Aerospace, Wellington, Fla., succeeding Paul Fulchino, who is now chairman/president/CEO of Aviall Inc. of Dallas. Khoury was vice chairman.
Twenty-eight former and current women employees of Boeing have filed a class action suit against the Seattle-based company for gender discrimination. Filed last week in federal court, it seeks class action status for as many as 30,000 current and former female Boeing employees. Last year Boeing paid $15 million to settle two class-action lawsuits that claimed the company discriminated against black employees.
Sagem's revenues in 1999 increased a healthy 19.2% to $3.43 billion, including $761 million in the defense market. Net profit increased by 20.8% to $148 million.
Nick Tomassetti, who had announced his retirement as president/chief operating officer of Airbus Industrie of North America (AINA), Herndon, Va., will stay on as president/CEO of AINA Holdings Inc. Henri Courpron will succeed Tomassetti at AINA. Courpron was senior vice president-sales and marketing. Paul O. Mason has been named vice president-sales and marketing. He was vice president-commercial operations at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France.
Boeing last week won two key competitions for its next-generation 737 line, regaining momentum in the critical single-aisle market but raising questions about a renewed price war with Airbus.
Boeing has delivered two additional 737-400s--the last Classic models to be produced at the company's Renton, Wash., assembly line--to CSA Czech Airlines. The Prague-based carrier already operates five 737-400s and 10 other 737 aircraft.
Michael G. Fitzpatrick has been appointed director of material management for Frontier Airlines. He was materials manager for COBE B.C.T., Lakewood, Colo. Fitzpatrick succeeds Roland Mease, who has been named director of material planning for aircraft acquisition.
A unified regulatory framework and more flexible market-access rules will be essential prerequisites for any strategic alliance between U.S. and European defense contractors, according to French Defense Minister Alain Richard. In the longer term, the European aerospace industry's restructuring will set the stage for closer transatlantic partnerships, he added. Similarly, ongoing talks are expected to revive the continent's longtime quest for a genuine two-way street in defense markets.
Boeing launched new, longer range 777-200 and -300 models last week, after obtaining board of directors' approval for the new programs. Go-ahead for only one version was expected, with the other following 4-6 months later. The aircraft, which have not been assigned an official designation yet by Boeing, will heat up competition in the emerging 300-380-seat long-range market (AW&ST Feb. 28, p. 31; Jan. 1, p. 29). New four-engine Airbus A340-500 and -600 models are scheduled to enter service in 2002.
The Periscope Military Database is an encyclopedia containing more than 5,000 weapons systems and the military forces of 170 nations, and is accessible at www.periscope1.com. The U.S. Navy recently made the Internet-based data available at eight service libraries, in addition to the three service academies. . . . India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has bought more than 100 seats of Unigraphics 3D CAD/CAM software for its Aircraft Research&Design Centre. The system will be used for design and development of Hindustan's intermediate jet trainer (HJT-36).
While the new MEDS glass cockpit is the most visible of major upgrades coming into the shuttle program, managers believe smaller incremental improvements have reduced the risk of vehicle and crew loss during ascent by 82% since about 1992. Ron Dittemore, shuttle program manager at Johnson Space Center, also believes the orbiter wiring problems that arose in mid-1999 have been beneficial because they resulted in much broader communication between program levels. The shuttle is now safer because of ``our overall awareness'' throughout.
Space systems, unmanned aircraft and information operations rather than traditional weapons are being seen as major growth areas for air forces worldwide, several air force leaders told a gathering of military officers and industry leaders.
Foreign carriers' long-lasting opposition to the restructuring of Milan's airports has prompted the Italian government to revise the proposed plan for a traffic split between the newly revamped Malpensa 2000 and Linate, which is located close to the city's center (AW&ST Feb. 21, p. 60). Selected flights originating from European Union points would be authorized to use Linate. But, according to major European carriers such as Air France and British Airways, such an arrangement would be discriminatory.
Rolls-Royce pre-tax profits for 1999 were up 11% from the previous year at 360 million pounds ($569 million), and the company said it expected continued double-digit growth in 2000 despite challenging conditions. Civil aerospace sales rose 19%, based on deliveries of 1,080 engines and a 9% growth in spares sales. The company says it expects to deliver 1,120 civil engines in 2000 though large engine deliveries are expected to decline. Military aerospace sales in 1999 were down by 5%, although the company sees demand growing over the next 10 years.
Carole Pammer, former director of marketing of the National Defense Industrial Assn., has become director of marketing and business development of the Flight Safety Foundation, Alexandria, Va.
MSC.Software has released a version of its Nastran structural program that works with the Linux operating system. Customers who purchase a license of Nastran for Linux directly from MSC.Software by Mar. 31 will receive a free Dell Precision Workstation 410 Pentium III Class computer.
Legend Airlines is studying whether to replace troublesome custom-built galleys with conventional airline units in an effort to break the certification logjam delaying its introduction of service from Love Field.
Virtual piston engines can be modeled with DADS/Engine software by LMS International. The entire engine can be animated, and DADS/Engine simulates the nonlinear dynamics caused by deformation of engine components that simultaneously undergo high-frequency excitation, large displacements and intermittent contact. It will analyze valve train dynamics, temperature-dependent hydrodynamic bearings and flexible rotating crankshafts interacting with flexible engine blocks. The program was developed in conjunction with BMW, DaimlerChrysler and several other manufacturers.
Ken Grimsley has been named vice president-sales, Kevin Adams vice president-program management, Jim Dunn vice president-business development and Max Peterson vice president-technology solutions, all at Government Technology Services Inc., Chantilly, Va.
While Asian countries are showing increasing interest in unmanned aerial vehicles, there are some strong indications this will not translate into a boon for established makers of those systems.
Japan's National Space Development Agency, Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and National Aerospace Laboratory have been directed by the government to begin cooperating on future space programs following back-to-back failures of NASDA's H-2 and ISAS' M-5 launchers.
A pilot plant to produce low-cost carbon fibers is in production in Cedarville, Ohio. The composite synthesis technology is making short, hollow Pyrograf-III nanofibers from coal and natural gas at a fraction of the cost of traditional carbon fibers, according to process developer Applied Sciences Inc. Estimated long-term cost of Pyrograf-III is less than $3 per lb. with a market potential of up to 200 million lb. a year. Technology development and construction of the plant was supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory and various other federal and state agencies.
Hawaiian Airlines has finalized a contract for 13 Boeing 717s with rights to purchase another seven. Value of the firm order is $430 million. First delivery is scheduled for February 2001, with the remaining 12 aircraft to be delivered by year-end. The 717s will replace Hawaiian's 15 aging DC-9s, which are used on short-turnaround, inter-island routes. The 717s will be configured for 123 passengers in two classes.
