GUILFORD TRANSPORTATION Industries has offered to pay $23.5 million for the remaining assets of Pan American World Airways and to satisfy outstanding bankruptcy claims. The company, which operates a New England regional rail system, also agreed to provide Pan Am with another $5 million in working capital to fund a reorganization plan, which will be submitted to the court by May 20. Under the transaction, Guilford will acquire two Boeing 727s, one 737, spare parts and route authorities and intellectual property associated with the Pan Am name.
Sabena's Swissair-inspired revamping and ambitious strategic plan are clearing the way for a long-awaited return to profitability, according to company officials. The Belgian carrier expects to make ``significant profits'' in 1998 after posting $218-million losses in 1996 and $70 million in 1997, Chief Executive Officer Paul Reutlinger said last week. He is a former Swissair executive who, in the last two years, played a critical role in reshuffling Sabena's management, slashing direct operating costs.
Japan's Ministry of Transport has opened--with the agreement of residents--10 additional slots at Tokyo's international gateway, Narita Airport, bringing the facility's daily flight count to 370. Five of the new slots go to charter operators and five to business jets. Residents have blocked attempts to raise traffic levels at Narita for years, but operation of Stage 3 and 3-plus aircraft helped the ministry wear down their opposition.
The first of two Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye carrier-based early warning aircraft for the French navy is rolled out at company facilities in St. Augustine, Fla. The two aircraft eventually will be based on the French carrier Charles de Gaulle when the new ship becomes operational in 1999. The Group 2 E-2C for France is the same version produced for the U.S. Navy.
THE GENERAL AVIATION Manufacturers Assn. reported record first-quarter billings of $1.14 billion on deliveries of 456 aircraft, compared with billings of $886 million and shipments of 237 aircraft during the same period in 1997. Manufacturers delivered 82 business jets, 47 turboprops and 327 piston-powered aircraft during the quarter. Export billings of $427 million were recorded on deliveries of 149 aircraft.
BOEING LAST WEEK WON the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's competition to become the Lead System Integrator for the National Missile Defense program. Boeing defeated the United Missile Defense Company, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and TRW, based on its superior technical proposal, significantly lower cost and better management rating, BMDO director U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Lester Lyles said.
Stephan C. Brown (see photo) has become senior vice president-marketing of the Experimental Aircraft Assn., Oshkosh, Wis. He was vice president/general manager of the Consumer Products Div. of Valley Recreation Products.
In the tug of war between Lockheed Martin and the government over the future of Northrop Grumman, the Justice Dept. is trying to block the Bethesda, Md.-based company from gaining access to Defense Dept. documents that could provide more insight into why the Pentagon thinks the contested merger is such a bad idea. Justice claims such access would have a ``chilling effect'' on future Defense Dept. assessments of proposed mergers and acquisitions, and therefore it would set a bad precedent.
BOEING LAST MONTH rolled out the 2,000th wide-body transport produced at its Everett, Wash., factory. Since the first 747 rolled out of the plant in September 1968, Boeing has delivered 1,148 new 747s, with 1,072 still in service. Other Boeing widebodies include the 767 and new 777 transports. c
Russia's Sukhoi Design Bureau has decided not to become a risk-and-revenues sharing partner in Airbus Industrie's proposed A3XX 600-seat transport. An offer of 20% of the workshare on the project is too small, according to Designer General Mikhail Simonov. ``We could cooperate with some other country in developing an aircraft only if we are offered at least 50% of the total work,'' he said.
TRW has delivered a flight-worthy scientific imaging spacecraft to South Korea's space agency, but the Koreans have no intention of launching it. Rather, they plan to use the hardware to help build a duplicate spacecraft, in Korea, as part of an effort to develop an indigenous satellite production capability. South Korea is paying TRW $92 million for the first Korean Multipurpose Satellite (shown).
Swissair is evaluating the merits of acquiring a stake in AOM, a French independent carrier owned by Credit Lyonnais, a troubled state-owned bank. AOM and Swissair recently finalized a far-reaching partnership agreement and, last week, inaugurated a code-share Paris/Orly-Zurich route. AOM operates domestic routes and serves points in French overseas territories.
Federal antitrust and transportation officials are under growing pressure from legislators, consumer and business groups, midsize cities and small and medium-size airlines to think twice about the competitive consequences before approving any alliances between America's six major airlines.
The world's two biggest airline alliances may be able to fill gaps in their route networks by striking deals with three Asian carriers that have been weakened by the region's currency crisis. Several international airlines are seeking equity positions in Thai Airways International and Philippine Airlines (PAL), while Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific mulls over rival offers for an alliance membership.
British Aerospace is acquiring a 35% stake in Saab AB for SEK 3.5 billion ($452 million), a move that will strengthen the U.K. company's hand in ongoing negotiations for the restructuring of the European defense and aerospace industry.
International Lease Finance Corp. of Century City, Calif., has leased two new Boeing 777-200 transports to Air Europe Italy. Based in Milan, Air Europe is a major Italian scheduled and charter carrier that flies widebody equipment exclusively. It currently leases four Boeing 767-300s from ILFC. The new 777s, powered by Pratt&Whitney PW4090 engines, are to be delivered in July/August 1999 under 10-year leases.
The Society of Japanese Aerospace Companies is seeking funding from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for a follow-on to the H-2A heavy-lift upgrade program. The ministry and Japan's Science and Technology agency have been discussing what to do after the H-2A enters commercial service in 2000. The H-2A program redesigned the first-stage engine and fuel tanks for Japan's main H-2 launcher to make it competitive for commercial service. Even with cost-cutting efforts, the H-2A will still be among the world's most expensive launchers.
Of the many smaller suppliers hammered during the aerospace industry's downturn in the early 1990s, Ladish Co. may represent one of the more dramatic turnaround stories.
Considering the sustained, healthy growth in domestic airline industry revenue (about 6.5% in March) and the relatively high load factors virtually all of the major carriers are enjoying, it should come as no surprise that many of the better managed regional operators also are doing extremely well.
F119 program officials have confirmed that increased vibrations from a redesigned, reduced-chord inlet guide vane were responsible for cracking a compressor seal during ground tests of an F119 test engine in March. The F119 is slated to power the F-22 Raptor. According to Pratt&Whitney officials, the reduced-chord vanes were added to the company's F119 to lower minor vibratory stresses on its fourth stage blades--stresses that would have been acceptable if they had been discovered later in the test program.
THE U.S. TRANSPORTATION DEPT. awarded takeoff and landing slots to six carriers--including America West, Spirit and American Trans Air--for new services at congested Chicago O'Hare and New York LaGuardia airports. Using exemption authority, the department gave America West enough slots to double nonstop service to O'Hare from Phoenix to six round trips. Spirit can begin two daily flights from LaGuardia to Melbourne, Fla., and American Trans Air can begin service from LaGuardia to Chicago Midway.
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin played coy before a Senate Appropriations panel last week. Though the Chabrow report's conclusions were given to NASA several weeks ago, Goldin told the senators he had not yet finished reviewing the study. The NASA chief, who commissioned the study last September, said he was not ready to accept Chabrow's conclusions on station cost overruns.
The Pentagon admits a multi-national group of computer hackers did break into the Defense Information Systems Network last fall, but they didn't get classified material. The hackers, who call themselves Masters of Downloading/2016216, claim to have grabbed software used to coordinate the Global Positioning System. They boasted that they could sell the satellite-navigation software to terrorists. Pentagon officials said last week the group only obtained administrative software. Still, such problems have many in the defense world worried (see pp. 54, 78).
