Russell Haworth has been named managing director and Neil Geoghegan financial director for Baxter, Woodhouse and Taylor Ltd., Adlington, England. Haworth held the same position with Slingsby Aviation as did Geoghegan with Dunlop Beaufort. Dave Lancaster has been named technical director. He was an independent consultant.
A dramatic shakeout of airlines in Southeast Asia is forecast over the next two years with some airlines collapsing, others forming alliances to survive, many deferring orders for aircraft, and some airports being privatized. This forecast comes from a report compiled by the Center for Asia-Pacific Aviation in Sydney, from data supplied by major airlines in Asia. The center is a leading airport and airline forecasting company in Australia.
MESABA AIRLINES, operating as Northwest Airlink, has ordered 22 additional Saab 340 aircraft--19 new Saab 340BPlus and three used Saab 340As--which will bring its total 340 fleet to 72. Last month, Saab Aircraft said it might end production of its two regional turboprops--the 340 and Saab 2000--without new orders.
In a second phase of restructuring its transatlantic network, Delta Air Lines will add five new nonstop services next year while dropping direct flights to two destinations. Beginning Mar. 3, Delta will operate daily services from New York's JFK airport to Stockholm, Stuttgart and Warsaw. On May 16, it will begin daily flights between JFK and Barcelona and between Atlanta and Hamburg. Both the Barcelona and Warsaw services will be limited to the summer season. The airline will operate Boeing 767-300ER aircraft on all five routes.
The frustrating problems that many airlines have encountered with fully interactive, inflight entertainment systems can be traced to the failure of most vendors to follow rigorous program-management discipline. That's according to C. J. Kuo, a 30-year veteran of the Boeing Co., where he last worked as an engineering manager in cabin management systems. He now is president of AeroVision Avionics Inc., a privately held, Taiwanese company formed earlier this year. Its goal is to exploit potential opportunities in the global aerospace industry.
An Ariane 44L booster last week orbited two direct television broadcast satellites. V102 was the European booster's 30th consecutive successful launch. The payload comprised Sweden's Sirius 2, the biggest telecommunications satellite ever built in Europe, developed by Aerospatiale Space and Defense Div., and Indonesia's Cakrawarta-1 built by the U.S. Orbital Sciences Corp.
Airbus Industrie is preparing to significantly boost production to about 260 aircraft/year in the wake of stronger than expected sales. Since Jan. 1, Airbus concluded firm orders for 426 aircraft. For the first time ever, its backlog exceeds 1,000 aircraft, valued at $69.2 billion, a milestone that gives more credence to the European consortium's quest for a 50% share in the commercial transport market.
Ivory Coast-based Air Afrique, jointly owned by 11 West African states--although hampered by the region's slow economic growth and political instability--demonstrates that alliances involving multiple partners can work efficiently. Air Afrique was established in the early 1960s, long before the airline industry gradually set the pace for globalization.
Two months after BE Aerospace Inc. and Harris Corp. unveiled their joint venture to deliver live broadcast television to airline passengers on narrow-body commercial aircraft, team members remain hopeful that they will be able to announce a launch customer by year-end. BE Aerospace isn't the only major supplier pursuing the in-seat video entertainment systems market for standard-body aircraft.
Stacey Moye has been promoted to director from manager of special projects for the National Assn. of State Aviation Officials, Silver Spring, Md. James P. Price, Jr., has been appointed manager of the Min-K Div. of Thermal Ceramics, Augusta, Ga.
Lockheed Martin officials visiting here revealed a little about the F-22's future capabilities when discussing the fighter's weight growth of 200-300 lb. LockMart's Paul Schlein said the weight would be compensated for by margins in performance and would not be an obstacle to upgrades such as installation of side arrays. These active/passive side arrays are to be located behind the forward radar. When active, they would increase the radar's field of regard and boost power for finding targets on the aircraft's beams.
Rolls-Royce has been selected to provide the engines for American Airlines' Boeing 777 fleet. The engine maker will supply $290 million worth of Trent 892 engines for the 11 777-200 increased gross weight aircraft American now has on order. Nine are to be delivered in 1999 and two in 2000. Under the agreement with Rolls-Royce, American will choose Trent engines for any version of the 777 family it procures to meet future requirements.
THE FBI SUSPENDED its criminal investigation last week into the July 17, 1996, crash of TWA Flight 800. FBI Assistant Director James Kallstrom said in a letter to relatives of the crash's 230 victims the 15-month probe ``found absolutely no evidence'' of a criminal act.
Sony Trans Com is hoping that its recently introduced Passport will be able to accomplish what most other fully interactive inflight entertainment systems have failed to do: measure up to airlines' expectations. Whether it will achieve this distinction remains to be seen. The industry is littered with similar attempts that began with equally high hopes and ended in disappointment--not to mention millions of dollars of lost sales.
Scheduled Airline Traffic Offices (SATO), owned and operated by 11 major U.S. airlines, has won its breach of contract suit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., with software developer Objective Inc., but not the $4.1 million it sought in damages (AW&ST July 21, p. 60). SATO said Objective failed to deliver a fully operational travel reservation system. Objective countersued, alleging fraud and violation of trade secrets on SATO's part, including the assertion that SATO had misrepresented Objective's system as its own.
Airlines have joined together in partnerships for decades, ranging from interline relationships--allowing passengers to be ticketed for connecting flights around the world--to servicing each other's aircraft at far outposts and sharing spare parts, developing joint marketing programs, fixing fares, setting capacity and sharing revenues on individual routes, often with government backing. The latter ended in Europe by law only in the '90s.
Boeing last week won key orders of commercial transports worth up to $2-billion, including a sale launching the 737-900. Alaska Airlines' order for 10 737-900s, plus two 737-400s and three 737-700s, could total more than $1 billion if options for 10 additional -900s are realized. American Airlines also added another four 777s and four 767s--worth a combined $1 billion at list prices--to Boeing's firm order backlog.
Joseph Kent Walker and Shawn W. Vick have been named senior vice presidents-international sales and North American sales and administration, respectively, for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Ga. Vince Hrenak has become vice president-material.
FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY William Perry has joined Boeing's board of directors. Perry, a proponent of the defense industry consolidation that eventually included the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, left his post as Defense Secretary in January after almost a three-year term. Boeing will add a 13th position to its board for Perry.
