When a Qantas A380 landed at Dallas/Fort Worth for the first time, it marked the latest escalation in the hotly contested market between North America and Australasia.
Paul Kahn (see photo) has been appointed president of Airbus Group UK. He was president/CEO of Thales Canada. Kahn succeeds Robin Southwell, who has left the company.
Michael C. Ford has been named vice president-global diversity and employee rights for Chicago-based Boeing, effective Oct. 17. He has been vice president-global diversity and inclusion for Hilton Worldwide. Ford succeeds Ozzie Pierce, who was interim vice president after the retirement of Joyce Tucker. Pierce will continue as director of equal employent opportunity compliance.
Jim Tait (see photo) has become vice president-sales operations and analysis for the Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., Savannah, Georgia. He was director of financial planning and analysis.
Brian Kratt has been named president of Private Jet Services, Seabrook, New Hampshire. He was CEO of Language Scientific and had been vice president-sales and marketing at Black Dragon Software.
Concepts for replacing the Russian-built RD-180 rocket engine presented to the U.S. Air Force last week include a solid-fuel concept developed by ATK, drawing on heritage from the company’s space shuttle and national security product lines.
After years of bitter competitions, Embraer has finally established a U.S. foothold for production of defense systems stateside with the rollout of its first A-29 Super Tucano for sale to the U.S. Air Force.
Oleg Ivanovsky, a Soviet space-technology pioneer who helped design Sputnik 1 and bolted Yuri Gagarin into the Vostok capsule he also helped to design before the historic first human spaceflight, has died, according to the Russian space agency, Roscosmos. He was 92. The time and place of his death were not announced.
Bryan Zidar has become managing director of corporate communications for Alaska Airlines. He was director of corporate communications for T-Mobile U.S.
Christian Blanc has become CEO of Tunisia-based Syphax Airlines. He is a former chief executive of Air France and later was an adviser to Middle East Airlines. Blanc succeeds Syphax founder Mohamed Frikha, who has resigned.
Johannes Bussmann has been named chairman of the executive board of Lufthansa Technik, effective April 1. He will succeed August Wilhelm Henningsen, who plans to retire. Bussmann has been the board member responsible for human resources, engine and VIP services.
Silvano Cassano has been appointed CEO and Ariodante Valeri chief commercial officer of Alitalia. Cassano has been chairman/CEO of shipping company Grandi Navi Veloci, CEO of Benetton Group and CEO of Fiat Auto Financial and Consumer Services. Valeri has been general manager at Grandi Navi Veloci and president/CEO of Targa Services at Gruppo Fiat Auto.
Mary M. “Meg” VanDeWeghe has been named to the board of directors B/E Aerospace, Wellington, Florida. She is president/CEO of Forte Consulting Inc. and a professor of the practice of finance at Georgetown University’s -McDonough School of Business. VanDeWeghe has been a senior vice president-finance at the Lockheed Martin Corp.
John Harpool has been appointed national sales manager for Houston-based U.S. Bank Multi-Service Aviation. He was director of sales and marketing for Air Training International, also in Houston.
Scott Harris has been named head of aerospace programs at Northrop Grumman Australia. He was head of customer business for Qantas Defense Services, which was acquired by Northrop Grumman.
Greg Marshall (see photo) has been appointed acting vice president-global programs for the Alexandria, Virginia-based Flight Safety Foundation. He was director of FSF’s Basic Aviation Risk Standard program in the Melbourne, Florida, office. Marshall succeeds Rudy Quevedo, who is now director of safety at the International Air Transport Association.
Phillip J. Cagnassola, a member of the board of directors, has become a minority partner in the Paramount Aviation Resources Group, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
A ndreas Otto (see photo) has been appointed chief commercial officer of Austrian Airlines, effective Oct. 1. He has been executive board member for product and sales at Lufthansa Cargo. Otto succeeds Karsten Benz, who will become group infrastructure officer for Austrian parent Lufthansa Group.
