After several months of speculation, Boeing has given the strongest indication yet that it is considering a further increase in production of the 737 to 52 aircraft a month. The manufacturer has so far committed to hit a rate of 47 per month in 2017 and is currently at 42 aircraft. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley investor conference, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner said the company’s “focus today would be around a 52-a-month rate in [737 production] somewhere in that 2018 time frame.” Conner added that “. . .
Apparently the all-private venture to build a new U.S. rocket engine does not meet the needs of some members of Congress. In a letter to President Barack Obama sent the same day that the United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin announced plans to build a replacement for the Russian RD-180 (see page 26), a flock of House members note that their legislative chamber wants to appropriate $220 million to do the same thing with government funds.
The U.S. Navy’s first Triton MQ-4C unmanned intelligence aircraft has arrived at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, to begin flight-testing after its first cross-country flight.
Marc Esposito has been named vice president-labor and values relations of JetBlue Airways. He was a partner in the Atlanta office of law firm Ford Harrison.
A version of this article appears in the September 8 Issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology. Sept. 23-24—Brazing Symposium, Phoenix. Oct. 7-9—MRO Europe, Madrid. Nov. 4-6—MRO Asia, Singapore. Nov. 19-20—A&D Programs, Litchfield Park, Arizona. Jan. 13-14—MRO Latin America, Argentina. Feb. 2-3—MRO Middle East, Dubai March 5—Laureate Awards, Washington. April 14-16—MRO Americas, Miami.
Chet Akiri has been appointed senior vice president/chief of corporate development for new ventures/strategy officer for the Houston-based Bristow Group. He was chief operating offcer for General Electric’s Global Nuclear Fuels America, Wilmington, North Carolina.
A version of this article appears in the September 8 Issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology. Sept. 15—SpeedNews Second Annual European Aerospace Raw Materials and Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference. Hotel Palladia, Toulouse. See speednews.com/european-aerospace-raw-materials-and-manufacturers-supply-chain-conferences Sept. 15-17—SpeedNews 15th Annual Industry Suppliers Conference in Toulouse. Hotel Palladia. See speednews.com/aviation-industry-suppliers-conference-in-toulouse
Brian Walker has been appointed manager of customer experience for the service operation and Jessica Rowden general manager of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, location of Cutter Aviation. Walker was manager of aircraft services for the -McKinney/Addison facility in Texas. Rowden was general manager of the Colorado Springs location.
James Fazio has become CEO of the Aruba Airport Authority, a Schiphol Group subsidiary that manages Reina Beatrix International Airport. He succeeds Peter Steinmetz, who has been named CEO of Stockholm Skavsta Airport. Fazio was chief operations officer of JFKIAT, the operator of Terminal 4 at New York John F. Kennedy International Airport and also a Schiphol subsidiary.
Neil Whiteman (see photos) has been named vice president/senior counsel for the New York-based FlightSafety Services Corp. He has been of counsel in the Washington office of law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and has been associate general counsel of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. Tracey Clough has been promoted to director from manager of international teammate resources for FlightSafety International.
Jim Sokol has been named president of MRO Services for Timco Aviation Services, Greensboro, North Carolina. He was vice president-maintenance operations for Southwest Airlines.
