Air China appears likely to take full control of Shenzhen Airlines, building up its position against rival China Southern Airlines in the country’s south, after gaining a foothold in Shenzhen management. The arrest of a second senior figure at Shenzhen Airlines has left an Air China executive running the company—one week after Air China said it had begun an audit of Shenzhen in preparation for a takeover. Air China already owns 25% of Shenzhen, whose consistent profitability has marked it as one of the country’s better-run carriers.
The RAF plans to more than double the number of its two-person General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper crews to support the additional five systems the service is planning to purchase. The Reaper unit, 39 Sqdn., has 17 crews available, but the aim is to grow to more than 40 to support the increasing number of these unmanned aerial vehicles. The government last December announced it was to double the size of the Reaper fleet. The RAF operates the type in support of combat operations in Afghanistan, with 39 Sqdn. based at Creech AFB, Nev. The RAF squadron operates alongside U.S.
The attempts at tanker procurement have blundered along long enough that there are now real tankers available as opposed to the requirements writers’ paper airplanes. Why not break the logjam by calling for bids for the Japanese or Italian Boeing 767 and Australian Airbus A330 derivatives, treating them as commercial off-the-shelf items. The U.S. Air Force should evaluate the price and performance of each, and buy 15 of the winner and 10 of the loser. The result should be almost as good, and offer a far cheaper and quicker solution than will continuing the broken process.
The next 12-month period is likely to be a time of reckoning for the mobile satellite service sector, with a spate of new high-speed satphone services set to enter service and some consolidation seemingly inevitable.
Germany’s RapidEye says it has completed a 7.8-million-sq.-km. imaging campaign of China under a contract with the ministry of land and resources. The campaign, which involves covering about 80% of China’s land area, was performed during a six-month period with a 10% allowance for cloud cover. Chinese officials say it was the first time so much of the country has been imaged in a single year. One use of the data will be for change detection, including how agricultural land is being lost to urban development.
Top U.S. Air Force generals in charge of space and cyber-operations tell senators that the country will have to consider how to attract and retain highly skilled cyber-warriors, and probably in unusual ways. Gen C. Robert Kehler, commander of Air Force Space Command, told the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee last week that the service is pushing National Guard and reserve service in front of active-duty personnel who are considering leaving. If they accept, USAF still gets to call upon the airmen as needed, even as they seek other opportunities.
Embraer has delivered Gulf Air’s first two E-170 regional jets, as the carrier tries to right-size its network after years of losses. The commitment to the Brazilian regional aircraft was presaged with the arrival of Gulf Air’s new CEO, Samer Majali, last year. Majali previously ran Royal Jordanian, where he used the Embraer regional jets to adjust the airline’s business and post several years of profits.
Virtually all market indicators suggest the telecom satellite industry will continue to resist the lingering economic malaise, but how much that will benefit satellite manufacturers and launch providers remains to be seen.
After several years of promising growth, broadband appears ready to take off, and ViaSat plans to be a key driver (see p. 48). Its 125-Gbps. ViaSat-1, which is under construction at Space Systems/Loral in Palo Alto, Calif., promises to lower prices to terrestrial levels when it is launched in early 2011. ViaSat is also supplying ground equipment for Eutelsat’s 70-Gbps. KA-Sat, which will precede ViaSat into orbit in late 2010. ViaSat photo.
Thomas Fagan has been appointed director of business development for Chi Systems Inc. , Fort Washington, Pa. He was executive vice president of Stellar Services of New York.
Bahrain has opted for the Rockwell Collins transportable Black Hawk operations simulator (T-BOS) to train its UH-60M helicopter pilots. The T-BOS will be delivered under a Foreign Military Sales contract administered by the U.S. Army’s Utility Project Office.
Dean Tim Brady, College of Aviation Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, Fla. )
Jim Wolper’s letter criticizes a statement that was attributed to me (AW&ST Feb. 8, p. 10; Nov. 30, 2009, p. 54). The printed statement was: “Candidates would be forced to take the easy route to the ATP [air transport pilot certificate] by instructing in a single-engine aircraft for 1,000 hr. ‘and repeating that same hour 1,000 times.’” The portion in single quotes is correct but the preceding part is not.
The Transportation Security Administration has added Smiths Detection’s Hi-Scan 130130T-2is X-ray inspection system to its Air Cargo Screening Qualified Technology List. The system provides two views of scanned items for fast threat detection, according to Smiths. The mid-sized screener features a low conveyor that enables forklift operations, and its large tunnel opening accommodates a variety of shipment sizes.
Boeing has shifted its wet lease for operations of the four highly modified 747-400 freighters it uses to transport 787 wing and fuselage assemblies to Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, its largest customer for the 747-8F and—through subsidiaries—the world’s largest 747 freighter operator. The loser—Evergreen International Airlines—is an affiliate of the overhaul center that tripled the fuselage volume of standard 747-400 transports to create the so-called “Dreamlifters” to carry the 787 assemblies.
Foreign suppliers are turning to joint ventures with Indian manufacturers as one way to satisfy the country’s technology offset requirements, but they want caps on ownership levels loosened. Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, for instance, is asking India to increase the cap for direct investment by foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in joint ventures with Indian companies to 49% as it pursues an agreement with government-owned Bharat Electronics (BEL) to produce imaging infrared seekers for Python-5 air-to-air missiles.
The Chinese space industry is studying a Moon rocket in the class of the Saturn V while separately moving ahead with a medium-heavy launcher that will complete a modern, modular family of launch vehicles. Chinese space engineers appear to be planning to assemble manned lunar spacecraft in orbit with two or more launches per mission.
Canada this month signed its first air services agreements with Tunisia and Ethiopia. The individual pacts allow carriers from each country to operate scheduled flights in the other’s territories, offer code-sharing services and adjust fares to meet market conditions. New air services are to be introduced immediately. Canada has signed air transport agreements with 50 countries since January 2006.
An article on the condition of the aircraft leasing business (Mar. 8, p. 22) misstated AerCap’s financial performance for 2008. The company completed that year with a net profit, but saw a net loss in the fourth quarter.
The biographical summary that accompanied the article on an interview with General Atomics Chairman/CEO Neal Blue (Mar. 1, p. 52) included an incorrect year for his college graduation. The correct year is 1957.
John Boeschenstein (see photo) has been promoted to president from vice president of Jedco Inc. , Grand Rapids, Mich. He succeeds Richard Lund, who has retired. Honors and Elections
The Aviation Week Intelligence Network has won the 2010 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for the best web site in its revenue category. In presenting the award Mar. 11 at an American Business Media luncheon in New York, the judges found AWIN’s coverage broad and “very well organized” across airlines, defense, space, business aviation, and maintenance, repair and overhaul.
USN Vice Adm. Bernard J. McCullough, 3rd, has been appointed commander of the Fleet Cyber Command/commander of the 10th Fleet, Ft. Meade, Md. He was deputy chief of naval operations for the integration of capabilities and resources at the Pentagon.
