BAE Systems Regional Aircraft and Finnish airline Blue 1 have extended leases of four RJ85 jets that will keep the airplanes in service well into the next decade. Blue 1, a Star Alliance regional member operating more than 100 flights daily to seven cities in Finland and 18 destinations in Scandinavia and Europe, has a fleet of nine Avro RJs, including seven RJ85s and two RJ100s. Two of the airplanes will be returned to BAE Systems for lease to British Airways CityFlyer next spring, the company says.
Unlike Vince Massinini, I do subscribe to pilot-bashing for aircraft accidents because pilot error is, by far, the main cause (AW&ST Oct. 1, p. 10). Arguably, supersonic transports, with their fragmenting tires punching holes in the bottoms of the Concorde, were accidents waiting to happen, but although the July 2000 disaster at Paris did not originate with pilot error, it might have been mitigated had the pilot kept the aircraft on the ground instead of continuing the takeoff.
Ray L. Druseikis has been named chief financial officer of AirNet Systems Inc. , Columbus, Ohio. He was vice president-finance/controller/principal accounting officer. Druseikis succeeds Gary W. Qualmann, who has resigned. Thomas J. Kiernan and Robert H. Milbourne have been appointed to the board of directors. Kiernan is a former senior vice president-human resources and senior vice president-corporate services for American Airlines. Milbourne is president/CEO of The Columbus Partnership.
Qantas Airways plans to acquire up to 36 Bombardier Q400 turboprop transports for its QantasLink fleet in Australia to add capacity and frequency on certain routes. Under terms of the agreement, the airline will order 12 aircraft and hold options for 24 more. Qantas already operates seven Q400s, and another two ordered early this year are to be delivered in January. Bombardier says it has received orders for 254 of the twin-engine airplanes and had delivered 164 as of July 31.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots Assn. has issued a “briefing leaflet” on China’s conversion to reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM) procedures between 8,900 meters (FL291) and 12,500 meters (FL411) on Nov. 21. It notes that pilots must use the Chinese RVSM conversion table to convert meters to feet to maintain the correct altitude. For example, if an aircraft is cleared to 8,900 meters and pilots set that on an altimeter in meters without using the conversion table to feet, the actual altitude flown in would be 29,200 ft.
The Dutch air force has conducted the first intercept of a ballistic missile target in Europe using the Patriot PAC-3 system but a proximity-fuzed PAC-2 interceptor. The event took place during a Dutch-German operational experiment on Oct. 19 from the NATO Missile Firing Installation (Namfi) on Crete. The target was launched from a tiny island in the northeastern corner of the range area over the sea off Crete and followed a trajectory with an apogee of around 270,000 ft. Both German and Dutch air force Patriot systems tracked the target.
Airlines based in India, which in the recent past were bleeding cash due to overcapacity, are breathing a sigh of temporary relief with consolidation in the industry now in full swing. Plans are now afoot for further fleet enhancements as the economy booms, increasing leisure and economic traffic substantially. Policies are also being liberalized as the government promises enhanced infrastructure.
Engineers plan to use the next test of the space shuttle’s reusable solid rocket motor (RSRM) Nov. 1 to get more data on vibration loads to be imparted on the planned RSRM-derived Ares I crew launch vehicle’s first stage. In a “one-APU-out” test, engineers will validate the performance of the rocket’s thrust vector control system with only one of its two Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) working. Eighteen seconds into the 2-min. burn, an APU failure will be simulated to ensure one APU can turn the nozzle.
The 777 is a twin-engine, wide-body commercial transport. First flight occurred in June 1994, followed by FAA/JAA certification in April 1995 (Pratt & Whitney-powered version). Deliveries began in June 1995. The 777-200, seating 305-440 passengers, is powered by either two Pratt & Whitney PW4077, Rolls-Royce Trent 877 or GE GE90-77B turbofans rated at 76,000-77,000 lb. thrust each. The 777-200ER extended-range version seats 301-440 passengers, and is powered by two PW4090, Trent 895 or GE90-94B turbofans rated 90,000-93,700 lb. thrust each.
In fall 2008, transatlantic executive shuttle operator Eos Airlines plans to inaugurate service on new routes to New York-JFK from Paris and to New York-Newark from London, boosting the number of weekly flights to 58. Eos recently completed a $50-million capital infusion for it to acquire two more Boeing 757s to operate on the routes. Founded in 2005, Eos already flies six 48-seat 757s between Stansted and JFK, configured with beds and a private area for each passenger.
The British Royal Navy’s Merlin Mk.1 maritime helicopters are undergoing a tail-pylon rectification program to replace a rear bulkhead. The replacement program is the result of corrosion. The work is being carried out within the joint ministry and industry Integrated Merlin Operational Support program, at no financial cost to the Defense Ministry.
Antigua-based LIAT completed an asset purchase agreement Oct. 25 to acquire Caribbean Star Airlines. All assets except aircraft are to be transferred immediately. Caribbean Star will cease flying on Nov. 15, at which time LIAT will take over flying the combined fleet of 18 Dash-8s to 22 destinations in the Eastern Caribbean. The two have been flying an amalgamated flight schedule since Feb. 1 as the details of the purchase agreement have been hammered out since last October.
Middle East and Persian Gulf state aviation officials are fiercely competing to outdo one another to build the largest, and perhaps most impressive, airport terminals at the crossroads between East and West. Billions of dollars are being invested to expand existing airports and construct new ones in the region as carriers based there take on new aircraft deliveries at a record pace. Airlines from the Middle East alone announced orders for nearly $50 billion worth of aircraft at this year’s Paris air show, aiding their rapid worldwide expansion.
The most spectacular robotics and extravehicular activity (EVA) operations in nine years of International Space Station assembly take place this week as the STS-120 crew of Discovery on board the ISS readies for some heavy lifting.
A last-gasp effort by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to clinch a Rafale combat aircraft sale to Morocco has failed, leaving the next-generation fighter still without an initial export order. Following a visit to Morocco last week, Sarkozy threw in the towel and acknowledged the U.S. F-16 had been preferred by the Moroccans (AW&ST Oct. 8, p. 18). French observers attribute the loss to continued failure of government agencies, including armaments agency DGA, to coordinate effectively on foreign defense sales.
Europe’s airline industry is in a nearly unprecedented state of flux, with network and low-fare carriers trying to reposition themselves in a consolidating market.
The Sukhoi SuperJet 100, formerly known as the Russian Regional Jet, is a family of twin-engine regional transports powered by Snecma/NPO Saturn SaM146 turbofan engines rated 13,500-17,500 lb. thrust each. Currently, three models are being developed: a 95-98-seater (which will be the lead version), a 75-78-seat version and a 110-passenger variant. Initial deliveries are scheduled for 2009. Overall, production of 163 SuperJet 100s is forecast for 2007-16.
Even as its delivery rates grow, orders pour in and backlog reaches a record $295 billion, Boeing remains fixated on building a single airplane. The third-quarter financial report that CEO James McNerney and Chief Financial Officer James Bell presented Oct. 24 was full of superlatives for its airplane business unit. But it also was clouded by when that airplane—the first 787—will leave the factory and take flight. Until it does, the program is at a standstill.
China is redoubling efforts to keep its outstanding commercial air safety record, despite the challenge of 15% annual traffic growth that it expects to continue for some years. The civil aviation bureau is clamping down on airline managers coming into the industry without any background in aviation, is adding inspectors at a furious pace and is issuing new regulations to keep airlines focused on safety.
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has reported financial results for the first half of 2007. Revenues of the largest Russian airline rose 28% to $1.6 billion. Net profits rose 18.8% to $160.8 million, compared with the same period in 2006. Passenger traffic increased 16.8% to 4.5 million, and fuel costs had a moderate rise. Deputy CEO Mikhail Poluboyarinov says net profit for all of 2007 is forecast at $240 million. He says the airline has been invited to bid for a stake in Italian carrier Alitalia.
Norway may just be about to enter the homestretch of its prolonged fighter competition, but Boeing is making a last-minute effort to prise its way in.
Deferrals of Boeing 787 deliveries will have virtually no impact on this year’s results at aerostructures company Latecoere, officials at the company say. An 11% surge in revenues to €358 million ($508 million) for the first nine months of the year was recently reported. However, any further deferrals could impact results in 2008, the company acknowledges.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is searching for technologies to make the hunt for explosives hidden in liquids easier on passengers—and airports. The aim, says TSA Administrator Edmund (Kip) Hawley, is to add multiple sensors to existing equipment, but “we’d like to be able to use the existing footprint” without increasing the size of the security checkpoint in already crowded airport terminals.
The A318 is a twin-engine, 107-129-passenger narrow-body jetliner. Initial flight occurred in January 2002. In May 2003, the A318 (with CFM56 engines) was certificated by the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA), and this was followed by the FAA a month later. Deliveries began in July 2003. Through 2006, Airbus produced 37 A318s. The A318 is powered by two 21,600-23,800-lb.-thrust turbofan engines, either the Pratt & Whitney PW6000 or the CFM International CFM56-5B. Primary competition includes the Embraer 190 and 195.
The French air force says it expects to start training operators for its long-delayed SIDM interim medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle fleet next month, and to begin operational flight trials at Mont de Marsan air base in southwestern France in early 2008. Originally targeted for deployment in May 2003, the €75-million ($105-million) EADS system, which uses an Israel Aerospace Industries Heron (Eagle-1) air vehicle, has suffered numerous delays, some attributed to EADS, some to IAI and others to U.S.
