After years of checking the names of only U.S.-bound air passengers against a government watch list, Canadian carriers will soon have to check the identification of everyone flying into, out of or across Canada. Starting June 18, the Canadian government will issue its own "No Fly" list of names of people considered a threat to air travel. Carriers will screen passengers' names against the list through a secure online system. If a passenger's name matches one on the list, the airline must check with Transport Canada to determine if he or she can board the flight.
Turkey will be reviewing bids from Boeing, Bombardier, EADS and Gulfstream to supply its new command-and-control aircraft. Additionally, the defense ministry says the bidders list for a new basic trainer include Aero Vodochody, Alenia Aermacchi, Cessna, Cirrus, Diamond Aircraft, EADS, Morovan Aviation and Shinyoung Heavy Industries.
Eurocontrol can't wait for a 2020 makeover to solve the near-term need for more airspace capacity, so it has launched a planning program to squeeze every ounce of capability out of current ATC systems across Europe.
A German air force reconnaissance Tornado suffered a hard landing at Mazar-e-Sharif while returning from a surveillance mission over Afghanistan, in an embarrassing setback for a deployment that is controversial back home. The aircraft and reconnaissance equipment were damaged. Germany has deployed six Tornados to bolster NATO intelligence-gathering.
The present comparative health of Europe's aerospace sector is reflected in the latest figures from the British government's "Value Added Scoreboard." The numbers, compiled by the Trade and Industry Dept., indicate a 15% growth in the sector, with the top 10 companies in the U.K. recording increases in business. The value-added approach is about measuring "how wealth is generated," says Norman Price, an industrialist with the Department. The top four companies in the U.K. sector, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Smiths and Qinetiq, all reported increases of 16-23%.
Boeing's seven-year effort to begin selling its C-17 military transport on the commercial marketplace is at best on the back burner and at worst in peril unless the U.S. Air Force acts quickly for a new buy. Based on the Air Force's existing orders and possible foreign sales, the Long Beach, Calif.-based C-17 production line will extend through 2009. With a two-year window for long-lead parts, Boeing officials say they need a commitment from the Air Force as soon as possible to preserve the supply chain and personnel to continue C-17 production.
International Air Transport Assn. March traffic results show a 7.8% increase in international passenger traffic demand compared with the same month in 2006, with load factors high at 76.4%. IATA says strong economies are driving the demand for business and leisure markets. Middle Eastern carriers, which since 2001 have increased their global traffic share to 8% from 5%, continued double-digit passenger growth in March with a 20.4% year-over-year increase. Freight traffic's 12-month growth pattern remained "sluggish" at 2.3% for the month (see p. 44).
Test flights on Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s are about to begin, and next month the engine maker will ship the first of the 787 engines to Boeing to support the new twin-widebody's planned first flight in August. The flight test data will be a key component in the validation of the engine design as Rolls prepares to start building the first turbofans for 787 lead customer All Nippon Airways. Assembly of those powerplants is to start early next year, says Dominic Horwood, director of Boeing programs at Rolls-Royce.
Bernard Guyot (see photo) has been appointed vice president-production of Messier-Dowty, Velizy, France. He succeeeds Jean-Marie Jacquet, who has left the parent Safran Group. Guyot was director of the company's Bidos facility.
You can now register ONLINE for AVIATION WEEK Events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or call Lydia Janow at +1 (212) 904-3225/+1 (800) 240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada Only) Oct. 17-18--MRO Asia, Shanghai. Oct. 29-31--A&D Programs, Phoenix. Nov. 6-8--MRO Europe, Milan. Nov. 28-29--A&D Finance Conference, New York. PARTNERSHIPS June 18-24--Paris air show. Sept. 24-28--International Aeronautical Congress, Hyderabad, India.
An increasingly liberalized economy with 9% annual growth and a middle class with a voracious consumer appetite are paving the way for airfreight to take off in India. And that is exactly what is happening. Airports Authority of India reports air cargo movements last year reached 1.4 million metric tons, two-thirds of which was international and the rest domestic. Annual growth rates exceeding 11% are forecast through 2011, with international shipments slightly leading domestic.
Problems with deliveries of the NH90 helicopter and Airbus A380 will hurt Stork's earnings this year, and it may take until 2009 to attain a full recovery, according to the company's first-quarter earnings report. Operating income for the first three months was €25 million ($34 million)--up slightly from the same period in 2006--but the aerospace sector will have a negative contribution for the year.
William L. Ballhaus (see photo) has been appointed president of BAE Systems' Network Systems, Reston, Va. He was president of BAE's National Security Solutions and Mission Solutions.
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Emirates SkyCargo is continuing its aggressive growth plans and could become the world's largest cargo airline in the next few years. The Emirates group's logistics subsidiary is about to put together the necessary ingredients to an almost unheard of growth story: It has a host of new aircraft on firm order, it is expanding its network to take advantage of its ideal geographic location and, finally, much-needed additional capacity is in the process of coming online.
Catherine Kuenzel (see photos) has become vice president-Enterprise Infrastructure Services and Solutions and Jill Kale vice president-Enterprise Applications and Systems Integration for the Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Information Technology Sector, McLean, Va. Kuenzel was acting president of the sector's former computing systems unit. Kale was vice president-strategic programs, transitions and processes for the sector's Commercial, State and Local Group.
EXECUTIVE JET MANAGEMENT HAS ADDED a twin-engine Cessna Citation Excel to its charter fleet based at John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana, Calif. The jet seats eight passengers. EJM's Ronald Silverman says there is a steady increase in demand for chartered air transportation services, especially in Santa Ana.
Research test pilots USAF Lt. Cols. (ret.) Kelly Latimer and Nils Larson have joined the Flight Crew Branch at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif.
Northrop Grumman has delivered the 100th active electronically scanned array production radar (the APG-77(v)1) for the U.S. Air Force's F-22s. The radar gives the Raptor the ability to locate and positively identify small, even stealthy objects--such as next-generation cruise missiles in a nose-on aspect--at ranges great enough that successive waves can be attacked.
Fiddle players, guitarists and others have won a pass from Delta Air Lines to bring instruments on board, winning applause from the American Federation of Musicians. After the Sept. 11 attacks, musicians couldn't get hand instruments through security, but the AFM was able to get Congress to intervene with the TSA on this issue. That was enough for most carriers not to impose further restrictions at the gate.
Eclipse Aviation has selected its team to train pilots flying the company's new Eclipse 500 very light jet. Eclipse has entered into a partnership with Flight Simulation Co. of the Netherlands and Higher Power Aviation Inc., based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. A third partner, Opinicus Corp. of Lutz, Fla., had already been selected to build the simulators. Flight Simulation Co. will be responsible for the FAA-approved course content and will have overall responsibility for the Eclipse 500 training program, according to Vern Raburn, Eclipse president and CEO.
USAF Maj. Gen. Chris T. Anzalone has been named deputy for test, integration, logistics and fielding for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Ala. He was deputy for test and assessment. Brig. Gen. Blair E. Hansen has become director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities/deputy chief of staff for intelligence at USAF Headquarters at the Pentagon. He was vice commander of the Ninth Air Force within Air Combat Command (ACC)/deputy commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, Shaw AFB, S.C. Hansen will be succeeded by Maj. Gen. William L.
Airbus is in the process of altering its supplier relationships and will start preparing its Hamburg site later this year for A320 production. These are some of the first concrete measures the aircraft maker is taking under its Power8 restructuring scheme. Labor issues may take longer to resolve, but the internal steps can proceed, Airbus says.
THE NATIONAL BUSINESS AVIATION ASSN. (NBAA) has launched its NBAA Online Advocacy Center to provide information and resources aimed at opposing the FAA's proposed user fees. The site offers links for sending e-mails to Congressional representatives, suggestions for letters to newspaper editors, talking points for explaining why Congress should retain the tax on jet fuel to fund the FAA and sample articles to help raise awareness. For more information, go to: www.nbaa.org/advocacycenter.
