Thales's homeland security activity stands to grow nearly 50% following the acquisition of critical information and transportation system business lines from Alcatel-Lucent. Thales shareholders approved the €1-billion ($1.3-billion) purchase, along with the issuance of €25 million in new shares to pay for it, on Jan. 5. The €40 per-share issue will more than double Alcatel-Lucent's holding in Thales, to 21%, while diminishing the French government's ownership four points, to 27.3%. The free float will also fall 6%.
Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) has been selected as ranking Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee. Petri's district includes Oshkosh, home of the Experimental Aircraft Assn. Washington insiders expect he will be sympathetic to general aviation's needs.
Compiled in cooperation with Forecast International Inc. For more information, contact Forecast International, 22 Commerce Road, Newtown, CT 06470 USA. www.forecastinternational.com; phone +1 (203) 426-0800; e-mail [email protected]
Compiled in cooperation with Robert V. Dahl, Air Cargo Management Group/CARGO FACTS. For more information, the Air Cargo Management Group can be contacted at 520 Pike St., Suite 1010, Seattle, Wash. 98101. Phone: +1 (206) 587-6537, fax +1 (206) 587-6540. Website: www.cargofacts.com; e-mail: [email protected]
At least nine suitors are said to be lining up to acquire troubled Mexican satellite operator Satmex, which emerged from Chapter 11 on Nov. 30. According to local sources, the interested companies include Echostar, Eutelsat, Intelsat and Loral, which already has a 2% stake in Satmex, as well as Grupo Medcom, a partner in SES Global's Mexican affiliate Quetzsat, and SES Global itself. Private equity firms like KKR were also named. Satmex officials estimate the sale, to begin in late January or early February, could fetch up to $500 million.
NASA hopes to launch its first crew into space on an Orion crew exploration vehicle in October 2013, only slightly ahead of the 2014 deadline President Bush set for Orion's first piloted mission. The agency had been trying to hold open the possibility of a first flight in 2012 (AW&ST July 24, 2006, p. 54). But a new draft request for proposals for production of the Ares I crew launch vehicle's upper stage shows the longer gap between the final space shuttle mission in September 2010 and the first Orion mission.
The European Regions Airline Assn. has prevailed in a dispute with the EC over information on air passenger rights. The lobbying group had charged the EC with disseminating inaccurate information, which gave rise to passenger claims against airlines. The European ombudsman sided with the association, arguing that the EC should apologize for the problems.
Compiled in cooperation with Richard Pettibone/Forecast International Inc. For more information, contact Forecast International, 22 Commerce Road, Newtown, CT 06470 USA. www.forecastinternational.com; phone +1 (203) 426-0800; e-mail [email protected] Russian company data provided by Alexander Velovich, Forecast International's Russia-based correspondent
The Japanese Defense Agency became the Defense Ministry Jan. 9, gaining greater status as the country more confidently deploys personnel overseas. It was previously a mere branch of the cabinet office. In another subtle change, those overseas deployments, such as peacekeeping operations, are now counted among the main duties of the organization, not tasks that are merely incidental to defending Japan. The forces themselves remain the "Self-Defense Forces."
Army Air Wing Aerospatiale SA330C (1) Aerospatiale SA330G (1) Bell Helicopter Textron 206L II (2) British Aerospace HS748-2A (1) Britten-Norman BN-2T (2) Eurocopter AS332 (1) HAL Dhruv (2) HAL SA316B (2) Mil Mi-17 (5) PZL M-28 (2) Shorts SC-7 (1)
Airlines and the British government are haggling over whether key carriers are doing enough to curtail their environmental impact. Top management of both British Airways and Ryanair are rebutting allegations by U.K. Environment Minister Ian Pearson over their respective green credentials. Pearson described Ryanair as the "irresponsible face of capitalism" regarding environmental issues, and suggested British Airways was barely doing enough to address its carbon emissions. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary was dismissive of Pearson's allegations.
33rd Floor Bangunan, MAS, Jalan Sultan Ismail Kuala Lumpur 50250, MALAYSIA Code: MH Employees: 22,513 www.malaysiaairlines.com Tel. (60-3) 2161-0555 Fax (60-3) 2161-3472 Ownership: 100% government Executive Management Chairman Dato Mohd. Munir Bin Abdul Majid Executive Director & CFO Tengku Azmil Zahruddin bin Raja Abdul Aziz Senior General Manager Flight Operations Dato Capt. Mohd Nawawi bin Awang
