The best-performing airlines of 2001 present a study in contrasts, not the least of which is staying power. As in past years, no two airlines that scored highest in their categories--this year they are grouped by size--had the same strengths among the productivity, asset utilization and financial health measurements by which they are evaluated in AW&ST's Index of Competitiveness. Singapore Airlines, the top-ranked large airline, did the same high-margin business in 2001 that put it at the top of the list a year earlier.
Arianespace Chairman Jean-Marie Luton has been named chairman/CEO of Starsem, the Soyuz launch company in which Arianespace and parent company EADS are major partners. He will stay on as chairman of Arianespace, whose CEO is former Starsem boss Jean-Yves Le Gall. Starsem officials said the move would help define future cooperative strategy between Europe and Russia, which are discussing the installation of a Soyuz launch pad at the Arianespace launch facility in Kourou, French Guiana, as well as collaboration in future launch vehicle technologies.
In a bid to make the National Imagery and Mapping Agency more relevant, military and congressional leaders overseeing the organization want to address emerging homeland security requirements and exploit the potential of measurement and signature intelligence (Masint). The overhaul is also aimed at overcoming shortfalls that materialized late last year in support of the U.S. war in Afghanistan and operations in other areas. NIMA went on a war footing to support the military 24 hr. a day.
A key House panel is ready to cut F-22 production to 16 aircraft a year, unless the Pentagon shows that the new fighter's persistent cost overruns and schedule stretch-outs are under control. Worried that the latest $6-billion cost hike might dog the next-generation aircraft far into the future, the House Appropriations Committee and its defense panel have approved a $355-billion military budget for next year that includes $4.1 billion for 23 F-22s--but would hold the annual purchase to 16 unless certain conditions are met.
The U.S. Coast Guard is poised to begin a sorely needed, across-the-board upgrade of ships, aircraft and command-and-control systems funded by an $11-billion, 20-year contract just inked. Equal-partners Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have been working with the Coast Guard for four years to develop a solution to its Integrated Deepwater System needs. ``Our team's approach provides a single, integrated package of ships, aircraft and helicopters, all linked by advanced common software and systems,'' said Northrop Grumman Chairman/CEO Kent Kresa.
Scientists and legislators agree that protecting aviation and intermodal transport from catastrophic terrorism will require a concentrated effort to foster research and engineering in security technologies. The most critical need is a systematic, methodical approach, and the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is best suited to achieve it, the National Research Council told Congress last week.
Israeli and U.S. forward-looking infrared sensor makers are squaring off to meet a U.S. Marine Corps requirement to upgrade the device on the AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters. The Naval Air Systems Command, which manages the AH-1W program, plans to buy two prototype upgrades, one from Merrimack, N.H.-based Kollsman and the other from Israel Aircraft Industries' Tamam division, to assess which system is more suitable. Both are to provide third-generation staring focal plane array technology into the Cobra's night targeting system.
The Chicago Aviation Dept. won approval for the $3.5-billion O'Hare World Gateway Program when the FAA's recently completed review concluded the program would have ``no significant impact'' on the environment. Gateway includes development of two new terminals to be built entirely under new FAA Security Guidelines, as well as U.S. customs facilities, and the modernization of existing terminals. The construction of the new Terminal 6 and an extension to Concourse K, the first projects under the program, will add 23 gates to O'Hare.
Contrary to the U.S. Forest Service's dire predictions, cooler weather, higher humidity and some rain have helped firefighters contain 70% of the Hayman fire in Colorado. The 137,000-acre blaze threatened Lockheed Martin Astronautics' Waterton plant southwest of Denver for several days, but company officials said they discontinued ``hotline'' alerts to employees last week as the potential for evacuation diminished.
Collaborative production management (CPM) systems are booming at 13% per year growth rates, led by aerospace and defense, according to a study by the ARC Advisory Group (www.ARCweb.com). CPM sales were $425 million in 2001 and are expected to be $800 million in 2006. The two top suppliers have a combined 30% market share, with other companies having no more than a few percent.
The FAA certified Honeywell's AS907 turbofan engine last week as ground and flight testing of the powerplant continues. Honeywell will begin building the first production engines in September with deliveries starting in December to Bombardier for the super-midsize Continental business jet. The 7,000-lb.-thrust class engine has a 34.2-in. fan and a bypass ratio of 4.2. The program to develop the engine began 44 months ago. It was intended to power the now-abandoned Avro RJX. So far, 18 engines have completed 18,000 hr.
A slew of commissions and congressional committees have tried to get the military to use more commercial satellite imagery, but so far use of such remote-sensing data has been more occasional than regular. Now, Director of Central Intelligence GeorgeTenet is weighing to change that. He fired off a memo to James R. Clapper, Jr., the head of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, asking him to ``direct that U.S.
American Airlines plans to kiss paper ticketing goodbye next year. The carrier will issue e-ticketing only for domestic flights by March and for all other itineraries by December. The move is part of American's effort to reduce costs and streamline passenger check-in process. The carrier, which also plans to elimnate or automate other paper transactions by the end of next year, last week upped the fee for issuance of a paper ticket to $20 from $15.
For the last several years, simulation systems manufacturer CAE Inc. has been pursuing a strategy of acquisitions, divestitures and productivity initiatives in an effort to expand its core businesses, reduce costs, raise overall efficiency and increase shareholder value. If Aviation Week's 2002 Competitiveness Index study is any guide, the Montreal-based company has executed that plan with a high degree of proficiency.
China Airlines Flight 611 appears to have experienced no major problems before it came apart, but the flight data recorder shows small anomalies in the last 20 sec. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) reveals a few noises that experienced observers found unusual for a Boeing 747-200 and were unable to identify. One type started 7 min.
The Aviation Week Top-Performing Companies study recognizes past success, either in how well a company did in 2001 or in how much it has improved in the last five years (1997-2001). This past achievement, however, tells only part of the story about a company's success in creating shareholder value. The stock market looks forward. Representing the collective judgment of all investors, the stock market doles out its reward (a rising stock price) to companies that exceed expectations.
Frank Fawcett has become president/ CEO of General Defense Systems Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. He succeeds founder David L. Frank, who will remain chief technology officer.
Outsize growth defined Aeroflex Inc. from 1997-2001 and played a big part in driving the electronic systems and components manufacturer to the top of the small-company rankings this year, from the No. 5 position in 2001. Revenues grew at an average annual rate of 26%, while the company's gross investment base nearly quadrupled. During the same period, Aeroflex managed to reduce its cost of goods sold, to 53% last year from 65% in 1997.
The top-ranked small airline of 2001 is a European startup, growing by leaps and bounds, a Southwest-inspired low-cost scourge of the establishment, transforming commercial aviation on the Continent. Ryanair's fourth consecutive selection? No, EasyJet's first. The carriers are far from being two peas in a pod, and in fact they are separated in the 2001 rankings by WestJet of Canada, in second place, and Frontier of the U.S., in third. But their impact on European aviation is significant and growing (AW&ST June 10, p. 44).
Russia launched a Progress supply vehicle June 26 that was scheduled to dock with the International Space Station early on June 29. The mission from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan marked the 74th consecutive successful launch of the Soyuz rocket, including 11 with human crews on board.
Within the next few weeks, Alitalia expects to conclude an agreement with Embraer for the purchase of six 70-seat 170 aircraft, as well as six options convertible to the 190 model, to be delivered starting in 2003. The contract also includes conversion of six options for the 50-seat 145, that would bring the total number of 145s in Alitalia's fleet to 14. Deliveries would begin this year and continue in 2003. The contract is valued at $250 million, or $400 million if all conversions are exercised.
Heather Kidd, Raymond Bennett, John Odegard, Jr., and Donn E. Seidholz have been appointed sales vice presidents for NetJets Inc., Woodbridge, N.J. Kidd was director of sales and marketing for CLS in Los Angeles, while Bennett and Odegard were regional sales managers for Raytheon Travel Air. Seidholz was vice president-sales and marketing for Jet Linx Aviation.
To determine the top performers among publicly traded airlines and aerospace/defense companies, Aviation Week focuses on three primary areas: asset utilization, or how many dollars of revenue are generated for every $1 invested in the business; productivity (how much real profit is generated from every $1 of revenue), and financial health. Embedded in the methodology is CSFB HOLT's cash-flow-return-on-investment (CFROI) framework, a proprietary valuation model used by nearly 4,000 portfolio managers at nearly 600 investment firms worldwide.
Michael Cleary has become president/ chief operating officer of aircraft operations for Western Aircraft Inc., Boise, Idaho. He was president of Regent Aviation, St. Paul, Minn.
