Lauda Air of Austria has ordered six Boeing next-generation 737s and two 767-300ERs. Value of the order is $519 million at list prices. The deal also includes options for four more 737-700s. The firm-order 737s consist of two -600s and four -700s. Delivery of the first 767-300ER will take place in August, with the 737s arriving from early 2000 through 2002.
Simula Technologies of Phoenix, Ariz., has developed a family of high-performance transparent polymers that improves on widely used polycarbonate aircraft windscreen and transparent armor material. Two of the family, called SIM 2003 and SIM 1802, are lighter, more abrasion resistant and have up to 40% improved ballistic resistance over polycarbonate and as-cast acrylic windscreens, according to Joseph Coltman, president. They readily accept a wide range of dyes and coatings, including laser-absorbing tints.
Jalmer Johnson has been promoted to general manager from director of economic and financial analysis of the Washington-based Air Line Pilots Assn. He succeeds Howard W. Pike, who is retiring.
The European Space Agency, while postponing long-term spending decisions until the next ministerial summit, nevertheless approved interim funding for 1999 that will permit an early start on the Mars Express planetary probe.
The U.S. Transportation Dept.'s inspector general will open an investigation next week into the safety practices of international airlines operating flights under code-sharing agreements and other alliances. Investigators from the IG's Office will examine the role of Transportation Dept. and FAA officials in monitoring the operations, maintenance and training practices of such carriers.
British Airways has chosen P@ves, Sony Trans Com's programmable audio-video entertainment system, to be installed on 59 Airbus A319/A320 aircraft during production, starting in September.
As the Clinton Administration jawbones Russia to improve its export controls, Russian authorities say their nation's economic privation and relaxed attitude toward proliferating weapons undermine attempts to restrain dangerous technology trade. Viktor Mizin of Russia's foreign ministry, speaking at a Carnegie Endowment symposium, said proliferation is viewed with less alarm in Moscow than in Washington because there are no Russian troops based or deployed abroad who are vulnerable to it.
Military service officials are getting wise to the fact that budget battles are leaving too many programs underfunded. ``We are cramming too much'' into the budget, says Navy undersecretary Jerry M. Hultin, adding what can result is a lot of programs but few successes. To mitigate that, he says, ``you'll see us say `no' more often to certain programs.'' The Navy already has decided to review its aviation plans. Other services recognize the same problem. The Army's most important aviation program officer, Maj. Gen. James R.
Michael J. Kelly, who holds the North- rop Grumman endowed chair of manufacturing and design at California State University at Los Angeles, is to receive the 1998 Total Excellence in Electronic Manufacturing Award from the Assn. for Electronics Manufacturing of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. The award recognizes dedication and innovation within electronics manufacturing.
The Pentagon has delayed fielding the missile-tracking Space-Based Infrared System even though some U.S. Space Command officials and members of Congress want the satellite constellation in place as soon as possible.
Boeing is developing a tactical follow-on to the Airborne Laser to help defend against next-generation cruise missile threats. Called the Airborne Tactical Laser, the self-contained, roll-on roll-off directed-energy weapon uses a smaller version of the chemical oxygen iodine laser on the ABL. It also employs Boeing's proprietary sealed exhaust system. The aim is to provide protection for friendly forces, high-value assets or civilian targets under cloud layers that may limit the ABL's detection capability and laser energy response.
The Oklahoma Transportation Dept. is using data returned by a Russian Kometa/Spin-2 spacecraft operated by a joint U.S./Russian venture. The state is using the data to generate public support for a road-building project in Wagoner County, Okla. Imagery and a digital elevation model obtained from the initial Spin-2 flight last year is being incorporated into a video about the road project being shown at public hearings.
A National Research Council report assessing NASA's approach to prioritizing upgrades to the space shuttle urges more agency homework and a restatement of goals before adopting most of the proposed improvements. The NRC also asks NASA to provide stronger incentives to industry to increase contractor participation in generating options.
Low-frequency radar, long expected to be a major element in any antidote to stealth aircraft and missiles, is gaining operational credibility with defense researchers as the technology is enhanced through massive improvements in computing power and the development of algorithms that can help isolate the minute signatures produced by stealth designs.
Hong Kong International Airport is trying to erase the public relations black eye it received when it opened 6 months ago. According to airport authorities, 92% of passengers surveyed at the new facility on the island of Chek Lap Kok said they were satisfied with its service and facilities. Only 1.9% gave it a ranking of less than five on a scale of 1-10. The airport averages 70,000-80,000 passengers a day--it is Asia's busiest international airport, and on Dec. 27 it passed the 100,000 passenger mark for the first time.
Preussag AG, which controls the German charter/tour operator Hapag-Lloyd/TUI, plans to buy 24.9% of the U.K.'s Thomas Cook Group and has agreed to acquire First Reisebuero, a German travel chain. Westdeutsche Landesbank (WestLB) has interests in Preussag, Thomas Cook and First Reisebuero. Should Preussag management exercise an option to raise the Thomas Cook stake to 50.1%--as is considered likely--it would form the basis for a trans-European leisure travel giant that would span Germany, the U.K., Scandinavia and the Benelux countries.
The Army has decided not to convert all its AH-64A Apache attack helicopters into the much more capable AH-64D configuration. The Army was going to convert all Apaches and put the Longbow millimeter-wave fire-control radars on about a third. But now the Army will buy more of the fire-control radars that allow AH-64Ds to look farther and attack more targets. The money will come from converting only 530 older Apaches into AH-64Ds and leaving 218 as AH-64As to be given to the Guard and Reserves, says Col. Howard T. Bramblett, the Apache program manager.
Jean-Paul Herteman has become vice president-SEP Div. of Snecma. He was Snecma technical director. Herteman takes over for Jacques Rossignol and has been succeeded by Michel Laroche.
Syed Ajaz Ali, technical consultant to Rolls-Royce, has won an honorary fellowship from the Royal Aeronautical Society. Other recipients are: Rostilav Belyakov, MiG general designer; Maurice Flanagan, group managing director of Emirates; and Ron Yates, former CEO of Qantas Airways. Aviation lawyer Peter Martin was awarded an honorary companionship. Richard Case, chief executive of GKN Westland Helicopters, received the Society Gold Medal.
The 10 U.S. major airlines are adding capacity at a rate that will boost competition to new heights this year, which could lead to a renewal of fare wars or a reshaping of industry. Major carriers are planning to add 275 new aircraft of 50 seats or more in 1999. This expansion, even considering scheduled retirements, will increase seating capacity by 4% over 1998, according to a survey by the industry group, Air Transport Assn.
A downturn in commercial aircraft production is expected within the next 2 years, but the economic impact on most major suppliers will be much less severe than in previous cycles. This is no accident or stroke of good luck. Rather, companies of all types have been anticipating the onset of a decline in the 1999-2000 period and have been preparing for it.
After firing its main engine for 23.6 min., the Near spacecraft is headed toward a second attempt to rendezvous with Eros in mid-February 2000, where scientists still hope for it to orbit the asteroid for a year. But last week controllers said the spacecraft had no extra fuel. Mission manager Robert W. Farquhar said, ``We don't have a lot of room to make errors.''
Seddik Belyamani has been named executive vice president-sales of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group of Seattle. He was vice president-South Asia-Pacific, Africa and Middle East.
