Northwest Airlines astounded the industry last week by a very public flip-flop over pricing. The carrier had nixed--six times over four months--a 4% increase in leisure fares set in motion by its competitors. Then last week it raised its advance-purchase and sale fares by 4% on its own, which other carriers matched. Then, within two days, Northwest rescinded the increase.
Raytheon Travel Air's fractional ownership program is adding airplanes and pilots to meet increasing customer demand which is outpacing business projections.
Another mission examined for migration to space was electronic jamming, particularly of radar, Air Force officials say. But the requirement to transmit high power over long distances and problems with directional control of a jamming signal stymied any near-term shift to satellites. With increasing numbers of stealthy U.S. aircraft and missiles, the need to jam low-frequency radars will grow, they said. Yet, there will be no decision on a jamming aircraft to replace the Navy's limited number of EA-6Bs ``for a decade,'' one Air Force official said.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $17.7-million contract to provide for eight shipsets of the Precision Attack Targeting System (PATS) in support of the F-16.
Boeing has begun flight testing an upgrade package for E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The enhancements, made to AWACS test aircraft TS-3, will be demonstrated during USAF's Expeditionary Force Experiment EFX '98 in mid-September at Eglin AFB, Fla. The improvements include a phased-array antenna able to receive large amounts of information quickly and perform other high-bandwidth applications, an updated mission system architecture and a stand-alone broadcast intelligence terminal.
Paul A. Martino has been named vice president-sales and marketing of Ixthos Inc., Leesburg, Va. He was director of sales and marketing at Cetia Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
CNA's ``Pogo'' flexible tooling system is finding increasing use in aerospace manufacturing as operational experience increases and the technology is adapted to perform new tasks.
Japan's Aerospace Industry Council will recommend to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) to formally terminate development work on YS-X, a 100-seat indigenous jet transport. Future efforts should instead concentrate on development and production of advanced, high-quality aircraft components and systems, the advisory committee said. Japan and Boeing previously had studied joint development of a 100-seat transport, possibly using fuel-efficient propfan engines, designated the 7J7.
, has received a contract from the U.K. Ministry of Defense to provide aircrew and maintenance training services for British Army WAH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The 30-year contract is potentially worth 650 million pounds ($1.1 billion).
Raytheon Training Inc. has won a $150-million, 10-year contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide for logistics support for the Training System in support of the B-2 aircraft.
Raytheon Systems Co. will manufacture and install monopulse secondary surveillance radars for the FAA's Air Traffic Control Beacon Interrogator replacement program. With all options, the contract is worth $180 million.
Ron Kato has become Seattle-based regional business manager for Hydro-Aire Inc., Burbank, Calif. He was Northwest sales representative for Aeroquip-Vickers.
Robert K. Mock, dean of professional studies at Metropolitan State College in Denver and former chairman of its Aerospace Science Dept., is scheduled to receive the William A. Wheatley Award of the University Aviation Assn. The award recognizes contributions to the establishment of relationships between educational institutions and the aviation industry.
Coleman Research Corp. has received a $20-million contract from the U.S. Army to provide three threat-representative ballistic missiles for the Army's Consolidated Theater Targets program.
LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY WILL HAVE a supercomputer with the world's highest sustained performance when ``Blue Mountain'' is fully installed in November. The 3.1-teraflop Silicon Graphics computer is organized into 48,128 shared-memory multiprocessors. The lab claims the 1.5 trillion bytes of shared memory is also the largest installed for one system. Blue Mountain will give the New Mexico facility the ability to predict the performance of nuclear weapons with greater confidence, since testing is no longer allowed.
Martin J. McDonnell has become vice president/controller of Air Express International Inc., Darien, Conn. He was chief financial officer of LEP North America. McDonnell succeeds Walter L. McMaster, who has retired.
David A. Ramsay has been named vice president-human resources for Rolls-Royce North America, Reston, Va. He held the same position at Rohr Inc. of San Diego.
April 1995 Near Tallahassee, Fla. Cruising at 25,000 (FL250), pilots reported airspeed drop from 180 to 140 kt., pitch up to 5 deg. nose-up, with only trace ice observed on wing leading edge. With activation of boots, airspeed rose and pitch decreased. Oct. 16, 1994, Near Elko, Nev.
Life at American Airlines ``after Crandall''--after the departure of long-time head Robert L. Crandall--is slightly different in tone now that Donald J. Carty has taken over, but big changes are not in store at the nation's second-largest carrier.
