Trans World Airlines reported operating income of $25.1 million in 1995--the carrier's first such profit since 1989. This included $58 million of noncash expense relating to the distribution of stock to employees as part of the company's restructuring, which was completed in August, 1995. In 1994, TWA reported an operating loss of $279.5 million.
THE NUMBER OF NO-SMOKING international flights is on the increase--even in regions where smoking is still prevalent, such as Asia/Pacific. Northwest Airlines is expanding its smoke-free policy to its Detroit-Seoul nonstops and three routes between Japan and Micronesia. The carrier adheres to a no-smoking policy on all transatlantic routes, Seattle-Hong Kong nonstops and certain Detroit-Tokyo flights, and in first-class cabins on all international flights. Continental Airlines will ban smoking Apr.
Northrop Grumman and other Joint-STARS contractors rushed several improvements onto the two E-8 aircraft deployed here specifically to support NATO operations in Bosnia. The upgrades include addition of a satellite communications capability for digital data and voice and a variety of screen ``underlay'' software. The new capability has specialized Defense Mapping Agency ``slope shading'' displays that show when topography will block radar penetration into specific Bosnian valleys based on the aircraft's slant range to the terrain.
F-22 SOFTWARE development by contractors should take about 41/2 more years based on the latest rephasing of the F-22 program. Larry Lang of the USAF's F-22 systems engineering branch said the first 250,000 out of 1.55 million source lines of code for avionics have been tested at the module level and 75% of the written code has completed integration testing. The final version of avionics software is to be delivered in August, 2000. Programming started in 1991 and is only a few weeks behind schedule with no major software performance problems noted yet.
CHINA IS PLANNING A NEW INTERNATIONAL air show complete with flying displays in Zhuhai, near Hong Kong. The feature attraction of ``Airshow China '96'' will be the first international appearance of the ``August 1st'' Chinese air force aerial demonstration team. They will be flying the seldom-seen Xian F-8 fighter, according to show organizers. The event is planned for Nov. 5-10, 1996. Approximately 322,800 sq. ft. of permanent and temporary exhibit hall space will be constructed adjacent to Zhuhai's 4,000-ft. runway for the event.
BRITISH OFFICIALS ARE quietly exploring the possibility of fielding 4-6 AC-130 gunships, according to U.S. aerospace officials. One plan under consideration is to replace older C-130 transports with brand-new Lockheed Martin C-130Js. Some of the younger C-130Hs would then be converted by Rockwell to a new AC-130U-type configuration. The U.S. has 13 of the aircraft, all delivered in 1994-95.
Fernando Abs da Cruz Souza Pinto has been named director-president of Varig Airlines. He succeeds Carlos Willy Engels, who will become vice president of the airline's administrative council. Pinto was head of regional airline subsidiary Rio-Sul. Walterson Fontoura Caravajal has been appointed president of Varig's administrative board.
U.S. Army Joint-STARS support to the French Army in Bosnia is laying the ground work for a ``new doctrine'' in U.S./French intelligence cooperation in NATO. Joint-STARS support to British forces in Bosnia is also significant, but in contrast to the new French links, the U.S. and U.K. already have a long history of intelligence cooperation. With Joint-STARS' Bosnian deployment, French forces have also become direct users of U.S.-supplied surveillance data, although they were initially cool to the idea, U.S. Air Force officers said.
Smith Management Co., a New York investment firm, has taken control of Hawaiian Airlines in exchange for a $20-million cash infusion. The carrier's former chairman of the board, Bruce R. Nobles, relinquished that post to Smith Management president John W. Adams on Feb. 2, but Nobles kept his president and CEO titles. ``We have complete confidence in him and will continue to rely on his outstanding leadership to run the company successfully,'' Adams said.
The FAA has added Swaziland and Zimbabwe to its list of countries that do not provide safety oversight of their air carriers operating to the U.S. As part of its ongoing assessments of countries that do or do not comply with international aviation safety standards, the agency said the Czech Republic and Jordan provide the necessary safety oversight, while Poland is rated as conditional.
Patrick Gavin has been appointed senior vice president-technical and industrial and Emmanuel Sartorius senior vice president-systems and services of the Aerospatiale Aircraft Div.
ROHR INC. WILL SUPPLY THE NACELLES and thrust reversers for the BMW Rolls-Royce BR715 engines powering the new McDonnell Douglas MD-95 transport. Preliminary test hardware is to be delivered later this year, with development hardware to follow in early 1997.
A RARE NOTE OF OPTIMISM IN FRANCE'S troubled aerospace industry: Last year Dassault Aviation booked orders valued at a respectable $2.8 billion. Although this is down from the $3.6 billion booked in 1994, Dassault's backlog is strong and revenues are expected to progressively increase to almost $4 billion a year over the next four years, up from a $2.32-billion low in 1995.
Trans World Airlines, building on its considerable progress of the last six months, plans to spend at least $1 billion on new Boeing aircraft over the next three years. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in July, when TWA will take possession of the first of 20 757-200s powered by Pratt&Whitney PW2037 engines. It also has options for up to 20 more aircraft. TEN WILL BE PURCHASED with Boeing and Pratt&Whitney providing the financing. The other 10 will be on 10-year operating leases through International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC).
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT and Comsat have agreed on a joint proposal to divide Intelsat into two separate entities. A new spinoff would pursue new market opportunities on a fully commercial basis and would operate without Intelsat's special immunities and privileges. The existing organization would continue to provide basic services as an international cooperative. All Intelsat assets, including satellites, would be divided almost evenly between the two entities.
The Joint-STARS program is set for a Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) review in August that will determine whether to extend the Northrop Grumman project to a 20-aircraft procurement worth a total of approximately $7 billion. Five operational Joint-STARS aircraft have already been approved and are in initial assembly to support the new 93rd Surveillance and Control Wing being established at Warner Robins AFB, Ga. The wing is to have an initial operational capability in 1997 with three Joint-STARS aircraft and two others to follow.
Alexei Arbatov, chairman of the Russian Duma Subcommittee on International Security and Arms Control, has received the Washington-based American Assn. for the Advancement of Science's 1995 Hilliard Roderick Prize in Science, Arms Control and International Security.
SHALIKASHVILI FIGURES THAT FULFILLING current military procurement needs would require $60 billion per year--50% more than current spending. Since that isn't in the cards, the Joint Requirement Oversight Council is examining tradeoffs between services requirements. He suggests savings will be found in replacing old equipment with fewer copies of new systems. An M1A2 tank is 18-20% more effective than the M1, for example.
The last minute loss of the Hyflex mini-shuttle flight test vehicle has marred the introduction of Japan's J-1 small satellite launch vehicle. The Feb. 12 launch of the 109-ft. J-1-1F test vehicle was nominal through its two-stage burn and the payload separation of the Hypersonic Flight Experiment (Hyflex). The launch was conducted from the Osaki launch facility at the Tanegashima Space Center.
Richard Denhart has been appointed alliance services coordinator for American Airlines Cargo based in Ft. Worth. He was a regional sales manager based in Nashville, Tenn.
INVESTIGATORS INTO THE CRASH of a Boeing 757 off the coast of the Dominican Republic located one of the aircraft's data recorders on the sea floor. Operations were underway with sonar to determine the depth of the recorder and chart any other debris before sending a robot to recover it. It was not known whether the signals were from the flight data or cockpit voice recorder.
Budget constraints have delayed full-scale development of South Korea's KTX-2 advanced trainer/light attack aircraft for a year as the government considers whether the program has an export future. Program leader Samsung Aerospace has begun a search for international partners to help cover the aircraft's development costs, for which Deputy Program Director Park Youl said there are no firm estimates. However, development is expected to be held to ``less than $2 billion.''
Lockheed Martin/Boeing's stealthy, long-endurance DarkStar unmanned aerial vehicle has successfully completed two phases of taxi test and is headed toward a possible first flight before the end of March.
THERE'S A NEW TWIST IN THE DEBATE over unapproved spare parts. American Airlines is circulating a 14-page list of parts from the Boeing 757 that crashed in Cali, Colombia, along with their part numbers, to try to prevent their sale on the black market. Shortly after the accident, Colombians began hiking up the mountain to the wreckage and carting off pieces of the aircraft. ``The thieves are already trying to sell those parts throughout the world,'' Carol B. Hallett, president of the Air Transport Assn., told the National Aviation Club.
