Southwest Airlines closed its deal to acquire AirTran Airways on May 2, freeing Southwest to take an unfettered look at AirTran's books and operations, but there will not be any big changes anytime soon other than in the leadership of AirTran. Bob Jordan, Southwest's executive vice president of strategy and planning, became president. The previous AirTran chairman, president and CEO, Bob Fornaro, is now a full-time consultant for the integration. For now, AirTran will operate as a subsidiary of Southwest without any changes to its operations or product offerings.
Perhaps it should come as no surprise, given India's notoriety when it comes to defense procurement, that the downselect in its high-profile fighter competition has raised an unusual number of questions.
“Carrier Cat” (AW&ST April 4, p. 58) touches on the difficulties naval aviators face when landing on a pitching deck. Modern luxury liners are equipped with stabilizers that virtually eliminate pitching. Viewing the “improvements” on the new Ford-class aircraft carriers, I see nothing about adding stabilizers. Is there a reason for this omission? Denton, Texas
In Guy Norris's “Building Blocks,” about NASA and industry technology studies being pursued to improve efficiency of the next generation of airliners (AW&ST April 18, p. 36), the description of efforts to improve low-speed rudder effectiveness to reduce rudder and/or vertical fin size was of particular interest. Perhaps designers should consider a split aileron to augment low-speed directional control as is done in B-2 or A-6 aircraft. This approach could also reduce vulnerability to overstressing the vertical fin.
Mo Meidar (see photo), MAG chairman and chief executive officer, has been named to receive the Leader of Innovation Medal from Philadelphia University. Meidar is being honored for his company's work in developing automation technologies for producing composite structures for the aerospace, automotive and wind energy industries.
Norman R. Augustine, retired chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin Corp., has been selected by The Wings Club of New York, to receive its 2011 Distinguished Achievement Award on Oct. 21. Augustine is being recognized for his expertise in science and technology, particularly as it pertains to aerospace and defense.
It appears that the FAA has a double standard when it comes to violations of its own employees. In the March 23 late-night Reagan Washington National Airport tower incident, the supervisor who was asleep at this position received a suspension, but the two Northwest Airlines pilots who overflew their destination in October 2009 had their airman certificates revoked. It would seem that the agency actually in charge of such violations would be even-handed across the board. This action, or lack of it, sets a bad example.
As lawmakers consider how to shore up the nation's defenses while balancing the books, the nation's massive investments in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities may get a boost by their success. Like the use of Predators to help uncover explosive-making networks in Iraq, the raid on the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, notched another big win for ISR equipment, which Defense Secretary Robert Gates has championed.
Nigel Underwood has been named group chief information officer for International Airlines Group. His previous roles include global CIO at DHL Logistics, Exel and Hilton Group.
Victoria Moores has been appointed general manager of communications for the Brussels-based Association of European Airlines. She was features editor of Airline Business magazine.
Just as Washington exults over the bin Laden raid, a Congressional Research Service report pegs spending on the “war on terror” through fiscal 2011 at $1.283 trillion. The CRS report—dated March 29 but not widely seen until this month—estimates the costs of military operations, base security, foreign aid, reconstruction, embassy enhancements and health care for affected veterans. The CRS says $803 billion has been spent on Iraq and $444 billion on Afghanistan. U.S.
Russian military controllers are setting up the fourth Meridian communications satellite following its launch May 4 on a Soyuz 2 rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. A communications link was established following the launch, and an initial checkout turned up no anomalies, according to Russian press reports.
A high-powered team of physicists and engineers has concluded that NASA's $700 million Gravity Probe B (GP-B) experiment demonstrated two key aspects of Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, but not to the hoped-for degree of confidence.
Now that the dust has settled after the sudden resignation of FAA Chief Operating Officer Henry Krakowski, it is time to consider the long-term implications. It seems clear that the U.S. Transportation Department's main goal in forcing the issue was to send a signal that it is taking recent controller controversies seriously. But Krakowski's departure will have broader ramifications for the agency's operational arm.
For airport operators, getting in bed with one of Europe's most fractious airlines at a facility the government does not want to see expand may not seem like an attractive proposition, but the anticipated forced sale of Stansted Airport may yet defy skeptics.
After decades of enjoying a virtually uncontested lead in the medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial systems (UAS) market, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems may finally be facing some competition.
With the long-delayed first deliveries of its 787 and 747-8 development programs in sight, Boeing's drive to ramp up commercial airplane production is becoming sharply focused, pushing the company beyond its traditional comfort zone of retaining a large back-order list.
Bob Frisch has been promoted to vice president from managing director of flight operations at Air Wisconsin. He was a line pilot for Great Lakes Aviation.
Christa Fornarotto has been named associate FAA administrator for airports. She was deputy assistant Transportation secretary for aviation and international affairs and had been legislative director for Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.)
At jet engine maker GE Aviation's Hooksett factory near Manchester, N.H., thinking global means adapting someone else's idea to create a winning combination of reduced tooling and production costs for hard-to-machine superalloys.
Vladimir Popovkin, a former deputy Russian defense minister, will take over the Roscosmos federal space agency from Anatoly Perminov, who was forced out by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Proton launch failure that sent three Glonass satnav spacecraft into the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 5, 2010. A retired general like Perminov, Popovkin commanded Russia's missile and space defense force in 2004-08 and was assigned to the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a tour during his military career. Perminov, 65, who was appointed by Putin in 2004, led Roscosmos as the U.S.
After the surge of heightened security against an Al Qaeda revenge attack for the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, what then for his main target—aviation security? Protection of air travelers has evolved into a costly staple of commercial aviation, and it's unlikely to go away. Overlapping layers of security will remain in place; but in the future, noticeable changes in checkpoint processes can be expected, though they will come slowly, say security experts.
Commercial airports across the globe are evolving through a dynamic transition period under strong economic and social forces. Whether small, medium or large, they are diversifying to meet the manifold needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace. Airports are emerging in many forms, though all operate similarly and some show attributes of several categories. In Europe, more than 20% are privatized or operate under public-private partnerships. The larger airports tend to this trend, so that in 2008 they accounted for 48% of the passenger traffic.
The prospects for unraveling the cause of the crash of Air France Flight 447 have sharply increased now that accident investigators have recovered both the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for the lost Airbus A330-200.
The White House plans to deal with U.S.-China relations—and how it spends taxpayer funds dealing with them—on a “case-by-case basis” in the wake of a congressional ban on spending to advance space cooperation with China. Presidential Science Adviser John Holdren tells the House panel funding his office that it will abide by the ban, but to a degree “consistent with my responsibilities to execute the president's constitutional authority . . . to conduct negotiations.” Rep.
