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UPDATE 
Week ending March 15, 1998
+++ Record year for Lufthansa +++ Sabena orders A320s +++ Ryanair to purchase 45 Boeing 737-800 +++ Cirrus Luftfahrtgesellschaft starts scheduled service +++ Assembly of AXAF telescope completed +++ Germania 737-700 breaks distance record +++ X-38 accomplishes first unpiloted flight test +++ SR Technics selected for Boeing MD-10 conversion +++ Crew to blame for cable car tragedy in Italy +++ Lockheed/Northrop merger opposed ++ News in brief +++

Record year for Lufthansa
Lufthansa: 1997 erfolgreichstes Geschäftsjahr

Lufthansa has hit new records for turnover and profits in 1997. Preliminary results released on February 11 show a rise in sales of 10,7 per cent to 23 billion DM, fuelled by all parts of the company. A load factor of 73,5 per cent was also a record, and a full 3,2 percentage points better than the year before. Profits before taxes are put at 1,6 billion DM, a rise of one billion. This very well reflects the operating results, with all parts of the concern in the black. After taxes, there remain 800 million DM, allwing to rise the dividend from 10 to 18 per cent. The top result will also benefit the employees, which have a profit share scheme. Detailed results will be revealed on April 29.

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Sabena orders A320s
Airbus A320 für Sabena

In the largest buy of its history, Sabena has ordered 34 Airbus A320s plus another two A330 long-range airliners. Deliveries of the single-aisle twinjets will start in January 1999, while the A330-200 will be in service in the second half of this year already. The A320s will replace the 737 fleet of the Belgian airline on European routes. They will be fitted with CFM56-5B/P engines from CFM International, fitted with advanced double annular combustors to reduce emissions.

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Ryanair to purchase 45 Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 für Ryanair

On March 10, Ryanair, one of Europe's leading low-fares airlines, signed a purchase agreement for 45 Boeing 737-800s. The package includes 25 orders and 20 options. "We chose the 737-800 because our operation requires the most durable, reliable and lowest-cost commercial airplane available," said Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary.

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Cirrus Luftfahrtgesellschaft starts scheduled service
Saarbrücken-Strecken werden von Cirrus bedient

On March 16, Cirrus Luftfahrtgesellschaft is entering the scheduled service business with the opening of routes from Saarbrücken to Hamburg and Leipzig/Halle. Both destinations are served from Monday to Friday, using a Dash 8-100 (36 seats) and a Beech King Air B200, which will be replaced with a Dash 8 in due course.
Cirrus founder Gerd Brandecker is very optimistic on both routes, as travel times with car or train are extremely long. Brandecker can count on support by the Saarland government and local business interests. Up to now, ciris has operated in the ececutive charter market. The company was founded three years ago. It got its air operators certificate on March 6.

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Assembly of AXAF telescope completed
Bau des AXAF-Teleskops beendet

The assembly of NASA's Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility was completed last week with the installation of its power-generating twin solar panels. The X-ray telescope is scheduled for launch with Shuttle mission STS-93 in December of 1998. After the last major components of AXAF were integrated in March 4 at TRW Space & Electronics Group in Redondo Beach, California, the prelaunch testing of the fully assembled observatory began March 7. The first test was an acoustic test, simulating the sound pressure environment inside the Space Shuttle cargo bay during launch. The observatory is 45 feet long, has a solar array wing span of 64 feet and weighs more than 5 tons. The glass for the telescope's mirrors comes from Schott Glaswerke in Mainz, Germany.

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Germania 737-700 breaks distance record
Rekordflug mit Germania 737-700

On March 11, German tour operator Germania Fluggesellschaft mbH helped the Boeing 737-700 -- set a new distance record, flying the single-aisle plane nonstop from Seattle to Berlin. The 737-700, the first of the Next-Generation 737 family to enter service, weighed in at 62,248 kilograms before takeoff. The plane departed Seattle's Boeing Field at 4:26 p.m. PST (0026 Universal Takeoff Time), Tuesday, March 10 and arrived in Berlin at 10:53 a.m. local time (1053 UTC) Wednesday, March 11. The 9 hour 27 minute flight spanned 4,511 nautical miles, breaking the international record in the 60,000-80,000-kg weight class. The previous record -- 3,385 nautical miles -- was set in 1993 by another Boeing jetliner, the MD-83.
The airplane, painted in TUI/Germania livery, was fully configured for passenger service, with 144 seats. Among those participating in the record-breaking flight were Germania Managing Director Peter Kiessling, team leader; Germania Director-Flight Operations/Chief Pilot Thomas Scheel along with accompanying crew and staff; representatives from Boeing; and engine maker CFMI. The official observer aboard the flight was Jack Sweeney, a board member of the National Aeronautical Association, USA. Aviation authorities from the United States, Germany and France are expected to accept the flight as a new international record for its weight class. Germania's delivery marks the first of 12 737-700s the airline has ordered. Its all-Boeing fleet also includes 13 737-300s.

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X-38 accomplishes first unpiloted flight test
X-38 bewältigt ersten unbemannten Flugtest

The X-38 atmospheric test vehicle, which is featuring a new spacecraft design for the use as a future ISS crew return vehicle, succesfully accomplished a first unpiloted flight test. The first X-38 atmospheric test vehicle was released from the wing of NASA's B-52 aircraft at the Dryden Flight Research Center and completed a descent from a 23000 ft altitude. The test concentrated on the use of the X-38's parafoil parachute which deployed as planned within seconds after the vehicles release and lead test craft to a landing. The drop tests will continue for the next two years using three increasingly complex test vehicles. The altitude will be increased to 50000 feet. In 2000, an unpiloted space test vehicle is planned to be deployed from a Space Shuttle and descend to landing. The X-38 crew return vehicle is targeted to begin operations aboard the International Space Station in 2003. The European Space Agency is cooperating with NASA in the current development work, supplying several components for the projected space test vehicle.

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SR Technics selected for Boeing MD-10 conversion
MD-10 Umrüstung bei SR Technics

SR Technics, an SAir Services company based in Switzerland, has been selected to perform flightdeck conversions as part of a Boeing MD-10 program to transform DC-10s into advanced-technology cargo jetliners. SR Technics will modify 15 airplanes in its facilities at Zurich from 2000 through 2002. Options for conversion of up to 10 additional airplanes are part of the agreement. SR Technics' installation of the Boeing Advanced Common Flightdeck (ACF) is the program's second phase of work. The first phase of modifications, converting the fuselage from passenger to freighter configuration, is under way at facilities in Goodyear, Ariz.; Mobile, Ala.; and Venice, Italy.
The new MD-10 flightdeck employs state-of-the-art avionics systems provided by Honeywell Air Transport Systems of Phoenix, Ariz. The new cockpit will feature six 8-inch (20.32 centimeters) by 8-inch liquid-crystal displays operated by a Honeywell VIA 2000 computer system -- similar to those found in newer airplanes such as the Boeing 777 and 717. The instrument-panel layout will be the same as the Boeing MD-11's. The new cockpit will enable the MD-10 to be flown by a two-person crew, in contrast to the three-person crew required to operate the original DC-10s. Federal Express owns the airplanes. The Douglas Products Division of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group manages the overall modification program.

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Crew to blame for cable car tragedy in Italy
Pilotenfehler war schuld am Seilbahnunglück in Italien

According to offical US statements, the four-man crew of a U.S. Marine Corps EA-6 Prowler ist to blame for last month's cable car tragedy in northern Italy. "It was a crew error. The crew flew lower and faster than autan horized whenever ... there was a valley," Major General Michael DeLong said. "The crew piloted the plane in an aggressive way, exceeding speed limits and flying well below the set limit."
The general said the that supervision and training of the crew was also to blame because they were instructed to fly at 1,000 feet (300 metres) rather than the 2,000 feet laid down for the region. "We know from sources they were flying below 1,000 feet and hit the cables atlars the between 366 and 373 feet. However most of the low level portion should have been planned, briefed and flown at 2,000 feet," said the general. He said that the crew would now go before a U.S. grand jury, which would decide whether they should face a court martial. The tragedy happened on February 3.

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Lockheed/Northrop merger opposed
Bedenken gegen Lockheed/Northrop-Fusion

Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman said they will "vigorously oppose" any attempt to block their merger, after the Department of Justice (DOJ) informed them that it is "fundamentally opposed" to the deal. Shares of Northrop Gumman plunged 16 3/4, or about 12% in value, to 120 7/8 while Lockheed Martin sank 2 9/16 to 112 5/8 on the New York Stock Exchange on the news. In July 1997, Lockheed agreed to acquire Northrop in a stock swap then valued at about $8.26 billion. Vance Coffman, Lockheed Martin vice chairman and CEO said "if the companies' attempts to resolve the DOJ's concerns are not successful, it is anticipated the government will move to block the transaction". It is expected that both companies will have to divest certain parts of their extensive defence portfolio to assure continued competition in the field.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG is among the bidders for a 20 per cent stake in the South African Airports Co., which manages nine international and national airports in the country. Competitors are Aeroporti di Roma, Amsterdam Airport and the British Airports Authority.
+++
German air rescue service ADAC has taken delivery of another two EC 135s from Eurocopter Deutschland at Donauwörth. The helicopters will be stationed in North-Rhine Westphalia for missions which will reach into Belgium and Holland also. Accordingly, they are named "Christoph Europa" 1 and 2.
+++
Ovewr 6000 soldiers of the German armed forces are participating in NATO exercise Strong Resolve, which began on March 9. The exercise is split in two parts, Crisis North which concentrates on nothern Norway, and Crisis South. The Marineflieger send 12 Tornados from Eggebeck and three Atlantics from Nordholz, while the Luftwaffe participation in the north includes Bell UH-1Ds, Transalls and Tornados from JaboG 34 at Memmingen.
+++
On March 6, the USAF took delivery of its 38th C-17 Globemaster III. The aircraft, dedicated as "The Spirit of Berlin" is scheduled to be siplayed at the Berlin ILA air show in May as well as at ceremonies at Frankfurt marking the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Berlin Airlift.
+++
Lufthansa Cargo AG has ordered another three MD-11 freighters from Boeing. They will be delivered in 1999. Another option for three was placed also, for delivery in 2000. In 1996, Lufthansa cargo had ordered five MD-11Fs, due for delivey in the second half of this year. The trijet is used as a complement to the 747s of the cargo carrier.
+++
Europe's Ariane launcher will launch the GE-5 direct broadcast satellite for GE Americom at the end of 1998 within the scope of a contract signed by Arianespace with Dornier Satellitensystem, a Dasa subsidiary. The GE-5 satellite, which is based on a Spacebus 2000 platform, is being built by an Aerospatiale-led European industrial teamat Aerospatiale's Cannes plant in Southern France.
+++
The Landsat-7 Earth science spacecraft will not be launched in July 1998 as planned due to necessary changes in the design of the electrical power supply hardware for the spacecraft's main instrument. According to NASA a new target launch date will be set after completion of instrument thermal vaccuum tests scheduled for this July.
+++
Russian Trade Minister Mikhail Fradkov and U.S. Secretary of Commerce William M. Daley attended a signing ceremony confirming a five-year contract award by Boeing Commercial Airplane Group to buy milled titanium products from Verkhnaya Salda Metallurgical Production Association (VSMPO) of Russia. The contract was confirmed with the signatures of VSMPO General Director Vladislav Tetyukhin and Tom Schick, executive vice president and deputy to the president of Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. The value of the contract is estimated at a minimum $175 million, with the potential for reaching $200 million depending on the product-mix procured.
+++
Japan's Defense Agency has received two airborne warning and control system (AWACS) planes from Boeing. An agency spokeswoman says the high-tech surveillance planes are Japan's first advanced AWACS planes. The new E-767 AWACS technical features give the planes greater surveillance capability in a wider area and the ability to pinpoint its observation into hostile areas especially at low altitudes. These new planes cost 57 billion yen ($445.31 million) each. Another two are on order.
+++
British Aerospace Airbus is replacing all supply-chain legacy systems throughout the organisation with a single, integrated R/3 software system from SAP in order to reduce the complexity of its business processes and improve the flow of information between different parts of the business. The year 2000 problem was a major factor behind British Aerospace Airbus' decision to push forward the SCAMP project (Supply Chain and Manufacturing Process), which will replace a plethora of legacy and bespoke systems with R/3 from SAP. The company was also looking for a system which would improve the identification and control of internal costs and speed up the dissemination of information.
+++
Bombardier Aerospace announced that Air Nostrum Lineas Aereas del Mediterraneo, S. A. of Valencia, Spain has signed an agreement to acquire five Canadair Regional Jet Series 200ER twinjet airliners and take options on five additional CRJ aircraft. Value of the firm-ordered aircraft is approximately $108 million U. S. ($153.5 million Cdn.). Air Nostrum will commence Canadair Regional Jet revenue service by the end of March 1998 with leased aircraft. Deliveries of the new aircraft will start in the second quarter of 1999.
+++
Also, Lufthansa CityLine has oredered another three Bombardier Regional Jets, which will be delivered in the first quarter of 1999. This will bring the CRJ fleet to 34.
+++
Air Dolomiti will add two daily flights from Munich to Ancona on the Adriatic from the end of March, with one daily flight on weekends. The Italian regional carrier thus increases its flights to Italy from Munich to 111 a week. It also will serve the Nurnberg to Munich route for Lufthansa with its ATR turboprops, as well as operating flight to Frankfurt from Nurnberg and from Stuttgart to Munich for Lufthansa.
+++
Lufthansa Consulting and Flughafen Frankfurt have joined forces to bid for Mexican airports soon to be privatised. A total of 35 airports are up for sale, divided into four groups. It is expected that each bidder will get only one group.
+++
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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen ist nach wie vor abrufbar:

*March 8, 1998

*February 22, 1998 *February 15, 1998 *February 8, 1998 *February 1, 1998

*January 25, 1998 *January 18, 1998 *January 11, 1998

*January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

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Last updated March 13, 1998
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