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UPDATE 
Week ending March 19, 2000
+++ Dasa denies decision on A3XX assembly site +++ UK supports A3XX with 530 million Pounds +++ Lufthansa results 1999 second best ever +++ AECMA rejects taxation of aviation fuel +++ DFS buys aviation simulation software +++ Sea Launch rocket lost during third launch +++ News in brief +++

Dasa denies decision on A3XX assembly site
A3XX-Endmontage noch nicht entschieden

Rainer Hertrich, President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich), stated that the responsible bodies at Airbus Industrie had as yet not reached any decisions regarding final assembly of the A3XX. "The discussions among the Airbus partners about the choice of site for final assembly have made good progress, but not yet come to a conclusion. All partners are agreed on the aim of making optimum use of the capabilities available among the partners, and this applies in particular to the basic issue of final assembly." In addition, Hertrich pointed out that the ultimate decision in this matter would have to be reached jointly by all partners in the relevant bodies of Airbus Industrie.
The remark came after press reports citing Siegmar Mosdorf, German government coordinator for aerospace affairs, that EADS manager had promised him to share final assembly between Toulouse and Hamburg. Mosdorf claimed that details of the work sharing will be good for both sites. Also, the German government has now promised to support Dasa with credits to secure the German position in the A3XX programme.

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UK supports A3XX with 530 million Pounds
Großbritannien unterstützt A3XX

On March 13, UK Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers announced that the most advanced civil aircraft development project ever to be undertaken in the UK is to receive 530 million Pounds of Government investment. The sum will allow Airbus to begin work on their newly developed double decker airline the A3XX. BAE SYSTEMS are planning to develop and build the wings for the new planes at Broughton and Bristol. According to Byers, the project will create 8,000 new jobs; safeguard a further 20,000 jobs on current Airbus programmes, including supply companies; and enable Airbus to develop a family of aircraft which will provide substantial benefits for travellers, pilots and the civil aviation industry.
The funds are launch investment - not a subsidy - as they are repayable as part of a public-private partnership, securing a return for the taxpayer along with the wider economic benefits for the country. Byers said: "This is a massive boost for jobs in the North West, North Wales and the South West. Securing this level of high technology to the UK will come as a tremendous benefit to companies right down the supply chain. The UK has a world class civil aerospace industry, which makes an important contribution to our knowledge driven economy".
BAE SYSTEMS of course welcomed the UK government decision to make available 530 million Pounds repayable launch investment. BAE SYSTEMS Chairman Sir Richard Evans said, "This is a tremendous vote of confidence in the UK's manufacturing sector. The government's commitment to provide repayable finance to cover a substantial part of the #2bn UK investment needed to develop this exciting new programme will keep Britain at the heart of one of Europe's most important and successful industrial enterprises. It reinforces BAE SYSTEMS 'wing-leadership' position in the Airbus Industrie European plane-making enterprise by ensuring that the Company can continue its record of producing the wings for each and every type of Airbus."

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Lufthansa results 1999 second best ever
Gute Resultate für die Lufthansa

According to provisional figures, the Lufthansa Group ended the 1999 business year with pre-tax profits totalling more than 1.9 billion D-Marks (about 970 million euros) to return the second best-ever pre-tax results in company history. The operating result was within the announced dimensions of about 1.3 billion D-Marks (about 665 million euros). The financial result, benefiting from earnings realised from the stock exchange listing of the Amadeus Global Travel Distribution S.A. company, was distinctly better than in 1998. Alongside traffic growth, additions to the circle of consolidated companies notably fuelled the increase in revenues. These rose by more than 9 per cent to approximately 25 billion D-Marks (about 12.8 billion euros). In view of the results, attained in a difficult market environment, the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa is to propose an unchanged net dividend per share of 1.10 D-Marks (about 0.56 euros) to the Supervisory Board at the meeting to resolve on the balance sheet on May 3 2000. Taking the tax credit for domestic shareholders into account, the gross dividend will amount to 1.57 D-Marks (about 0.80 euros) per share. The Supervisory Board was informed about this at today's meeting. The complete Group IAS-financial statements will be disclosed at the annual press conference on Lufthansa's results in the 1999 business year on May 4 2000.

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AECMA rejects taxation of aviation fuel
Flugbenzinbesteuerung wird von AECMA abgelehnt

The European aerospace manufacturing industry, represented by AECMA, considers that the recommendations in the European Commission Communication "Taxation of Aircraft Fuel" would not be the best way to address the environmental impact of aviation. The recommended actions would provide minimal reduction in emissions, while putting the European aviation industry at a competitive and economic disadvantage. An international assessment of other measures would provide greater benefits.
The Communication of the European Commission recommends that the European Council proceed with measures to allow the taxation of fuel used for domestic flights and, where possible, for trans-national flights within the European Community (intra-Community flights). The Communication also recommends intensification of EU action to introduce an aviation fuel tax at an international level.
AECMA, the European Association of Aerospace Industries, argues that any measure to reduce environmental impact should be technically feasible, economically viable and environmentally beneficial. This is the principle which guides the work of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in this area. The European Commission's own study, referred to within the Communication, found that the imposition of taxation on flights within the European Community, even at the highest rate, would yield a reduction of only 0.26% of total EU CO2 emissions from transport. But at the same time this would be at some considerable economic disadvantage to the EU aviation industry, in terms of competition and operating result. Such a proposal is an inefficient way to achieve the desired result.

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DFS buys aviation simulation software
Simulationssystem für die DFS

The Preston Group (TPG), a wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing, has delivered both the third and fourth Total Airspace & Airport Modeller (TAAM) licenses for DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (German Air Navigation Services). TAAM is a fast-time gate-to-gate simulation tool used by civil aviation authorities, aviation research establishments, airlines and airports worldwide to analyze operations, redesign airspace, optimize the use of existing facilities, and plan for the future. "Fast-time" means modeling certain activities, like an airport's daily traffic, at many times their actual speed. The additional TAAM licenses will give DFS increased simulation capability and enable it to conduct more in-depth simulation studies in Germany and beyond. The DFS simulation team is expanding and is one of the most experienced TAAM simulation expert teams worldwide, with more than 35 major TAAM studies completed. The scope of its studies ranges from airport ground movement analysis to airspace redesign and traffic flow optimization on an international scale.
The Preston Group (TPG) has also sold a second Total Airspace & Airport Modeller (TAAM) Plus license to swisscontrol. Swisscontrol's purchase of its second TAAM Plus license will give it the additional capability needed to conduct feasibility studies. The studies will be aimed at enhancing air traffic capacity within Swiss airspace, one of the most dense and complex airspaces in the world. Swisscontrol also specializes in modeling an airport's traffic to solve air traffic management issues, using the same tool. Swisscontrol has been a customer of TPG since 1993.

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Sea Launch rocket lost during third launch
Fehlschlag beim dritten Sea-Launch-Start

On March 12, after an apparently successful liftoff at 6:49 a.m., PST, the Sea Launch rocket carrying the ICO F-1 mobile communications satellite suffered an anomaly. The Sea Launch rocket lifted off in a southeasterly direction from the company's mobile launch platform, approximately 230 miles from Kiritimati (Christmas) Island in the Pacific. Loss of communication with the launch vehicle occurred close to the end of the operation of the second stage when the Sea Launch Commander, the assembly & command ship (ACS), lost flight data signals from the rocket. Each partner is actively reviewing all the available launch data. Upon approval of a specific Technical Assistance Agreement for this type of an event, an investigation oversight board will be activated. Loss of the rocket and its payload occurred over the Pacific Ocean and the incident posed no known safety threat to populations. No Sea Launch personnel were injured and neither the ACS nor the launch platform sustained damage. "We are extremely disappointed with the failure of the ICO F-1 mission and are working closely with the Sea Launch partners to understand the anomaly," said Jim Albaugh, president of Boeing Space & Communications Group.

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

According to testimony to the US Congress, two sections of the International Space Station built by Russia do not meet safety standards set by NASA. The US space agency has agreed to set aside part of its safety requirements, at least temporarily, and has extended an exemption for one of the modules. NASA requires that equipment in the pressurized modules of the space station be able to operate if cabin pressure is lost. Equipment in both the Russian-built Zarya and service modules will not be able to function after a loss of cabin pressure, said Allen Li, associate director of the U.S. General Accounting Office. Li told the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics that NASA exempted the Zarya module from meeting the requirement when it bought it "off-the-shelf."
+++
NASAs accident investigation board has reported that the Mars Climate Orbiter crashed into Mars last September because of program management failures. Within days of the disaster, NASA disclosed that the steering error was caused by confusion between English and metric units used by different project teams. But NASA now admits that the failure of its management to recognize hints of navigation trouble in a timely fashion was the true ultimate cause of the debacle.
+++
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced that its ground-launched Taurus rocket successfully boosted the U.S. Department of Energy's Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) satellite into its targeted orbit in a mission that originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California on Sunday, March 12. The MTI mission was the fifth launch of Orbital's Taurus rocket since its debut in 1994, all of which resulted in successful satellite deployments. It was also Orbital's nineteenth consecutive successful space launch, including missions carried out by the company's Taurus, Pegasus(R) and OSP/Minotaur rockets.
+++
On March 16, Boeing announced a firm order from Alitalia for five 747-400 passenger airplanes. Deliveries of the airplanes are scheduled to begin in March 2001. When delivered, the five new passenger airplanes will join Alitalia's fleet of 157 airplanes - 118 of which are Boeing airplanes comprising 11 747-200s, eight MD-11s, nine 767-300ERs (extended range) and 90 MD-80s. These airplane orders have been accounted for in cumulative order totals published previously by Boeing. Until this announcement, the customer for the order was unidentified.
+++
On March 17, Boeing announced it had reached a settlement agreement with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), which, if ratified, could end the strike that is now in its 38th day. The mediated settlement talks took place over two days in Washington, D.C. and were overseen by C. Richard Barnes, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. "The Boeing negotiating team entered these settlement talks seeking an agreement that would result in an end to the strike and a return to work for all Boeing engineering and technical employees," said Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit. "We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the SPEEA bargaining committee and hope that all SPEEA members give this agreement their full consideration." "These were tough negotiations," Condit said. "Both sides worked very hard and compromised. The result is a very positive offer to take to the SPEEA engineers and technical community that also protects the long-
+++
MTU München, a DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich) affiliate, posted record results for fiscal 1999. Consolidated sales rose to EUR 1.742 billion, appreciably above the EUR 1.660 billion a year earlier. Operating profit, too, showed a moderate EUR 135 million rise over the prior year. The key numbers of MTU München's consolidated annual report clearly reflect the wisdom of its expansion and globalization strategy. Still mired in red ink in the mid-90s, the company has now chalked up record results for the third year running. Launched two years ago, MTU München's expansion strategy is bearing first fruit. Business has developed nicely especially in the commercial engine overhaul and repair (O&R) sector: Capacity utilization at MTU Maintenance Hannover continues to be healthy. This shop, traditionally repairing CF6, PW2000 and V2500 engines, has recently begun servicing CFM56s as well. This marks a foothold in a significant new market. MTU Maintenance Canada also showed healthy growth in its first full year in operation. JT8D overhaul & repair is doing well and the shop is gearing up for maintenance work on the CFM56.
+++
Germany's leading aerospace company DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (Dasa, Munich) concentrates its Electronic Warfare (EW) activities within the new 100 % subsidiary Ewation GmbH. The new legal entity will advance on the market in a close alliance with the South African defence electronics enterprise Grintek System Technologies (GST), a division of Grintek Group Ltd. The partners will work together in marketing and development and will offer their systems under the new Trademark MRCM Products (Monitoring, Reconnaissance, Countermeasures). The cooperation creates one of the world's greatest suppliers of sophisticated Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) Systems with a joint workforce of about 500 employees and expected annual revenues of EUR 125 mio. The new Ewation GmbH is based on Dasa's Signal Intelligence activitites, a factor which gua rantees a broad technological and financial background. The forming of Ewation combines the flexibility of smaller business units with the reliability and overall systems competence of one of the world's leading defence electronics companies. This substantial backing for Ewation will be enhanced even more by Dasa's merger with its longstanding Partners Aerospatiale Matra (France) and CASA (Spain), which soon will form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), the world's third largest company in this sector.
+++
Following a commitment announced in October 1999, Frontier Airlines has signed a firm order for 11 Airbus Industrie single-aisle aircraft, including six A319s and five A318s. In addition, the airline plans to lease 15 A319s from General Electric Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and one A318 from International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC). The package also provides Frontier with options to purchase a further nine A320 Family aircraft from Airbus Industrie. This order solidifies the airline's plans to phase out its current 737 fleet with all Airbus single-aisles. Frontier's A319s will seat 132 passengers in a single class and will be equipped with CFM-56 engines from CFM International. The airline's A318 engine choice is the PW6000 from Pratt & Whitney.
+++
Egyptair has ordered two more A318s from Airbus Industrie, in addition to the three purchased in July 1999. As a launch customer of the A318, Egyptair will begin operations with the aircraft at the beginning of 2003. Egyptair plans to use its A318s on domestic services from Cairo to the tourist sites of Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor, Hurgada and Sharm el Sheikh, as well as on Middle East routes. Each aircraft will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines and seat just over 100 passengers in a business and economy layout.
+++
The Industrie Forum Design of Hanover, Germany, last month awarded its IF Design Award 2000 in the transport category to iDS Hamburg for its overall industrial design of the 728JET cockpit. More than 900 participants from 30 countries applied for the awards. The industrial Design Studio (iDS) worked with interior design specialists from Fairchild's Dornier Luftfahrt unit to integrate the Honeywell Primus EPIC avionics into the aircraft's cockpit structure and window geometry. The design by iDS emphasizes the ergonomic considerations for the requiredfunctional requirements of the crew's seats, the cockpit's displays and controls, emergency procedures, air conditioning, and lighting. The shaping of all visible parts and surfaces as well as the selection of surface textures, colors and the graphic design of all labeling contribute to the modern impression of the 728JET's flight deck.
+++
The Italian Ministry of Defense has chosen air-to-air Stinger for its A129 Mangusta combat variant, attack helicopter program. Stinger will provide air-to-air support for ground and heliborne forces. Under a foreign military sales contract, Raytheon will deliver the Stinger air-to-air launcher (ATAL) and Stinger block I to Italy for first phase integration and air safety testing for the A129 program. The integration phase will begin later this year and is expected to conclude in early 2002. Delivery of production units, under a direct commercial sale contract valued at a potential $10 million, is planned at the conclusion of the integration phase.
+++
The carrier Air Malta is entrusting the recondition of most of its engines to Lufthansa Technik AG (LHT). Louis Grech, Chairman of Air Malta, and Dr. Gerald Gallus, Member of LHT's Executive Board, signed a contract to this effect in Malta on March 6th. Effective immediately, LHT will be overhauling the CFM56-5A engines of the two Airbus A320s, plus the CFM56-3 engines of the seven Boeing B737s, comprising the Air Malta fleet. The scope of the work includes technical consultation. The contract is to run for ten years. With Air Malta, Lufthansa Technik has gained another new customer. Their collaboration in the past was confined to a few minor projects. For the future the two companies intend to expand their relationship. "We see this agreement to be the start of a long lasting partnership and the basis for a fruitful technical cooperation to the benefit of both parties", said Dr. Gallus during the contract signing ceremony.
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The SAirGroup Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting of April 27, 2000 will be asked to approve the election of two new members to the SAirGroup Board of Directors: Mario Corti, Chief Financial Officer of Nestlé SA, and Gerhard W. Fischer, Chairman of the Board of Panalpina Welttransport AG and of the Swiss Post. Following the retirement of its present Chairman Hannes Goetz, the Board will thus consist of ten members from May 2000. The SAirGroup has also strengthened the international composition and outlook of its Advisory Board with the appointment to this consultative body, which was established in 1999, of Karel Van Miert (58) of Belgium and Esther Dyson (48) of the United States. Karel Van Miert is a leading authority on European market and competition issues. He served on the European Commission for ten years, including a period as Commissioner for EU Competition Policy. Esther Dyson is Chairman of EDventure Holdings Inc., a US-based company that is internationally active in the IT field. An economics graduate, Esther Dyson has extensive knowledge of and excellent connections in the high-potential Internet and e-commerce fields.
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The governments of Greece and the United States have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance, providing for the purchase of 50 new Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft. The agreement reaffirms Greece's selection of the upgraded Block 50+ in the spring of 1999. The total sales package, including the aircraft, mission equipment and support provisions is worth about 2,1 billion US-Dollars to Lockheed Martin and various suppliers. The agreement includes an option for ten more aircraft. The Block 50+ inclueds conformal fuel tanks, an upgraded APG-68(V)XM radar. Delivereis will begin in about 30 months.
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Dasa is bidding for a 49 per cent stake in Hellenic Aerospace Industries. It leads a joint ofer with its partners in the Eurofighter venture. Lockheed Martin, whch used to managae HAI undr contract with the Greek government, and Pratt & Whintey had decided ageinst making an offer. The government wants to expand HAI, mainly through work in the Eurofighter and F-16s which are being bought to modrnise the air force.
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German charter airline Air Berlin has boosted its passenger number by 50 per cent to three million in 1999. Turnover is expected to go up from 450 million DM to 600 million in the financial year ending in March 2000. Profits will be satisfactory, but lower than before due to the rising fuel costs. Air Berlin mainly increased its business with idependent holidy companies like ITS and Alltours.
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BAE Systems and Saab are working to enhance chances of a Gripen fighter sale to the Czech republic. They have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote trade and investment in the country. The request for information which may lead up to a full competition asked for 100 per cent offset in value, and 80 per cent of it should be outside of the defence sector.
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Air France has decided in principle to make a bid for the holding company of Air Liberté, the loss making BA subsidiary in France. This would enable to expand and diversify its services in continental France and French Overseas Departments, Air France claims.
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Previous updates are still available:
Die News der letzten Wochen sind weiter abrufbar:

*March 12, 2000 *March 5, 2000

*February 27, 2000 *February 20, 2000 *February 13, 2000 *February 6, 2000

*January 30, 2000 *January 23, 2000 *January 16, 2000 *January 9, 2000

*January to December 1999 *January to December 1998 *January to December 1997 *September to December 1996

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