FLUG REVUE update: Week ending February 29, 2004

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UPDATE
Week ending 29 February 2004

+++ First Tiger ARH for Australia flies +++ First Trent 900 ready for flight trials +++ US Army cancels Comanche +++ Lufthansa posts big loss for 2003 +++ Dornier Do 24ATT flies in the Philippines +++ easyJet goes for Cologne route +++ News in brief +++

First Tiger ARH for Australia flies
Erstflug des Tiger ARH

The first Tiger production helicopter ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) version, for Australia, performed its maiden flight at Eurocopter's Marignane plant on 20 February 2004. This 50 minute flight gave the flight test pilot, Jacques Larra, and the flight test engineer, Bernard Jansonnie, the opportunity to check that all systems were operating correctly and to check out the complete flight envelope. Following this maiden flight, which took place in accordance with the planned schedule, this aircraft will start the qualification flight test program that will validate the delivery of the first two ARH Tigers to the Australian Army Aviation Corps at the end of 2004 and demonstrate readiness for service. The development flight test program began in July 2003 thanks to the availability and adaptation of a Franco-German Tiger prototype.
The Australian ARH version of the Tiger is derived from the Franco-German Tiger variant. It is armed with 70 mm rockets and Hellfire II air-ground missiles on its four hardpoints, as well as an Australian specific communications and data transmission system. Australia chose the Eurocopter Tiger in August 2001 following an invitation to bid that involved stiff competition from Bell's Cobra, Boeing's Apache, and Agusta's Mangusta helicopter. Following exclusive negotiations, the Commonwealth of Australia and Eurocopter signed two major contracts in December 2001 for the Acquisition of the ARH Tiger system and the Through-Life Support of this system over 15 years from its entry into service (2005 to 2020). The contracts were concluded with the Eurocopter subsidiary, Australian Aerospace, as the prime contractor. In accordance with the Acquisition contract, the Eurocopter group ensures the development of the ARH version of the Tiger and the manufacture of 22 Tigers, 18 of which will be assembled in Australia.

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First Trent 900 ready for flight trials
Rolls-Royce liefert Trent 900 für Flugversuche

Rolls-Royce announced on 23 February that it had delivered the first of its new Trent 900 engines to Airbus in preparation for the start of flight trials. The latest Trent is being developed for the 555-seat Airbus A380. The first Trent 900 will be flight tested on an A340-300 flying test bed in Toulouse. This is part of ongoing functional and performance testing ahead of the Trent 900's entry into commercial service on the A380 with Singapore Airlines in Spring 2006.
Charles Cuddington, Managing Director – Airlines, Rolls-Royce, said: “This is a significant milestone for the A380's lead engine. Delivery was on schedule, and we've seen some excellent results from testing already completed – the best from any Trent at this stage of development. The engine is meeting its targets including performance, emissions and weight. “Blending new technology with Trent in-service experience maintains our low-risk approach, and this means that once again we are seeing a high level of predictability in development.” Although this is the first Trent 900 shipped to Airbus, other development engines have been involved in ground running on test beds in the UK and America. Environmental testing has shown the Trent 900 to be the world's cleanest large turbofan engine measured by emissions per pound of thrust. Its significantly lower noise levels also mean it is on target to be the quietest engine on the A380.

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US Army cancels Comanche
Stopp des Comanche-Programms beschlossen

US Army leaders have recommended canceling a multibillion-dollar helicopter program, citing an Army study that suggests the funds would be more effective improving other areas of the service's aviation program. Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee announced that he and the service's chief of staff, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, recommended canceling the 11-year-old Comanche helicopter program after a comprehensive review of Army aviation technology and structure. The roughly $14 billion allocated to the program between now and 2011 will go toward other aviation programs, he said. The study "reflects lessons learned and experiences gained in the recent 2½ years of combat in the global war on terror as well as the operational environments envisioned in the foreseeable future," Brownlee said in a late- afternoon Pentagon press conference.
He said the study shows that the capabilities the Comanche, an armed reconnaissance helicopter, would bring to the service are not consistent with the most vital needs of Army aviation. According to the review, those needs include upgrading, modernizing and rebuilding the Army's attack, utility and cargo helicopter fleets as well as replacing aging aircraft in the reserve component, Brownlee said.
"Our revised plans for the next several years, out to fiscal year 2011, include the procurement of almost 800 new aircraft for the active and reserve components, and the enhancement, upgrade, modernization and recapitalization of over 1,400 aircraft," he said.
Brownlee said he and Schoomaker began briefing Congress on their plans this morning and will submit an amended budget request for fiscal 2005. Schoomaker also mentioned that Army leaders had assurances from President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that the funds previously allocated for the Comanche will stay within the Army aviation program. The Comanche program's cancellation is going hand in hand with a major plan to restructure the Army's aviation brigades, Brownlee said. Officials plan to standardize aviation brigades throughout the Army and "provide the modularity and flexibility we must have to achieve the joint and expeditionary capabilities that are so essential to the Army's role now and in the future," he said. "It's a big decision," Schoomaker said. "We know it's a big decision, but it's the right decision."
Boeing and Sikorsky stated: "We are surprised and disappointed by the Army's announcement today to terminate the RAH-66 COMANCHE program. Five of these advanced technology aircraft are on the production line today, and we are on plan for the program. While we regret the Army's announcement, we are committed to working closely with our customer and will engage in further discussions to ensure we have a complete understanding of the next steps for Comanche. We appreciate the commitment of the 1,300 dedicated aerospace employees working on Comanche at Boeing and Sikorsky, and thousands more at our suppliers across the country."

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Lufthansa posts big loss for 2003
Verlustjahr für die Lufthansa

According to preliminary figures Deutsche Lufthansa AG generated an operating profit of some 30 million euros in financial year 2003 just ended. The operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2003 thus amounted to some 180 million euros. At the same time net indebtedness was reduced by some 550 million euros to about 600 million euros. Year-end liquidity amounted to approximately 2.7 billion euros. As announced when the quarterly figures were presented last fall the capitalized goodwill in the consolidated balance sheet was subjected to a strict scrutiny. In order to remove risks from the balance sheet that are predictable from today's point of view extraordinary amortizations of goodwill and depreciations of fixed assets amounting to a total of 800 million euros were effected for the year 2003 of which some 700 million euros were accounted for by the LSG Sky Chefs Group. Lufthansa therefore reports a net loss of approximately 980 million euros. Against this background the Executive Board will not propose the payment of any dividend for financial year 2003. The amortizations effected in the 2003 annual financial statements do not affect liquidity and will therefore impair neither the operational business nor the future perspectives of the group.
Recovery of demand visible in first quarter 2004 The data available for the first quarter of 2004 so far show a more positive development than in the previous year. This applies especially to intercontinental routes. As a result, both an increase in the seat capacity offered and the addition of new routes are being planned for the summer schedule after the significant declines caused by the crisis last year. Above all, the traffic region of Asia will be further developed. The stagnating continental traffic still does not show any signs of recovery. Programs to cut costs, improve efficiency and promote product differentiation are being consistently pursued to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. The restructuring measures required for the turnaround of the Business segment Catering have been initiated. The LSG Sky Chefs Group had been hit particularly severely by the decline of business in the USA. More than 8,000 jobs have already been made redundant, several operations have been closed and the organizational structures have been made significantly leaner. Further cost reductions of 150 million euros have been identified and are being implemented. Lufthansa is currently conducting negotiations on the sale of the Chef Solutions division that offers prepared food for supermarkets and restaurants in the USA.

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Dornier Do 24ATT flies in the Philippines
Versuchsträger als VIP-Flugboot

South East Asian Airlines (SEAIR), a German-backed commuter airline company based in the Philippines, has announced that it is putting back into service one of the world's most remarkable and historic flying boats, the Dornier 24ATT. SEAIR, which has been in operation in the Philippines for ten years serving some of the archipelago's top destinations, will use the luxury aircraft to service five-star resorts, offering discerning passengers the opportunity to fly and arrive in style, without hanging around at airports or ferry terminals. SEAIR chairman and founder Iren Dornier, grandson of German aircraft pioneer Claudius Dornier, removed the Dornier 24ATT from the Deutsch museum in Germany and brought it to the Philippines in 2003, shipping it half way around the world.
There will be two stages to the aircraft's rehabilitation. SEAIR chairman Iren Dornier first plans to pilot the aircraft himself on a world tour, retracing the route taken in 1929 by the DO-X, a Dornier aircraft– the largest flying boat in its day -- before flying it back to the Philippines to begin regular service. In the Philippines the aircraft will be used only for luxury air travel to and from selected resorts and for transporting VIP clients from island to island. “This aircraft will offer an innovative service, the first of its kind in Asia,” said Iren Dornier. “Its launch is the culmination of two years of hard work.” The DO 24ATT, which has five crew and seating for 10 VIP passengers – although it could take in a maximum of 19 passengers-- set new standards for flying boats because it could take off and land even in extremely rough seas. It has one love seat bubble and an observatory seat in the rear glass dome.

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easyJet goes for Cologne route
Neue Destination für easyJet

easyJet announces another new destination to its network, with daily services from London Gatwick and Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Cologne/Bonn Airport. These two additional services bring its total network to 148 routes. From June 2004 millions of passengers will be able to benefit from easyJet's low fares to Cologne/Bonn Airport in the vast and wealthy Rhine/Ruhr catchment area. Flights to Liverpool begin on 22 June and to London Gatwick on 27 September 2004. The addition of Cologne/Bonn to the easyJet network follows the announcement of six routes from Dortmund, earlier this month.
"This is yet another step in the planned growth of easyJet. There are many great opportunities for easyJet growth in Germany at present. In November we announced our first German base in Berlin, and only two weeks ago, we confirmed Dortmund would be our second. Germany with its large catchments and both inbound/outbound demand obviously represents a very attractive market for airlines capable of providing sustainable low fares."

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NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN

ORBCOMM LLC, Dulles, USA, a provider of global satellite communications services for industrial, military and commercial customers, has gained a new shareholder structure in connection with an equity issue. Joining other strategic partners, OHB Technology AG has acquired a share of around USD 3.6 million as part of ORBCOMM's USD 26 million equity issue. The main new investor is SES Global S.A., Luxembourg, one of the world's leading providers of broad-band satellite services. The parties have agreed not to disclose further details of the transaction. The proceeds of the financing will be used to support ORBCOMM's successful global growth strategy. ORBCOMM provides two-way narrowband data communications services to a diverse customer base, including General Electric, Caterpillar, Volvo Trucks, XATA and Air IQ, which uses ORBCOMM's unique low-earth orbit satellite network to track, monitor and control mobile and fixed assets (such as trucks, containers, barges, fishing vessels, locomotives, heavy machinery, pipelines, oil wells, energy meters and storage tanks) anywhere in the world.
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Raptor 4003 ascended into aviation history Feb. 9, attaining the F/A-22 program's 5,000th hour of safe, successful flight test. Maj. Jim Dutton, F/A-22 Combined Test Force pilot, reached the 5,000-hour mark while flying a developmental test mission in the skies over Edwards. The flight was the sixth Raptor sortie of the day, performing envelope expansion testing out to mach 2.0 in F/A-22 aircraft 4003, said Major Dutton. "This is a tremendous milestone for the program. It's a testimony to the extreme dedication and hard work of the maintainers, engineers and other CTF personnel who make these sorties happen."
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In a message to employees, Boeing President & CEO Harry Stonecipher provided the following update on the U.S. Air Force 767 Tanker program: “Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has implemented a pause in discussions between the U.S. Air Force and Boeing on the Air Force tanker program while a series of reviews is undertaken. It is important that these reviews be completed so the Department of Defense, the Congress, and the American public can have confidence in any final decision on the 767 tanker program. The process that the Secretary of Defense has put in place to review the tanker program is fair and reasonable and has my full support. It is important that sufficient time be built into the 767 tanker program schedule to accommodate the Secretary of Defense's reviews. Consequently, starting on February 23, Boeing will slow the development efforts on the Air Force 767 tanker. We will implement this slowdown in a manner that will keep key program elements intact in the months ahead. (Production on the Japanese and Italian tanker programs will not be affected by this slowdown.) As we stated in our most recent quarterly earnings report, through the end of 2003 Boeing had spent $270 million of company money on the Air Force 767 tanker program and has been spending approximately one million dollars per day since then. Because important and detailed day-to-day dialogue with our customer is necessary to refine program requirements, we do not believe that continuing development work at the current level of effort is prudent for either the Air Force or Boeing. “The slowdown will result in the releasing of approximately 100 contract employees in Wichita and could result in layoffs of up to 50 employees in Puget Sound as well as the redeployment of approximately 600 Boeing employees across both sites. We deeply regret the difficulties that this slowdown will pose for our Boeing employees and those of our teammates. “Further, the slowdown will cause the Air Force 767 tanker program schedule to slip. The extent of any schedule slippage will be based upon the date of the eventual contract award and customer requirements.
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Recently Goodrich achieved a major milestone when the first Airbus A380 body and wing landing gears were shipped from its facility in Oakville, Ontario, Canada to the Airbus test facility in Bristol, UK. The gear will be installed in Airbus' landing system test rig. At 18 1/2-feet tall, a single A380 body landing gear supports approximately 167 tons. That is the equivalent of holding up 2 1/2 Airbus A320 aircraft (including passengers and their luggage), 150 compact cars, or five blue whales. According to Theunis Botha, President of Goodrich's Landing Gear division, "We are very pleased to have completed this milestone, which represents the culmination of our efforts which included conception, design and manufacture of the world's largest commercial landing gears for the remarkable Airbus A380. Shipping the first set of gears on schedule is the result of a great deal of alignment and close coordination between all the stakeholders involved in the program including five Goodrich landing gear facilities, our global supplier base and our customer, Airbus." Over the course of this year, Goodrich will be delivering up to five sets of landing gears to Airbus as well as building and testing a number of gears for flight qualification in Goodrich's new 22,000-square-foot, state of the art test facility located in Oakville.
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Goodrich Corporation's landing gear, actuation and de-icing teams all recently have achieved major milestones in the development of technology for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The landing gear team has completed the Critical Design Review process. The Rolls-Royce Lift-Fan(R) anti-icing system team has completed the initial hardware design. In addition, the first development rotary-geared actuator for the weapons bay door drive system for the F-35 aircraft has been completed. According to Goodrich Chairman, President and CEO, Marshall Larsen, "It truly is an honor to be part of the team bringing this new technology to US and allied forces. Currently 30% of our revenues come from the defense and space market. The products and systems we manufacture to serve this market are growing components of our diversified product portfolio. The F-35 is a key program for the continuation of growth in this market. We estimate the overall potential value of our F-35 business to be more than $5 billion over the life of the new fighter jet program, including original equipment and aftermarket sales and service."
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Schweizer Aircraft Corp. has been awarded a contract to manufacture five Model 333 helicopters for Mexico. The helicopters, all slated for delivery in 2004, will be delivered to the Mexican Procuraduria General de la República (PGR), Agencia General de Investigación (AFI). The new 333's will perform airborne law enforcement and surveillance missions including border patrol, drug enforcement and interdiction. All five helicopters will be equipped with the 333's recently certified uprated takeoff horsepower. Take-off horsepower was increased from 252 to 280 shp. This boost in horsepower significantly increases the 333's hover capacity as well as take-off and rate-of-climb performance. Hover in-ground effect and hover out-of-ground effect ceilings are increased by approximately 3000 and 6000 feet, respectively. The new power increase, coupled with the derated engine installation on the 333 combine to provide exceptional mission performance in high and hot environments.
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The European Commission adopted a communication on progress on the Galileo program. Less than two years after the launch of the project in March 2002 and less than six months after the actual setting up of the Galileo joint undertaking, the Commission was keen to inform Parliament and the Council of progress achieved in the development phase of the project. Among other things, the communication covers the ordering of the first two experimental satellites, the cooperation agreement with China and the procedure for designating the future concession holder for the system. “Everything is now in place to be able to move on to the deployment and operation phases in accordance with the planned deadlines, i.e. before the end of the decade “, declared Loyola de Palacio, Vice-President of the Commission. The year 2003 was crucial for the program. The adopted communication states first of all that the development phase, which extends from 2002 to 2005, is progressing as planned. The first two experimental satellites were ordered in July 2003. They will be emitting signals from space by the summer of 2006 and will thus guarantee the use of frequencies that the World Radio communications Conference held in 2003 a allocated, moreover, to the Galileo system. The rapid development of international cooperation is also examined in detail in the communication. The agreement concluded with China in October 2003 (see IP/03/1461) is important and exemplary. Similar measures are underway with regard to other third countries. As regards relations with the United States, the negotiations to be held in Brussels on 24 and 25 February next should conclude with an agreement which will guarantee interoperability of the American and European systems.
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The Thales TopSeries i-4000 system is the most recent in-flight entertainment product to attain program offerability on Boeing twin aisle and single aisle aircraft. This is the culmination of a process that Thales began with Boeing under a Technical Services Agreement executed in November 2001. Under that agreement, Boeing examined all i-4000 technical data, witnessed all testing and reviewed all reports to assure that each Line Replacement Unit (LRU), and the complete TopSeries i-4000 system, comply with Boeing's requirements. The OEM's efforts also covered all FAA requirements that are pre-requisite to a Type Certificate on aircraft equipped with the TopSeries system.
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Two months after placing a firm order for six Bombardier Aerospace 50-seat Q300 turboprops, Qantas Airways of Sydney, Australia has ordered an additional Q300 aircraft for its QantasLink regional airline operation. The order represents the conversion of an option Qantas obtained with its six-aircraft order announced on December 17, 2003.
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Bombardier Aerospace announced that Global Wings, Inc., of Tokyo, Japan, has placed a firm order for one new Bombardier Learjet 45 XR super light business jet, and placed an option for a second aircraft. It is the first Bombardier Learjet 45 XR to be ordered by a Japanese operator, and paves the way for Global Wings, provider of world-class business jet services throughout Asia, to provide non-stop Japan-China executive charter service.
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The U.S. Department of Defense awarded Boeing a $66 million contract for the fourth low-rate initial production (LRIP) of Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS). Boeing will deliver the JHMCS to the U.S. Air Force for use by F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots, along with the U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilots and foreign military sales to four countries. The program is also moving into full-rate production and anticipates the U.S. military ordering more than 1,500 JHMCS.
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Lockheed Martin has formed a new organization to manage the Corporation's efforts in support of NASA's space exploration initiative. The organization, which will be called Space Exploration, will be led by John C. Karas and be headquartered in Denver, Colo., as part of the Space Systems Company. Karas will report to G. Thomas Marsh, executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, and will be supported by Jay Honeycutt, vice president and special assistant for Human Spaceflight and Space Shuttle Return to Flight.
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Rockwell Collins, a leader in advanced display technology, announced today that it has received a contract from Boeing Long Beach to upgrade the displays for existing B-1B aircraft. “This contract represents a new thrust for Rockwell Collins' display systems group,” said John Borghese, vice president, general manager, Rockwell Collins Display Systems. “It increases our product portfolio by introducing a new display size and strengthens our long relationship with Boeing as an innovative supplier of cockpit display system solutions to the warfighter.” Under this contract Rockwell Collins will develop a five by seven-inch full color Multi Function Display (MFD) containing common modules to support future growth to larger display sizes. The Active Matrix Liquid Crystal display (AMLCD)-based display is being installed as part of the Threat Situational Awareness System upgrade.
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It was on 6 February 2004, at the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok, that the Police Lieutenant General Kanchit Seksit, Commander of the Logistics Office, and Mr. Vincent Dufour, Eurocopter regional sales manager, signed a contract worth approximately Euro 21 million for the supply of two EC 155 B1 helicopters in VIP configuration. These two aircraft will be delivered in Bangkok by 31 January 2005, at the latest, and will be used to transport VIPs.
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CAE has received a subcontract from Northrop Grumman Corporation valued at US$8.5 million (C$11.3M) to upgrade two U.S. Army AH-64A Apache combat mission simulators (CMSs). This will mark the fifth and sixth AH-64A Apache CMSs to be upgraded by the CAE- Northrop Grumman team. Both will be ready for training in 2005. The CMSs will be fitted with the CAE Medallion-S visual system and new instructor operator stations, as well as upgrades to other simulator computer systems.
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LHTEC, a 50:50 joint venture between Honeywell and Rolls-Royce, announced today that its CTS800-4N turboshaft engine has received a Type Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “The commercial CTS800-4N shares 60% commonality with the Comanche T800 engine, including its modular design, Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), high reliability, low fuel consumption, high power to weight ratio and low maintenance requirements,” said Karl Johnson, LHTEC President. “This certification, combined with the first flight in mid-December of the CTS800 application for the ShinMaywa US-1A Kai, completes a highly successful year for the LHTEC partnership.” The CTS800-4N is in production for the Super Lynx 300 and the engine offers a class-leading combination of performance, economy and reliability. The re-engining of the Super Lynx with the CTS800 helps reduce pilot workload while delivering improved range and over 30% greater installed power.
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More than 350 people attended ceremonies marking completion of development of NASA's Aura Earth Observing System (EOS) satellite at Northrop Grumman Corporation's Space Park facility, in Southern California, last week. The event included remarks from Wes Bush, sector president, Northrop Grumman Space Technology; Ghassem Asrar, NASA associate administrator for Earth Science; Al Diaz, director, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Eugene Tattini, deputy director, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Anne Douglass, NASA Aura deputy program scientist; and Greg Davidson, Northrop Grumman Space Technology director of Civil Space. "Aura is the most comprehensive chemical laboratory that we can put 700 kilometers above the Earth," Asrar told employees and invited guests. "It will help us understand why the atmosphere is unique and how it has supported diversified life for generations in the past, and hopefully, for generations to come in the future.
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Rockwell Collins has introduced the industry's first weather radar with a fully automatic worldwide hazard detection system. Collins' new MultiScan Global weather radar is the next-generation in the WXR-2100 MultiScan weather radar series that enhances passenger and crew safety by significantly reducing pilot work load and enhancing weather-detection capability. “Passenger and crew safety and comfort are of critical importance to the airlines,” said Kelly Ortberg vice president and general manager Air Transport Systems for Rockwell Collins. “This enhancement to our highly reliable MultiScan weather radar offers pilots a true hazard avoidance system, enabling them to detect a variety of weather phenomena that occur around the globe and allowing flight crews to better plan long range, real time tracks around significant weather.
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Boeing and Singapore Airlines announced Singapore Air as the first customer for a Boeing in-flight airplane monitoring system that will help airlines reduce flight-schedule interruptions. Boeing Commercial Aviation Services has been developing the service, known as Airplane Health Management (AHM), since 2002. Air France, American Airlines and Japan Airlines have worked with Boeing as partners during the development and testing. Those airlines have validated the system's effectiveness during the past several months. "AHM leverages Boeing's vast technical resources and airplane knowledge to provide value to our airline customers," said Boeing AHM Program Director Robert Manelski. "It will increase airlines' operational efficiency and reduce their costs.
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The newly established European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has awarded a type certificate for the EMBRAER 170, paving the way for Embraer to start deliveries of its 70- to 78-passenger jet to customers based in the European Union. This is the first type certificate for a new transport aircraft issued by EASA, and is a milestone in the EMBRAER 170/190 family program, which brings technologically advanced solutions for the commercial aviation market based on an entirely new platform. Last week, Brazil's Centro Técnico Aeroespacial (CTA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded type certificates for the EMBRAER 170. The new airliner also received a letter of recommendation from the European Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA).
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Honeywell announced that it has been selected by the United States Army to provide 600 Honeywell T55-GA-714A engines for the Chinook helicopter. The agreement also includes fielding installation kits. Delivery of the new engines and kits begins in late 2004 and concludes in 2008. “Our T55-GA-714A engines deliver more power, greater reliability and improved fuel economy over older Chinook engines,” said Nasos Karras, Vice President, Military & Helicopter Propulsion, Honeywell Engines, Systems & Services. “Our engine upgrades give the Chinook 22% more power, allowing the helicopter to lift more weight, especially in a high and hot environment while reducing fuel consumption by about 7%.”
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On 25 February, Air Greenland's A330-200 flew for the first time from Copenhagen to Thule, an American military base in the north of Greenland, with 100 officials on board. This service will continue to be operated regularly once a month. Since its quick entry into service at the end of 2002, Norsaq, Air Greenland's A330-200 with its distinctive red livery, has become the flagship of the airline.
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Bombardier Aerospace announced the appointment of Gary R. Scott as President, New Commercial Aircraft Program, effective March 8, 2004. Mr. Scott will be responsible to form and lead a multi-disciplinary team to evaluate the possibility of proceeding with the creation of a new generation commercial aircraft. “With almost 30 years experience at The Boeing Company in jobs ranging from finance to strategy to program management, Gary, an experienced aviation executive, is the ideal choice to lead our evaluation team over the next 12 months as we prepare to make a decision on the development of a new commercial aircraft program, ” said Pierre Beaudoin, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Aerospace. “His experience, coupled with our industry-leading new product development expertise of 15 new products in 14 years, assures us of a thorough and sound evaluation process. We are very pleased to have him join us at this exciting time for Bombardier Aerospace.”
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BAE Systems has market leading businesses operating in the fields of systems and software, support services and, through Airbus, large commercial jets. Together these activities represent some 80% of the group's sales. Much of the recent focus of attention has been on the under-performance of our major UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) programmes. Good progress has been made towards the removal of excessive risk and the restoration of profitable growth in this latter portfolio that represents the remaining 20% of the group. Profit before interest1 reduced to £980m from £1,002m in 2002, on sales of £12,572m (2002 £12,145m). Earnings per share1 for 2003 were down by 4% to 16.6p compared to 2002. On a reported basis, the loss per share, after preference dividends, was 0.5p compared with a loss per share of 23.2p in 2002. This was due to a lower goodwill amortisation and impairment charge of £518m compared with £615m (including impairment on joint ventures of £117m) in 2002 and a significantly reduced level of exceptional items of £9m compared with £797m in 2002. On translation the strength of the Euro more than offset the weakening dollar and reported sales and profit increased by £165m and £4m respectively. The North America business group performed well, with double digit organic growth and strong cash flows. This business continued to design, develop and supply world class systems and expertise to key US programmes. Customer Solutions & Support (CS&S) made further progress in growing business in the UK with an innovative cost and supply chain management programme with the UK MoD's Defence Logistics Organisation. In Saudi Arabia the strong relationship of many years continues with the Al Yamamah defence support programme.
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Ryanair published its Summer schedule at Brussels Charleroi Airport and confirmed that it was terminating its Brussels-London route with effect from 29 April next. The current Charleroi-London route operates with up to 8 daily flights, carries over 360,000 passengers annually, with these customers saving over Euro 36m per annum compared to the higher fare alternatives from Zaventem.Ryanair confirmed that this 10% reduction in daily flights at Charleroi was the first element of its response to the European Commission's recent decision to increase costs at Charleroi and require that Ryanair's passengers should pay higher fares. Ryanair will appeal this decision to the European Court in Luxembourg, but while this appeal is underway, there will be reductions in flights and services at Brussels Charleroi, as aircraft capacity is reallocated to other lower cost airports. Announcing these cutbacks today, Ryanair's Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary said: “These capacity reductions are bad news for customers at Brussels Charleroi, but good news for other lower cost airports. As the Brussels-London route had the lowest fares, this route cannot be sustained if costs are to be increased as a result of the Commission's decision to increase ticket prices by Euro 6 to Euro 8 per ticket. These flights will now operate on lower cost routes between private airports such as London Stansted, Glasgow Prestwick, Stockholm Skavsta and London Luton.
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CHC Helicopter Corporation announced that its operating division, CHC Australia, has been successful in renewing its contract with the Commonwealth Government of Australia to provide Search and Rescue helicopters and crews for the Royal Australian Air Force ("RAAF") for a period of 10 years, plus two option periods of two years each. The new contract, which commences July 1, 2004, will generate anticipated revenues of approximately CDN$134 million over the initial 10-year period.
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CMC Electronics Inc. is displaying its HeliHawk overhead mounted Head-Up Display (HUD) for rotary wing aircraft for the first time at this year's Asian Aerospace show. CMC Electronics has developed the overhead mounted HUD unit and associated mission avionics for helicopter applications. The first CMC Electronics HeliHawk HUD was delivered to Westland in September 2003 for installation on the Super Lynx 300. The HeliHawk HUD, combined with Operational Flight Programs and the Open-Architecture Mission Computer, is a complete navigation and weapons delivery system. The HeliHawk provides a powerful, cost-effective solution for rotary wing aircraft that perform a broad range of missions. CMC's systems designs offer fleet commonality and ensure minimal impact on the cockpit environment. These features ease and simplify pilot training and transition across aircraft types.
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A rising worldwide demand for new military helicopters, combined with large-scale U.S. re-engining requirements, will propel an otherwise flat turboshaft engine market to higher levels during the coming decade, according to a Forecast International market analysis. “The Market for Aviation Turboshaft Engines: 2004-2013” points to several key U.S. military programs that will drive production of current-technology turboshaft engines; it also describes emerging military requirements mandating new and more efficient powerplant designs. The demand for military turboshaft engines is expected to rise significantly over the course of the forecast period as a number of U.S. helicopter programs gain momentum. Military turboshaft deliveries will increase from 776 in 2004 to more than 1,200 in 2009, and will remain near that level through the end of the forecast period. Civilian helicopter production, according to the report, will continue to require about 900 turboshaft engines per year over the next six to seven years. Recent U.S. military helicopter operations in high-elevation regions have highlighted the need for more powerful engines, and a long-term effort to re-engine several hundred U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks is intended to address that need. Even more powerful replacement engines are expected as a result of the Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), which ultimately could yield a common powerplant for Black Hawks and AH-64 Apaches. Under the auspices of ITEP and similar programs, engine-builders have been striving to develop more durable and economical turboshaft engines to power those helicopters and their successors.
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Germanwings has announced that it will fly from Cologne/Bonn to London Gatwick, as an addition to its services Stansted. The new route will open in Mai and was made possible by good slot allocations. Germanwings sees the new service as a good deal for busniessmen, as there is quick rail acces to the city centre.
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Air Berlin and Germania, which are competing on serveral routes, have announced a cooperation. Air Berlin will lease three Fokker 100s from Germania to operate on its City Shuttle routes, with Germania pilots in the cockpit. Germania Express (gexx) will stop flying from Hamburg, Berlin and Dusseldorf to Zurich and Vienna. Also, Air Berlin will take Munich – Vienna as a new service in its portfolio.
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The United States and the European Commission, joined by the European Union Member States, held a successful round of negotiations in Brussels on 24-25 February 2004. The delegations built upon progress made in The Hague and in Washington and were able to reach agreement on most of the overall principles of GPS/Galileo cooperation. “This is another very important step for the Galileo project, which recognizes both sides as equal partners and creates the optimal conditions for the development of the European system, fully independent and compatible and redundant with the American GPS” said Loyola de Palacio, European Commission vice-president in charge of Transport and Energy. “This agreement will allow all users to use in a complementary way both systems with the same receiver: it creates indeed the world standard of radio navigation by satellite. I'm happy to see that we agreed not to freeze the performance of signal modulations: on the contrary it establishes clear rules for both parties to jointly or individually continuously improve the performance of their respective systems, for the benefit of all users worldwide.” she concluded. The main issues covered by this round of negotiations are: Adoption of a common baseline signal structure for their respective open services (the future GPS intends to use a BOC 1,1 signal whereas the Galileo open service intends to use a fully compatible optimized version of the same signal which guarantees an high-level of performance); confirmation of a suitable baseline signal structure for the Galileo Public Regulated Service (PRS); a process allowing optimization, either jointly or individually, of the baseline signal structures in order to further improve performances; confirmation of interoperable time and geodesy standards to facilitate the joint use of GPS and Galileo; non-discrimination in trade in satellite navigation goods and services; commitment to preserve national security capabilities; agreement not to restrict use of or access to respective open services by end-users; agreement to jointly finalize associated documents after which the agreement will be presented for signature . This will allow to the conclusion of a formal agreement in the coming weeks.
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Air Deccan, India's first low-cost carrier, has chosen Airbus' A320 family to expand services to major Indian cities from its Bangalore base. It will acquire two new Airbus A320s from Airbus, and has taken options on two more. In addition, it will lease a further five A320s from Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE). Deliveries of the leased aircraft will begin in July this year, while those of the new aircraft from Airbus will start in September 2005.
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The launch of Ariane Flight 158 with the Rosetta spacecraft was first delayed by weather and then by a few days to allow for a minor repair to the external thermal protection on Ariane 5's core cryogenic stage.Arianespace reports that a visual inspection of the cryogenic core stage detected that a 10 X 15-cm piece of the protection was missing, giving reason for the countdown to be stopped. The inspection was made prior to the start of the stage's fuelling. This thermal protection insulates the stage's cold cryogenic propellants against the warmer external environment. To replace the missing piece of insulation, Ariane 5 will be moved on its mobile launch table back to the Spaceport's Final Assembly Building, where a new block of thermal protection will be installed. Once the new piece is in place, the adhesive requires approximately 36 hours for its drying/curing process.
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The second training course for future Eurofighter flight instructors of the Luftwaffe is due to be completed soon at EADS Military Aircraft and the Bundeswehr Technical Centre WTD 61 at Manching. Initially, under this Service Instructor Pilot Training (SIPT), three courses comprising a total of ten Luftwaffe pilots are being trained on Eurofighter. These pilots will be further trained by the Luftwaffe itself to become instructors of the Luftwaffe's future Eurofighter pilots. The SIPT course consists of theory, instruction using functional models, training sessions in the various simulators and active flight hours on the Eurofighter aircraft. “The EADS engineers and pilots are giving us a very good introduction to the new aircraft,” is how Major Ralf Brandis, a participant in the third training course, assesses the manufacturer's contribution to the SIPT course. “We receive comprehensive answers to all our questions.”
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Air Force officials said they will continue with the F/A-22 Raptor program. Fervor over the Army's cancellation of the $6.9 billion Comanche helicopter program Feb. 23 raised questions about the future of the Air Force's F/A-22, said the director of Air Force combat force capability requirements. Col. Kurt Dittmer said the Air Force still has big plans for the multirole, supersonic, stealth fighter. “[For] anything the U.S. military wants to do in the future, its lead effort is going to be the F/A-22,” Colonel Dittmer said. “We think it offers a significant transformation capability for all services. It will get you into the air space to let you do what you want to do.” The F/A-22's speed and stealth make it more survivable in a high-threat environment than other stealth aircraft such as the F-117 Nighthawk or the B-2 Spirit, the colonel said. While the F/A-22 brings new capability to the air war, it also extends the capability of existing aircraft, he said.
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The US Aerospace Industries Association put forward its second five-year research and development plan at a briefing today, asking the administration to develop a vision for aeronautics similar to the one proposed recently by the president for space exploration. Clayton M. Jones, chair of the AIA Board of Governors' initiative on aerospace research and development and chairman, president and CEO of Rockwell Collins, presented the plan. “The most spectacular enhancements of life in the 21st century will be tied to discoveries made in research and development for aerospace,” he said. This plan follows on the heels of AIA's first five-year plan, which sought—and accomplished—significant funding increases for defense R&D. The new plan calls for a continuation of DoD's strong levels of R&D funding, and seeks increases for NASA and the FAA over the next five years. Jones said that AIA's plan calls for the government to reverse declining funding for the FAA's aeronautics research and development budgets and its facilities and equipment modernization budgets. In the administration's '05 budget projection, FAA funding for modernization has been reduced significantly. The aerospace industry has serious concerns about cutting funding for air traffic modernization just as air traffic is reaching saturation in some cities and flights are being cut back, he said. AIA's plan calls for an increase in FAA funding of $3.8 billion over the next five years for civil aeronautics R&D.
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Michele Alliot-Marie, minister of defence, and Francis Mer, minister of economy, finance and industry, have decided to begin the process of opening the share capital of Snecma, one of the world's leading companies in the field of aircraft and space propulsion and equipment, which will be placed on the stock market. The operation will consist in the State selling a substantial minority stake in the company before the summer, stock market conditions permitting. The prospects of the aerospace market have improved, and Snecma has demonstrated its ability to withstand difficult business conditions. Snecma is currently sharing in the aerospace sector's business recovery thanks to its personnel, its high-technology products, its healthy financial situation and stable profitability despite the recent economic crisis. Opening its capital will give Snecma room to maneuver as it pursues its industrial development
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The GE90-115B, the world's most powerful jet engine, has completed a total of 11,000 cycles of ground and flight testing as a part of the most aggressive reliability and maturation test program ever devised by GE Aircraft Engines for a commercial engine entering passenger service. The GE90-115B, which certified at an unprecedented 115,000 pounds of thrust, is the power plant for Boeing's new 777-300ER and 777-200LR aircraft. U.S. and European regulatory certification of the 777-300ER is scheduled for March 2004. The first 777-300ER will be delivered in April 2004 to International Lease Finance Corp. and its customer, Air France. To support a successful service entry, GE is conducting a four-year maturation test program involving three development GE90-115B engines to simulate approximately 20 years of typical airline service on the engine. Engineers will evaluate the development engines to resolve durability issues before they occur in the field.
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An accident occurred at the Solid Propellant Rocket Booster (SPROB) Plant in Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR), Sriharikota, at about 1600 hours today (Monday, Feb. 23). This happened while a test propellant segment was being prepared for transportation after curing. The propellant in the segment caught fire and caused severe damage to the building, in which the operations were going on. Three persons have escaped from the building with burns and they have been admitted to the hospital in Chennai. Operations are on to rescue the others. Emergency action have been put on to approach the building and clear the debris and reach the people inside. A high-level Committee has been constituted to look into the matter. Chairman, ISRO, Shri G. Madhavan Nair, has rushed to Sriharikota to personally supervise the operations.
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The SWISS Group succeeded in improving its result for the 2003 business year compared to that for the previous year. The improvement reflects the initial effects of the restructuring which the company has pursued so vigorously. The downsizing of the network and the fleet and a large-scale reduction in the size of the workforce have given SWISS a significantly more competitive cost structure in difficult markets. Good progress has been made toward achieving a turnaround. However, a number of daunting challenges lie ahead and factors of uncertainty persist. The operating loss was lowered from CHF 909 million (including start-up costs) a year ago to CHF 497 million as of the end of 2003. After taking restructuring costs of CHF 205 million into consideration, the net result for the year is a loss of CHF 687 million. This compares to a loss of CHF 980 million for the previous year. The net result is significantly better than envisioned in the forecast used during restructuring. Consolidate revenues for the SWISS Group totalled CHF 4'126 million for the 2003 business year, compared to CHF 4'395 million for the year prior. The decline is materially due to resizing of the company for economic reasons. As of 31.12.2003 the group's liquidity stood at CHF 503 million.
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Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) has broadened its capacities to overhaul aircraft of the Airbus A330/A340 family with the deployment of a second modern dock facility at its hangar in Manila International Airport this year. The new production line enables LTP to perform two A330/A340 overhauls, or heavy maintenance checks, simultaneously. LTP is currently performing its tenth and eleventh heavy maintenance checks in Manila. Since the launch of its first production line in 2003, the company has successfully completed five-year and ten-year checks on nine aircraft. Launching customer Philippine Airlines was joined by Austrian Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines late last year.
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Russian officials cut short Expedition 8's spacewalk Thursday due to a cooling system problem in one of the Orlan spacesuits. The extravehicular activity came to an end at 7:12 p.m. CST Thursday (0112 GMT Friday). Commander Michael Foale and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri completed about 60 percent of their scheduled tasks. Initial indications are that a kink in a tube in Kaleri's liquid cooling garment prevented the flow of water through the suit. The kink was discovered after the two entered the Station. It was straightened out and water began to flow normally in Kaleri's suit. Completed tasks included the installation of the Matryoshka, which will provide data on radiation exposure to the human body during space flight. They removed one panel and relocated another for the Japanese Aerospace and Exploration Agency's MPAC-SEEDS experiment. This experiment is studying micro-meteor impacts. They also installed cassettes for an experiment studying the effect that the harsh environment of space has on materials. Among the tasks not completed was the retrieval of a set of retroreflectors from the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module. Retrieval of the retroreflectors would assist the preparation of navigational data for next year's maiden arrival of a new European supply ship.
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Fraport AG will soon be resuming the renovation of Runway North at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), which began in April 2003. Like last year, reconstruction of this heavily used 4,000-meter-long (four kilometers) runway will be carried out exclusively during nighttime hours in small incremental stages of 15 meters. This ensures that the runway remains open for unrestricted operations during the daytime, beginning in the early morning hours. If everything continues according to plan, complete reconstruction of the runway should be finished by mid-2005. In 2003, 1.5 kilometers of Runway North already received complete resurfacing with a new asphalt layer. Fraport plans to reconstruct another 1.8 kilometers of the 4,000-meter-long and 60-meter-wide runway in 2004. Weather permitting, work will recommence on the night of March 1 to March 2. Fraport is investing €38 million in this unique infrastructure project, which is generating substantial interest from the airport industry worldwide.
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