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Week ending April 26, 1998
+++ Industry ministers welcome European restructuring efforts +++ Defence Ministers pledge action on restructuring +++ Airbus Industries outlook remains bright +++ ANA signs cooperation pact with United, Lufthansa +++ Boeing delivers first 737-800 +++ Lufthansa signs for 10 Airbus A340-600s +++ American and US Airways sign partnership agreement +++ BMW Rolls-Royce joins Turboméca on RTM322 +++ Eutelsat takes on Astra in digital satellite arena +++ Boeing builds 2000th wide-body jet +++ GEC-Marconi to acquire Tracor +++ TWA orders 24 Boeing MD-83 jetliners +++ Mir spacewalk program completed +++ News in Brief +++
Industry ministers welcome European restructuring efforts
Restrukturierungsvorschläge der Industrie von Regierungen begrüßt
On April 21, Industry Ministers of France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Italy (Christian Pierret, John Battle, Norbert Lammert, Josep Pique and Pier Luigi Bersani) welcomed progress towards restructuring of the European aerospace and defence industries. They urged industry to pursue the resolution of outstanding issues, and undertook to work urgently on those issues on which industry has sought guidance from Governments. The statement issued after the meeting in London on 21 April went on to say that the Ministers welcomed the fact that these companies have reached agreement in their report on the fundamental need to achieve restructuring. In particular, they noted that the companies all share the view that the commercial success of their companies largely depends on a full integration and restructuring of the aerospace and related defence industries, that the civil and military sides of the business should be merged, that Airbus is a key element of an integrated European aerospace company, and that integration should be as rapid and as far-reaching as possible. Also, the company is to have a unified management, it is to be managed along commercial lines, it is to be able to access the capital market and to be listed on the stock exchange, and it is not to be dominated by individual blocks of shareholdings.
The Ministers stressed their support for the objectives of the companies, regarding the report as the starting point for a process of integration on the basis of a balanced partnership. Ministers also welcomed the partners' recognition of the need to extend the integrated company to other parties and to intensify connections between the civil and military integration. They look forward to receiving further reports from the respective companies about such expansion. They reiterated that work should progress further on the process of integration of Airbus into a Single Corporate Entity in line with the MOU of January 1997.
Ministers therefore ask industry to go on with the Airbus SCE process while keeping deeper connections between the civil and military integration, as in the industrial report of 27 March. Since it is recognised that the progress made on the integration of Airbus helps to enhance broader restructuring, the Ministers reiterated the target that industry should produce its best efforts to ensure that the new Airbus company be fully in place on 1 January 1999.
The Ministers noted that important issues remained to be resolved if the principles agreed by the companies were to be implemented. They welcomed the fact that the companies wished to resolve the outstanding issues amongst themselves and with their shareholders by the summer.
For their own part, they resolved to respond in the same period on issues on which the companies had sought guidance from governments, for which purpose officials of the five governments would work together, working with the companies where appropriate. The Ministers also welcomed progress in the restructuring process involving other companies in the aerospace and defence fields. Against this broader background, the Ministers undertook to extend an invitation to the Swedish Government to take part in any further discussions, and agreed to meet again in Paris in early July.
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Defence Ministers pledge action on restructuring
Verteidigungsminster unterstützen europäische Restrukturierung
During a meeting at Paris, the defence ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Spain pledged concrete help for much-needed restructuring by European defence companies. They agreed action in five key areas to assist the industry-led restructuring process.- Security of supply: ensuring that countries can depend on each other to provide necessary defence equipment if restructuring means equipment production is concentrated in other partner countries.
- Export procedures: ensuring that companies will be able to export major systems that include sub-systems manufactured in other partner nations.
- Research and development funding: cutting down wasteful duplication between countries.
- Security of information: ensuring that classified information is protected when it is passed to a newly formed joint company.
- Intellectual property rights: transferring rights to newly formed joint companies.
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Airbus Industries outlook remains bright
Beste Prognosen von Airbus Industrie
Between now and the year 2017, Airbus Industrie foresees a demand for over 16,700 jetliners of more than 70 seats to satisfy an average traffic growth of 5.0 percent per annum and replace some 8,500 aging aircraft. The consortium's latest Global Market Forecast covers the demand for passenger and combi aircraft by the 271 major airlines, excluding those of the CIS. The requirement will be fulfilled primarily by some 13,600 new airliners valued at some US $1.2 trillion, representing an average yearly business of some US $60 billion. The remaining 3,100 will be either second-hand aircraft or aircraft coming off operating leases."Airbus Industrie's latest forecast confirms that, despite the current Asian crisis, which is having little effect on long term demand for air travel and is part of the historical cyclical pattern of our industry, this business will continue to enjoy a sustained growth during the next 20 years, to the benefit of operators," said Airbus Industrie Senior Vice President Commercial John Leahy on the occasion of the presentation of the company's Global Market Forecast. "With the delivery of new, modern airliners, and the phasing- out of ageing aircraft, air travel will become the cleanest, quietest, and most efficient mode of transportation, and will be affordable to more and more people. The demand for new airliners also means that the civil aircraft manufacturing will remain one of the world's few major growth industries," he added.
Passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers, is forecast to almost triple in the next 20 years, with one third of the demand for a total of some 3.9 million seats - or 1.3 million - covered by single aisle aircraft. The remaining 2.6 million seats will be in the widebody category. As a result, the total demand will be split between some 9,400 single aisle aircraft and over 7,300 widebodies. Of these, some 1,330 will be for airliners larger than 400 seats, confirming the need for a new very large airliner to cope with growing airport and traffic congestion, while the current trend in air transport liberalization will result in a demand for some 2,900 medium, long, and ultra-long range jetliners in the 300-400 seat category. The average airliner seating capacity will grow from the current 179 to 227 in 20 years' time, and the active fleet will almost double in size, from the current 9,700 airliners to 17,900.
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ANA signs cooperation pact with United, Lufthansa
Kooperationsvertrag zwischen ANA und Lufthansa unterzeichnet
On April 21, All Nippon Airways (ANA) finally confirmed that it has signed a wide-ranging cooperation agreement with United Airlines of the United States and German airline Lufthansa. Under the deal, ANA will share seats on a total of 118 weekly flights on 11 routes between Japan and the U.S. with United Airlines and domestic flights in both Japan and the United States, starting Oct. 25, Kazuhisa Shin, ANA director, said. ANA will share seats on eight weekly flights between Japan and Germany with Lufthansa, starting July 1, Shin said.He said ANA expects the cooperation to raise the boarding rate by more than 5% on flights affected by the deal and save 5 billion yen a year. He said ANA is also considering joining the Star Alliance but did not say when ANA would join the cooperation agreement.
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Boeing delivers first 737-800
Erste Boeing 737-800 geht an Hapag-Lloyd
On April 22, the world's first Boeing 737-800 was deliverd to launch customer Hapag-Lloyd of Germany. The airplane is the first of 16 ordered by the German leisure airline, which has routes throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, Canry Islands and Dominican Republic. The -800 models eventually will replace, over time, the 737-400s and -500s currently operated by the airline. It can carry up to 189 passengers. To date, more than 866 of the new-generation 737s are on order.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Lufthansa signs for 10 Airbus A340-600s
Zehn Airbus A340-600 für Lufthansa
Lufthansa German Airlines signed a purchase agreement with Airbus Industrie for the acquisition of 10 A340-600 ultra long-haul, four-engine aircraft. Lufthansa became one of the launch customers for the new aircraft type when it announced its fleet decision in December, 1997. The A340-600 is a stretched version of the A340, 130 of which are in service with 21 airlines worldwide. Lufthansa's A340-600s will join a fleet at the German carrier that already comprises 16 A340s. In addition to being Airbus Industrie's largest airline customer, Lufthansa also is the largest A340 operator and customer - with the total now at 30 A340s on order. The A340-600 in Lufthansa's configuration will seat approximately 330 passengers in a very comfortable three-class layout. The aircraft will be employed on intercontinental routes to Asia and the Americas, replacing older-generation aircraft. The first A340-600 in Lufthansa colors will be delivered in early 2003 and will be powered by Trent 500 engines from Rolls-Royce.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
American and US Airways sign partnership agreement
American Airlines und US Airways werden Partner
American Airlines and US Airways announced that they have agreed on a broad and innovative marketing relationship that will give customers of both airlines new benefits, including easy access to their frequent traveler programs, American's AAdvantage and US Airways' Dividend Miles.American Airlines and US Airways expect to implement the linkages between their frequent flyer programs by late summer. The two airlines also have agreed to allow reciprocal access to all domestic and international club facilities, American's Admirals Clubs and the US Airways Clubs, and they are working to finalize arrangements to cooperate in a number of other areas such as joint purchasing. The two airlines also believe that codesharing will be beneficial to their customers, employees and shareholders. Because certain types of codesharing are subject to provisions in the labor contracts of both companies, the issue will be addressed in further discussions between US Airways and its pilots, and between American and its pilots. Code-sharing on the regional carriers of both companies, American Eagle and US Airways Express, is expected to be implemented shortly on certain flight segments.
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BMW Rolls-Royce joins Turboméca on RTM322
RTM322: BMW Rolls-Royce beteiligt sich
On April 22, BMW Rolls-Royce has signed a memorandum of understanding with Turboméca, securing ist participation in the development, production, marketing and customer support of the RTM322 turboshaft, which is fitted to the NH90, EH101 and British Apache helicopters. This deal was deemed necesarry to bolster the RTM322s chances to be selected by the German defence ministry as the powerplant for the NH90s of the Luftwaffe, the Army and the7 Navy, as competition has sprung up from a MTU offer of the competing US General Electric T700. According to Turboméca, it is very pleased with ist relationship with BMW R-R so far. "We were able to conclude the MoU in three months and solve all the problems which we could not while talking to MTU for three years", quipped one Turboméca official. The MoU stipulates that BMW R-R will get 20,7 per cent workshare for all RTM322 fitted in NH90s (and thus not in the other helicopter models mentioned). This will go up to 23,2 per cent for those engines in German NH90s, due to final assembly and test work conducted at the Oberursel plant. As a contribution for all RTM322s, BMW R-R will deliver the auxiliary gearbox of the enigne plus specific parts in the turbine and compressor sections.
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Eutelsat takes on Astra in digital satellite arena
Konkurrenz bei Digitalsatelliten
Eutelsat has announced plans to take on Astra in the digital satellite transmission stakes. The satellite company intends to launch a satellite that will be located close to Astra's forthcoming all-digital service, which is due to launch later this year. Eutelsat cannot co-locate its Europesat-1 satellite at the Astra position of 28.2 degrees. However, by locating at 29 degrees, the satellite will be far enough away from the Astra satellite to prevent a collision, but near enough for its satellite to appear in the same point of the sky to satellite dishes on the earth's surface, and so only require on aerial on the ground to receive both satellite's output.Plans call for the Astra 28.2 degrees East satellite slot to be used by RTL, BSkyB and Canal Plus groups, while Eutelsat wants its satellites to be used by a range of broadcasters, including the French TPS digital television broadcast venture. According to officials with Eutelsat, the company has now been given the green light to buy a new satellite. Plans now call for the Europesat-1 satellite to be built by Matra Marconi Space, and to be in orbit by the summer of next year, at which stage it will have 36 transponders -- enough for more than 200 channels,
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Boeing builds 2000th wide-body jet
Boeing baut 2000. Widebody
The 2,000th Boeing 7-series wide-body - a 747-400 - rolled out of the company's assembly plant in Everett in late April. Boeing Commercial Airplane Group assembles all 7-series wide-body airplanes, including the 767 and 777, at its Everett factory - the largest building in the world. More than 100 customers worldwide have ordered about 2,500 Boeing 7-series wide-body airplanes, of which nearly 2,000 have been delivered. Boeing has delivered 1,148 747s, more than any other wide-body."The future for the 747, 767 and 777 airplanes is brighter than ever," Renouard said, referring to the company's projection of worldwide demand for 5,000 wide-body airplanes during the next 20 years. Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
GEC-Marconi to acquire Tracor
Tracor im Visier von GEC-Marconi
On April 21, Britain's GEC-Marconi agreed to acquire U.S. electronics maker Tracor in a $1.4 billion cash transaction to bolster its defense information technology capabilities and expand its operations into the lucrative North American market. "We see Tracor's software, intelligence systems and services as very complimentary with our traditional hardware business, especially since the customer (Pentagon) is looking more and more at integrated solutions," Mark Ronald, head of GEC-Marconi's North American Group, told reporters The deal is expected to close in June pending approval by U.S. regulators and an independent panel that will assess the deal's impact on national security. It ranks along with the aquisition of Allison by Britain's Rolls-Royce as one of the largest British acquisitions of an American defense contractor and is the latest step in the London-based GEC's efforts to enhance its global competitiveness. Once the GEC-Tracor merger is concluded, Tracor and its three operating segments would become part of GEC-Marconi's North American Group--which posted about $1.1 billion in 1997 revenues--and transform the company into a $2.3 billion entity with 17,000 employees in the United States. The deal would make GEC, now the world's sixth largest defense contractor, the No. 9 U.S. defense company and the No. 6 U.S. military electronics house.
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TWA orders 24 Boeing MD-83 jetliners
Boeing MD-83 für TWA
On April 23, Trans World Airlines has announced an agreement to acquire 24 Boeing MD-83 twinjets. The value of the airplanes is approximately $1.1 billion at list prices. The new airplanes will be produced by the Douglas Products Division of Boeing and will be delivered in 1999, between May and December. In addition to the new contract, TWA has eight MD-83 deliveries pending from a previous order. "This order by TWA has additional significance for Boeing because it will extend production on the twinjet assembly line in Long Beach into January 2000," said Dick Pearson, vice president and general manager - Douglas Products Division. The new order will boost the TWA fleet to 103 MD-80s. TWA also operates 58 DC-9s, the predecessor of the MD-80 series.Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
Mir spacewalk program completed
Außenbordarbeiten an Mir vorerst beendet
Russian Mission Control officials have reported that the current crew on the Mir space station has completed all scheduled spacewalks, having exited the station five times in April. Officials say all outside repairs have been completed and there will be no more spacewalks until the fall. The last outboard activities were on April 22, when the two Russian cosmonauts installed a new thruster engine, completing a difficult repair task. Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin returned to the Mir orbiting station at 3.55 p.m. Moscow time (1155 GMT), having spent six hours and 21 minutes in outer space Back to the top of the page / Zurück zum Anfang der Seite
NEWS IN BRIEF / KURZMELDUNGEN
According to the German ministry of defence, it is planned to supply Russia with 30 Larzac 04-C6 jet engines, which had powered Luftwaffe Alpha Jet trainers. They are presumably to be fitted into the MiG-AT, which is currently under development. The barter deal may involve delivery of MiG-29 spare parts in return. Meanwhile, the Ukraine has shown interest in aircraft spares which are still left over from the former GDR air forces.+++
Boeing announced that the delayed delivery of aircraft to Saudi Arabian Airlines was due to the purchaser's difficulty in financing the US$7.5bn order. The initial deliveries of the 61 aircraft were due to take place last July, but were postponed until December of last year. The airline had intended to finance the deal domestically but was forced to acquire a US$4.3bn loan from an international banking syndicate. Boeing has declined to comment on prospective penalties it might demand for the late delivery.
+++
Wideroe's Flyveselskap ASA of Norway has placed a firm order for two Dash 8Q Series 300 aircraft and a conditional order for a third Dash 8Q Series 300 with Bombardier Aerospace. Value of the firm-ordered aircraft is approximately $27 million U.S. ($38.7 million Cdn.), and they are scheduled to enter service in September 1998. The two 50-seat Series 300 aircraft will replace two 37-seat Dash 8 Series 100 aircraft on Wideroe's route network in southern Norway and offer additional frequency and capacity on the airline's routes.
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On April 24, Loral Space & Communications announced a series of transactions which upon completion will have the effect of increasing Loral's ownership in Globalstar Limited Partnership to 42%, establishing a Globalstar service provider fund of $210 million for reinvestment in the Globalstar project through the purchase of Globalstar gateways and user terminals and adding the Soros funds as a significant equity investor in Globalstar. "This transaction benefits all parties involved," stated Bernard L. Schwartz, chairman and chief executive officer of Loral and chairman and chief executive officer of Globalstar. "The transaction will provide up to $210 million of cash to support the deployment of Globalstar ground equipment and user terminals; it welcomes a strong, new shareholder whose international scope may prove to be of strategic value; and it allows Loral to increase its equity ownership in Globalstar to 42%. Further, the transaction offers an answer to the needs of several of our Globalstar partners during the financial crisis in Asia while simultaneously enabling all partners to maintain a significant interest in Globalstar."
+++
Sky Station International, Inc., an emerging provider of low-cost broadband Internet capacity via stratospheric platforms has announced the official launch of ist global industrial team with the signing of an agreement with Aerospatiale SNI of France for Phase B design and development of Sky Station International's platforms. The team also includes Alenia Spazio/Finmeccanica of Italy as the primary payload developer; Dornier Satellitensysteme GmbH in Germany - a corporate unit of Daimler-Benz Aerospace -- as the supplier for several critical subsystems; COMSAT Laboratories of Maryland as communications network integrator; Thomson-CSF Communications of France as gateway earth station manufacturer and payload sub-contractor; United Solar Systems Corp. of Michigan as supplier of lightweight photovoltaic modules; and Stanford Telecom of California as one of the contractors for user terminals. All of these companies' efforts will be coordinated by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), who will provide end-to-end system integration. The entire project is valued at $2.5 billion for a worldwide broadband infrastructure via Sky Station International's innovative stratospheric platforms.
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Canada is set to launch ist first space telescope in 2000 or 2001, on a satellite about the size of a suitcase. University of British Columbia astronomer Jaymie Matthews says a team of Canadian scientists hopes to use the telescope to find clues to the age of the universe by measuring the "ringing" of some of the oldest stars. The $7.7 million ($C11 million) project is a joint effort of the UBC, Dynacon Enterprises Ltd, and the Institute of Aerospace Studies at the University of Toronto. Matthews says the team will turn the telescope on board the 110-lb (50-kg) satellite in the direction of one stellar target after another for six to seven
weeks to collect the data.
+++
On April 21, Globalstar announced that China Telecom (Hong Kong) Group Ltd. has agreed to invest $37.5 million to become a full partner in Globalstar L.P. China Telecom, a dominant provider of fixed and wireless services in China, along with CHINASAT (China Telecommunications Broadcast Satellite Corporation), will retain the sole rights to provide Globalstar services in China. Both companies, formerly wholly owned by China's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), are expected to be wholly owned and supervised by China's newly formed Ministry of Information Industry (MII).
+++
On April 21, the Russian Space Agency and the Energy Aerospace Corporation have signed an agreement to produce four Yamal communication and TV satellites and launch the first one in 2000. The Energy will make two Yamal-200 and two Yamal-300 satellites of the fifth generation. The creation of the satellites is being financed by the Gazcom company of Gazprom, Gazprombank and the Energy corporation. The state in the person of the Russian Space Agency provides for rocket-boosters to launch the satellites and reserves the right to use some of their channels.
+++
Lockheed Martin has begun testing the flight control software for its X-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) concept demonstrator aircraft in flights conducted with the Variable Stability In-Flight Simulator Test Aircraft (NF-16D), or VISTA/F-16. The VISTA/F-16 crew of John Ball and Jeff Peer of Calspan completed all the planned test points in the first VISTA flight for the X-35 development program in Buffalo, N.Y., on March 29. The test points included commands in all flight axes -- pitch, yaw and roll. These maneuvers were completed in up-and-away flight and during one landing in a power approach mode. The first flight began the calibration process of tuning the VISTA/F-16 to match the dynamic response characteristics of the Lockheed Martin JSF demonstrator aircraft, which are being assembled at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif. In the upcoming evaluation phase, four pilots (two Lockheed Martin, one U.S. Navy, and one U.S. Air Force) will evaluate the guidelines for handling qualities that are being used to design the X-35 flight control system.
+++
Kuwait has agreed in principle to take over a squadron of eight F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets from Thailand, Supreme Commander Gen. Mongkol Ampornpisith said. Gen. Mongkol made the announcement after a meeting with Kuwait's representative Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who is also president of the Olympic Council of Asia. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad said after the meeting that the decision to procure the two-engine jet fighters from the Royal Thai Air Force would be in line with Kuwait Air Force's modernization plan.
+++
KLM has ordered four Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 jetliners for delivery in the year 2000. The 737-800 is the biggest model available in the 737 Next-Generation family, seating 150 passengers in KLM configuration. The 800 is designed for short and medium-haul operations. This order will ensure the KLM European fleet is upgraded to meet the demands of the initial period of the 21st century. It follows a previous order, also for four aircraft of this type, placed in March 1997, which will join the KLM European fleet in the course of 1999. The current KLM fleet includes 36 Boeing 737 aircraft, 17 of these in the -300 version and 19 in the bigger -400 version.
+++
A new anti-jam Global Positioning System (GPS) developed by Boeing has successfully defeated jammed environments in two successive drop tests, allowing the test vehicles to strike well within their designated target areas. The drop tests were performed at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico using modified Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) as test vehicles. The tests are being conducted as part of the U.S. Air Force's Anti-Jam GPS Technology Flight Test (AGTFT) program. "From launch and GPS-acquisition through descent and impact, these drop tests have been an outstanding success," said Jerry Brennan, AGTFT program manager in the Boeing Phantom Works. "Our anti-jam system is performing just the way it was designed and predicted to perform."
+++
On April 23, Boeing confirmed an order by Federal Express Corp. for three MD-11 freighters. These MD-11Fs will be powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. The first delivery is scheduled for March 1999; the remaining two will follow in June. In June 1991, FedEx became the first operator to put the MD-11F into service. To date, 178 MD-11s have been delivered.
+++
The first advanced Rolls-Royce RB211-524 engine, incorporating the Trent 700 core, entered service with Cathay Pacific on a Boeing 747-400 revenue flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok on April 20. Over the next four years, Cathay Pacific will convert all the RB211-524
engines that power its 747-400 fleet to the G/H-T standard. Rolls-Royce Project Director for the RB211, Mike Terrett said: "We are delighted that the G/H-T has entered service ahead of schedule. In addition to Cathay Pacific, British Airways has selected the engine for future 747-400 deliveries, Cargolux and South African Airways have ordered the G/H-T for their 747-400s and other global operators have expressed a serious interest." The G/H-T, rated between 58,0001b and 60,6001b thrust, is the most efficient engine on the 747-400, benefiting airlines through a combination of excellent on-wing life, reduced maintenance costs and increased revenue- earning capacity.
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April 5, 1998
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March 22, 1998
March 15, 1998
March 8, 1998
February 22, 1998
February 15, 1998
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