Lufthansa subsidiary GlobeGround has acquired U.S. airport services provider Hudson General for $134 million, outbidding three other competitors with an offer of $76 per share. GlobeGround says it has ``confidence in the tried and tested working relationship with the existing management team,'' and plans to extend its position in the United States and Canada, the world's largest ground-handling market.
Photograph: Fairchild Aerospace Envoy 7 Fairchild Emerging Aircraft The emerging aircraft category thinned a bit as four aircraft from major manufacturers graduated to the business-airplane charts, but new aircraft designs have taken their place and reflect the industry's bullish view of the business aircraft market. Several new aircraft are on the boards, including Bombardier's Continental, the Fairchild Aerospace Envoy 7 widebody business aircraft and the Cessna Citation Sovereign, a traditional midsize offering with a full-length standup cabin.
Houston-based Air Security International (ASI) has compiled a list of what it calls ``the most dangerous and complex locations for business travel in 1998.'' Last updated on December 29, this list is broken down into four categories, allowing for a comparison of various destinations on equal terms. Crime Almaty, Kazakhstan -- Violent urban crime is common, with corrupt local officials and police impostors continuing to target foreigners.
Fuel and service provider Mercury Air Group (MAG) has signed a letter of intent to sell its unprofitable cargo handling operation at Miami International Airport to an unnamed buyer. Mercury Air Cargo President Steven Richie has resigned, replaced temporarily by J.R. ``Butch'' Bouchard -- a former executive with Mercury's Canadian cargo subsidiary -- until a permanent replacement is found.
Bombardier will provide unlimited maintenance training for Challenger operators for $249 per month. Under the ``Smart Training'' plan, operators can attend courses in Montreal or Phoenix as often as they like, add or replace students, and train on any Challenger model. The initial contract is for three years and is transferable upon sale of an aircraft. The cost can be consolidated with Bombardier's Smart Parts plan, but Smart Parts is not required for participation.
ATR Size Approx. Vol. W L subscript 1 In super- + or - + or - + or - + or - script 3 Liter .03 In .76 mm .04 In 1.0 mm Dwarf 95 1.56 2.25 57.15 12.52 318.0 1/4 Short 215 3.52 2.25 57.15 12.52 318.0 1/4 Long 335 5.49 2.25 57.15 19.52 495.8
The FAA, Honeywell, Raytheon, Rockwell Collins, AlliedSignal and Boeing will jointly develop the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS), an element of the nation's future air navigation system. LAAS ground stations will augment global positioning system (GPS) signals at 150 U.S. airports, ensuring adequate signals for precision instrument approaches up to Category III. LAAS will complement the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), designed to support Category I approaches.
Columbus, Ohio -- Million Air plans to open a new facility with 90,000 square feet of hangar space at Port Columbus Airport on June 1. This 29th FBO in the company's chain will feature a new lobby, a passenger lounge, flight-planning and conference rooms, and a pilot lounge and showers. Phone: (614) 238-3900.
Softening worldwide demand for airliners and fighter aircraft has led General Electric to lay off around 300 workers at two U.S. jet engine assembly plants. GE will lay off up to 225 workers at its plant in Lynn, Mass., and another 70 at its factory in Evendale, Ohio. Company spokesman Rick Kennedy says each GE plant is ``in the process of evaluating its cost structure,'' and the layoffs are a conservative response.
Two new general aviation consulting companies are now open for business -- one providing liaison services with original equipment manufacturers, and the other offering a leadership training package for corporate flight departments. Schuller Aerospace Services International of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the creation of Richard Schuller, former director of business development for Standard Aero Alliance.
A series of voluntary service bulletins calling for wiring inspections on all current production Falcon Jets could result in up to 10 days of downtime for operators of as many as 160 aircraft. The action stems from a routine manufacturing audit held in late 1998 that revealed ``wiring installation anomalies'' that could lead to reliability problems, the company says. Dassault will bear the cost of complying with the bulletins, which could be as high as $24,000 per aircraft.
The House Transportation Committee has approved a comprehensive aviation package that would take the Airport and Airways Trust Fund off budget (hah), boost funding levels for the FAA and buttress funding for general aviation airports. God bless Committee Chairman Bud Schuster (R-Pa.) for ramrodding this bill. The FAA gets, in 2000, $14 billion -- $5 billion for Airport Improvement, $3 billion for facilities and equipment, and $6.1 billion for operations.
BMW/Rolls-Royce still sees the 70-seat barrier imposed by pilot union scope clauses as a key factor in the regional jet market. The company is projecting that 70-seaters will dominate the sub-100 seat market, according to BMW/Rolls' head of marketing and sales Mike Corne. The company sees the 70-seater market on a steady path, growing from about 20 aircraft per year in 1998 (namely Avro RJs) to some 110 aircraft per year by 2017.
West Star Aviation of Grand Junction, Colo., won Rockwell Collins factory authorization to perform the modifications and upgrades required to bring customers' radios into compliance with Europe's new 8.33 kHz channel-spacing requirements for aircraft operating above 24,500 feet
By midsummer, Avidyne expects to certificate an interface for AlliedSignal digital radars that will allow the company's multifunction display to replace CRTs now used to display radar images. The certification will extend the base of applications for Avidyne Radar, which was certificated in January for use with Bendix RDR 130, 150 and 160 weather radars. The new interface will work with the RDR 82, 84, 86, 2000 and 2100 systems as well as the vertical profiling version of the 82, 84 and 86.
Bell Helicopter Textron has bought an interest in one of Heliflite Shares' Bell 430 helicopters. ``This allows us to use Heliflite to provide helicopter demonstrations, and gives us a unique capability at a fraction of the cost,'' says John Wright, Bell's executive director of marketing. Based at Fort Worth's Alliance Airport, Heliflite is seeking other customers to buy shares in its first four ordered aircraft, and may take as many as 10 of the new twin-engine helicopters.
Texas Instruments (TI) is building a new flight department facility at McKinney Airport in McKinney, Texas. The development will include 21,250 square feet of hangar space to accommodate the company's two Challenger 604 aircraft, plus 12,500 square feet of office and shop space. TI will lease the hangar from ExecAir, a local FBO. Completion of the operations center is planned for October.
The FAA's DuPage Airport FSDO has chosen Karl Blaha, an avionics installation technician at J.A. Air Center, as one of the area's top-12 high-performance aviation safety counselors. Such counselors are volunteers appointed by the FAA, offering counsel to pilots on safety and aircraft maintenance.
The Lynton Group, a U.K.-based management company, has purchased an equity stake in Premier Aviation of Stratford, Conn. Company CEO Christopher Tennant says the investment gives it ``the majority of the profits'' while expanding its North American fixed- and rotary-wing charter operation alongside its FBO business. Premier founder Michael Maina will continue as chairman, and his son Simon will remain as president and chief executive officer. Lynton Senior Vice President David Oakes will join Premier's board. Over the past 15 months, Lynton has acquired U.K.
GPS provider Garmin has signed an exclusive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) contract with Afton, Wyo.-based Aviat Aircraft, maker of the Husky and Pitts Special aircraft. Garmin will provide its GTX320 transponder for both aircraft, and its ``VFR stack'' will include the GNC250XL VHF Comm with moving map graphics. The IFR package includes the GNS430, an integrated GPS/comm with VOR, LOC and glideslope, and a color moving map display. The GNS430 also boasts six TSO certifications and WAAS upgradeability.
Bombardier has increased the maximum gross takeoff weight of the Learjet 31A to 17,700 pounds (8,029 kg), giving operators 700 more pounds of payload capability with full fuel. The increase is the fourth for the 31A, which started with a 15,500-pound MTOW. The increase is available as an option on all new aircraft, and as a retrofit through a service bulletin on in-service aircraft. Total deliveries of the 31 and 31A stood at 168 aircraft as of mid April, including 21 aircraft delivered last year.
Three flight departments in Italy -- those of Olivetti, Pirelli and Fiat (which now has gone independent under the name CAF) -- have pooled resources to form Eurofly SpA, an executive air charter company with operations at Italy's Milan Linate and Torino airports. Eurofly owns 10 medium/heavy corporate jets, almost all manufactured by Dassault Aviation. Besides the three founding companies, the new entity's customer base includes other major Italian companies, such as Hdp, Ferrero and Merloni.
A Florida charter operator plans to cater to a unique air travel market: passengers seeking to visit friends and relatives incarcerated in federal prisons throughout the Southeastern United States. Melbourne-based GenAir has a single Cessna 421, but is talking with Sarasota Air about acquiring that company's Lear 25, a King Air and a number of piston twins. ``As these federal institutions have around 700 visitors daily, this service fills a definite void,'' the company says.
Only weeks after banning operations by Stage 1 aircraft, Naples Municipal Airport (APF) is considering a ban on Stage 2 aircraft as well. The action was triggered by pressure from the Naples City Council, which characterizes the Gulf Coast town as ``one of the most noise-sensitive communities in the nation.'' According to Ted Soliday, executive director of the Naples Airport Authority, the first step will be to evaluate the effects of the Stage 1 ban to see if action short of a full Stage 2 ban will suffice.
