Europe’s new plan for a European passenger name record policy is running into airline opposition. The Nov. 6 proposals from by the European Commission’s Justice, Liberty and Security Directorate General call for carriers to provide 19 pieces of data on their passengers to government security agencies, approximating what the U.S. demands. But the airlines worry that it’s not a harmonized approach and therefore burdensome to comply with different demands from EU member states.
Arinc has won a contract to install iMUSE common-use check-in technology and the Baglink baggage source message delivery system at Singapore Changi Airport. Annapolis, Md.-based Arinc expects to complete installation of the technology at Changi Terminals 1, 2 and 3 by March 2008.
The U.S. Air Force just last week selected the Raytheon APG-63(v)3 active, electronically scanned array radar (AESA) radar to upgrade its F-15E fleet. Production options could involve 224 Strike Eagles. Raytheon has sold advanced AESA radars to Australia for its new F/A-18F fleet and Singapore for its tandem-seat F-15SPs.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy took advantage of a state visit to Washington to reiterate his country’s desire to consider reintegrating NATO’s military command, while strengthening Europe’s ability to act independently of NATO where necessary, as in Darfur (AW&ST Nov. 5, p. 39). He said Paris is studying how to reinforce its effort in Afghanistan, either through enhanced training or other means, and assured President Bush the effort will be maintained as long as necessary.
Thales Alenia Space says it has transferred the Rascom-1 telecom satellite to Kourou, French Guiana, where it is to be launched with Intelsat/JSAT Horizons-2 in Arianespace’s sixth and final 2007 Ariane 5 mission in December. Intended to provide urban/rural and international telephone service, broadcasting and Internet service across Africa, the 6.4-kw., 3.2-metric-ton satellite carries 12 Ku- and 8 C-band transponders. Owned by RascomStarQAF of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Rascom-1 will be the first indigenous pan-African fixed satellite service spacecraft.
The U.S. General Services Administration has granted XTAR, the Loral Space & Communications and Hisdesat joint venture, a contract usable by any U.S. federal, state or local agency for X-band transponders. XTAR Chief Operating Officer Denis Curtin, who has been trying to interest the U.S. armed forces in XTAR since its launch in 2005, calls the award “significant,” noting he expects military, homeland and border security agencies badly in need of added bandwidth to be the most likely users. Despite extensive U.S.
I am a pilot at a major airline, and I couldn’t agree more with the idea of a passenger bill of rights. I see every day how passengers are treated, and it’s atrocious. But don’t blame the airlines. An airline can’t maintain excess capabilities to handle contingencies, because that will bring a a competitive disadvantage. Airlines overbook for the same reason. A bill of rights would provide a level playing field. I once had a passenger—who wanted to get off the airplane after sitting on a tarmac for 5 hr.—ask me how long we could legally keep him on the airplane.
To all the readers like Curt Woodall who want to see airlines penalized “real money” for passengers stranded on the tarmac, ponder this: If a passenger bill of rights ever passes, airlines will not put themselves at risk. They will hold passengers in a terminal during ATC delays for weather or traffic saturation. All flights likely will be further delayed or canceled. Passengers then will find themselves stranded inside a terminal with standing room only, restaurants out of food, and bathrooms clogged and dirty. Costs will be passed on to, guess who?
U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton Schwartz, head of U.S. Transportation Command, is breaking, unofficially, with the service’s plan to close the Boeing C-17 production line in 2009. In a Nov. 6 letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Schwartz says a fleet of 205 C-17s and 111 modernized C-5s is the “sweet spot” for his strategic airlift fleet. Schwartz’s letter came only after Levin asked for his “personal and professional” opinion in advance of a House-Senate conference on the Fiscal 2008 budget.
High demand for commercial and military aircraft is driving production of titanium to record levels and prompting development toward in-house processing of the corrosion-resistant metal. Production on a global scale is forecast to increase 34% to 107,000 metric tons in 2010, up from 80,000 tons in 2006. Airframes and engines will consume about half of the output as titanium is applied to new aircraft because of its compatibility with composite materials.
China’s Chang’e-1 lunar probe may survey the Moon for longer than its designed one-year operational life thanks to unexpectedly precise navigation that has saved an estimated 200 kg. (441 lb.) of fuel. Following Chang’e-1’s so-far successful mission, the Chinese space agency plans to let private companies as well as universities and research institutes work on the next lunar project, Chang’e-2. “With the expansion of China’s space exploration, we’d like to encourage private enterprise to join space technology development,” a spokesman says.
Scott F. Large has been appointed director of the National Reconnaissance Office . He was principal deputy director and had been director of source operations and management in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
Your article on preventing runway overruns (AW&ST Oct. 8, p. 42) highlights that consideration should be given to placing pilots in full control of thrust reversers and lift-dump spoilers during landings and takeoffs. These are now interlocked with throttle positions, squat switches, wheel spin-ups, etc., to protect them from damage and inadvertent deployment in flight.
An eight-month investigation into fraudulent use of security badges at Chicago O’Hare International Airport has netted two officials of an employment agency and 33 of its workers, each an undocumented alien. Immigration and Customs Enforcement charged the employment agency officials with harboring illegal aliens for financial gain and misuse of Social Security numbers. Officials say one of the pair had a box containing 20 phony airport security badges.
When Discovery astronaut Scott Parazynski reentered the International Space Station (ISS) Nov. 3 after 7 hr. and 19 min. of extravehicular activity, he had done far more than repair a torn solar array that wouldn’t deploy correctly. He also had pulled NASA’s chestnuts out of a fire that threatened to consume the agency’s principal programs for a decade or more.
Jean-Pierre Morteux, president/CEO of CMC Electronics, was elected to a one-year term as chairman of the Aerospace Industries Assn. of Canada . He succeeds Don Campbell of CAE Inc. Also elected to the AIAC executive committee are: vice chairman, Paul Kalil, president of Avcorp Industries Inc.; Peter Smith, AIAC president and CEO (interim); honorary secretary, Tony Burgess, president of TDM Technical Services; and honorary treasurer, Dave Caddey, executive vice president of the MDA Corp.
Southwest Airlines has named Las Vegas its eighth crew base. The Dallas-based carrier initially will locate 394 pilots and 460 flight attendants in a 14,200-sq.-ft. facility on the lower level of Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. It plans to open a 25,000-sq.-ft. facility in 2009. Since the carrier’s first bet on Vegas traffic in 1982, when it offered five daily nonstop departures to Phoenix and Houston, Southwest has seen the gambling mecca turn into its busiest airport in terms of daily departures. It now has 232 daily nonstop departures to 53 cities.
Asiana Airlines of South Korea will begin twice-weekly flights between the Cheongju and Beijing with 177-seat Airbus A321s. The connection reflects the strong business and tourist links between China and South Korea.
Banking the orbiter Discovery into a steep 195 deg. right overhead turn, STS-120 Mission Commander USAF Col. (ret.) Pam Melroy landed the space shuttle Discovery into a stiff headwind at 1:01 p.m. EST Nov. 7 on Runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center. She was assisted by copilot Marine Col. George Zamka and both were aided by astronaut Stephanie Wilson, the center seat flight engineer for the landing.
Chuck Gallagher (see photos) has been appointed executive director for regulatory compliance of New York-based FlightSafety International . He was manager of the company’s San Antonio Learning Center. Gallagher has been succeeded by Gil Viera, who was assistant manager of the Houston Learning Center.
Michael J. Brophy has been appointed vice president-corporate communications for Midwest Airlines . He has been a communications director for Aurora Health Care and was director of corporate communications for the Miller Brewing Co.
The U.S. Aegis missile defense system successfully executed its first intercept test against two ballistic missile threats launched nearly simultaneously, according to the Missile Defense Agency. Both were unitary targets, and the test took place on Nov. 6. The USS Lake Erie cruiser detected the target missiles and launched two SM-3 Block 1A interceptors, both of which destroyed their targets more than 100 mi. over the Pacific Ocean.
Ameco Beijing plans to complete a new maintenance hangar facility for Airbus A380s at Beijing Capitol International Airport in March. The facility should be operational by August when China’s capital city hosts the summer Olympic Games. The hangar, with 758,200 sq. ft. of floor space, will be Asia’s largest, accommodating six wide-body and four narrow-body jets. A similarly sized hangar will be built beside it.
