787, A400M, COST OVERRUNS PUSH THALES TO LOSS
Thales's aerospace and space business segment fell to an operating loss of €310 million ($420 million) for 2009, compared with a profit of €207 million in 2008, as revenue declined by 2% to less than €4.1 billion. The company cited further deterioration in the civil aerospace market, Boeing 787 delays and a quadrupling of restructuring costs, along with cost overruns on several avionics software programmes and a charge against higher estimated development costs for the Airbus Military A400M flight management system.
GKN, CYTEC WIN CSERIES COMPOSITES WORK
GKN Aerospace and Cytec Engineered Materials are to supply Bombardier in Belfast with winglets and advanced composite wing materials, respectively, for its CSeries airliner. The deal could be worth more than $100 million through 2025 to GKN's Isle of Wight, UK composites facility, while the CSeries work is part of an $800 million Bombardier programmes package for Cytec.
AIR WORKS BUYS EUROPEAN PAINT OPERATION
Indian maintenance, repair and overhaul services provider Air Works Engineering has acquired an 85% stake in aircraft refinishing company Air Livery UK as part of a plan to add aircraft painting to its services in India. Air Works, which recently won European Aviation Safety Agency repairs station approval, is building a paint hangar at Hosur airport capable of handling two narrowbody aircraft. Air Livery will operate as an independent business unit.
INDIA R&D CENTRE 'DOESN'T HINGE ON TYPHOON'
EADS Defence and Security is to establish a new research and development centre employing 200 engineers in Bangalore whether or not New Delhi chooses to buy the Eurofighter Typhoon. EADS is heading the four-nation Eurofighter consortium bid for India's 126-unit medium multirole combat aircraft deal, facing competition from the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin F-16, RSK MiG-35 and Saab Gripen NG.
BANKRUPT JAL'S SHARES DELISTED
Japan Airlines' shares have been delisted from the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya stock exchanges following its filing for bankruptcy protection. The carrier succumbed on 19 January to a ¥2.3 trillion ($25 billion) debt burden.
FREIGHTER FALL HITS ST AERO
Reduced investment income and a drop in Boeing MD-11 freighter conversion redeliveries hit maintenance, repair and overhaul firm ST Aerospace last year, as net profit fell 18% to S$185.7 million ($131.7 million) on revenue down 3% to S$1.9 billion. The decline was partly offset by increased Boeing 757 freighter conversion redeliveries and a government recession stimulus grant.
GREEK CARRIERS OLYMPIC AND AEGEAN TO MERGE
Greek carrier Olympic Air has agreed to merge with its local rival Aegean Airlines, forming a new company that will bear the Olympic Air name and brand, and trade on the Athens stock exchange. Olympic's engineering and ground-handling divisions will become subsidiaries of the merged operation. Vassilakis Group, the main shareholder of Aegean, will have an equal stake to that of Marfin Investment Group, which took over the former Olympic Airlines and relaunched it as the smaller carrier Olympic Air.
Source: Flight International
