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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 0368.PDF
HEADLINES AIR TRANSPORT JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRUSSELS USA warns Europe over Open Skies EC calls for fuller access to US domestic market rebuffed The USA will probably never fully liberalise its aviation market and Europe should stop holding out for a better deal in transatlantic Open Skies talks, says US Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta. Mineta used a joint meeting of the European Aviation Club and US Chamber of Commerce at the European Parliament in Brussels last week to counter European calls for access to the US domestic avia tion market. Mineta says the European Commission negotiating team has presented several "innovative" ver sions of the same request for improved market access for European carriers. Mineta's team had to reject each one, he says, as every version "still looked like cab otage". One senior US official involved in the talks says the USA is angry that Europe is holding out for "something that was never on the table". Meanwhile, Karan Bhatia, US Department of Transportation (DoT) assistant secretary for avia tion and international affairs, says: "The [US] proposal should be recog nised for what it is: a great deal". Changes to US laws banning for eign carriers from flying US domes tic routes are strongly opposed by labour organisations and, as such, existing rules will be almost impos sible to change before the forth coming elections in the USA, says Mineta (Flight International, 23-29 March). "Not only this November, but one, two, three years from now and perhaps forever, Congress's feelings will be no different," Mineta says. The DoT is urging Europe to accept early adoption of the US proposal or risk derailing the negotiations. Mineta says the EC "must seize the moment or else risk losing the window of opportunity for a long and unforeseeable time". The European Parliament's transport committee has already opposed the US proposal, under which the USA would permit carri ers to fly from any EU point to any US destination and would raise the foreign control limit for US carriers to 49% from 25%. Europeans fear that accepting a quick "mini deal" risks giving the USA the prize of London Heathrow airport access, while delivering lit tle progress on its aims to loosen ownership, cabotage and state aid rules in the USA, says Jacqueline Foster, a member of the European Parliament specialising in aviation legislation. P&W ready to run F135 STOVL Pratt & Whitney was last week preparing to make the first run of a complete F135 short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) propulsion system for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The run was expected to take place at its West Palm Beach test site in Florida on 12 April. The test, due to be reached around two months before the contracted date, marks a major milestone in the five-year development programme that began last October with the first run of a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F135 engine. Four STOVL engines are planned for the initial system develop ment and demonstration (SDD) test phase, joining the three CTOL engines already running in the effort. Despite the airframe cost and weight issues that threaten the overall JSF schedule, P&W and its F135 team-mates Rolls-Royce and Hamilton Sundstrand remain on track for completing tests to support first flights for the CTOL F-35 in October 2005 and the STOVL aircraft in April 2006. 'We're under contract and that hasn't changed," says director international programmes Ed O'Donnell. Briefing GP7200 exceeds thrust requirement TESTING The General Electric/Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7200 engine reached 80,000lb thrust (356kN) during tests in early April at P&W's East Hartford test site in Connecticut, exceeding the 76,500lb thrust requirement for initial service entry on the Airbus A380. Further tests will see thrust pushed to its planned certification level of 81,5001b. BAE cuts jobs on military programmes EMPLOYMENT BAE Systems will cut 1,000 jobs in its air systems division over the next two years, responding to a fall in business expected to last for years. The cuts will fall on the company's Warton and Salmesbury plants, which are involved in military aircraft programmes including the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter. Baku crash cause revealed REPORT The interim report on a 4 March fatal llyushin II-76TD accident at Baku in Azerbaijan reveals that the aircraft went out of control just after take off because the crew failed to select the flaps to their take-off setting during pre-flight checks. Released by the CIS Interstate Aviation Commission (MAK) in conjunction with Azerbaijani and Ukrainian authorities, the report says crew fatigue and a rushed departure were contributory factors. Three of the seven crew were killed when the Ukrainian Azov Avia II-76 freighter took off following a refuelling stop en route to Kabul, Afghanistan. Forgeard knighted HONOUR Airbus chief executive Noel Forgeard has been granted a knighthood in recognition of his services to the UK aerospace industry. Forgeard was knighted during a visit by the Queen to the Airbus final assembly plant in Toulouse. The title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire is rarely awarded to non-UK citizens - previous foreign recipients include Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani and film director Steven Spielberg. As a French citizen, Forgeard will not be referred to as "Sir Noel", but is entitled to put the letters KBE after his name. Air France launches friendly bid for KLM OFFER Air France launched its public offer for KLM on 5 April, starting a process that will reduce the French government's stake in its flag carrier to 43.7% from 54%. The offer closes on 3 May and the results will be announced by 5 May. The Air France-KLM holding company will be quoted on the Paris, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. It will be the largest airline in the world in terms of turnover - €20 billion ($24.3 billion) - and will be the third largest in terms of traffic behind American Airlines and United Airlines (Flight International, 7-13 October 2003). EADS Casa selects Mobile headquarters RELOCATION EADS Casa North America is relocating to a new facility in Mobile, Alabama. The new base is adjacent to the US Coast Guard training centre, where pilots will be trained to fly Casa's CN-235 under the coastguard's Deepwater programme. Business aircraft directory REQUEST Entries are closing for free inclusion in the Flight International 2004 business aircraft directory. This will include turbine-powered and piston-powered aircraft with at least four seats specifically designed or routinely offered for business rather than private use. Aircraft are included in the directory if they are still in production, or at an advanced stage of development with the first flight of a prototype scheduled. Contact David Reynolds at Air Transport Intelligence for a reply form. Tel: +44 (0) 20 8652 3859; fax +44 (0) 20 8652 3898 or email: david.reynolds@rati.com www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 13-19 APRIL 2004 5
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