Small jet makers compete for jumbo orders

The messages are still mixed, but Bombardier of Canada and Brazil's Embraer, the world's leading makers of regional jets, have started to scent a pickup in demand, and the competition is sharpening in a renewed battle for orders, according to the Financial Times.

Big contracts placed in recent weeks first by US Airways and then by JetBlue, the fast-growing New York-based low-cost carrier, have ended the orders drought and suggest that the regional jetmakers could be two of the biggest beneficiaries of the far-reaching restructuring under way in the global aviation industry.

For the moment, however, the two are also still dealing with current problems, as they fight to escape the mire of recession.

FULL STORY >>

European satellite deals stall

European satellite makers lately have been publicly praising the benefits of consolidation, but national rivalries and fears of further employee layoffs make that goal appear as elusive as ever, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

All three of the region's major satellite makers—Alcatel SA, the Astrium unit of EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space) and Finmeccanica SpA—have publicly embraced the need for some type of major industry restructuring, the report said. But in spite of stepped-up political pressure to join forces and a deep slump in orders that could stretch into 2005, top officials from these companies attending the Paris Air Show last month made clear they are still far apart on top issues. Their concerns include the thousands of jobs that may be lost in France and perhaps elsewhere, broad questions about trans-Atlantic cooperation, and Europe's vision of itself as a space superpower.

With revenues of about €1.2 billion (US $1.4 billion) each, Alcatel and Astrium dominate the European satellite-making market and recognize that some form of consolidation is sensible, the Journal said. But neither company is willing to take a secondary role, the Journal said.

IN BRIEF

Northrop awaits U.S. OK for European Global Hawk flight

Northrop Grumman is hoping for final approval from the U.S. Air Force to reschedule for October the canceled deployment and demonstration in Germany of the RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle, according to Flight International. Northrop Grumman has made the high-altitude long-endurance UAV (uninhabited air vehicle) part of the Transatlantic Industrial Proposed Solution's mixed-fleet proposal for the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance requirement.

In March, the Air Force canceled a planned demonstration in Germany because of the military build-up to war with Iraq, although some observers have suggested Berlin's opposition to U.S. policy was a factor, Flight International said. With the war over, there is a tentative agreement to reschedule the deployment to Germany's Nordholz airbase for October, although final approval from the Air Force was still pending.

Northrop Grumman is planning seven flights—two transit flights across the North Atlantic and five in-country, the publication said. Preparatory work will begin in August at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., using the first Global Hawk to flight-test a proposed EADS (European Aeronautic Defense and Space) electronic intelligence payload. Germany is considering the UAV, also equipped with an infrared/electro-optical sensor and possibly a synthetic aperture radar, as a replacement for four navy Dassault Atlantic signals intelligence aircraft by 2008, with a funding decision expected next year.

As well as Northrop Grumman, TIPS includes EADS, Galileo Avionica and recent newcomer Thales.

Raytheon is proposing a variant of the Bombardier Global Express-based Airborne Stand-off Radar System, but it is unclear what its adjunct UAV offering will be, according to Flight International.

United Airlines to offer...

This story is available only to employees of The Boeing Company. Employees with access to the company's intranet may click here to view the full text of this article.