Tag: data (Page 4 of 5)

Genesee & Wyoming Announces Completion of Sale to Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC

December 30, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today announced the completion of its previously announced sale to affiliates of Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC.

Under the terms of the sale, each issued and outstanding share of G&W common stock converted into the right to receive $112 in cash. As a result of the completion of the sale, G&W’s common stock ceased trading on the NYSE prior to market open today and will no longer be listed for trading on the NYSE.

“This transaction is an excellent outcome for all G&W stakeholders,” said Jack Hellmann, Chief Executive Officer of G&W. “For our customers, employees, and Class I partners, the long-term investment horizon of Brookfield and GIC is perfectly aligned with the long lives of G&W railroad assets. We look forward to building on G&W’s track record of safety, service excellence and commercial growth as we become an important component of a portfolio of global infrastructure assets.”

About Genesee & Wyoming

G&W owns or leases 119 freight railroads organized in locally managed operating regions with 8,000 employees serving 3,000 customers.

G&W’s six North American regions serve 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 113 short line and regional freight railroads with more than 13,000 track-miles.
G&W’s Australia Region serves New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line. The Australia Region is 51.1% owned by G&W and 48.9% owned by a consortium of funds and clients managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
G&W’s UK/Europe Region includes the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight rail provider, as well as regional rail services in Continental Europe.

G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures also provide rail service at more than 40 major ports, rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, transload services, contract coal loading, and industrial railcar switching and repair. For more information, please visit www.gwrr.com.

About Brookfield Infrastructure

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is a leading global infrastructure company that owns and operates high quality, long-life assets in the utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure sectors across North and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We are focused on assets that generate stable cash flows and require minimal maintenance capital expenditures. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldinfrastructure.com.

Brookfield Infrastructure is the flagship listed infrastructure company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $500 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.

About GIC

GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. As a disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. In infrastructure, GIC’s primary strategy is to invest directly in operating assets with a high degree of cash flow visibility and which provide a hedge against inflation. GIC has investments in over 40 countries. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,500 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide. For more information on GIC, please visit www.gic.com.sg.

Airbus Faces Delivery Challenge, Poised to Win Jet Order Race

December 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Airbus must hand a record number of aircraft to customers in December to meet delivery goals, company data showed on Thursday, and is all but certain of winning an annual order race against Boeing.

The European planemaker has been facing production snags in its best-selling A321neo jet, due in part to the introduction of a complex new flexible cabin, but has said it is confident of meeting a goal of 860 jets in 2019, revised down from 880-890.

To reach that target it must deliver 135 jets in December, beating a previous record of 127 December deliveries by 6%.

Airbus delivered 77 aircraft in November to reach 725 for the year so far, according to Thursday’s progress report.

Airbus has a track record of achieving a late surge in deliveries, though it is also working to spread deliveries more evenly over the year in future to smooth earnings and avoid quality problems that can creep in when it is working flat out.

Whether or not it meets targets, Airbus is set to regain the crown as the world’s largest commercial plane producer this year as U.S. rival Boeing approaches nine months without deliveries of its 737 MAX, grounded after two crashes.

Boeing is expected to jump back into the lead next year as projected deliveries include 737 MAX jets parked during the grounding, while remaining ahead on larger jets, but the timing of the 737 MAX return to service depends on global regulators.

Airbus is also on course to win an annual order contest between the plane giants after booking orders for 222 aircraft in November, driven mainly by last month’s Dubai Airshow.

Emirates ordered 50 A350-900 jets at the show as part of a fleet shake-up that also saw the world’s largest wide-body operator cut a remaining order for A380s and reduce its requirement for Boeing 777X jets, while adding the Boeing 787.

Airbus sold a total of 940 jets in January-November, or 718 after cancellations, leaving it well ahead of Boeing, whose year has been derailed by the grounding of the 737 MAX. In the latest period for which data is available, Boeing sold 180 jets in the first nine months or 45 after cancellations.

The latest figures were released days after Airbus won a sale of 50 A321XLR jets to United Airlines, narrowing the potential market for a mid-market plane that Boeing has been studying, while slowing those discussions during the MAX crisis.

United also delayed delivery of 45 A350s by several years to 2027 and beyond. UK analysts Agency Partners said on Thursday that this could put pressure on A350 output in coming years.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Giles Elgood and Andrew Heavens)

NATO Gives Boeing $1 Billion Deal to Upgrade AWACS Reconnaissance Planes

November 27, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

– AWACS part of NATO investment in hi-tech surveillance

– Announcement comes days before NATO summit in London

BRUSSELS, Nov 27 (Reuters) – NATO on Wednesday awarded Boeing Co a $1 billion contract to upgrade its fleet of AWACS reconnaissance planes, a deal officials said showed the strength of transatlantic cooperation days before an alliance summit in London.

First flown in 1982 and repeatedly modernised, the Boeing-made planes, which can detect hostile aircraft, missiles, ships and other weaponry far beyond NATO borders, will be overhauled with more powerful computer processors, servers and equipment.

The 14 planes, based at an air base in Germany, can already exchange information via digital data links, with ground-based, sea-based and airborne commanders, but need a greater capacity to transmit data as technology develops.

The upgrade will keep one of the few military assets owned and operated by the Western alliance in service until 2035.

AWACS have been flown in support of the international coalition against Islamic State, gazing deep into Syria from Turkey, as well as along NATO’s eastern flank following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

“The modernisation will ensure that NATO remains at the leading edge of technology,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference alongside Boeing President Michael Arthur, standing in front of one of the planes.

“It will provide AWACS with sophisticated new communications and networking capabilities, so these aircraft can continue their vital missions,” he said.

One NATO official described AWACS, which have crews drawn from 18 different allies, as a symbol of NATO unity, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has questioned its value and French President Emmanuel Macron last month said NATO was dying.

The upgrade will be funded by 16 NATO allies, including the United States, Germany, Turkey, Italy and Spain, and some work will be subcontracted to European suppliers including Leonardo and Airbus.

The modernisation comes as NATO takes delivery of the first of five Global Hawk drones, which will be based in Italy.

After years of delays, the high-altitude drones made by Northrop Grumman give the alliance its own spy drones for the first time and will work with the AWACS to protect ground troops, as well as other tasks.

The drones will be able to fly for up to 30 hours at a time in all weather, providing near real-time surveillance data.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Warburg Pincus Sells Airline Services Firm Accelya to Vista

November 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. buyout fund Warburg Pincus said on Monday that it had clinched a deal to sell its European airline services firm Accelya to rival private equity fund Vista Equity Partners for an undisclosed amount.

The deal, which was first reported by Reuters, allows Warburg Pincus to fully cash out after backing the Barcelona-based company for the past two years.

The U.S. investment firm launched an auction process during the summer to find a new owner for the business which serves more than 200 airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and EasyJet.

Warburg Pincus bought Accelya from French private equity firm Chequers Capital in 2017 and quickly tripled its revenues by merging it with Mercator, a Dubai-based travel services group in which the U.S. buyout firm had been an investor since 2014.

Vista Partners, whose portfolio is mostly focused on software companies, was recently vying to buy a majority stake in WPP’s (WPP) data analytics firm Kantar but lost it to Bain Capital.

Its Chief Executive Robert Smith said Accelya was “at the forefront of innovation and positioned to shape the airline and travel industry for decades to come.”

Accelya employs 2,500 employees across 24 offices in 14 countries and recently signed a long-term deal as the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) technology partner.

Bank of America (B AC) and Evercore advised Warburg Pincus on the deal while Vista hired Goldman Sachs (GS) and Houlihan Lokey to work on the purchase.

Law firm Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher served as the legal advisors to Warburg Pincus and Vista, respectively.

Reporting by Pamela Barbaglia; Editing by Susan Fenton

Amazon’s Rising Air Shipments Fly in the Face of Climate Plan

November 6, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc <AMZN> Chief Executive Jeff Bezos has plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the online retailer’s delivery operations.

Yet the company’s use of airplanes – the most climate-damaging mode of transportation – is on the rise, according to data provided to Reuters.

Amazon Air’s U.S. volume has risen steadily since its 2016 launch, according to an analysis of Department of Transportation data by Cargo Facts Consulting https://www.cargofactsconsulting.com, a Luxembourg-based advisory firm with a global staff and more than four decades of history.

It crunched data from Air Transport Services Group Inc <ATSG> and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings <AAWW>. Both supply planes and pilots for Amazon Air.

In July, Amazon Air flew 136 million lbs of goods in the United States, according to the data. That was up 29% from the year earlier and just 9 million lbs short of December 2018, when the peak holiday shipping season was in full swing.

For a graphic on more Amazon Air flights, click the link below:

https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/editorcharts/AMAZON-AIRPLANES/0H001QXH999X/eikon.png

Bezos has said Amazon will cut its use of airplanes as it builds more local warehouses and fills them with goods that it can deliver to customer doorsteps in one day, or even one hour.

But for the time being, Amazon’s air shipments are climbing as it speeds up deliveries to lure customers and pressure rivals like Walmart Inc <WMT> and Target Corp <TGT>.

In April, Amazon started offering no-minimum purchase, one-day free shipping to members of its Prime subscription service.

In the latest quarter, it saw delivery costs soar, and warned the holiday quarter would see costs for one-day shipping alone spike to $1.5 billion.

The Seattle e-retailer, which sends 10 billion packages a year, declined to say what percentage of its shipments travel by plane or give specific examples of how the latest drive to shave time off its standard two-day shipping affected air transport.

Last month, Amazon said its CO2 emissions in 2018 were 44.4 million metric tons and set a goal to be net carbon neutral by 2040.

“We expect the percent of total shipments to customers utilizing air transportation to reduce from year to year as we significantly increase one and same day shipments,” Amazon spokesman Sam Kennedy said, when asked about Cargo Facts’ data.

DELIVERY WARS

A standard package flown on a plane in the United States creates an estimated 6-10 times more CO2 emissions than one traveling by truck, said Jacques Leonardi, a senior research fellow in freight, logistics and sustainable distribution at the University of Westminster in London.

Amazon Air leases 47 planes and is expected have 50 by the end of the year. It operates roughly 110 daily flights in the United States and around 20 per day in Europe, according to Cargo Facts.

In June, shortly after FedEx Corp <FDX> said its planes would stop shuttling packages for the online retailer, Amazon Air announced plans to have 70 planes on lease by 2021.

But Amazon says it is getting closer to customers with an expanding network of well-stocked warehouses. Those local fulfillment centers underpin the company’s one-day and same-day delivery services.

In a news release issued Monday, Amazon said those options were “better for the planet” because there aren’t many miles in the trip to customer doorsteps.

Because those time windows are so tight, “you are eliminating the possibility of air transportation,” Amazon’s Bezos said in September. “Even though it’s counterintuitive, the fact of the matter is that shorter delivery times end up being less carbon-intensive than longer delivery times.”

Products from most of Amazon’s 158 U.S. distribution centers can be shipped to 65% of the population in one day, said Marc Wulfraat, president of supply chain consultancy MWPVL International.

Items like footwear, jewelry, auto parts and niche electronics come from 23 distribution centers that span the country – and will likely need to be moved by air for next-day delivery, Wulfraat said.

Amazon also depends on United Parcel Service Inc <UPS> for air shipments. The Atlanta-based delivery company has seen a bump in that business since Amazon began expanding free one-day delivery this spring, UPS executives and analysts said.

Domestic next day air volume at UPS surged more than 30% in the second quarter and was up nearly 24% in the third quarter – fueled by faster e-commerce shipping speeds and rival FedEx’s breakup with Amazon this summer.

“It’s not all from FedEx,” said Satish Jindel, the founder of logistics advisory firm ShipMatrix, noting that express and deferred air services revenue at UPS surged $852 million in the second and third quarters.

Amazon’s business was worth about $900 million to FedEx prior to their split, Jindel said. Express, which includes air shipments, accounted for roughly $540 million of that, he said.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Mark Potter)

Collins Aerospace’s ARINC Rail Solution to Integrate Operations for Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority

October 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

New Passenger Information Management System will create a single technology information delivery platform for Link light rail vehicles, Sounder Commuter Rail trains and Tacoma Link light rail vehicles
Secure, scalable and flexible to meet future agency expansion needs for all transit modes

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Oct. 11, 2019) – The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority – known as Sound Transit – will be streamlining its operations and improving the passenger experience via a new Passenger Information Management System (PIMS) being implemented by the ARINC rail solutions team at Collins Aerospace Systems, a business unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

PIMS will transform operations for Sound Transit’s Link light rail vehicles, Sounder Commuter Rail trains, and Tacoma Link light rail vehicles by integrating information services for all three transit modes into a single enterprise solution. Doing so will enable real-time data acquisition and processing to predict train arrival, which can provide passengers with reliable and accurate audio and visual message delivery on all rail cars and transit platforms. In addition, the solution will offer a Google Transit Feed to be used by Sound Transit to transmit messaging to the general public via the Internet. This open architecture-based solution provides the scalability and flexibility required for any future agency expansion needs across all transit modes.

Along with the strict and rigorous requirements for sustained operations, open integration and prediction/arrival train calculations, cybersecurity for the PIMS project and other critical digital systems is at the forefront for Sound Transit. The ARINC cybersecurity team will be performing security hardening and implementation services aligned with American Public Transportation Authority guidelines and best practices throughout every stage of the project from the design phase to system commissioning and throughout revenue service. Applying these tools and techniques will reduce vulnerabilities within the PIMS systems and applications on a continuous basis.

“As the current provider of Sound Transit’s train control system, we will leverage technology and provide new applications that build upon our current passenger information product suite to quickly design, integrate, secure and install the next generation PIMS solution,” said Frank Koren, director of Business Development within the Information Management Services division at Collins Aerospace. “Sound Transit has committed to significantly expand its transit services, which comes with the need to provide ongoing high-quality customer experiences. Our proven track record of developing cutting-edge customer information systems will help them ensure they do so for years to come.”

*Collins Aerospace is providing Sound Transit with a Passenger Information Management System to help streamline its operations and improve the passenger experience.*

Airbus Announces New and Expanded Capability for OceanFinder

September 20, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, 18 September 2019 – Airbus Defence and Space has released the latest version of OceanFinder, its digital maritime service to detect, identify and track collaborative and non-collaborative vessels around the globe.

First launched in 2018, OceanFinder leverages Airbus’ advanced constellation of optical and radar satellites, combined with real-time global Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, and the latest in automated analytics, to support a broad range of critical applications across defence and security, shipping, oil and gas, and insurance markets.

OceanFinder’s latest updates introduce a number of innovative features – extending the service’s capabilities in several key areas. From today, users will benefit from enhanced imagery and AIS data correlation to identify the precise location of a non-responding vessel in near real-time. This development has been combined with the latest in fully-automated detection and classification, which utilises powerful proprietary algorithms to determine a vessel’s identity in just a few seconds. Subsequently, Airbus’ human analysts are able to focus on providing additional, value-added intelligence, such as interpretation of specific behaviour or threats, without delaying a report’s delivery. New tools have also been incorporated to provide the most relevant acquisition plan to predict routes and projected locations of vessels, based on last position, date, trajectory and speed.

Several of the unique features have been made possible through a multi-year partnership with exactEarth, a leading provider of satellite-AIS data services. The agreement, which provides OceanFinder with access to exactView RT – exactEarth’s second-generation real-time satellite-AIS data platform – includes all live and archived data.

“By combining Airbus’ satellite imagery with the most advanced AIS data services and analytics, we are positioning OceanFinder as a key reference for maritime detection and identification” said François Lombard, Director of the Intelligence Business for Airbus Defence and Space. “Automation and near real-time are the two pillars through which we will provide our customers with the insights they need to make decisions faster, whether for real-time situational awareness, Search and Rescue operations or location and tracking of illegal maritime activities.”

OceanFinder is accessible through the OneAtlas web portal (oneatlas.airbus.com), enabling customers to ‘self-order’ the required products through a simple user interface that is available 24/7.

Boeing 702X Satellite Offers Unique Multi-Mission Flexibility

September 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Matured design enables delivery to customers in less than three years
Boeing software reallocates bandwidth to meet real-time changes in demand

PARIS Sept. 9, 2019 — Boeing [BA] unveiled its 702X family of software-defined satellites, highlighting a 1,900kg variant for geosynchronous orbit. The 702X technology enables operators to adapt to changing market conditions by dynamically allocating bandwidth.

The 702X builds on Boeing’s existing success with the 702 series satellites. The 702X platform incorporates a mature design, with a medium Earth orbit version already in production. Advanced manufacturing processes dramatically reduce cost and schedule risk while allowing the 702X to be delivered to customers within three years.

The 702X satellites will allow operators to distribute capacity to a variety of end users, connecting businesses, ships, airplanes, autonomous vehicles and broadband internet users around the world. “Satellites are, and will continue to be, an integral part of our data-driven society,” said Eric Jensen, vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, Boeing Commercial Satellites. “The 702X gives our customers the tools necessary to evolve with the market.”

The 702X is available to customers today. Boeing estimates the first 702X geosynchronous variant will be operational as soon as 2022.

Boeing is unveiling its new 702X family of software-defined satellites. All 702X variants, such as the small geosynchronous orbit model shown here, will provide satellite operators the flexibility to reallocate bandwidth through software updates in real time to meet changes in market demand. (Boeing photo)

French Judges Drop Charges Against Air France Over 2009 Crash, Blames Pilots

September 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS, Sept 5 (Reuters) – French judges have dropped charges against Air France and Airbus over a mid-Atlantic plane crash in 2009 that killed all 228 people on board, blaming the pilots for losing control of the plane.

In their conclusions, seen by Reuters, the judges said the pilots of the Airbus A330 had failed to process all the warnings and instrument readings provided by the aircraft.

The plane plunged into the ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris after entering an aerodynamic stall and falling from an altitude of 38,000 feet during a storm, its engines running but its wings losing lift.

“The direct cause of the accident is the crew’s loss of control of the aircraft’s trajectory,” the judges determined.

Other crews, faced with similar situations, had successfully maintained control of their aircraft, their ruling said.

The judges overruled the prosecutors investigating the case, who had recommended that Air France stand trial over the crash in July.

In their 2012 report, French civil accident investigators found the startled crew of AF447 mishandled the loss of airspeed readings from pitot sensors blocked with ice and pushed the jet into a stall by holding the nose too high. The report also cited poor training and the lack of a clear cockpit display for speed problems.

The three-year civil investigation was not designed to cast blame, which was the purpose of the separate judicial probe culminating in the decision on Thursday.

A lawyer representing the families of victims said an appeal against the judges’ decision would be lodged immediately.

“The judges have just written in black and white that the icing of the pitot sensors had nothing to do with the accident. It’s nonsense,” Sebastien Busy told Reuters. “If the pitot sensors hadn’t iced up, there wouldn’t have been an accident.”

The accident was the deadliest in the history of Air France and in the history of the A330.

A decade later, the aviation industry is still implementing lessons learned from the crash. Changes have focused on training, cockpit procedures and the tracking of aircraft in remote zones.

It took salvage teams nearly two years to locate the A330’s flight recorders on the ocean floor.

(Reporting by Sophie Louet and Emmanuel Jarry Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

Saab Signs Contract to provide Belgium with a Combat Training Centre

August 19, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Saab has signed a supply contract with the Belgian MoD for the deliveries of training systems to the Belgian Army. The order value is approximately SEK 160 million and deliveries will take place in 2021.

The contract includes providing a complete training centre with infantry simulators, anti-tank simulators, vehicle systems and communication systems for controlling, monitoring and collecting training data to enable detailed analysis of exercises. The support contract will be negotiated separately later on.

One of the requirements was interoperability with NATO, and with Saab’s training system Belgium will be capable of participating in multinational exercises.

“This means Belgium will share the same standards as members in the Interoperability User Community (IUC). They can therefore take part in multinational exercises together with, among others, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK and the US 7thArmy,” says Åsa Thegström, head of the business unit Training & Simulation within Saab’s business area Dynamics.

“The Belgian Army has used our training systems for the last four years and have clearly seen the benefits of realistic training. This order strengthens our position as one of the world’s leading suppliers of solutions for combat training,” says Henrik Vassallo, head of the country unit France & Benelux within Saab’s market area Europe.

The business unit Training & Simulation develops, manufactures and markets advanced military training equipment, such as laser simulator systems, instrumented training systems and target equipment. It also provides service and maintenance for delivered systems.

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