TOMORROWS TRANSPORTATION NEWS TODAY!
You can file this one under… “what on earth?”
Bamboo Airways is a new Vietnamese airline that commenced operations at the beginning of 2019. The airline currently has a fleet of about 10 Airbus A320 family aircraft, and has a further 76 planes on order, including 46 A321neo’s and 30 787-9’s.
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DALLAS, June 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) received a $561.8 million production contract for Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles for the U.S. Army and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.
The two-year effort contract calls for new ATACMS rounds, as well as upgrading several previous-variant ATACMS as part of the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP III).
“The new-build ATACMS rounds under this contract will include sensor technology that provides the recently qualified Height-of-Burst capability,” said Gaylia Campbell, vice president of Precision Fires & Combat Maneuver Systems at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This new feature will allow Soldiers to address area targets at depth on the battlefield.”
Both the SLEP and new ATACMS rounds will be produced at Lockheed Martin’s Precision Fires Production Center of Excellence in Camden, Arkansas. To meet the increased demand for ATACMS, Lockheed Martin is expanding its Camden manufacturing facilities to include the capability to produce ATACMS and other upcoming missiles.
For more than 40 years, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control has been the leading designer and manufacturer of long-range, surface-to-surface precision strike solutions, providing highly reliable, combat-proven systems like MLRS, HIMARS, ATACMS and Guided MLRS to domestic and international customers.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
PARIS (Reuters) – U.S. arms makers say European demand for fighter jets, missile defenses and other weapons is growing fast amid heightened concerns about Russia and Iran.
The U.S. government sent a group of unusually high-ranking officials including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to the Paris Airshow this year, where nearly 400 U.S. companies were showcasing equipment as the United States and Iran neared open confrontation in the Persian Gulf.
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and other top weapons makers said they had seen accelerating demand for U.S. weapons at the biennial air show despite escalating trade tensions between the United States and Europe.
“Two Paris air shows ago, there weren’t a lot of orders,” said Rick Edwards, who heads Lockheed’s international division. “Now … our fastest growth market for Lockheed Martin in the world is Europe.”
Many European nations have increased military spending since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine in 2014, bolstering missile defenses and upgrading or replacing ageing fighter jet fleets. NATO members agreed in 2014 to move toward spending 2% of gross domestic product on defence.
Eric Fanning, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association, said the NATO pledge and European concerns about Russia were fueling demand. “I do think it reflects the increasing provocations of Russia,” he said.
Industry executives and government officials say growing concern about Iran’s missile development program is another key factor. Tehran’s downing of a U.S. drone came late in the air show, but executives said it would support further demand.
“Iran is our best business development partner. Every time they do something like this, it heightens awareness of the threat,” said one senior defence industry executive, who asked not to be named.
Edwards said Lockheed’s F-35 stealth fighter, selected by Belgium, is poised to win another new order from Poland, while Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania are also working to replace Soviet-era equipment.
Edwards and other executives say they see no impact from the ongoing trade disputes between U.S. President Donald Trump and the European Union.
U.S. Army Lieutenant General Charles Hooper, director of the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), said Europe accounted for nearly a quarter of the $55.7 billion in foreign arms sales his agency handled in fiscal 2018.
Hooper said the U.S. government was making concerted efforts to speed arms sales approvals and boost sales to help arm allies with U.S. weapons.
Ralph Acaba, president of Raytheon Co’s’s Integrated Defense Systems business, said the company was boosting automation and working to deliver the Patriot missile system and other weapons in half the five-year period previously typical.
“Europe is really big for us now, and that’s a big change in just the last few years and even the last 18 months,” he said.
In addition to wooing new Patriot customers, Raytheon is upgrading existing systems for customers like Germany, which is likely to finalize a contract worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to the company in coming months.
Thomas Breckenridge, head of international sales for Boeing’s strike, surveillance and mobility programs, is eyeing contracts wins for Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets in Germany, Switzerland and Finland.
“There’s a huge appetite in Europe for defence as a whole,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Jan Harvey)
PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Monday it had no plans to change the name of the 737 MAX after news reports that it would be prepared to do so to improve its future marketing.
“Our immediate focus is the safe return of the MAX to service and re-earning the trust of airlines and the traveling public,” a spokesman said in an emailed statement.
“We remain open-minded to all input from customers and other stakeholders, but have no plans at this time to change the name of the 737 MAX.”
Bloomberg News earlier quoted Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith as saying that if Boeing needed to change the brand it would “address” that. The report also said Boeing executives insisted they had no immediate plans to drop the MAX name.
CNBC also reported the comments.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Boeing on April 15 to “Rebrand” its 737 MAX jetliner following two fatal crashes.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson, Tracy Rucinski, Edited by Tim Hepher)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Monday it is moving to rewrite testing rules to allow for the eventual return of civil supersonic air travel.
At an event in Paris on Monday, Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said the agency is working to “enable the return of civil supersonic travel, while ensuring the environmental impacts are understood and properly addressed.”
Later this week, the FAA will issue a proposed rule for “special flight authorization for supersonic aircraft,” Elwell said. This is the first step toward revising the FAA’s 45-year-old rules governing supersonic transport.
U.S. startups Aerion, Boom Supersonic and Spike Aerospace are working to reintroduce supersonic passenger travel for the first time since the Anglo-French Concorde retired in 2003.
The rule “modifies and clarifies existing regulatory procedures for a more efficient way to obtain FAA approval to test supersonic aircraft.”
The rule “will provide a streamlined, clear line of sight on how to gain approval to conduct flight testing. This is a necessary, key step for further research and development in an emerging segment – and ultimately bring their aircraft to market,” Elwell added in remarks provided by the FAA.
According to a draft of the FAA proposal reviewed by Reuters, the agency said the proposed updates “are intended to support the growth of the civil supersonic industry” and will “provide increased clarity and information to applications as to the requirements for special flight authorizations to test supersonic aircraft.”
In February, Boeing Co said it had made a significant investment in supersonic business jet developer Aerion, as the world’s biggest planemaker looks to tap into rising demand for high-end aircraft that can reduce travel time.
Boeing will provide engineering, manufacturing and flight testing services for Aerion’s $120 million supersonic business jet, which is slated for its first flight in 2023.
Congress last year approved legislation directing the FAA to issue proposed rules setting noise standards for landing and takeoff, and noise test requirements for civil supersonic aircraft by March 2020, and modernizing the application process by December 2019.
Next generation supersonic jets, while quieter and more fuel efficient than the Concorde, have difficulty meeting existing noise levels and carbon emissions standards for conventional planes due to engine constraints and higher fuel burn.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
PARIS (Reuters) – Norwegian Air expects Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft to remain grounded until at least the end of August, missing the European summer season, CEO Bjoern Kjos said on Friday.
“If you ask Boeing they still say June or July,” Kjos said at the Paris Air Forum. “But we’re already in mid-June – we’ve planned for the MAX to be out until the end of August.”
More than 300 Boeing 737 MAX jets have been grounded worldwide after two fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia killed nearly 350 people. Some airlines now expect the plane to remain out of action until the end of 2019.
Norwegian, which operated 18 of the planes, has said the grounding will raise its costs by up to 500 million Norwegian crowns ($58 million). The low-cost, long-haul operator has delayed disposal of older Boeing 737 models or prolonged leasing contracts while it waits for their MAX replacements.
Boeing is awaiting a decisions by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on software improvements it proposed after the crashes and whether to require additional pilot training before flights can resume.
If more training is ordered, a shortage of simulators means that “it might be much longer” before commercial flights resume, Kjos said. “For some operators it could take up to a year.”
As a customer of Boeing’s GoldCare maintenance program, however, the CEO said Norwegian might not have to wait that long.
“We’d hope to be at the front of the queue,” he said.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost and Tim Hepher; Editing by David Goodman)
FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) – General Motors Co president Mark Reuss said on Wednesday that the automaker is investing about $150 million at its Flint Assembly plant in Michigan, to boost production of heavy duty trucks by another 40,000 vehicles a year.
Reuss announced the investment at the Flint truck assembly plant wearing a United Auto Workers pin.
The Detroit automaker announced in February it was adding 1,000 jobs in Flint to build a new generation of heavy-duty pickup trucks.
GM did not say that the latest investment would add more jobs at the plant, but Reuss said there could be opportunities to add workers as the launch of the automaker’s new trucks progresses.
GM has been under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and lawmakers of both parties to add jobs in the United States after it said last November it would idle a small car assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and had no new products for three other U.S. manufacturing plants.
The Flint investment will include upgrades to the plant’s conveyors and other new tooling, and will be completed in the first half of 2020. GM has invested more than $1.6 billion in the plant since 2013.
Last month, GM said it would invest $24 million to increase truck production at its assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which makes Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra models.
Sales of heavy-duty pickups in the United States have grown to more than 600,000 vehicles a year, up more than 20 percent since 2013, according to industry data. Prices for luxury models can easily top $70,000.
GM’s Chevrolet and GMC brands have long trailed Ford Motor Co’s F-series heavy duty trucks in the lucrative segment. The new Chevrolet and GMC heavy duty trucks have been re-engineered to tow heavier trailers, and keep pace in what has become an arms race among the Detroit Three automakers to claim superior torque and towing capability.
(Reporting by Joe White in Detroit and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Nick Zieminski)
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) reported its preliminary traffic results for May 2019. Traffic in May increased 5.7 percent from May 2018, on a capacity increase of 5.4 percent.
Load factor for May 2019 was 86.0 percent, an increase of 0.2 points from May 2018. JetBlue’s preliminary completion factor for May 2019 was 99.7 percent and its on-time (1) performance was 77.6 percent. JetBlue expects second quarter revenue per available seat mile (RASM) to range between 2.0 and 4.0 percent.
(1) The U.S. Department of Transportation considers on-time arrivals to be those domestic flights arriving within 14 minutes of schedule.
JetBlue is New York’s Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 42 million customers a year to 100+ cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of more than 1,000 daily flights. For more information please visit jetblue.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190612005161/en/
JetBlue Investor Relations
Tel: +1 718 709 2202
JetBlue Corporate Communications
Tel: +1 718 709 3089
corpcomm@jetblue.com
Source: JetBlue Airways Corporation
STRATFORD, Conn., June 10, 2019 — Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, (NYSE: LMT) will build six production VH-92A Presidential Helicopters under a contract from the U.S Navy. These helicopters are part of the 23 aircraft program of record for the U.S. Marine Corps.
Under the terms of the contract, known as Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) Lot 1, Sikorsky will begin deliveries of six VH-92A helicopters in 2021. The remaining production aircraft will be delivered in 2022 and 2023. The contract also provides spares and training support.
The contract award follows an affirmative Milestone C decision on May 30 from the U.S. Navy moving the development program into production.
“The authorization to exercise the program’s first Low-Rate Initial Production lot is a testament to the hard work and dedication from the team to deliver this important asset on budget and within the planned acquisition timeline” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Eric Ropella, PMA-274 presidential helicopter program manager. “This award is an example of acquisition done right.”
Helicopter Proves Ready for Presidential Mission
The VH-92A test aircraft at Patuxent River, Maryland, have proven their production readiness by undergoing rigorous U.S. government testing and operational assessments, which included operating on the south lawn of the White House. The VH-92A has flown over 520 flight test hours establishing the aircraft’s technical maturity and readiness of its mission systems.
“This production decision validates the modifications to Sikorsky’s most successful commercial helicopter making it capable to transport the President of the United States at anytime, anywhere around the world,” said Dave Banquer, Sikorsky VH-92A program director. “Sikorsky has been building and providing helicopter transportation for every U.S. President and Commander in Chief since Dwight D. Eisenhower. We are excited to build the next generation of transport with the VH-92A helicopter.”
Prepared for Production
The VH-92A aircraft will provide safe, reliable and capable transportation for the President, Vice President and foreign heads of state.
This program ensures long term affordability and maintainability by utilizing the FAA certified S-92 aircraft which has industry leading reliability and availability. The S-92 fleet surpassed 1.5 million flight hours in April and averages 14,600 hours of safe flight per month.
Sikorsky and the U.S. Navy integrate mature mission and communication systems into the aircraft. This aircraft provides communication capability to perform the duties of Commander in Chief, Head of State and Chief Executive.
First Training System Delivered
Lockheed Martin delivered and installed the first VH-92A training device at the Presidential Helicopter Squadron HMX-1 in Quantico, Virginia, earlier this year. Marine pilots, avionics technicians and squadron personnel are actively engaged in hands-on learning through the suite of devices. The Flight Training Device (FTD) is a replica of the VH-92A cockpit to give pilots mission-oriented flight training in a simulation-based training device.
The training suite allows maintainers to hone their skills to effectively maintain the aircraft and practice troubleshooting.
For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/sikorsky.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A helicopter made a crash landing onto the roof of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, killing at least one person and sending a plume of smoke skyward from the top of the building. The person deceased is “presumed” to be the pilot.
The crash occurred shortly before 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on a rainy, foggy day at the 750-foot (229m) AXA Equitable Center at 787 Seventh Avenue. Dozens of emergency vehicles swarmed the busy area, a few blocks north of Times Square.
The chopper took off from a heliport on Manhattan’s east side and crash-landed on the building 11 minutes later, emergency officials said.
The site is about half a mile from Trump Tower, where U.S. President Donald Trump maintains an apartment. The area has been under a temporary flight restriction since his election in November 2016.
Nathan Hutton, who works in information technology for the French bank BNP Paribas on the 29th floor, said the building shook when the helicopter slammed into the roof.
“It felt like you were just standing there, and someone takes their hand and just shoves you,” he said. “You felt it through the whole building.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the aircraft was an Agusta A109E, a twin-engine, lightweight helicopter. The pilot was the only person aboard, and FAA air traffic controllers did not handle the flight, according to the agency.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the crash, the FAA said.
Melvin Douglas, 50, who was selling umbrellas on the street, said he heard a “rumble” when the helicopter crash landed.
“I didn’t see it, but I felt it,” said Douglas. “Smoke was on top of the building.”
A fire that broke out on the roof was quickly brought under control, the fire department said. The building was evacuated after the crash.
Trump called New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was at the scene soon after the crash, to offer assistance if needed, the governor’s office said.
“Phenomenal job by our GREAT First Responders who are currently on the scene,” Trump said on Twitter after being briefed on the crash. “The Trump Administration stands ready should you need anything at all.”
The AXA Equitable Center was built in 1985 and includes more than 50 floors. A roof helipad is not listed as one of the building’s amenities on its website.
In addition to BNP Paribas, the building houses offices for a number of other corporate tenants, including law firms Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Sidley Austin and investment manager New Mountain Capital. Le Bernardin, one of New York City’s most celebrated restaurants, is also located in the AXA building.
The skyscraper is managed by the Los Angeles-based CommonWealth Partners. Reached by telephone, LeAnn Holsapple, the office manager for CommonWealth, said the company had “no comment at this time.”
Helicopters are a regular sight in the air around Manhattan, and they have occasionally been involved in crashes.
Nearly a month ago, a chopper crashed into the Hudson River in New York City shortly after taking off from Manhattan, injuring two people. A sightseeing helicopter went down in New York City’s East River in March 2018, killing five passengers.
Reporting by Gabriella Borter; Additional reporting by Peter Szekely and Jonathan Allen; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Alexander and Bill Rigby
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