Kansas.com: Aviation

Clock is ticking on tanker response

JENNIFER A. DLOUHY — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

The Pentagon is facing an Aug. 17 deadline to respond to a blistering report from government investigators that the Air Force made "significant errors" in tapping an Airbus team to build a fleet of refueling tankers instead of awarding the $35 billion contract to the Boeing Co.

But Boeing's powerful advocates in Congress are urging the Air Force to act quickly and announce whether it will reopen bidding on the contract, which was awarded in February to the team of Northrop Grumman Corp., and EADS, the Europe-based parent of Airbus.

The new midair refueling tanker is the Air Force's top procurement priority.

Although the initial contract is worth roughly $35 billion, it represents just the first of three deals to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of Boeing-built KC-135 tankers. The final program could exceed $100 billion.

The Northrop-Airbus tanker would be assembled at two plants, which would be built near Mobile, Ala. Much of the work on Boeing's tanker would be done in Everett, Wash., with final assembly in Wichita.

Fuel prices thinning the skies

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Jim Alexander is feeling the pinch of higher fuel prices.

Alexander, a pilot and founder of Jim Alexander Aircraft Sales, no longer fuels his 1960 Cessna 180 to fly for fun as often as he once did. It's too expensive.

"No question," he said. "I can't justify it."

And while Alexander still sells used aircraft, he no longer keeps them in stock.

"You've got to carry them too long," he said.

In the air, some airlines prefer plastic over cash

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Don't bother hitting the ATM before boarding your flight -- your airline may no longer be accepting cash.

Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will become the latest carrier to go cashless for in-flight purchases such as headphones, cocktails and snacks.

Others that have gone cashless include two that fly out of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport: Frontier and AirTran.

The "cashless cabin" is fast becoming the norm as more goods are sold in-flight and the hassles grow for making exact change, said Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant.

"Flight attendants practically have to walk on with a cash drawer."

SPEEA, Spirit to begin contract talks

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Negotiations between Spirit AeroSystems and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace will open Monday.

The talks are for economic issues affecting SPEEA-represented engineers and technical and professional workers. The two groups are represented by separate units.

The top issues are salary adjustments, a bonus and retirement. Talks are expected to last a week or two, officials said.

"We're going into this very open-minded," said SPEEA Midwest director Bob Brewer.

The union represents 675 engineers and 2,480 technical and professional employees at Spirit.

Boeing deliveries highest in 7 years

SUSANNA RAY — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Boeing Co. posted its highest quarterly plane shipment in almost seven years as airlines sought updated 737s to ease fuel costs. Boeing shares rose for the first time in 10 days, snapping the longest run of declines since 1983.

Boeing delivered 126 planes from April through June, an 11 percent jump from the year-earlier quarter and the most since 144 in the final three months of 2001. The latest total included 100 of the 737 model as the world's No. 2 commercial planemaker works off a record order backlog.

"They're on pace to exceed the guidance for the year" in terms of deliveries, said Brian Nelson, a Morningstar analyst in Chicago. The 737 total is "a lot better than I was looking for."

Boeing's moving assembly lines at Seattle-area factories have helped speed production to meet record demand from airlines the past three years. The company has said shipments may reach 480 planes this year from 441 last year, when it was just a dozen aircraft behind Airbus. Airbus, which overtook Boeing's lead in 2003, hasn't reported June figures.

Boeing rose 57 cents to $64.47 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had declined for nine straight days and have dropped about a third of their value in a year as Boeing delayed its 787 Dreamliner program and lost a $35 billion military contract.

Wichita: New airport terminal needed

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:14 CDT

Despite rising fuel prices and cuts to service by financially troubled airlines, Wichita remains in need of a new $150 million terminal building, an aviation expert and city officials say.

The current terminal at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport is 54 years old and showing its age and limitations.

But whether struggling carriers will be able to afford higher rents needed to help pay for the terminal when it opens must be weighed before the city decides to break ground.

"Airlines are in a state of panic right now," said director of airports Victor White.

They're scaling back operations, and fares continue to rise.

Executive AirShare expands fleet

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:40 CDT

Executive AirShare, founded in 2001 in Wichita, will grow faster than planned with an additional order for 18 Phenom 100 very light jets built by Brazil-based Embraer.

Executive AirShare, a fractional ownership company based in Kansas City, Mo., is taking over order positions placed with Embraer by Avantair.

That brings the total number of four-passenger Phenom 100s Executive AirShare will receive to 28. It has options for 12 more.

In addition, the company also has on order four Phenom 300 light jets, with options for four more.

The added aircraft will accelerate and expand Executive AirShare's growth plans, said president and chief operating officer Keith Plumb.

Hawker: No plan to build fully in Mexico

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:41 CDT

Hawker Beechcraft has mailed employees a letter from its chief executive, saying the company wants to correct misinformation circulating about long-term plans for its Mexico plant.

At issue is an internal document dated May 27 that the Machinists union obtained. It outlines six phases of plans for Hawker Beechcraft's Mexico facility and was given the code name Project Pelican.

The final phase outlined in the 45-page document -- which includes timelines, charts and strategies for keeping the plan under wraps -- includes assembling a full aircraft. At that point, it would employ more than 1,000 people.

Hawker Beechcraft opened a sheet-metal facility in Chihuahua, Mexico, in October. It said at the time the plant would employ 250 initially and grow to 650 over the next five years.

"At this time we do not have plans for full aircraft assembly in Mexico," Hawker Beechcraft chairman and chief executive Jim Schuster said in the letter to employees.

Cuts in air service hit business travelers

MARILYN GEEWAX — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 01:43 CDT

Business travelers have long complained about the costs imposed by flight delays. But now they are facing "a full-blown crisis" as some air service disappears entirely, a travel expert told Congress on Thursday.

Kevin Mitchell, chairman of the Business Travel Coalition, said that as financially struggling airlines cut flights to secondary markets, small business owners are feeling "huge local effects that are as demoralizing as a terrorist attack."

Mitchell, whose group advocates for the travel industry, testified at the House Small Business Committee's hearing into the impact of air transport turmoil. Earlier in the week, his organization released a list of 150 airports, including Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, likely to see service cuts, based on factors such as proximity to other airports, proposed airline mergers and previous fluctuations in air service.

Hearing witness Terry Segerberg, chief executive of Mesa Industries Inc. in Cincinnati, said business owners in southwestern Ohio already are struggling with rising fares and would suffer from any loss of competition in the region.

"The average cost in the last two years for me to fly from Cincinnati to Los Angeles and return has escalated from $390 to $630," she said. "Even with the advance purchase we now pay 62 percent more for a ticket."

Bill would yank funds if tanker bid stands

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:40 CDT

Kansas lawmakers offered a bill Thursday that would forbid the Pentagon from spending money to build new refueling tankers unless the agency awards a disputed $35 billion contract to Boeing Co. or reopens the bidding process.

The bill puts added pressure on the Air Force to abide by a Government Accountability Office report that found major flaws in the decision to award the lucrative contract to a Boeing rival.

"I urge the Air Force to respond quickly and not delay awarding the contract to Boeing, which represents the best tanker for the Air Force and the American taxpayer," said Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Goddard, the bill's lead sponsor in the House.

Investigators found that the Air Force made several mistakes in awarding the project to the team of Northrop and Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. The GAO recommended the service hold a new competition.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday he would oversee the decision on how the Air Force should respond to the GAO report, but did not indicate how long that would take. The Air Force has 60 days to respond to the report.

Talks get testy between Spirit, Machinists union

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:40 CDT

The outcome of labor talks between Spirit AeroSystems and the Machinists union "wasugly," the union's top Wichita official said Thursday.

Steve Rooney, president of Machinists District 70, said Spirit went back on the commitment it made to the union three years ago when hourly workers gave up wages and benefits during the sale of Boeing's commercial aircraft division. The division became Spirit AeroSystems.

The six-year contract allowed for negotiations on wages, benefits and other economic issues to reopen this year.

When Spirit was formed in 2005, Rooney said company officials told workers that "if we're profitable and doing well, you can do better."

The company is profitable, Rooney said. But little in the contract changed.

GAO tanker decision felt by Airbus Wichita

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:39 CDT

Airbus North America Engineering in Wichita is closely watching the outcome of the Air Force aerial tanker contract.

Airbus' office in Old Town was poised to take on engineering work for the Airbus KC-45 tanker, which was chosen by the Air Force in February in a competition with Boeing.

Preliminary planning for the work has come to a halt following Boeing's successful protest of the Air Force's decision.

The Government Accountability Office upheld Boeing's protest last week. It said the Air Force made "significant errors" in awarding the $35 billion contract to a team of Northrop Grumman and European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. EADS is the parent company of Airbus.

The Air Force has 60 days to respond to the GAO decision.

GAO: Boeing could have won

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:44 CDT

Boeing Co. had a "substantial chance" of winning a $35 billion contract for aerial-refueling tankers if the Air Force hadn't made a number of errors in awarding it to a team that includes rival Airbus, government auditors concluded.

The Government Accountability Office on Wednesday released its 67-page report -- with portions redacted -- a week after a three-page summary noted significant problems with the Air Force's decision to award the tanker contract to Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., the parent company of Airbus.

The GAO recommended that the contract be rebid.

After the report's release, Defense Secretary Robert Gates pledged to oversee the tanker contract.

Gates was meeting Wednesday with Air Force and other Defense Department officials to discuss the tanker contract and determine how the GAO's recommendations could affect a decision to award a new deal, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

Spirit workers vote to keep SPEEA

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:42 CDT

Spirit AeroSystems professional and technical workers voted to retain union representation at the polls on Tuesday.

Workers represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace voted 1,073-895 to keep the union.

The union represents about 2,400 employees at Spirit. A separate engineering unit was not affected by the decertification effort and did not vote.

"We are disheartened with the outcome of today's election. There is a narrow margin separating the vote, which is evidence of the divided opinion of those within" the Wichita Technical and Professional Unit, said Nate Adams, one of the organizers of the decertification effort.

"They (the union) must now prove their value at the negotiating table and deliver on the promises they have made."

Job-move document irks union at Hawker

MOLLY MCMILLIN — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:38 CDT

The Machinists union intends to protest what it says is a plan by Hawker Beechcraft to move more work to its plant in Mexico.

Union officials said they will distribute handbills today at Hawker Beechcraft and other aircraft plants in Wichita to protest the plan, which includes potentially assembling a full aircraft in Mexico. The information was outlined in an internal company document obtained by the union, which officials said they will post today on their Web site.

"There seems to be no loyalty left to the American worker," said Machinists aerospace coordinator Ron Eldridge, who is based in Wichita.

Hawker Beechcraft spokesman Andrew Broom said the company would not confirm the strategy outlined in the document.

"We have internal documents that are plans and analysis, and we don't always go forward on all of those," Broom said.

Internet access on flights ready to come back

PETER PAE — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:41 CDT

Web surfing in the sky is poised to take off again.

Nearly two years after Boeing Co. halted the airline industry's first attempt at connecting passengers to the Internet, airlines are trying once again to offer the ability to browse Web sites and e-mail during flights.

Several airlines are planning to conduct tests of a new generation of wireless Internet equipment this summer despite facing fuel-induced financial woes, saying the fee-based service could provide much needed extra revenue.

The latest efforts would bring back Web surfing on airplanes, which continues to be one of the few places where the Internet is noticeably absent.

"We are full speed ahead," said Steve Jarvis, vice president for marketing and customer service experience for Alaska Airlines, which hopes to begin offering the service to its passengers this fall.

Learjet lands 110-jet order

BILL WILSON — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:41 CDT

Production stopped Friday morning for a big celebration at Wichita's Bombardier-Learjet plant.

The company took orders for up to 110 Learjet 60 XR aircraft from an undisclosed European customer, the largest order in Learjet's 45-year history.

The deal is valued at $340 million for 25 confirmed orders and up to $1.5 billion with 85 more conditional orders.

Company vice president and general manager David Coleal shut operations down Friday morning and gathered his 2,300 employees to share the news.

"There was a huge amount of pride and emotion," he said. "It's kind of overwhelming for folks, actually. It's an amazing deal in its dollar value."

Congressmen say tanker will go to Boeing; experts unsure

JERRY SIEBENMARK — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 02:53 CDT

In a hangar housing two Boeing767s being modified as refueling tankers for Italy and Japan, Kansas legislators said Friday that Boeing eventually will win its tanker contract battle with Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.

"It's time for the Air Force to rebid the contract on the merits this time, fair and square," Sen. Pat Roberts told about 100 Boeing Wichita employees. "Based on the facts, we know that Boeing can and will win... "

But one analyst said there are still too many unknowns to declare a winner following the Government Accountability Office's ruling this week that the Air Force made "significant errors" in awarding a $35 billion tanker contract to the Northrop-EADS team in February. The GAO's ruling upheld Boeing's protest of that decision.

"I don't think any of the participants know how this ends up," said Doug Royce of Forecast International, a Newtown, Conn., aerospace and defense analysis firm.

Those unknowns include how the Air Force will respond to the GAO's nonbinding recommendations, and whether the Air Force's requirements for a tanker that will serve it over the next several decades will require a bigger airplane that carries more fuel and more cargo, as the Northrop-EADS KC-30 does.

Airbus speeding, not slowing, production

ANDREA ROTHMAN — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:41 CDT

Airbus, the world's largest maker of commercial planes, said it will continue increasing production even as airlines under pressure from high oil prices may defer or cancel aircraft orders.

Airbus is ramping up production rates until it can turn out 40 single-aisle planes and as many as 11 widebody airliners a month by the end of 2010, Louis Gallois, chief executive of Airbus, said Wednesday.

Even as some airlines fail and a few push back orders, Airbus doesn't see wider indications that carriers will request delays, Gallois said. The company is sticking to a plan to boost output and may increase production of widebodies to 11 planes a month from 10.

"For now, we don't see any movement in that sense, but we're following the market very closely," Gallois said. "At the last shareholder committee meeting of Airbus, we looked at the airlines, one by one. And right now there's nothing that leads us to panic for airlines."

US Airways Group is in talks with Airbus about slowing deliveries of aircraft set for late 2009 and beyond. The airline is set to receive 97 new Airbus aircraft starting in 2009 as it replaces older, less fuel-efficient planes.

Victory for Boeing

LES BLUMENTHAL — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:27 CDT

In a major victory for Boeing, the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday that the Air Force made "significant errors" in awarding a $35 billion tanker contract and should reopen the competition.

The ruling means Boeing probably will get another shot at the contract, which was awarded in February to a team of Northrop Grumman and the parent company of Boeing's chief rival, Airbus.

"Our review of the record led us to conclude that the Air Force had made a number of significant errors that could have affected the outcome of what was a close competition between Boeing and Northrop Grumman," the GAO said. "We therefore sustain the Boeing protest."

The decision was good news for Wichita. Boeing had announced that if it won the contract, it would do finishing work on the tankers here.

That was expected to create 300 to 500 jobs at Boeing Wichita and more than 1,000 tanker-related jobs when suppliers and other sources in the Wichita area were included.