Federal Aviation Administrator Steve Dickson announced he will be leaving the agency at the end of March. A former Delta Air Lines captain and operations vice president of that airline, Dickson came to FAA after taking retirement from his position at the Atlanta-based airline. Although Dickson faced a tough couple of years coming in amidst the Boeing 737 Max tragedies, the COVID pandemic and the worst spate of unruly passengers in aviation history, he handled all with aplomb. He is only a little over two years into a five year term. Dickson released the following statement:
“By now, most of you have heard that I will be stepping down as FAA Administrator as of March 31. As I expressed to FAA employees in an email sharing my decision, it’s time for me to go back to Atlanta, where my wife, Janice, and my family have been keeping a light on for me. It started as a porch light, but it’s become a search light, calling me home.
As I also told the nearly 45,000 FAA employees, I am tremendously proud of the work we’ve accomplished over a very short time. We put this agency on firm footing to excel and prosper in the 21st century and beyond. We made, and we continue to make, our global aviation system safer from the hard lessons learned from the 737 MAX; we kept the skies open and safe despite tremendous odds when COVID-19 shut down the global transportation network, and we continue to make sure the safety of the aviation industry and the insatiable desire for connectivity can coexist.
And despite all of the crises, this dedicated workforce shared my vision for modernizing our approach to safety and revitalizing and reinvigorating our workforce, in part through our Flight Plan 21 initiative, which is now well underway. We’re safely integrating exciting new forms of transportation—drones, flying taxies, automated aircraft and spacecraft, to name a few. I’m not exaggerating when I call this the most exciting time in aerospace since the advent of the jet engine, and maybe even the Wright Brothers.
I said hello to many intelligent and diverse new people in our workforce, and said goodbye to too many wonderful souls, taken from us much too early by COVID-19.
I’m particularly grateful for the time I’ve spent with the next generation, who will lead us into the future. You can’t help but feel hope for humanity when you see their unbridled optimism for what’s possible in an equitable world, and where we might travel together as a nation in the future. Ad astra—to the stars!
Please know that although I will leave the FAA at the end of next month, I will always be an advocate for the agency’s work and our shared commitment to aviation safety.”
The Biden Administration will begin a search for his replacement.
Raytheon Technologies Corporation announced the appointment of Christopher T. Calio as chief operating officer and named Shane G. Eddy to succeed Calio as president of its Pratt & Whitney business unit, effective March 1, 2022.
Christopher T. Calio
As COO, Calio will oversee the company’s four business units as well as its technology and engineering; enterprise services and digital; and operations, quality, environmental, health and safety and supply chain functions. Calio will continue to report directly to chairman and CEO Greg Hayes.
“Chris is a tested leader who has successfully steered Pratt & Whitney through one of the most dynamic and challenging periods in aerospace history,” said Raytheon Technologies chairman and CEO Greg Hayes. “He has guided strategic investments and delivered industry-leading innovation across commercial and military programs. As we execute on our strategy, including our commitment to develop talent across the organization, Chris’ experience and leadership will help advance the company’s growth and transformation initiatives.”
Shane G. Eddy
With over 20 years of executive leadership experience, Calio has spent the past decade in aerospace and defense. In his most recent position as President of Pratt & Whitney, he oversaw the significant ramp and introduction of numerous product enhancements, including the recent introduction of the GTF Advantage engine as well as the F135 program.
Shane Eddy, currently SVP and chief operations officer at Pratt & Whitney, replaces Calio as president of Pratt & Whitney.
“Shane’s significant aerospace industry leadership experience and in-depth understanding of Pratt & Whitney’s products and culture makes him the ideal leader to take the business through its next phase of growth,” said Hayes. “Building on his proficiency running global operations, Shane’s management and operational expertise will help drive continued optimization of the business.”
Eddy joined Pratt & Whitney in 2016, with prior experience at GE Aviation, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Bell Textron.
Spirit and Frontier Airlines announced a plan to merge which will spawn the fifth largest airline in the U. S. The deal is valued at $6.6 billion and the two companies have yet to say if they will take one brand or the other as the end livery under which they will operate.
With the merger, the new company would operate more than 1,000 flight a day and would fall behind American, Delta, United and Southwest becoming larger than JetBlue and Alaska Air.
“The stronger financial profile of the combined company will empower it to accelerate investment in innovation and growth and compete even more aggressively, especially against the dominant ‘Big Four’ airlines, among others,” said a press release sent out the morning of the announcement.
William A. Franke, the Chair of Frontier’s Board of Directors and the managing partner of Indigo Partners, Frontier’s majority shareholder, noted that Indigo has a long history with both Spirit and Frontier, and is proud to partner with them in creating a disruptive airline. “We worked jointly with the Board of Directors and senior management team across both carriers to arrive at a combination of two complementary businesses that together will create America’s most competitive ultra-low fare airline for the benefit of consumers.”
“We are thrilled to join forces with Frontier to further democratize air travel,” said Ted Christie, President and CEO of Spirit. “This transaction is centered around creating an aggressive ultra-low fare competitor to serve our Guests even better, expand career opportunities for our Team Members and increase competitive pressure, resulting in more consumer-friendly fares for the flying public. We look forward to uniting our talented teams to shake up the airline industry while also continuing our commitment to excellent Guest service.”
“This combination is all about growth, opportunities and creating value for everyone – from our Guests to our Team Members to the flying public at large,” said Mac Gardner, Chairman of the Board of Spirit. “We’re a perfect fit – our businesses share similar values, including our longstanding commitment to affordable travel. At the same time, we have complementary footprints and fleets, including one of the youngest and greenest fleets worldwide. Together, we will be even more competitive for our Guests and our Team Members, and we are confident we can deliver on the benefits of this combination to consumers.”
“Together, Frontier and Spirit will be America’s Greenest Airline and deliver more ultra-low fares to more people in more places,”said Barry Biffle, President and CEO of Frontier. “I couldn’t be more excited for our team members, customers, partners, the communities we serve and our shareholders.”
Spirit and Frontier reported losses during pandemic, as has most of the U. S. airline industry. There may be some regulatory hurdles to jump through before the merger will be approved by federal antitrust regulators. The Biden administration recently blocked an agreement between American and JetBlue that was not a full merger.
Some major U. S. airlines warned of potentially devastating disruptions, and other international airlines canceled flights into the U. S. due to the recent rollout of 5G service in the United States. But, only minor disruptions were reported on the first day of the rollout of new 5G networks in cities across the United States. Some regional airlines will have to wait for clearance to fly into certain airports where interference was predicted to affect them during bad weather.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said 5G deployment involves a new combination of power levels, frequencies, proximity to flight operations, and other factors, and therefore the agency “must impose restrictions on flight operations using certain types of radio altimeter equipment close to antennas in 5G networks.”
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a statement saying this: “Nearly two years ago, the FCC — the expert agency charged by Congress with regulating wireless carriers’ transmissions — authorized C-Band operations pursuant to a detailed, 258-page regulatory decision. The FCC’s order adopted comprehensive rules that safeguard aeronautical services from any harmful interference. It was a decision based on sound engineering, good process, and real-world experience, including the fact that C-Band operations are live in nearly 40 countries today without any negative impacts on aviation. And it was part of a broader set of smart policies that positioned the United States to lead the world in 5G.”
The statement from that agency goes on to blame the Biden Administration for a lack of leadership on the issue adding, “This is a setback for U.S. leadership in 5G. Indeed, the negative consequences that flow from this type of dysfunctional process are not limited to the facts of this case. It is going to make it even harder for the U.S. to reach and stick with sound spectrum decisions going forward.”
Meanwhile, as concerns grew and the rollout neared, FAA, FCC and service providers AT&T and Verizon tried to patch up hard feelings and struck a deal with the help of the White House to limit the rollout at certain airports to preempt problems that might be caused by the C-band frequencies being used.
Other providers like TMobile jumped to disavow their networks’ use of the frequencies in question. A statement from TMobile said this: “5G and aviation safety have been in the headlines lately, and it’s causing some confusion that we want to help clear up. First, I want to be clear that T-Mobile’s 5G network, already covering over 1.7 million square miles and 310 million people nationwide, and our customers are not affected by this. While headlines talk about ‘5G,’ this issue is really with one specific frequency of spectrum called C-band, which T-Mobile 5G does not use today.”
To be clear, the C-band frequencies are very near to the frequencies used by radar altimeters, leading to the concerns about interference. And the aviation community rightly raised concerns about the potential for interference, as did the FCC. But, 40 countries in Europe, Asia and many other parts of the world had already implemented their 5G service with no negative impacts to flight operations.
And to give credit where due, the FCC did also raise the concern much earlier on in this process.
Yes, the airspace around airports in the U. S. is some of the most complex in the world. And other countries used lower power levels (the U. S. 5G is 2.5 times stronger than that used in France, for example), have adjusted antennas, used different placements of those antennas to reduce interference and used frequencies that were farther from the aviation equipment that could be affected.
So where do things stand now?
Nearly 90% of the rollout of 5G took place. Some areas near some airports will have delays for 5G service. The FAA said it is working with airlines and the telecommunications industry to ensure that radio signals from the newly activated wireless systems can coexist safely with flight operations in the U. S.
5G service near the airports of concern will be tested and the service implemented as it is determined safe or solutions found for any issues. As of late January, 78% of the U.S. commercial fleet, which includes some regional jets, was cleared to be able to perform low-visibility landings at airports where wireless companies deployed 5G C-band, and the percentage was increasing.
However, the FAA said they “do anticipate some altimeters will be too susceptible to 5G interference. To preserve safety, aircraft with those altimeters will be prohibited from performing low-visibility landings where 5G is deployed because the altimeter could provide inaccurate information.”
The FAA was quick to deflect blame for the confusion and delays, saying, “The FAA, the aviation industry, telecommunications companies, and their regulators, have been discussing and weighing these interference concerns for years, in the U.S. and internationally. Recent dialogue has helped to establish information sharing between aviation and telecommunications sectors and newly agreed measures to reduce the risk of disruption, but these issues are ongoing and will not be resolved overnight.”
As we went to press, the FAA issued this statement: “Through continued technical collaboration, the FAA, Verizon, and AT&T have agreed on steps that will enable more aircraft to safely use key airports while also enabling more towers to deploy 5G service. The FAA appreciates the strong communication and collaborative approach with wireless companies, which have provided more precise data about the exact location of wireless transmitters and supported more thorough analysis of how 5G C-band signals interact with sensitive aircraft instruments. The FAA used this data to determine that it is possible to safely and more precisely map the size and shape of the areas around airports where 5G signals are mitigated, shrinking the areas where wireless operators are deferring their antenna activations. This will enable the wireless providers to safely turn on more towers as they deploy new 5G service in major markets across the United States.”
Supersonic airliner developer Boom Aerospace will receive more than $12 million in aid from North Carolina authorities to build a factory on a 1,000-acre site at Piedmont Triad International Airport for manufacturing its proposed Mach 1.7, 65-88-passenger Overture.
Guilford County, home to the Greensboro, N.C. airport, today approved $12 million in tax incentives for the Centennial, Colorado-based company, according to local news reports, and Greensboro’s city council followed with approval of a $1,500-per-job tax credit for Boom. If that company hires all of the employees that N.C. officials envision, the city tax credit could be worth more than $2.5 million.
North Carolina’s state legislation in December appropriated $106.75 million for the airport to prepare up to 1,000 acres for a manufacturing plant. Of that amount, $56.75 million must be used to construct one or more hangars; $15 million is for site work and $35 million for roadwork improvements by the N.C. Department of Transportation.
The North Carolina aid requires Boom invest up to $500 million in the facility and employ up to 1,700 workers at the site.
Boom earlier this month began ground testing its single-seat, 73-foot-long XB-1 demonstrator at Colorado’s Centennial Airport. That include the first of about 10 runs of its three GE 4,300-pound-thrust J85-15 turbojets.
Global cloud enterprise software company IFS announced its financial results for the full year ending December 31, 2021.
The company saw a 22% growth in software revenue in 2021, with cloud revenue going strong at a 105% increase year on year despite Covid-19 headwinds. Our ability to enable our customers to deliver outstanding Moments of Service™ quarter after quarter has been essential for IFS in achieving sustained growth over the last two years, with a 2020/2021 CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 22% in software revenue and 36% in recurring revenue.
Across industries, companies evolved their business models by leveraging digital technologies and driving innovation into their services, outcomes and/or products in a bid to differentiate and gain competitive advantage in uncertain times. The need for companies to build adaptability in their organizational set up, as well as agility in their responses to shifting customer and consumer demands became crystal clear.
Some key milestones for IFS in 2021 included:
In February: The company’s rebranding celebrated 30+ years of success brought together under the promise of always delivering great Moments of Service™. The launch itself was acclaimed and secured multiple awards**.
In March: The launch of IFS Cloud, a tech rich single cloud product with embedded digital innovation that delivers a clear path to Evergreen and a lower TCO. The product also earned the company several awards***.
In April: The launch of IFS’s sustainability strategy and pledge to become carbon neutral by 2025 as well as the appointment of Lewis Pugh as IFS’s Sustainability Ambassador.
In June: The acquisition of ITSM and ITOM provider Axios Systems to extend the company’s service offering.
In July: The acquisition of Customerville, already used by IFS in its Voice of the Customer program, and poised to help IFS customers deliver great Moments of Service™.
In October: The company announced the winners of its first Change for Good Sustainability Awards which saw over 35 global companies partake, as well as the launch of IFS Cloud’s latest release including the new sustainability module.
In November: The launch of IFS assyst 11.4 which brings digitized IT self-service to the entire organization through a much-simplified enterprise pricing model.
“Four consecutive years of double-digit growth is something the entire organization is hugely proud of, particularly in view of the challenging circumstances we’ve experienced since 2020,” IFS CEO Darren Roos commented. “in 2021, our goal to help companies deliver their greatest Moments of Service™ also became a reality through our M&A strategy. We successfully integrated two companies into IFS and, since our acquisition of Axios Systems in June, have increased subscription bookings for IFS assyst by 236% compared to the same period in 2020.” Roos continued: “the numbers paint the picture of a strong and healthy business and I am particularly delighted that we are not compromising on any other metrics to achieve this level of sustained growth.”
IFS says it has continued to nurture its “customer-first culture by strengthening its service organization and its partner ecosystem as well as maintaining an active involvement in the work delivered by the IFS Foundation in Sri Lanka, a nation that is home to over 1,500 IFS employees.”
Financial* and Operational Highlights for FY 2021:
FY2021 software revenue was SEK bn 4,928, an increase of 22 percent versus 2020 FY2021 recurring revenue was SEK bn 4,061, an increase of 30 percent versus 2020 FY2021 cloud revenue increased 105 percent versus 2020 FY2021 net revenue was SEK bn 6,767, an increase of 14 percent versus 2020
*Note: all figures based in Swedish Krona and reported in constant currency.
In line with WorkWave establishing itself as a standalone business at the end of Q2 2021, the performance reported above excludes WorkWave’s contribution to the IFS Group. Performance including WorkWave saw software revenue grow at 32% YTD and the IFS Group reach $984M USD revenue in 2021.
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