STEVE NICHOLS
Honeywell's Bob Johnson is pragmatic about the state of the airline business. A year ago at the Paris 2001 airshow he was talking about how technology could be used to reduce hub congestion. But post ‘9-11', he admits the problem is just not there anymore.
Honeywell recently cancelled its software-based Avient project, which was intended to help airlines ease congestion. "But that doesn't mean the project is dead," says Johnson. "It's a good project and a good application, but the need to get to market fast isn't there at the moment."
Johnson says that flying rates are continuing to improve, OEM deliveries are as predicted and Honeywell's business, especially military, is slightly ahead of projections.
"There are trends in the market that we are taking advantage of. People who make or buy aircraft want simplicity and we see the future in consolidation and integrated systems," says Johnson. "They are also looking for those systems to provide information and to be more predictive about maintenance and failures. We're all looking for economies too," he says.
Honeywell's first quarter orders for 2002 were almost double those of the same period in 2001 and Johnson is positive about the rest of the year.
"We looked at our orders and win rates for the last three years and it added up to $34 billion. Half of that is aftermarket so I think were doing great. In the first half of 2002 we won contracts worth $4.4 billion and our win rate was 86% so we feel wonderful," Johnson says.
Business
"I think that, barring any further problems, flying rates should be pretty well back to ‘pre-9-11' levels by the end of the year and the orders we have seen in the first part of the year seem to confirm that."
Honeywell recently gained certification for its AS907 turbofan engine for Bombardier and its TPE331 engine family has now notched up one million hours of flying time. The US Army's Predator B UAV, equipped with a Honeywell TPE331-10T engine has also completed 250 flights.
On the avionics side, Honeywell has won new clients for its Primus Epic integrated system and has nine new wins on the Airbus A380 including next-generation air data inertial reference units, enhanced flight management system (FMS), wheel and brakes (with Dunlop) and an aircraft environmental surveillance system that integrates enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS), traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS), Mode-S radio and weather radar.
"On Joint Strike Fighter we have wins that include landing systems and onboard oxygen generation, power and thermal management systems," says Johnson. Honeywell reduced its staff by about 14% in 2001 to approximately 43,000 in an effort to be more efficient, but it doesn't expect to see more reductions.
Farnborough will also the first major airshow where Honeywell doesn't have to concentrate on mergers. The proposed merger with GE overshadowed its presence at Paris 2001 and Honeywell was also a potential suitor for TRW's aerospace business at Asian Aerospace in February. "We're at Farnborough to do business," Johnson concludes.
Source: Flight Daily News
