Etihad Airways change aircraft on two key US markets

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, continues to optimize its United States network with equipment changes on two key markets in 2016.

Currently Etihad operates leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its daily flight to and from San Francisco. These aircraft will be replaced with Etihad Airways Boeing 777-200LRs from April 25.

The daily EY101 flight from Abu Dhabi to New York's JFK airport and the return EY100 service will also see leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft replaced by Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ERs from June 1.

The second daily Etihad Airways service to and from New York JFK, EY103 and EY102, will continue to be operated with the airline's flagship A380 aircraft in 2016.

The Etihad Airways Boeing 777-200LR to be deployed on the San Francisco route will be configured to carry 239 guests in three cabins, with eight First Class seats, 40 Business Class seats and 191 Economy Class seats.

The Boeing 777-300ER to be deployed by Etihad Airways on the New York route will be configured to carry 328 guests also in three cabins, with eight First Class seats, 40 Business Class seats, and 280 Economy Class seats.

All Etihad Airways guests flying to the United States pass through U.S. Preclearance at Abu Dhabi Airport meaning they clear U.S. immigration and customs before boarding their flight and arriving in America as domestic passengers.

Etihad Airways currently operates daily to New York JFK, a daily service to Chicago, daily to Washington D.C., daily to Los Angeles LAX, daily to San Francisco, and three flights a week to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. The airline has a fleet of 120 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and approximately 200 aircraft on firm order, including 66 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and five Airbus A380s.

Hawaiian Airlines appoints South Korea director

Hawaiian Airlines has announced the appointment of Soojin Yu to the position of country director and chief representative for South Korea. She will oversee general management of Hawaiian's commercial activities in South Korea.

Yu brings to Hawaiian more than 25 years of experience in aviation, aeronautics, automobile and broadcast. She most recently served as China business manager - Asia Pacific region for Renault Samsung Motors in South Korea, where she led new vehicle development projects and new business platform initiatives.

Previously, Yu worked as the marketing and communications manager for Air France KLM, and also served as an interpreter for pilots and mechanics for Samsung Aerospace and Eurocopteur. Yu began her career working in foreign exchange at the Banque Indosuez in Seoul.

Born and raised in Busan, Yu holds a bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Yonsei University in Seoul.

Hawaiian, which launched non-stop flights between Seoul and Honolulu on Jan. 12, 2011, has since operated more than 2,800 flights and carried nearly 600,000 guests between Honolulu and Incheon International Airport.

JetBlue adds nonstop service between Daytona Beach and New York City

As the home of the Daytona Beach International Speedway, the greater Daytona Beach area is used to victory celebrations. But no celebration means more to this seaside resort area than the news that its years-long effort to recruit JetBlue Airways to serve Daytona Beach International Airport had finally succeeded.

Daily service to New York's Kennedy International Airport begins Jan.7.

"It was a magic moment," said Rick Karl, director of Aviation and Economic Resources for Volusia County Government, which owns the airport. "Ironically, I got the news just minutes after briefing a room full of community leaders that JetBlue had not made its decision, but that our proposals had been well-received. When I returned to my office there was a message waiting for me: JetBlue had decided to add nonstop service between Daytona Beach and New York City."

Community backing included a "travel bank" funded by business professionals who have committed to purchasing tickets during the airline's first years of service and startup advertising dollars provided by Volusia County Government and the area's three tourism advertising authorities.

The influence of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University also was a factor in the airline's decision to serve the Daytona Beach/DeLand/New Smyrna Beach area, which is within an hour's drive to the Orlando resort area.

Lockheed Martin receives $528 million THAAD missile-defense contract

The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $528 million contract in December for production and delivery of interceptors for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The new interceptors will support a growing number of U.S. Army THAAD units.

THAAD is a key element of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), and is highly effective at protecting America's military, allied forces, citizen population centers and critical infrastructure from short- to medium-range ballistic missile attacks.

"Our THAAD interceptors are on the cutting edge of missile defense technology. With advanced range, agility and accuracy, our interceptors are fully capable of defeating dangerous missile threats today and into the future," said Richard McDaniel, Lockheed Martin's vice president for the THAAD system.

THAAD interceptors employ Lockheed Martin's proven "hit-to-kill" technology to destroy missile threats inside and outside the atmosphere. The system is rapidly deployable, mobile, and also interoperable with all other BMDS elements, including Patriot/PAC-3, Aegis, forward-based sensors and the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system. These unique capabilities make THAAD an important addition to air and missile defense architectures around the world.

The U.S. Army activated the fifth of seven programmed THAAD batteries at the end of 2015. Lockheed Martin delivered the 100(th) THAAD interceptor earlier in 2015. The United Arab Emirates was the first international partner to procure the THAAD system with a contract awarded in 2011.

Choctaw Casinos makes donation to North Texas tornado victims

Choctaw Casinos announced Monday a $100,000 donation to the North Texas Region of the American Red Cross to assist people affected by the recent tornadoes. Located north of the impacted areas, Choctaw Casinos is owned and operated by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma--the third largest Indian Tribe in the United States.

According to the American Red Cross the funds will directly support people living in Ellis, Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties and will help fund essential services such as shelter operations, distribution of clean-up supplies such as shovels, rakes, tarps, daily meals and snacks and casework services.

Wind energy and batteries drive future rare earth metal market

The global rare earth metal market is evincing intense interest from various market players because of its growth prospects with a rise in production capacities across the world as governments try to secure and leverage these scarce resources, according to a new report published by ReportsnReports. This expansion in the supplier base will drastically change the supplier landscape and is expected to lead to a softening of prices going forward.

Market research analysts predict the rare earth metals market to grow at a rate of 14 percent during the forecast period. According to the "Global Rare Earth Metals Market 2015-2019" report, increasing use of rare earth metals in the wind energy sector and NiMH batteries stand as the prominent ones. Rare earth elements are widely used in the manufacture of magnets for wind turbine generators and for the electrodes in metal hydride batteries.

The rare earth metals are used in NiMH batteries where neodymium, praseodymium and lanthanum are used in combination with nickel, cobalt and aluminium. These batteries are powerful, light and occupy less space when compared to the conventional lead and lithium batteries.

Recycling of rare earth metals from electronic wastes is gaining prominence and is expected to contribute to the market growth during the forecast period. The recycling process is being adopted by nations such as Germany, France and Japan that have limited reserves but high consumption.

China accounted for around 63 percent of the market share during 2014, in terms of consumption. The report predicts this region to maintain its leadership until the end of 2019. The increased demand for rare earth from the automotive and electronic industries in this region is driving the market.

Around 250 firms are involved globally in the exploration and production of rare earth metal deposits. Most of the firms' operating activities are based in China, followed by U.S., Australia and Canada. State-owned firms either directly or indirectly control about 60 percent of the global rare earth output.

Ball Aerospace names new vice president roles

Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has promoted Mike Gazarik, Technology Director, to the position of Vice President for Engineering and named Jeff Osterkamp Vice President for Mission Assurance.

Gazarik joined Ball in March from NASA where he was the Associate Administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters. Since then, he has worked to align Ball's technology development with business development and growth strategies. As the vice president of engineering, he will provide overall strategic and operational leadership of the organization, which includes all disciplines of engineering as well as manufacturing, testing, supply chain management, facilities, IRAD and intellectual property.

Gazarik earned a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a master's and Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, also in Electrical Engineering.

In transitioning from the role as VP for Engineering to VP of Mission Assurance, Osterkamp replaces Sherri Fike who retired in December. Osterkamp has more than 30 years of experience at Ball Aerospace. His previous roles include executive leadership of the company's component technologies business area; the National Defense strategic business unit; the Program Management Office; Sensor and Video Technologies; and Advanced Antenna and Video Systems.

Osterkamp earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho and an M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Colorado.