Airbus

Airbus is considering a Wichita expansion. Part of that expansion includes locating in the former Kansas Sports Hall of Fame building at 238 north Mead. Tuesday the Wichita city council voted to sell the building to Marketplace Properties for $1.4 million. The city decided to sell the building because the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is moving into the Boathouse. Marketplace Properties says it plans to lease the building to Airbus. David Burk with Marketplace Properties currently leases Airbus its Old Town facility.

Airbus plans to add 60 new jobs in Wichita within the next year. The announcement comes as Airbus details its first ever Air Capital Supplier Summit in August. The conference will allow suppliers to meet one on one with representatives from Airbus. Airbus already contracts with several companies, including Spirit Aerosystems.  This conference is an effort to build more partnerships with Kansas suppliers.  It will be held August 6 at the National Center for Aviation Training.

Delta announced Tuesday it will soon end non-stop service from Wichita to Memphis.  The change starts January 4th. In its place, Delta is adding a fifth daily flight to Atlanta on a full-size airbus jet. The airline is cutting a quarter of its flights by the end of the year due to high fuel prices and the slow economy. The Memphis flight uses one of delta's least fuel-efficient regional aircraft.  

TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) - The Kansas Senate has joined the chorus of critics lashing out at the Air Force for granting a $35-40 billion tanker contract to a French company. The Senate today adopted a resolution asking Congress and the president to block the deal that awarded the contract to Airbus instead of Boeing. It was adopted on a unanimous voice vote, and was sponsored by all 40 senators. Kansas officials and members of the state's delegation are angry about the decision.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas House adopts a resolution calling on President Bush and Congress to prevent the Air Force from awarding a tanker contract to a French company. The House passed the measure today on an unanimous voice vote. The Senate approved a similar resolution last Friday. Legislators are upset with the Air Force's decision to award a 35 billion dollar contract to Airbus over Chicago-based Boeing. Kansas officials worry that the Wichita area would lose up to 500 jobs and 3,800 statewide.

by Megahn Snyder Nearly two dozen retired United States Air Force generals are lashing out against those who question the Air Force's decision to award a multi-billion dollar tanker deal to Northrup-Grumman, an American company that partnered with French-based plane maker Airbus to replace the Air Force tanker fleet. They wrote a letter to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. It appeared Friday in the military newspaper The Tanker Times. In it they admonish Boeing and others who question the selection process.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Boeing has asked the Air Force for an immediate debriefing on why a $40 billion dollar tanker contract was awarded to its rival Airbus and partner Northrop Grumman. Chicago-based Boeing has been supplying air-to-air refueling tankers to the Air Force for nearly 50 years and had been widely expected to win the deal. Boeing said the Air Force has told it a debriefing would occur on March 12th. Meanwhile, two top Air Force acquisition officials are scheduled to testify about the contract before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense tomorrow.

Watch Video of the Press Conference Press Release from Senator Pat Roberts:       WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) at a press conference protesting the Air Force's decision to award the tanker contract to Airbus over Boeing. The Senators and members of Congress were joined by members of SPEEA, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.       Senator Roberts said, "It's clear that this is not a Democrat issue; it's not a Republican issue; it's an American issue.

(WICHITA, Kan.) The changes are made, the details are in. Boeing gets another chance to win the $35 billion dollar tanker deal. The Pentagon reopened bidding Wednesday afternoon with a new tanker request -- and new qualifications. It would build 179 new aerial refueling tankers meant to replace the current fleet that date back to the 1950's. This new request for proposals is different than the last, the one Boeing argued and the Government Accountability Office agreed, unfairly favored Northrop Grumman.

Boeing and EADS have bid again for the contract to build the Air Force's new refueling tanker. The $35 to $40 billion contract for 179 planes would mean hundreds of jobs for the Wichita area. Both companies have submitted bids before. Here is a history of the tanker project: Sept. 25, 2001 - Darleen Druyun, then the Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official, meets with officials at Boeing to lay out a strategy to lease 100 Boeing 767s. Oct. 9, 2001 - Then-Air Force Secretary James Roche says the service could lease Boeing 767s with an option to buy, if Congress passed supporting legislation.

Airbus is expanding in Wichita again.  Airbus Americas Engineering, which occupies two properties in Wichita's Old Town district, says it's expanding into a third building next month. The company says it added 150 new jobs with their last expansion, which was in 2012. Vice President of Engineering for Airbus Americas John O'Leary says the new building will give them more space for their current employees and allow for future growth. The new building is adjacent to Airbus' existing buildings and will share Airbus' 213 N. Mead address.

Airbus plans to add 60 new jobs in Wichita within the next year. The announcement comes as Airbus details its first ever Air Capital Supplier Summit in August. The conference will allow suppliers to meet one on one with representatives from Airbus. Airbus already contracts with several companies, including Spirit Aerosystems.  This conference is an effort to build more partnerships with Kansas suppliers.  It will be held August 6 at the National Center for Aviation Training.

A special anniversary in Old Town Monday, as Airbus celebrates ten years in Wichita. Back then it was the company's first engineering and design facility in the U.S., now it is the largest. When airbus first opened in Old Town, it had 27 engineers. John Papadatos was one of them. "It was an exciting period, where a new company was starting fresh from the ground floor," Papadatos said. "I thought it was a great opportunity to join airbus. " 17 of the originals are still working here a decade later, along with more than 350 others who have been hired since then.

Boeing 's history in Wichita dates back to the Stearman Aircraft Company in the 1920's. Airbus' hasn't been in the Air Capital that long, but it's presence may soon grow. Within hours of Boeing announcing plans to close its Wichita facility by the end of 2013, Mayor Carl Brewer says the city was already in contact with European plane-maker Airbus about expanding its local footprint. Airbus already has an engineering office in Wichita. Approximately 200 engineers work on the A380 and other long-range jets.

Delta announced Tuesday it will soon end non-stop service from Wichita to Memphis.  The change starts January 4th. In its place, Delta is adding a fifth daily flight to Atlanta on a full-size airbus jet. The airline is cutting a quarter of its flights by the end of the year due to high fuel prices and the slow economy. The Memphis flight uses one of delta's least fuel-efficient regional aircraft.  

Boeing and EADS have bid again for the contract to build the Air Force's new refueling tanker. The $35 to $40 billion contract for 179 planes would mean hundreds of jobs for the Wichita area. Both companies have submitted bids before. Here is a history of the tanker project: Sept. 25, 2001 - Darleen Druyun, then the Air Force's No. 2 acquisition official, meets with officials at Boeing to lay out a strategy to lease 100 Boeing 767s. Oct. 9, 2001 - Then-Air Force Secretary James Roche says the service could lease Boeing 767s with an option to buy, if Congress passed supporting legislation.

Airbus is considering a Wichita expansion. Part of that expansion includes locating in the former Kansas Sports Hall of Fame building at 238 north Mead. Tuesday the Wichita city council voted to sell the building to Marketplace Properties for $1.4 million. The city decided to sell the building because the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is moving into the Boathouse. Marketplace Properties says it plans to lease the building to Airbus. David Burk with Marketplace Properties currently leases Airbus its Old Town facility.

(WICHITA, Kan.) The changes are made, the details are in. Boeing gets another chance to win the $35 billion dollar tanker deal. The Pentagon reopened bidding Wednesday afternoon with a new tanker request -- and new qualifications. It would build 179 new aerial refueling tankers meant to replace the current fleet that date back to the 1950's. This new request for proposals is different than the last, the one Boeing argued and the Government Accountability Office agreed, unfairly favored Northrop Grumman.

Watch Video of the Press Conference Press Release from Senator Pat Roberts:       WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today joined a bipartisan group of members of Congress led by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) at a press conference protesting the Air Force's decision to award the tanker contract to Airbus over Boeing. The Senators and members of Congress were joined by members of SPEEA, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.       Senator Roberts said, "It's clear that this is not a Democrat issue; it's not a Republican issue; it's an American issue.

by Megahn Snyder Nearly two dozen retired United States Air Force generals are lashing out against those who question the Air Force's decision to award a multi-billion dollar tanker deal to Northrup-Grumman, an American company that partnered with French-based plane maker Airbus to replace the Air Force tanker fleet. They wrote a letter to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. It appeared Friday in the military newspaper The Tanker Times. In it they admonish Boeing and others who question the selection process.