July 2008 Archives

Freight dogs, the lads - and occasional lassie - who pilot today's cargo flights in oft-ancient birds, are getting some long overdue attention. Men's Vogue is running a particularly fabulous feature by writer Michael Walker about what he calls "the renegade airmen who keep the global economy aloft".

In his piece, Walker captures the joys and pains of a job that gets little recognition but requires the heartiest of constitutions to perform day after day and year after year.

Says Walker: "Brutal labor relations, increasingly automated aircraft, and the dispiriting post-9/11 environment have torched whatever adventure and romance remain in aviation. But freight dogs never got that memo.

"Yes, they bitch endlessly about the hours, the food, the lack of sleep, the death-trap airports of Asia Minor and West Africa. But talk to true dogs for more than five minutes and they betray themselves as hopelessly, permanently, passionately in love with flying and the particular esprit that hauling cargo allows."

As record fuel prices, soaring quarterly losses and other airline industry challenges dominate the headlines, Walker deserves kudos for pointing out the humanity behind the machine.

(Photo from Sept 2000 Air Line Pilot article as featured on ALPA web site)

With demand for turboprop aircraft increasing in the face of soaring fuel prices, it isn't any wonder that Embraer is considering entering what is currently a two-way competition between incumbent airframers ATR and Bombardier (although let's give props to the Chinese for rolling out an updated version of the MA60).

It begs a little question for this journa-blogger, however. Would Saab - which shuttered production of its 340 and 2000 turboprops about a decade ago - ever consider a comeback? After all, just months before AMR's decision to cull American Eagle's entire 340 fleet, Saab Aircraft Leasing (SAL) reported that supply of 340As was shrinking steadily, supply of 340Bs was almost nil, and that the 2000 had a loyal customer base and stable values. Austria's Robin Hood Aviation, for a single example among many, is growing its 340 fleet (its second delivery of the type even evokes a higher power).  

SAL chief executive Michael Magnusson has put my curiosity to rest. "Saab will not pursue any new regional project. We will continue to manage our portfolio of 135 Saabs and support worldwide fleet of 500 Saabs," he says, adding: "Of course we are experiencing a strong demand for our aircraft and prices have been climbing. But with fuel prices at record level we can not afford to relax as many airlines are hurting and this could eventually impact us as well."

What is happening at American Eagle shows why SAL needs to stay on its toes. "I am confident [the] market can absorb the AMR Saabs but only in 'smaller doses'; if they release aircraft too quickly it could impact values," says Magnusson.

"I foresee in the near term [the] turboprop market will continue to be good, with new aircraft mostly in the 70-seat size and used aircraft in the 30-50 seat size. It will be interesting to see if more 70 seat turboprops will be sold in the US. So far it has been fairly limited as you know, with Asia and Europe doing most of the buying."

With respect to the new MA60, dubbed the MA600, Magnusson believes the aircraft will have limited penetration in the market.

So there you have it, folks. The ball, it would seem, is in Embraer's court. In June Embraer market intelligence VP Luiz Sergio Chiessi said that while the turboprop study is still in its infancy, the Brazilian airframer is likely to develop a family of aircraft should the project be adopted.

"I believe that everything nowadays has to be a family - a family of two, three or four [aircraft]," he says.

(Photo is copyright of AirTeamImages)

Narrowbody deferrals have become a frequent occurrence around these parts, as US airlines struggle to survive the onslaught of sky-high fuel prices and a weakening economy. Thus far, however, widebody delivery schedules - and orders - remain largely untouched as international growth continues to help offset the domestic downturn. But there may be trouble ahead.

An early warning sign has been quietly erected by US Airways. Last week the carrier told employees that it has cancelled plans to lease two A330-200s. You may recall that the Star Alliance member in November 2007 announced a letter of intent with International Lease Finance (ILFC) to lease the widebodies in 2009. These were in addition to five newly ordered A330-200s for delivery in 2011, and a further ten standing orders for A330-200s due for delivery through 2009 and 2010.

In a letter to employees, the carrier says the two A330-200s "set to make their way into the fleet from a lessor" have been cancelled. It doesn't mention if it plans to change its firm order with the airframer.

Yet when asked whether new international destinations will be announced, US Airways says: "We still have the authority to fly to Beijing from Philadelphia (and have received permission to begin flying in 2010 as opposed to our originally scheduled 2009 start date). We're still looking at Tel Aviv, along with several other new destinations as we bring two new A330-200s fresh from the factory into our fleet in Q2 2009, but don't have any formal plans to announce new service at this time."

So are large-scale widebody order cancellations in the offing for our venerable legacies? US widebody orderbooks are not exactly bulging at the seams, but there are still some sizeable commitments with airframers. Apart from US Airways - which is also scheduled to eventually take Airbus A350s - Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines each hold orders for 25 Boeing 787s and 18 787s, respectively.

Flight's ACAS database shows that American Airlines is still carrying orders for seven 777s and that Continental is slated to take eight more 777s. United Airlines has taken delivery of the last of its 777s, but holds options for 34. Delta Air Lines is earmarked for a further six 777s, while its merger partner Northwest's entire widebody growth is wrapped up in that aforementioned 18-strong order for 787s.

For many months, respected industry analyst Adam Pilarski has predicted that the industry is at the cusp of a bubble explosion, and that cancellations are inevitable. "Nobody likes the term 'cancellation'. Airlines don't like it and the manufacturers don't like it. But you already have announcements of deferrals. It's already happening," he said in a recent interview.

(Photo copyright AirTeam Images)

If I could be anywhere on 28 July, it would be at Oshkosh, where Jetwhine, the self-described blog of aviation buzz and bold opinion, plans to host "the first annual blogger connection at AirVenture".

Many of the folks who produce today's aviation blogs and podcasts will gather together to discuss the impact social media is having now and on the future of the industry, from business aviation to airlines to light sport aircraft.

I asked the editor of Jetwhine, 30-year industry veteran Robert Mark, to comment on the drivers behind this event. Here is what Mark had to say:

"Being an old experienced blogger of 20 months at Jetwhine.com a light bulb went off for me some time back, about the time of the last AirVenture I think. I come to this whole thing as a guy who has been flying and writing about those experiences all my life.

"The Internet has changed just about everything we do, but honestly I think aviation has been slow to embrace it because traditionally we don't like change.

"But old folks like me - I watched them launch the monkeys in the rockets back in the late 50s, so that's pretty old - and in fact aviators of all ages hold a considerable amount of tribal knowledge about our industry. The way we traditionally share that is by hanging out at airport restaurants, or flight schools or FBOs and chatting with people we might happen to run in to.

"Now the Internet offers us a chance to gather together in communities no matter where we live. We can hang out anywhere and talk aviation. As an instructor, I'm always telling students about valuable resources, again, sharing that knowledge.

"So what we'll see on the 28th is a gathering of early adopters - bloggers and podcasters - like you and me, as well as people who are a few jumps ahead and see the link to the aviation community being fostered by the likes of Twitter and very vertically developed social networking sites beyond the Facebook that is kind of a one size fits all.

"Of course, as a marketing and PR guy too, I'm finally beginning to see how companies will be able to promote their brands differently than the traditional full page ad in AIN or BCA or ProPilot. And that's coming. Right now, I see these early steps as building the infrastructure. I don't think traditional advertising will disappear, but it is going through a transformation. Selling stuff isn't just about relationships, it's about the content of the conversations we can build, I think.

"But I'm not naive either. There are quite a few entrenched companies - agencies for starters - that don't want to see these kinds of changes to marketing communications in this industry because they make a lot of money with it just the way it is, thank you very much.

"And yes, we're not going to cover all of this in an hour, but my guess is quite a few of us will stay connected after the event on the 28th and get together again before the show is over."

In a society where being thin is the gold standard, it is understandable that folks become a little miffed when told they have a wide body. But in the world of aviation, the term "widebody" is considered venerable indeed. That's why it should come as no surprise to any of us that Bombardier is touting its new 110/130-seat CSeries narrowbody as a widebody for the simple fact that the aircraft is larger than any model within its current portfolio.

That is, at least, what Aviation Week senior editor Darren Shannon was told last week by Parker Aerospace, which has won a big contract to develop a generic fly-by-wire system for "all new Bombardier widebody aircraft requiring this technology", including the CSeries.

But apart from the CSeries, what other platforms are involved?  And will the fly-by-wire system be available as a new feature on existing aircraft coming off the production line such as the Global Express, Challenger or CRJs, or are the other aircraft included in the Parker contract new, clean-sheet aircraft designs under consideration at Bombardier?

You can be sure Flight editors are working feverishly for a sensible answer (this particular one happens to be on vacation this week). But keep an eye on this space for an update. And in the meantime, check out why narrow is for the birds.

If you run a quick Google search about Boeing's lightning protection system for the 787, you may be surprised to discover that there isn't a whole lot of information out there about it. The system, which involves a wire mesh embedded in the 787's composite fuselage, is proprietary and as such, Boeing has been rather quiet about the details. 

What will be clear in the not too distant, however, is the "special condition" that US FAA officials intend to issue for the 787 concerning lightning protection. This will clarify requirements that must be complied with before the twinjet can be certified. Special conditions concerning HIRF (high intensity radiated fields) were issued last year.

In May, 787 programme manager Pat Shanahan said Boeing and the FAA have found a "path forward" to resolve lightning protection issues.

Boeing now explains: "There has been good communication between Boeing and the FAA as the special condition has been developed and they are not a surprise to us. They are not a result of any specific 787 design concern or feature.

"It will be the FAA's responsibility to make the finding of compliance for the 787. Our job is to define the design in a manner that we are confident will meet these requirements. We do not know when the special condition will become final."

Boeing says its system "is primarily there for economic reasons to reduce the effects of lightning damage on the fuselage to minimize the impacts to customer airlines".

It notes that the extremities of the aircraft, such as wing tips, engine nacelles, horizontal stabilizer and tail are other areas where lightning is expected to attach "but they utilize other methods of protection based upon the expected lightning threats in those areas".

"These areas primarily use metal foils similar to past models as the major protection method rather than the wire mesh. The design focus for the wings is not as much on structural damage but on protecting the fuel tanks and the wire mesh provides less benefit there."

Boeing says it understands "the requirements that the design must meet for certification" and is confident it will achieve certification.

For more information on how one might protect composite-body aircraft from lightning, check out Arthur Hawley's invention here.

No matter which way you slice it, the Farnborough air show has been a marvel of activity this week with massive aircraft and engine orders from plenty of non-US airlines, a slew of cooperative agreements and MRO deals, and the launch of Bombardier's CSeries programme (although with a letter of interest from Lufthansa, we might want to call this a soft launch for now).

But while contract signatories may be running low on blue and black pen ink at the UK show, we here on the other side of the pond are watching rather helplessly as the US air transport industry continues its rapid decline into a loss-making abyss of tremendous proportions.

Yesterday, American Airlines' parent AMR Corp announced a second quarter net loss of $1.4 billion, while Delta Air Lines hit the negative $1 billion mark.

This morning, Continental showed that its cost control efforts are paying off by reporting just a $3 million loss (with the help of a $22 million after-tax gain). But the carrier has also put things into clear perspective, stating: "The combination of record high fuel prices, weakening economic conditions and a weak dollar has resulted in the worst financial environment for US network carriers since the 9/11 terrorist attacks."

More bad news is no doubt on the horizon. Will this mean additional capacity cuts, fleet reductions and job losses? It probably doesn't take a rocket scientist to answer that one.

American has already gotten the ball rolling by announcing plans to retire its entire Airbus A300 fleet, a total 34 aircraft, by the end of 2009 - three years earlier than originally scheduled. How will it replace this lift? A Boeing 787 order might not be such a bad idea, but money might be a little tight right now (as well as sensible delivery slots).

The divestiture of American's sister American Eagle has also been put on ice. I guess not too many folks are in the market for a batch of small regional jets right now.

There is, of course, so much more to say about the current state of the US airline industry, but I think I'll let some of Flight premium news service Air Transport Intelligence's recent headlines do the talking.

AMR records 2Q net loss of $1.4b

American to retire A300 fleet by end of '09

Impairment charges keep Delta in the red

Frontier to lay off 456 employees

Frontier seeks approval for aircraft deferrals

Frontier remains in red

IATA forecasts massive industry losses in 2008

Midwest to reduce 40% of workforce

AirTran plans to cut 480 jobs

Spirit plans route cuts and fleet reduction

US ATA projects fuel in $170 per barrel range

UAL details charges related to staff and fleet reductions

Embraer details forecast for 50-seat displacement in the USA

Jazz to cut flights, jobs

AMR taking up to $1.2b charge for MD-80, ERJ-135 write down

Fuel costs force AirTran to institute wage cuts

(red ink stain pic from http://www.thewritingdesk.co.uk/ink_cat/ink_cat.php?brand=all&colour=red)

Sometimes the less-sexy topics in aviation get relatively little coverage even if they deserve attention. Take online exchanges, for example. Several years ago, names like Aeroxchange, ESIS, Exostar, PartsBase and Cordiem were starting to break technological ground - and news - by boasting plans to support direct procurement.

Some died (Cordiem), some survived, (Aeroxchange), and some thrived, like Exostar, which has grown its customer base to over 40,000 and its users to well over 100,000 within those companies that are tied to the system. And, according to Exostar president and CEO Kevin Lowdermilk, the e-procurement exchange is about to see an explosion in growth.

Within the next 12 to 18 months, Exostar expects to see growth "that will be at least 50% in the companies leveraging the exchange and more than double the number of users" based conservatively on contracts underway today, says Lowdermilk.

The company's new "trusted work space", a network for secure multi-collaboration for aerospace and defence, is driving much of the growth.

This is a rosy picture, for sure, but I was curious - how did Exostar fare in helping part-owner Boeing reduce the supply chain risk associated with moving to a globally distributed manufacturing model for the Boeing 787, a model that has blatantly shown its instability (to be kind). After all, Exostar's contract to enable the multi-tier supply chain strategy for the 787 program was much touted by both parties.

For what it's worth, Exostar appears to have done its damndest to assist the airframer with supply chain visibility."I would characterize it [Exostar] as providing a lot of value to Boeing," says Lowdermilk. He adds: "Boeing is leveraging our technology to see multiple tiers in the supply base, and know whether they have an issue at a particular supplier at a component level well before they would have known."

One wonders just how late the 787 would have been without Exostar.

Meanwhile, the eight-year-old company, which also boasts BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Rolls-Royce as owners, is happy to keep on growing. Ownership remains the same, and Exostar has no plans for an initial public offering. "We're a private company and that's where we leave it," says Lowdermilk.

We haven't discussed air taxi operators of very light jets (VLJs) here on Runway Girl, but perhaps it's about time we did so. Because while a small fleet of Eclipse 500s might not make much of a dent in the world of commercial travel, a fleet of several hundred running with fast and furious frequency certainly will. And that, my friend, is not a far off proposition.

Linear Air, for example, currently flies four Eclipse 500s but intends to operate 300 of type within the next two to three years. The company, which operates from Hanscombe Field near Boston and Westchester County airport near New York, has not been deterred by the 5 June emergency landing in Chicago that prompted federal regulators to order an immediate inspection of throttles on all Eclipse 500s.

Its expansion plan also remains on track, even as the Eclipse 500 faces further scrutiny. Prominent US congressman James Oberstar has asked the US DOT's Office of Inspector General to investigate allegations that the FAA certificated the Eclipse 500 very light jet in 2006 despite objections from the agency's aircraft certification engineers and flight-test pilots.

Responding to Oberstar's move, Linear stresses the following: All Linear Air planes are inspected regularly; if any issues arise they are promptly taken care of and any changes that need to be made to the pilot's manual are done; and if an issue was to arise it would be promptly reported to the FAA and Eclipse.

Additionally, Linear Air stands by the comments made by Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn, who denies any wrongdoing by his company and told USA Today that Eclipse is in "complete and total conformity" with federal regulations. Raburn feels that the complaint is an internal FAA matter between workers and administrators, notes the article highlighted above.

Linear recently closed a $3.5 million round of equity financing. Proceeds from this round will support the company's continued growth of the Eclipse 500 jet service launched in November 2007 as well as expansion of service in the Northeast.

"In these days of spiking fuel cost, our Eclipse jets are by far the most economical business jets available. Our plan is to continue to grow our fleet and replicate this success on a national level," says Linear president and CEO William Herp.

So why fly Linear? Here are the company's top ten answers to that question.

Top 10 Reasons to Fly Private

1. When flying private, travellers avoid spending the 53 percent of overall travel time that is spent just waiting in major airports for a flight. This includes check-in, security lines and flight delays.

2. Flying private reduces trip time to destinations by approximately 3.5 hours.

3. Leave on time and arrive on time - specified by the traveller - with private air.
Commercial travellers suffer from late departures more than a quarter of the time and late arrivals almost a third of the time.

4. Flights can be booked according to the traveller's schedule, creating efficiencies that eliminate unnecessary overnight stays, long commutes from major airports to final destinations and unexpected cancellations.

5. Private air charters can go into 10-times more airports than commercial flights. By utilizing regional airports, air travel needs can be met from convenient locations, closer to homes and offices.

6. The well -appointed cabins on private jets are more conducive to meetings and add to business travellers' levels of productivity.

7. The average age of a commercial plane is more than 25 years old. On the whole, private planes are newer and more eco-friendly.

8. Luggage is loaded directly onto the aircraft, in view of the traveller, unlike the hundreds of thousands of mishandled and lost bags in commercial airports.

9. The average light jet flight is only 90 minutes, getting travellers from point-to-point efficiently.

10. Leisure travellers can get to weekend destinations quicker and avoid getting stuck in weekend traffic.

Several years worth of major aircraft programme delays, first from Airbus and then Boeing, has made the industry sceptical about whether airframers can bring new-design jets to market within the constraints of their own ambitious schedules.

With credibility down due to slip-ups - and outright mess-ups - in the A380 and 787 programmes, the pressure is now on for Bombardier to make good on its promise to deliver its now-launched Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan (GTF)-powered CSeries airliner in 2013.

"The industry has been watching what has been happening with the 787 and the A380 and we've got to make sure that we do better," says Bombardier director, programme management office Benjamin Boehm.

"We've got to build back what I call the Tier One aircraft OEMs' reputation, that we can deliver aircraft on time and our teams are focused on that right now."

Boehm says customers "are relying on us to deliver a product because they have built either a network plan, a training plan, quite frankly a revenue plan around the delivery of that product, so yes we do need to rebuild some of that trust".

P&W, whose GTF has also been selected to power Japan's Mitsubishi Regional Jet, is confident it will be able to uphold its end of the bargain. The GTF demonstrator engine was recently cleared for flight testing after successfully completing its phase II ground tests. "We also are quite confident that Bombardier and Mitsubishi recognize the challenges and are planning appropriately. Because [the CSeries and MRJ] are not entering service until 2013, it gives them a good five years to be sure...they are ready as promised," says Mary Ellen Jones, VP of marketing for P&W Commercial Engines.

For Bombardier there is more than credibility at stake in keeping the CSeries on track through the process of development, testing, certification and delivery. The Canadian manufacturer, which is technically still in the conceptual design phase with the CSeries, has a very real chance to offer the airliner as a competitor to the highly-successful 737NG and A320 family aircraft.

You may have noticed that Runway Girl has, like the rest of Flight Global's blogs, received a facelift of late. Gone is the "aged newspaper" look of my former blog, and in its place is a cleaner, fresher, tighter - albeit purpler? - format.

There are still a few kinks to be ironed out and stitched up (preferably behind the ears).

For instance, you may be wondering why headlines on the main blog page have not changed in the last week even though content is being frequently updated by all of us.

I'm wondering the same thing too. Let me suggest that, until this particular wrinkle receives its shot of restylane love from our blog expert Disco Stu, you continue to hit on Runway Girl's logo for recent updates.

Or, better yet, sign up for the RSS feed. Also keep an eye out for new technological improvements on Runway Girl. Why stop at the face after all?

Technorati Profile

Which airline is the most aggressive cost cutter amongst its peers in the face of soaring fuel prices? That's a tough question because there are so many good solid candidates right now. But I'm giving the little gold man to Star Alliance member US Airways, which is sniffing out ways to slash costs in every nook and cranny of its operation (hey, let's face it, this is survival-mode stuff).

The carrier has just confirmed to employees that more non-union staffers than the originally estimated 200 may lose their jobs, that it is delaying most of its aircraft painting activity until 2010, and that it will no longer supply ticket jackets to passengers.

"The jackets do not provide a value-added service for our customers. Losing your tickets was a major problem and therefore ticket jackets assisted customers. The consequences of losing your boarding pass aren't as serious as losing your paper tickets (remember those?) and therefore ticket jackets have become somewhat obsolete," says US Airways director, airport services JonCarlo Gulbranson, who points out that other airlines eliminated ticket jackets years ago.

He says the carrier needs to eliminate cost and waste "no matter how small". So what other plans are in the offing? As previously disclosed, the carrier is cutting some aircraft, charging for checked baggage and domestic beverage service (including water), and removing the in-flight entertainment on its entire Airbus A320 fleet, plus some non-ETOPS Boeing 757s.

"We're hopeful that we can find an IFE system that will prove to be complimentary to our 'a la carte' offerings allowing customers to choose to pay for the service offerings that are important to them," says US Airways.

Let's also not forget that US Airways has expanded its preferred seats sales. Dubbed "Choice Seats", the program initially comprised about 8% of the main cabin, but was recently expanded to 16% covering aisle, middle and window seat assignments. And then there is US Airways' current study as to whether it should offer passengers an upgraded pillow and blanket package to purchase and reuse on future flights. This last one seems a little silly, since it means forcing passengers to bring even more "luggage" onto the plane. But I digress.

Additionally, the kibosh is being put on anything that smells of nonsensical spending. Asked by an employee if US Airways will acquire Thai Airways' Airbus A340-500s, the carrier's SVP, schedule planning and alliances Andrew Nocella says: "The planes they have for sale have four engines versus the two engine A330-200s we have on order. The economics of a four-engine plane at current oil prices are unattractive and as a result we have no interest in these planes."

Good luck with that sales pitch, Thai. And good luck to US Airways, which might be dealing with some grumbly passengers over the next few months, but which is finally starting to look like it might actually deserve to trade under the "LCC" symbol it selected after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and merging with America West Airlines in September 2005. Now let's talk about some of those fares!

Space tourism is on the horizon and Virgin Galactic has the great good sense to team-up with sister Virgin America to cross-promote the first ever rollout of its spaceship launch vehicle, the WhiteKnight II (WK2) "mothership" in Mojave, California on 28 July.

San Francisco-headquartered Virgin America, of which Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group holds some ownership, will fly special guests, including press, from the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to the Mojave Desert for the rollout.

This will link "the newest and most fuel efficient fleet flying in the US today" with the "very future of government and commercial aerospace". Clever!

Leadership from Virgin Galactic and Virgin America will also announce what they are calling "a unique partnership", including a pilot exchange and a "Race for Space" initiative tied to Virgin America's EleVAte frequent flier loyalty program. A top EleVAte frequent flier will be able to actually earn his or her way to a seat on a suborbital space flight.

Virgin Galactic aims to launch sub-orbital spaceflights in 2010. Check out the invite below.

All this chatter about how Bombardier's new CSeries 130XT variant is aimed at clients in Europe and elsewhere gets one to thinking about whether the airframer has a special CRJ1000 variant in mind for Europe too. Well, by golly, it does. In addition to the baseline CRJ1000 and CRJ1000ER, Bombardier is offering a CRJ1000 EuroLite (EL) variant with a maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 85,968lb and range of 1,030nm. And get this; it has already secured a customer!

"The CRJ1000 EuroLite was designed to help minimize weight-related charges for European operators who need a short- to medium-range jet. Some operators have expressed an interest in the EuroLite and one has already ordered it," confirms a Bombardier spokeswoman.

So who is the customer? Bombardier isn't telling just yet. Orders for the CRJ1000 stand at 39 aircraft and customers include Adria Airways, Air France subsidiary Brit Air, Italian operator Myair and an undisclosed operator.

Check out the key differences in the three CRJ1000 variants below.

Okay, so you've seen reports today that US Airways is banning movies on its domestic flights, and you're wondering: "For the love of God and all that is holy, how cheap can they get? Free water is, after all, down the toilet. I asked US Airways to explain what is truly going on. Here's the scoop.

The drop-down IFE systems on the carrier's 200 Airbus A320 family aircraft will be removed. US Airways never had IFE on its 737s (which number about 80) so there is no love lost there.

The move only affects 10% of US Airways' North American flights since the carrier only shows entertainment on flights over 2.5 hours, and again, since it's not on the 737 fleet.

"Of course this isn't unheard of, Northwest doesn't have domestic IFE, neither does Alaska, Southwest and for the most part American. We're removing it after Nov. 1," says a US Airways spokesman.

That's a fair point, but let's point out that Northwest is not exactly known for its innovation (40-year old DC-9s certainly aren't going to get new IFE); Alaska spearheaded the portable IFE movement; and Southwest's no-frills model has been it's bread and butter and ensured reasonable fares (a model it is, admittedly, changing up a bit).

So why is US Airways doing this? The carrier - which is in a major cost-cutting, revenue-enhancing mood of late - says the decision will save $10 million annually by cutting fuel burn (500 pounds per unit), maintenance and upkeep costs, and study and content costs. Plus, it says, customer behaviour has changed. "Folks are using their own devices and their own headsets so we're losing revenue by not selling them."

IFE will remain on US Airways' widebodies and Boeing 757s for transatlantic and transpacific routes.

But never fear. US Airways says it is not giving up on domestic IFE altogether.

"Ideally we wouldn't have removed the system until we had a new replacement system ready. We would have swapped them out but because of fuel we're electing to just remove the old while we continue to work on a new system. We were well down the road doing with until fuel drastically spiked upwards," says the carrier.

Significantly, US Airways is doing a test with Lumexis in October on one aircraft for about three months. This is a big deal. California-based Lumexis uses military-proven fiber optics as the basis for its platform. The company claims that its system offers "unprecedented" Gigabit-per-second bandwidth to each passenger screen at a fraction of the acquisition and life-cycle costs and weight of existing platforms.

Lumexis' offering, says US Airways is "much lighter than current IFE because it uses fiber optic technology, which also is good because it allows us to offer a lot more content than an older system using copper wiring. Fiber optic allows for much more data transfer. We're looking at several other alternatives that offer more on-demand personalized content, which is what people want nowadays."

(Cool photo above directly from Lumexis' web site at http://www.lumexis.com/default.aspx ) 

If you'd like ot know more about Lumexis, read my February 2006 article below.

Fiber optics at heart of new IFE system from startup Lumexis
Mary Kirby, Philadelphia (21Feb06, 22:34 GMT, 410 words)

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

It's official. Charles Ogilvie, one of the top airline IFE talking heads in the industry, is leaving Virgin America on Friday to take up a position at Panasonic (he previously worked for the manufacturer). Here is Virgin America CEO David Cush's email to employees:

Dear Teammates:

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Charles Ogilvie is leaving his position as Director of In-flight Entertainment and Partnerships at Virgin America.  Charles will be pursuing a unique opportunity-- to lead Panasonic's in-flight entertainment and new airborne technology platforms in China.  Charles will be based in Shanghai and will report directly to their CEO.  

Charles started with Virgin America four years ago and was one of a small group of talented, innovative and passionate individuals who were driven to create a different kind of airline - one that people would actually like, and maybe even love.  

Charles was the creative and operational force behind the development of the Red in-flight entertainment system, working tirelessly to oversee its design and build out the system's impressive content partnerships with dozens of movie studios, television networks, record labels, web sites, and other entertainment partners.

The result is a system that is the most advanced in-fight entertainment system in the U.S. skies, with a diversity and breadth of programming, films, games and other offerings that dwarf that of any other domestic airline.  That Charles was chosen by Panasonic for this important position is not only a reflection of his talent but also a nod to the leadership position that Virgin America has taken in in-flight entertainment.  

Please join me in thanking Charles for his contributions to this company and congratulating him on his next chapter as Executive Director of China at Panasonic.

Thanks,

David

The Northwest jet that looks like it got punched in the nose by the Hulk, and NBC's take on the matter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSmkJ67zXgg

A decision on where the CSeries will be assembled has not yet been made, but signs are increasingly pointing to Bombardier's Mirabel, Quebec plant.  

Bombardier has long said it sees its plant in Mirabel - a suburb of Montreal - as the "preferred site" for final assembly. And yesterday Montreal-area machinists at Bombardier voted in favour of a six-year collective bargaining agreement that is contingent on the airframer selecting their region for final assembly of the CSeries.

There is only one other candidate in the running - Kansas City, Missouri. "Since last week, we can now confirm two final candidates - Mirabel and Kansas City," says a Bombardier spokesman. He notes that yesterday's positive vote from the machinists "is definitely a favourable point in the Mirabel candidacy".

For its part, Missouri recently approved a $240 million tax credit programme that it hopes will persuade the manufacturer to build a $395 million CSeries assembly plant at Kansas City International Airport.

Under the terms of the machinists' deal, however, Bombardier must decide by 15 July whether it will select Mirabel for final assembly.

Meanwhile, a new report from Research Capital analyst Jacques Kavafian says Shanghai Airlines and China Southern Airlines are scheduled to meet with Chinese regulators on 14 July to obtain the required approvals to place orders for the CSeries.

"We believe that both China Southern and Shanghai Airlines have a meeting scheduled with CAAC [Civil Aviation Administration of China] on 14 July 2008, to obtain the required approvals to purchase the aircraft," says Kavafian. "Although the 14 July meeting date with CAAC coincides with the opening day of the Farnborough air show, we don't know if they are related."

So who is Kavafian? According to his bio, Kavafian began his career as an analyst in Montréal in 1985, moving to Toronto in 1996. He was previously with Research Capital from 1996 to 1998, and in the interim period worked at Octagon Capital and Yorkton Securities.

But with respect to Bombardier's Chinese endeavours, does Kavafian have the inside track? We'll know very shortly if his predictions hold true. However, there is good reason to believe the Chinese are interested.

The CSeries' centre fuselage will be manufactured by China Aviation Industries I (AVIC I) subsidiary Shenyang Aircraft, which agreed to invest in facilities and equipment. In turn, Bombardier is investing $100 million into China's ARJ21-900 project and providing technical assistance in developing the aircraft.

Photo from Bombardier's new web site (which looks MUCH better than the last one) at http://www.bombardier.com

A friend of mine who flies as a commercial pilot has some interesting insight into the scope issue facing BA's OpenSkies. I've covered the issue of US pilot scope clauses on this side of the pond many times (this 2006 piece has nearly everything but the kitchen sink), but the issue is now hot-button with my British counterparts. Is my pilot friend dead on or dead wrong? You decide.

"I told you that British Airways wasn't going to stop with ONE airplane in their OpenSkies endeavour. So it come as no surprise to me at all, that BA is acquiring French carrier L'Avion and suddenly tripling the size of their 757 fleet.

"True, still only 3 airplanes, but offering 3 round-trips per day between New York and Paris amounts to about 1440 block hours per month. In pilot terms that comes to 3 days on, 3 days off, and 5 round trips ORY-JFK-ORY per month...80 hours block time...20 bidlines...5 reserve Captains, 5 reserve First Officers...50 pilot jobs that have already been outsourced from BA to OpenSkies.

"Now let's say you're a senior First Officer at BA. You'd be looking for a Captain upgrade bid. Here's 25 Captain jobs that have gone to the outsource garbage-dump...a third of them are an actual reduction in Captain bids at BA because one airplane went away.  So now instead of looking at Captain upgrade, you're actually further away from the left seat....and at the bottom of the list, instead of hiring 50 new-hires, we'd be talking possible layoffs.

"I hope this illustrates in real terms why scope is important to pilots."

(Pic from British Airways)

Aircell has replied to my request for comment about last week's trial of its Gogo connectivity service onboard a couple of American Airlines 767-200 flights.

"In terms of the public test last week, we were very pleased with the response from passengers and the usability insights we gained from the first 'real world' test of Gogo.  I hope to have more to say about it in the coming weeks," says a company spokesman.

Aircell  also addressed the departure of long-time VP of sales and marketing Bill Peltola. "We won't be releasing a statement since we don't comment on the specifics of any personnel or organization changes.  Aircell is, of course, grateful for Bill's many years of service and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors."

I'm thankful for Aircell's response. But, okay, we're not much more clued in than before, are we?

On a separate note, for the Boingo lovers among us, the firm is conducting an Independence Day promotion whereby users can enjoy free WiFi, including at the more than 500 airports where service is available.

Go to www.boingo.com/freedom and get online this weekend to blog, chat, upload pics, and more.

Bombardier's CSeries family, the new specifications of which were revealed here, is poised to become a serious threat to the Boeing 737-700. So says analyst Jacques Kavafian, who, after recently attending a China tour organized by Bombardier, rather famously predicted that China Southern Airlines will help launch the programme with a 50-strong order at the Farnborough air show.

Kavafian has backed away from that launch prediction somewhat. He now says: "The timing for the CSeries could not get any better and we believe that the aircraft will be launched this year; it may or may not be at Farnborough this July."

Howevver, in his latest research note, Kavafian says soaring fuel prices "make the CSeries very compelling to the extent that we believe it now seriously threatens the Boeing 737-700 as a viable product". The potential market, he estimates, may exceed the 6,000 that Bombardier has estimated over the next 20 years.

Kavafian argues that the CSeries will have a minimum $3.1 million per year operating cost advantage over the newest product such as the Boeing 737-700 and over $6 million cost advantage over older aircraft models such as MD-80s and Boeing 737 Classics.

The largest advantage of the CSeries, he says, is that, according to Bombardier's estimates, the aircraft has a 21% to 29% block fuel advantage over the 737 "having similar seating capacity and passenger range".

He adds: "The economics are more compelling for the 130-seat version, but even the 110-seat version of the aircraft has cost savings over the Boeing 737-700. The main competing aircraft of the CSeries will be the Boeing 737-600, 737-700, Airbus A318 and A319."

I recently had a very interesting conversation with Henri Courpron, a former Airbus procurement chief who now heads the aerospace division at consultancy Seabury. Courpron believes "the door was left open by Airbus and Boeing" in the 100-class sector, a void that several manufacturers are now seeking to fill with large regional jets.

"From the large guys' perspective, I think it's fair to say that Airbus and Boeing's venture into the 100-seater has not been at all a success. The A318 had very limited sales and the 737-600 was not exactly a rock star either," says Courpron.

Airbus and Boeing continue to delay decisions on when they will develop successors to their highly-popular A320 and 737NG models. The two airframers are willing to take the chance that Bombardier and others will gain a portion of the small narrowbody market, says Courpron.

"For them there is a lot more at stake than just trying to play defence with what might happen with new entrants in the 100-seater market because what they need to decide for the future is what happens in the 125- to 250-seat segment. And this is where the major battle will take place. It is not around 100 seats."

At its highest density, the CSeries 130, 130ER and new 130XT variants can seat 145 passengers.

American Airlines received loads of press last week when it opted to do a soft launch of Aircell's Gogo air-to-ground connectivity service onboard a couple of Boeing 767-200 flights. So how did the system perform during the 25 June test? That's a bloody good question, but don't be looking to American for the answer, and don't expect anymore freebee Gogo playtime if you're a passenger.

An American spokesman tells me: "At his point American is not releasing any feedback they have received on the test. Passengers will not have access to the service again until it officially launches in the coming weeks. As of yet there isn't an exact launch date."

What the heck? Aircell has been equally quiet over the last week. On 24 June, an Aircell spokesman said the news that was emerging about the soft launch was driven by American. "Other than the comments you have seen today, Aircell does not intend to comment on tomorrow's 'dress rehearsal'," he said.

I've put a post-test comment request to them, regardless.

Meanwhile (and talk about timing), Aircell's long-time VP of sales and marketing Bill Peltola has confirmed he is leaving the company. No reason, as yet, has been given. On an aside, I'll miss Bill. He has been truly helpful to me over the years.

But as a journalist who has covered Aircell for several years, I don't recall the Colorado-based firm ever being so, well, tight-lipped. I understand they have a lot at stake here. A stamp of approval from US giant American could see fast adoption from other carriers. A thumbs down would not be pretty.

Aircell has already proven its technology works. In fact, it did so as far back as 2005.  And Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's personal technology columnist who recently snagged a private test of Gogo - the only journalist invited to do so - seemed generally pleased. (By the way, if you sign up for a Gogo account, you will receive complimentary in-flight access to the Wall Street Journal Online.) 

But how will the service perform when, say, a sizeable portion of a 767 plane-load of passengers use it? I guess we're going to have to wait to find out.

While Bombardier is moving fast and furious to get its CSeries specs in sweet order, the company is also making strides on another CSeries-related front - it is getting its support network for the now five-variant family into shape.

Discussions with Bombardier's owned service centres and authorized service facilities "are just happening now" but the airframer is expected to take a much more comprehensive - and integrated - approach with the CSeries MRO programme than it has with past commercial products, says Mike Kanaley, VP and general manager of fleet management and service programmes for Bombardier's services division, who was kind enough to chat with me about the Canadian airframer's MRO activities for a new Flight feature.

He says the company is looking at who will be the likely CSeries MRO service providers, as well as "working intimately with our suppliers manufacturing the aircraft to ensure overhaul capabilities are in place, and support of the aircraft from start to finish".

Boeing, of course, has already been developing its GoldCare programme to give a single contact point for 787 customers. Boeing's vice president, 787 services and support for the 787 programme, Robert Avery says he would not be surprised if Bombardier or Embraer offer similar programmes to GoldCare. "I think it can be and probably will be adapted for regionals."

The most integrated maintenance contract ever brokered between an airframer and an airline involved Airbus and now-defunct Skybus Airlines. Skybus asked Airbus and Boeing to proffer packages that would combine the purchase of new aircraft with cost-per-hour maintenance services well in advance of the carrier's mid-2007 launch. Skybus ultimately awarded Airbus a contract for 65 A319s that included integrated maintenance services. While Airbus took responsibility for the airline's maintenance, the airframer tapped Singapore Technologies Aerospace's (ST Aero) US division, Mobile Aerospace (MAE) to perform the work.

Bombardier would be prepared to offer a similar total support programme agreed between Airbus and Skybus should the need arise. "[Whether] another Skybus comes along and wants that capability in our new product [such as the CSeries] remains to be seen. But, if so, it's our obligation to find a way to make that work for both Bombardier and the customer," says Kanaley. "We also don't pretend that it's all going to be performed by Bombardier. We'd leverage our supplier networks and our leverage these, and if that works for the customer, that works for us."

In many ways, however, this more integrated business model is what Bombardier intends to pursue aggressively with its future products. And once you've aligned the supply chain and service delivery network, "it has the potential to be back-fitted into certainly the existing product lines", says Kanaley.

Photo above from the Solid Gold Dance Connection gallary at http://www.sgdanceconnection.com/gallery.html