November 2008 Archives

Embraer plans to offer new "slim seats" as standard across its E-Jets family within the next two years. The project is part of a list of improvements planned for the E-170/175 and E-190/195.

A new generation seat, developed by C&D under Embraer specification, the slim seat improves the passenger living space - specifically the knee distance to the front seat back - by as much as 2in compared to the current E-Jets elite seat, Embraer market intelligence vice-president Luiz Sergio Chiessi tells RWG.

"Such slim seats can be used by airlines to either increase passenger comfort or achieve better economics by increasing onboard seating capacity maintaining the current comfort level," he adds.

And before you ask, I don't yet have a picture of the slim seat. But isn't that a delicious E-190 to the upper right?

This isn't the first time we've heard of slim seats, although the last time it was mentioned we got slim pickings. During the Farnborough air show in July, Austrian budget carrier Niki ordered five E-190s. At that time, the carrier revealed it would eventually fly the airliners with 112 slim seats, but would initially have to accept a 104-seat configuration pending certification of the new slim seats.

As promised, the good folks at Thales have sent me their full list of announced TopSeries customers. To date the in-flight entertainment (IFE) giant has secured TopSeries deals with just over 40 airlines, which have committed to over 1,000 TopSeries systems.

The 31 carriers named in the list below are the ones that have given Thales permission to send out a release over the last several years. Some airlines don't wish to announce anything until the system in flying.

"We are in the process of reaching out to the balance of the airlines which we have not made formal announcements," says a Thales spokeswoman.

Check out the list. That big BA deal was a doosy. But Thales' strength is also evident in Asia and the Middle East. Rival Panasonic's decision to open an office in Shanghai next month makes a lot of sense.

Now for a bit of newsy news. Thales previously said that the new all-digital IFE system for single-aisle will be launched by a leading Middle Eastern carrier. The company confirms that one of the 31 carriers listed below will launch the product. That narrows it down nicely, but Thales isn't disclosing which one.

However, a little birdie has told me that #28, Saudi Arabian Airlines, will launch the system on 22 Airbus A320s. I love little birdies (and their unsubstianted tweets).

As reported earlier the new TopSeries product, which dispenses of the seat box, can be configured by class of service as an interactive audio-only system, interactive overhead video system, or a full functioning in-seat audio/video on demand (AVOD) system with a high-speed broadband network and personal widescreen displays.

On a tangent - when Thales refers to "broadband" is it referencing the type of in-flight Internet offerings being developed by Arinc and OnAir to take advantage of Inmarsat's higher-bandwidth aeronautical service, SwiftBroadband? Thales is on record as saying it sees SwiftBroadband as the initial way forward (and not Ku band-based connectivity). 

But back to the new IFE system for regional jets and narrowbodies. In July Thales announced that Star Aviation - which is being established by Dubai-based ETA Star Group - will equip its new Embraer 170 aircraft with a TopSeries AVOD system that eliminates the seat box.

Thales says that the Star Aviation system is not the same as the new single-aisle offering that will be launched by that leading Middle Eastern carrier.

Thales designed a new ePCU (Ethernet passenger control unit) that connects directly to the Ethernet network - this is an added feature compared to the system Star Aviation has today, says the Thales spokeswoman, adding: "With the new ePCU, airlines have more interactive audio capability."

The Thales TopSeries list

1. Afriquyah Airways
2. Air AsiaX
3. Air Astana
4. Air Canada
5. Air China
6. Air Europa
7. Air France
8. Air India
9. Bangkok Airways
10. British Airways
11. BMED
12. China Eastern
13. Etihad
14. Ethiopian Airlines
15. Hainan Airlines
16. Indian Airlines
17. Interjet
18. Japan Airlines
19. Korean Airlines
20. LAN
21. LOT Polish Airlines
22. Malaysia Airlines
23. Middle East Airlines
24. MyTravel
25. Philippine Airlines
26. Royal Brunei
27. Royal Jordianian
28. Saudi Arabian Airlines
29. Star Aviation
30. Shanghai
31. Tunis Air

For the folks paying ultra-close attention to Aircell's goings on (you know who you are), check out the US FAA's "notice of proposed special conditions" concerning the Colorado-based firm's 15 March 2007 application for a type design change to an existing STC to install additional equipment on Dassault Falcon 2000 series airplanes.

"These airplanes, as modified by Aircell, will have a novel or unusual design feature associated with the Aircell airborne satcom equipment (ASE) which use lithium battery technology," says the FAA's notice.

It explains: "The applicable airworthiness regulations do not contain adequate or appropriate safety standards for this design feature. These proposed special conditions contain the additional safety standards that the administrator considers necessary to establish a level of safety equivalent to that established by the existing airworthiness standards."

Wow that's a mouthful. But it gently reminds us that Aircell has its fingers - or rather great heaping appendages - in the business aviation world, which in addition to the airline industry stands to benefit from the company's air-to-ground (ATG) broadband system.

Last month Aircell announced that "a US-based Fortune 100 company" will be the first to install Aircell broadband services in the business aviation market. The installation will take place before the end of 2008 at Savannah Air Center in Georgia aboard the customer's Bombardier Global-series aircraft.

So what's the difference between Aircell Axxess and the Aircell broadband service?

"They're apples and oranges - they're two separate systems that contribute different elements of a comprehensive airborne communications system," says Aircell in a March 2007 technology primer for the business aviation sector.

Aircell Axxess is a cabin system - including the aircraft's wireless hotspot, wired and wireless handsets, PBX switching, and other in-cabin functions. In addition, the Aircell Axxess system comes standard with two built-in channels of Iridium satcom that provide right-out-of-the-box functionality.

The AirCell broadband service, on the other hand, is a high-speed link that connects the AirCell Axxess cabin system to the ground by installing optional equipment aboard the aircraft.

"One of AirCell's core design philosophies was to regard the cabin system (including handsets,wireless hotspot, in-cabin wiring, etc) as separate from the links (such as Iridium, Inmarsat, AirCell broadband, etc) that connect the cabin to the ground. 'Network neutral' means that an AirCell Axxess operator can select and install the links that best suit their needs, and change anytime, without starting over," notes Aircell.

On an aside, I received a survey in my email inbox today from Los Angeles-based research company LRW concerning my recent usage of Gogo (apparently I agreed to participate when I created my Gogo account on the Virgin America beta flight over San Francisco).

The questions are all pretty standard - how did I like the speed, ease of access, etc. No doubt it will give Aircell a fairly decent barometer of what to expect in the way of repeat customers. I believe I have made my two thumbs up very clear.

And so has the CDMA Development Group (CDG), which has bestowed a Network Technology Innovation award on Aircell and partner ZTE for their work to adapt 3G CDMA systems "for the unique challenges of providing Inflight Internet service - including challenges of distance and speed differential between transceiver and receiver".

Over and out.

Virgin America's decision to launch its in-flight broadband service Gogo with a plane-load of journalists and bloggers - while tying the experience into the YouTube Live event - was a bloody public relations coup. The airline, along with service provider Aircell, has received rather significant press coverage since Saturday's flight and most of it is very positive.

I only wish American Airlines had the foresight - or gumption - to do the same when it became the first carrier to offer Gogo this summer. Sure, some members of the press by nature of their travel circumstances have tested and reviewed Gogo on various American transcon flights.

But Virgin America's Gogo beta flight above San Francisco was significant because it really and truly put the service to the test. Think of 100-plus folks all head-down using Gogo to max capacity. In my opinion, the best in-flight product review of Gogo can be found here. Bless those fast-fingered Gadling folk.

On a personal level, I've been an unabashed fan of Aircell's system for years, having had the good fortune to snag a seat on the company's 2005 test flight aboard a Falcon business jet.  

The service worked well then and so it comes as no surprise that it works well now. Frankly, I can't wait to have access to WiFi on aircraft (think of all the work one can get done before arrival).

Significantly, after seeing how well Gogo performed in a packed plane full of Gogo users, I can also honestly say that I'd use this service at nearly every opportunity - both on shorter- and longer-haul flights. And yes, I'd pay more to do so (not that I'm suggesting the price be raised!)

To wit, my hotel in San Fran charged me $16 for WiFi. Sure it was a 24-hour deal, but I used the service for just over five hours - about the same amount of time as a transcon flight!

What I haven't figured out yet, however, is whether other road warriors feel as strongly as I and my fellow journa-bloggers do about in-flight broadband connectivity. And will Gogo compete with or simply augment installed IFE (including on Virgin America)?

Aircell hasn't released its usage stats yet and speculation is rife that the rates vary widely. Additionally, I'm curious as to how Aircell is going to cover its massive investment in this project.

For sure, the company has some dedicated investors. And its roster of clients is growing pretty fast. Announcements for a fifth and possibly sixth customer are in the offing. But I'd imagine it's going to take some serious usage rates - and high-end sponsorship deals?? - to make the serious bucks.

Time will tell. Heck, maybe that's all Aircell needs - time enough for people to wrap their heads around the idea that if they get their work done on the flight, they might get proper sleep in that big ole hotel bed.

For a little visual relief, I've added some fun photos taken by yours truly in the Virgin America terminal and on the flight to "Great Falls" (would Virgin America consider serving GTF in real life?)

Can you spot Virgin America's David Cush, Aircell's Jack Blumenstein and Fran Phillips (who was seated next to me), as well as Aviation Week journalist Darren Shannon? And yes, I know I look like a harried monkey. Cut me some slack, eh? It's been a busy weekend but I'm now firmly planted back in Amish Country, the technology centre of the world don't ya know?

Hello there RWG readers,

Virgin America has just launched its in-flight connectivity service, Gogo, I'm writing this blog from 30,000ft. The aircraft is packed with journalists and we're all putting Gogo through it's paces. Suffice it to say that speed is just what Aircell promised - as fast as on the ground. I linked up to VPN with no bother. Watching some YouTube video is proving a bit sticky. No surprise there.

Here's a little scoop. Aircell has secured a fifth North American customer (it's already got American, Virgin, Delta and Air Canada) and a sixth is in advanced talks. More later...the live YouTube streaming video is about to get underway.

Richard joined us via cached video.

US Airways dropped a proverbial buy-on-board (BOB) bomb this week, after revealing that nearly half of all the food that LSG Sky Chefs provides for BOB is never accounted for - it's lost, dropped in the trash before it gets back to the kitchen or eaten by people that didn't pay for it.

In its latest employee newsletter, the Star Alliance member steers well clear of accusing employees of steeling the meals but it makes very clear - in a three-page article - that the shrinkage is untenable.

"It's happened more often than we'd like to admit," says US Airways. "You settle in for a transcontinental flight as the flight attendant announces they will begin the food and beverage service. You make your buy-on-board decision, eagerly awaiting the scrumptious InFlight Café treat, cash in hand. The flight attendant is just a few rows ahead when another announcement is made: 'Our apologies, ladies and gentlemen, we've sold out of all Buy On Board meals'. It's frustrating for customers and employees alike and it's happening more often than any of us would like."

US Airways VP inflight services Sherri Shamblin says the carrier has "dug into this problem" and found that even after increasing the quantities of BOB, it now knows that ordering more isn't the sole solution.

Here's why:

BOB partner LSG assumes 100% of the risk for all of the BOB meals and snackboxes put on the airplanes. To protect its revenues, says US Airways, LSG monitors the sales history from each flight. Over a five-week period, if sales on a particular flight trend down, they'll board fewer meals. Likewise, if sales trend upwards, then there will be an increase in the number of meals onboard. This works well when all sales are accounted for, but not so well when food goes missing.

For example, if 10 sandwiches are boarded on a flight, but only two are paid for and two return to LSG, LSG has no way of knowing what happened to the other six sandwiches. Whether they are given away free during a long onboard delay or, tossed out due to spoilage, LSG needs to account for every piece of merchandise that is put on a US aircraft.

"LSG has been a great partner and they assume all of the revenue risk for the product, essentially footing the bill for US Airways," said US Airways senior VP, flight operations Ed Bular. "However, LSG is losing approximately $360,000 each month for unaccounted or spoiled items. This kind of unaccounted for loss means they also can't get an accurate count for our customers' needs. Ultimately, tracking each item is doing right by our customers, our partner LSG, and ourselves."

I'm sorry. Did I read this correctly? LSG is losing well over $4 million per year on this? Pardon my French but Holy Crap!!!

Before you start pointing fingers at flight attendants, US Airways says "this is not a flight attendant issue by any stretch as they are only one group that touches the inventory". Indeed, other workgroups who potentially handle the product along the lines include maintenance, ramp and other airport personnel.

"But let's be clear here, this isn't about calling out any one group or making an accusation that any group is doing anything wrong; rather we wanted to help everyone understand how this program works and what our responsibility as employees is to ensure its success," says the carrier.

Okay, US Airways. We get it. No one group is to blame but you're sure as heck going to find out why BOB is half his usual weight these days.

(BOB graphic from US Airways' 21 November employee newsletter)

Okay, I'm not going to hide my disappointment that Sir Richard isn't attending Virgin America's 22 November launch of Aircell's Gogo service, which will support the first-ever live air-to-ground video transmission as part of a larger "YouTube Live" event happening in San Francisco.

"Richard really wanted to join us, but unfortunately, his schedule did not permit," says a Virgin America spokeswoman.

The beta aircraft, GECAS-owned N638, is scheduled for takeoff from San Francisco at 1600. I'll be one of the live bloggers on board (holding out hope for a surprise appearance).

So our favorite entrepreneur won't be on the Virgin America flight but a raft of other folks will be in attendance at YouTube Live, including musicians Katy Perry, Will. I. Am and Akon, as well as regular folks who have become celebrities in their own right via the wonder that is YouTube.

Watch a handful of these home-grown YouTube stars have a little fun in the terminal and on a Virgin America Airbus A320 in the following video:
 

(Branson photo courtesy of Richard Burdett www.modelmayhem.com/756985)

Lufthansa CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber yesterday told a roundtable of journalists at the Wings Club in NY that the German operator is still in negotiations with various Ku band-based connectivity providers but that it could offer in-flight Internet "as early as next year".

(Photo above of CBB antenna subsystem found in Space Japan Review report here) 

What will aircraft look like in 85 years? Finnair, which is celebrating its 85th birthday, seeks to answer that question on its fun new web site Departure 2093 at www.departure2093.com

One of my favourite of five visions for future aircraft is the so-called A600-850M "wide-bodied, zero-emission supersonic aircraft". This 600 to 850-seat aircraft - which looks not unlike a sharply edged paper airplane - boasts a dream interior. Entertainment and wellness services are situated under the cabin.

Says Finnair:

In these areas the windows are replaced with AV windows, offering zoomable views of the sky or downwards to earth. The cabin has intelligent seats, which adjust to the passenger's weight, height and age.

The seats assist passengers when they wish to stand up, and while in the seat, passengers can have their pulse, blood pressure and body temperature measured or enjoy a light massage and heat treatment.

The seats are equipped with Internet and satellite links, and the backrest of each seat has a 20-inch 3D display. Passengers can set a sound-insulated space between their own and neighbouring seats so that their speech cannot be heard by others.

Check out the rest of the future fleet images, including the "Space Hotel's service ship", which will of course ferry honeymooners and other passengers to the 450-bed Space Hotel. Book me a room. I'll only be 118 years young.

British Airways (BA) yesterday revealed a mammoth deal with Thales to outfit its Airbus A380s, Boeing 787s and new Boeing 777-300ERs with the firm's TopSeries in-flight entertainment (FE) system.

BA has traditionally flown Rockwell Collins IFE on its long-haul fleet, even upgrading from Rockwell's TES to digital dTES on its Boeing 747s, 767s and 777s. But Rockwell's decision not to develop IFE systems for the A380 and later the 787 took the manufacturer out of the twin-aisle market, and effectively reduced competition for new aircraft models to a Panasonic Avionics and Thales duopoly.

In this rather important contest, Thales is the winner.

No doubt BA is counting on the company to stay firmly planted in the widebody IFE space. At this juncture, it appears that shouldn't be a worry. I asked Thales to forward me a list of its widebody customers for the TopSeries platform. Below are Thales IFE airline customers "that are flying or have committed to fly with the Thales TopSeries system", says Thales.

The full list should be available by week's end.

• Air AsiaX
• Air Canada
• Air China
• Air Europa
• Air France
• Air India
• Arik Air
• Etihad Airways
• Icelandair
• Japan Airlines
• Kingfisher
• Korean Airlines
• LAN
• Malaysia Airlines
• Oman Air
• Phillippine Airlines
• Royal Brunei

Separately, Thales today announced that it now offers an all digital TopSeries system that can be configured by class of service as an interactive audio only system, interactive overhead video system or full functioning in-seat AVOD system. It is being targeted at operators of single-aisle aircraft and regional jets.

Earlier this year India's Star Aviation - which is being established by Dubai-based ETA Star Group - said it would equip its Embraer 170s with a TopSeries system that dispenses with the seat box.

However, Thales in a statement says the all digital system announced today will be formally rolled out on "a leading Middle East carrier". The first installation is scheduled for 2009 on an Airbus A320 aircraft. Hmmmm. Let the speculation begin.

Details from the press release:

As an interactive audio only system passengers can select up to 280 channels of high fidelity audio programming using a newly designed Ethernet Passenger Control Unit (ePCU). What is unique about the ePCU is its direct connection to the system network, which eliminates the seat electronics box providing more leg-room, lower system weight, and reduced power consumption.

By adding digital overhead video capability, passengers will enjoy watching entertainment programs through high-resolution widescreen smart displays. In combination with the interactive audio system, the overhead video system supports new onboard capabilities such as interactive electronic surveys, multi-player games and route-specific programming.

At the high-end of the system's capability is AVOD functionality with a wide range of content choices, high-speed broadband network and personal widescreen displays.

Aircell and NASA are clients. But Oulu, Finland-headquartered EB - a developer of embedded technology solutions for the automotive and wireless industries - is only now discussing its relationship with the two firms and its ASO testing solution for the aerospace, aviation and defense markets.

The solution is designed for measuring, modeling and emulating radio channel environments to enable testing of wireless communication links. Come again? Check out the following chart.

In plain speak, however, if an airline (oh lets say American) wants to introduce an Internet connection on a route from Los Angeles to New York City, it will not need to perform extensive field testing at the flight route. Instead, the wireless technology needed for the Internet connection can be developed and tested in laboratory conditions taking into consideration many factors including Doppler, range, handoff, terrain and elevation with the ASO testing solution before the technology is being implemented into an aircraft.

Speaking last week to RWG, EB general manager Juha Auer revealed that the firm has been working with Colorado-based Aircell since early this year. "What our role is really is we're a very high-end test equipment vendor so we provide this test equipment and enable them to perform this kind of testing.

Key quote from Aircell senior RF engineer Yong Liu:

"As we begin to give passengers the ability to use their own laptops and smartphones at full mobile broadband speeds in-flight, it is imperative that we ensure that the service stays connected as the aircraft flies across the US. Bringing the mobile broadband into an aircraft is extremely difficult due to the high speed of the aircraft and much longer dynamic link distances than in a terrestrial environment. EB's ASO testing solution allows us to test different radio channel environments on aircrafts without ever leaving the ground. Now we are able to offer our clients the quality of service in aircrafts that they are used to having on the ground."

Asked if EB is in talks with other in-flight connectivity providers, such as Panasonic Avionics, AeroMobile and OnAir, Auer said: "We have had discussions with some of those companies mentioned."

The first version of the ASO modeling tool was developed in co-operation with NASA. It allows scientists at NASA to test multiple wireless high-speed data communication links between a spacecraft and a ground station and satellites.

"The ASO tool allows us to recreate environments in the laboratory to test the performance of communications systems during the critical stages of launch, flight, space station docking procedures and landing of a spacecraft", says Chatwin Lansdowne, engineer at NASA Johnson Space Center. "This helps us to ensure the functionality of critical communication systems prior to the launch."

Updated to include clarification. See Panasonic comment in bold...

Is Qatar Airways the launch customer for Panasonic's in-flight Internet service, eXConnect? Panasonic isn't saying, but unconfirmed word on the street is that the Middle Eastern carrier will run a trial from August 2009 on one of its Boeing 777s.

It's not yet clear if Qatar is totally convinced that Ku band-based connectivity and the coverage and cost surrounding it is the way to go.

However, industry observers say the airline is working hard to catch up with Emirates - an IFE leader in the Middle East with Panasonic-based "ice" systems and AeroMobile connectivity - and sees innovation as the best way to close the gap.

According to Flight's ACAS database, Qatar operates 24 777s. It also has 30 787-8s on order with the airframer (now that would be a sweet deal for Panasonic).

A Panasonic spokeswoman will only confirm that a deal is being brokered with "an international airline", which will offer the service - not a trial - beginning next summer and that "between now and then we're doing due diligence with the airline".

As previously revealed, the undisclosed airline wants a full global suite of services including eXConnect, eXPhone - which supports AeroMobile's mobile phone service - and eXTV television with "global coverage of those services".

A few other launch customers will emerge hot on the heels of the unnamed "international airline", say the Panasonic spokeswoman.

So this begs a whole slew of questions. Doesn't Qatar fly Rockwell Collins' Tailwind satellite broadcast service on its Airbus A330s and A340s? How has that system performed? Will Emirates need to step up its game further and offer high-speed Internet in-flight? Paging Patrick Brannelly! 

Qatar could not be immediately reached for comment.

Some folks wonder about my fascination with aircraft antennas. Maybe I'm just a bi-directional kinda gal (don't all agree at once). Or maybe, this is a subject seriously worth staying on top of...like a fuselage-mounted radome.

The fact is that airlines are increasingly adopting in-flight broadband and live television solutions for their passengers. And antennas play a big part in making that happen. An interesting new player on the scene, one whom I've written about a number of times, including in an October article for Flight, is Germany's Qest.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who feels this way. RWG can reveal that:

On 20 November, Qest will receive a Technology Innovation Award for its antenna designs from a major market research company.

Qest recently teamed up with US antenna firm Tecom to take full crack at the Ku-band market. The company's director of sales and marketing Michael Stobinski says Qest "has the first machined parts of its new Ku bi-directional aperture in house now" and that first measurements "look very promising".

"The full assembly is expected to be ready by the end of November," adds Stobinski.
More details later.

(The Qest antenna pic is simply an example of a fuselage-mount configuration. I know, the gray on gray is very appealing)

American Airlines appears to be keeping its in-flight broadband connectivity options open. RWG can exclusively reveal that the carrier recently issued a request for information (RFI) to a range of connectivity providers. Sources say the RFI was issued after American began its trial of Aircell's ATG-based Gogo service, which began on 25 June.

A RFI quite simply enables companies to compare and constrast the capabilties of various suppliers. Pretty standard practice.

Asked about the solicitation, an American spokesman says: "We would not have any comment about your question."

He adds: "We always say (because it's true) that we talk to lots of people about lots of different things all the time, but we don't disclose the nature of the conversations, or whether any such conversation actually occurred."

So what does American thinks of Gogo and when will the carrier decide whether to tap Colorado-based Aircell for a full-on, fleetwide deal?

The trial is "still ongoing at this time, so we've not made any pronouncements or decisions at this stage," says the spokesman. "As you may remember, the test period was not firm - we initially described it as three to six months."

Okay. We'll get back to ya on 25 December. Hey, that's Christmas! Ho ho ho and a go go go.

(Photo courtesy of www.freefoto.com)

Updated to include comment from Lufthansa...

Dining with the ship's captain is considered a VIP treat for the ocean cruising sort. But wouldn't it be nice to have a little chat with your aircraft captain before tucking into a four-course meal? (Especially if he's good looking...and single, ahem, but I digress).

Never let it be said that Lufthansa is taking tips from Carnival Cruise Lines, but the carrier has just unveiled the new "Captain's Dinner programme". Through 30 November, first class passengers on select Germany-USA flights "will be personally greeted by the captain before the four-course menu is served in a candlelight atmosphere".

Hmmm. Am I being overly security-conscious here when I question whether a carrier should broadcast - even vaguely - when a captain is leaving the cockpit?

A Lufthansa spokeswoman clarifies: "The captain does not come out and greet the First Class guests for a period during the flight, but rather while they are still on the ground shortly before take-off."

And just to be totally clear, although we all rather assumed this, the candlelight comes from LED-powered candles - not actual fire!

In any case, dinner sounds pretty good - a lobster appetizer, lemon sherbet with champagne, a main course of grilled beef filet with fresh truffle, green asparagus spears, carrots and au gratin potatoes, and a selection of desserts.

Check out what the hand shakeable folks up front get to enjoy on Luftie.

Remember when Charles Ogilvie announced this summer that he was leaving Virgin America to head up former employer Panasonic's in-flight entertainment and new airborne technology platforms in China?

Ogilvie's new position was a little foreshadowing of things to come. On 17 December Panasonic will celebrate the grand opening of its new Shanghai office. A snazzy press event will be held at the Westin Bund Center Shanghai.

"This first ever special event in China will bring together top airline executives, executives from studios, Shanghai Government officials, Panasonic executives, and more than 20 media correspondents and crew," says Panasonic in an invite.

But will it also be a platform for Panasonic to announce a launch customer for its portfolio of airborne broadband data communications, mobile phone services and live television?

As I recently reported in Flight, the IFE hardware giant is in advanced talks with a carrier, which "wants a full global suite of services" including Panasonic's eXConnect high-speed connectivity solution, its eXPhone offering that supports AeroMobile's mobile phone service and eXTV television with "global coverage of those services".

Panasonic isn't saying anything more than the invite. But who knows. Maybe the gaggle of airline executives, studio executives, Shanghai Government officials, media correspondents and Panasonic executives will get chatty at the cocktail reception. And if I'm not there for it, maybe someone would be ever so kind as to send me the press release directly. Please and Thank You.

(Photo courtesty of www.pachd.com)

Here at RWG we like our mobile apps to be cool but useful. FlightView's newest offering clears both requirements.

Picture this. You're enjoying sun and fun on the island of Nevis when you receive word that Hurricane Omar is headed for the Northeastern Caribbean. Bugger. You're on the only flight to San Juan that day but your connection to DC requires a stop through Miami in the early evening. You've got a hunch that this spells a lengthy delay at the least.

You grab your flight, but while the aircraft is on the ground you whip out your smartphone and pull up http://mobile.flightview.com.

With this app, you find a flight through JFK an hour earlier and book it by calling reservations. You're back in DC about 10 minutes ahead of the original schedule.

That's a simple but true story from a guy who last month learned the joys of having FlightView Mobile in the palm of his handheld.

And what about that flight through Miami? It was delayed by five hours.

We're dying to know the usage stats on Gogo but Aircell isn't telling...yet. American Airlines this summer began offering the in-flight broadband service on its transcon fleet of Boeing 767s.

"Unfortunately, I can't release our usage stats yet. I can say that we have exceeded our usage goals to date and are happy with how usage is trending," says an Aircell spokesman. 

Okay, but if that's the case, then why is Aircell handing out coupons to American customers for 25% off the usual price of $12.95 for over three hours?

"In terms of the discounts, they aren't new. We have been experimenting since day 1 with discounts on various flights and routes at various times to see how they impact adoption and usage," says the spokesman. "We've been very happy with the usage so far, but more usage is always better, right?"

Perhaps I'm just being a bit cynical here. And so I asked a telecommunications expert what he thinks. "I suspect that they WANT to be at $9.95 - so their marketing folks figured they'd list price at $12.95 and then pass out the coupons....works fine...also, nothing wrong with introductory discounts. It's still cheaper than a Hilton, Sheraton or Best Western."

Okay, grand. We'll accept that...for now. Virgin America is set to go live with the service on 22 November. The carrier as well as another Aircell customer, Air Canada, appear to be breaking from the pack with respect to content filtration.

While American and Delta will filter objectionable material such as pornography (as discussed at length here and also here), Virgin America and Air Canada "have not indicated a desire to filter content on Gogo", says the Aircell spokesman.

He says the Colorado-based company isn't surprised by all the hoopla surrounding the in-flight porn issue. "In terms of our reaction to the 'hoopla', these are simply the growing pains of being a new technology and we're taking them in stride."

You may notice a few changes on this blog in the coming weeks. I've decided to place all of my blogging energies into exploring the latest and greatest innovations in in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) and cabin interiors; as well as new programmes and applications for tech-savvy, gizmo-laden travellers.

By the very nature of our tricked-out world, this arena has become so exciting that it deserves a little spot on the web all its own. My goal is to make Runway Girl a go-to place for news and info about these subjects (I think we're well on our way already). But if you see or hear of something interesting - be it new in-flight bells and whistles, IFE&C trials, tribulations and successes or mobile phone advancements targeted at passengers - please don't hesitate to contact me at mary.kirby@flightglobal.com

To all the folks who have turned to Runway Girl for regional aircraft programme updates and bizarre airline stories (employee urine tests, anyone?), I thank you for your comments and insight over the last year. I continue to cover Bombardier and Embraer's commercial programmes and US airlines as a senior editor for Flight International magazine as well as for its premium subscription-based news service Air Transport Intelligence. So let's keep up the discourse via email!

Now back to the in-flight world. It has come a long way (but still has miles to go before we econo passengers can sleep). Nonetheless, it seems that Runway Girls have always been welcome here. Check out the following video from 1940. Call it what you may (a precursor to the Ryanair calendar girl shoot?) but the narrator isn't off the mark when he says: "Mary had a little limb as white, as white as snow." Now where is my tanning cream?

Virgin America will become the second US carrier to offer in-flight broadband connectivity when it launches Aircell's Gogo service on 22 November (or at least that's the plan).

The carrier has sent an invite to journalists to participate in a special flight above San Francisco on its beta Wi-Fi aircraft.

But, in "true Virgin fashion", the airline will launch Gogo "with the first-ever live air-to-ground video transmission, streamed to an audience of millions both online and onstage during an event unlike any other - YouTube Live".

Press will get a a shot at YouTube stardom by being part of the live broadcast from the plane, says the carrier.

Key caveat:

Guests will be asked to log off the network to preserve bandwidth during the live air-to-ground transmission of the flight. 

We're being told to bring our laptop or PDA "but no tasers bro". Darn it!

Meanwhile, check out Virgin America's clever new dedicated YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/virginamerica 

I just received the following e-mail from a friend, who is using Aircell's Gogo connectivity service in the sky right now. The Vonage speedtest says a lot (check out part of a screen grab below). I gotta ask, however: What's up with the steep discounts already?

Hiya!
 
sending live from AA Flt 34 LAX-JFK - Gogo is great - $12.95 (less a 25% promo coupon) - and VERY respectable speed.  Don't know if you're written it up yet but VERY pleased. I'm streaming WQXR and it sounds fine....VoIP is verboten yet - but I tried a test and it's pretty choppy - they're probably doing that intentionally for now since the bandwidth is good enough for it to work.

May they rest in peace - the connectivity folks who came on the scene and lost loads of money, only to see their plans die. Our confident friends over at LiveTV have compiled a little picture of all the headstones. Oh and look, two current-day providers are also shown heading down the same road to perdition. I've done everyone a favour and blacked out the names of these two high-profile companies. As they say: "There but by the Grace of God..."

Now, what other little IFE&C sparklers came out of my trip to Florida last week? Here's a few:

1) JetBlue airliners that are coming off-lease and into the hands of a Middle Eastern carrier will retain their LiveTV systems, which will initially support four channels of stored content. LiveTV sees the Middle East as a natural next step in its plan to expand live television customers, however.

2) An antenna to support LiveTV on Brazilian start-up Azul's aircraft has been selected. And no. A vendor announcement has not yet been made (although LiveTV is contributing to the design).

3) Ku-band connectivity is a possible option for Canadian low-cost carrier WestJet, whose aircraft are equipped with LiveTV. Management at LiveTV says it is talking to WestJet about such a solution (part of its newly-announced three-pronged strategy) but "still has questions about how much people will pay". Getting air-to-ground (ATG) connectivity up and running in Canada is going to take some time. The Government still needs to allot the spectrum to someone and then the towers need to be built. (Air Canada recently tapped ATG-based Aircell for connectivity. However, as yet this can only operate in US airspace).

4) LiveTV's goal is to equip half the US domestic fleet with live television. It's well on its way, having secured a customer for its latest generation live television product, the ultra-cool LTV3, and an LOI from another North American carrier. A third LOI for LTV3 is in the offing.

Malaysia Airlines has been trialling AeroMobile's mobile phone and data services over the last few weeks, garnering the distinction of becoming the first carrier in Asia to offer such services.

The AeroMobile system was installed on a Malaysia Boeing 777-200 aircraft during a routine maintenance check.

Malaysia Airlines managing director and CEO Dato Seri Idris Jala says the trial will be conducted to gauge passenger behaviour and acceptability. "If the evaluation findings are positive, we aim to roll out the system throughout the remainder of our widebody aircraft fleet next year."

I asked AeroMobile to send along a photo of its equipment installed on a 777.

The image below shows part of the installation (three of the six boxes), installed on the 'E7 rack' in the crown of the aircraft cabin above the ceiling panels.

The AeroMobile equipment (three avionics units in this shot) is the equipment to the left of the orange boxes. The two thick black cables are the 'leaky feeder' ('radiating RF cables') which are installed down both sides of the full length of the aircraft cabin providing a signal to passengers' mobile phones.

I spent most of yesterday touring LiveTV's hangar at Orlando International Airport and its headquarters in nearby Melbourne, Florida. In Melbourne, I got a chance to experience LiveTV's latest-generation live television system, LTV3, which we'll chat about later in more detail here (suffice it to say, the system is pretty damn awesome).

But I also had the opportunity to learn about LiveTV's three-pronged connectivity strategy, which involves offering its basic Kiteline messaging and email product to airline customers now (parent JetBlue is flying the service) while developing two broader solutions for the future, including Oasis which will offer a "feels like broadband" experience by cleverly combining Kiteline with the stored content-upload capabilities of LiveTV's wireless aircraft data link (WADL) system. I should stress that Oasis hasn't been officially launched, but managment is eyeing a possible 2009 service entry.

I've written a fuller piece about it for Flight, which can be accessed by either clicking on this link or scrolling down a bit further, whichever is easier for ya. And I've tapped IFE&C consultant Michael Planey to give us his two cents about Oasis. More from Planey later.

LiveTV reveals a "feels like broadband" in-flight solution
By Mary Kirby

LiveTV is developing a new connectivity solution that would enable carriers to offer passengers a broadband-like experience during flight with substantial ease.

The service, dubbed Oasis, has not yet been launched, although this could occur as early as 2009, said LiveTV co-founder and chief technology officer Jeff Frisco from the company's headquarters in Melbourne, Florida.

Significantly, however, LiveTV is open to offering Oasis to current airline customers of its live television systems or on a standalone basis.

"A great target may be regional fleets that cannot support a pay model. This could be standalone," says LiveTV VP of marketing and sales Mike Moeller.

He stresses, however, that LiveTV's business strategy of offering "IFE first and connectivity second" remains in play.

LiveTV is best known for its highly successful live television systems, which are installed on the fleets of parent JetBlue Airways, Frontier Airlines, WestJet in Canada and Australia's Virgin Blue. Continental Airlines is LiveTV's newest customer and will offer satellite programming on a large portion of its Boeing narrowbody fleet beginning early next year.

However, in late 2007 LiveTV began offering a basic in-flight connectivity service called Kiteline on a JetBlue aircraft. Kiteline supports free messaging and e-mail using the 1MHz slice of air-to-ground (ATG) spectrum that LiveTV acquired during the US Federal Communications Commission's 2006 auction of 4HHz of spectrum in the 800MHz band allocated to ATG services.

JetBlue recently said it intends to offer fleet-wide connectivity after testing Kiteline, while Frontier and Continental are also turning to LiveTV for connectivity.

Oasis, named thusly because it is "a beautiful place made possible with data", represents the second step in LiveTV's connectivity strategy, says Frisco. The service will combine the low data rate capability of Kiteline with LiveTV's ability to upload large amounts of cached content to onboard servers via its wireless aircraft data link (WADL).

For several years WADL has provided JetBlue with continuous remote-video monitoring of its aircraft cabins on the ground. But it also enables movies as well as relatively fresh stored content to be uploaded to the aircraft.

By harnessing Kiteline and WADL, LiveTV will be able to offer a "feels like broadband" experience, says Frisco. The solution would be cost efficient because content storage "is cheap".

Moeller says access to Oasis and "various aspects" of the service would be free for passengers, including possibly email. Other parts of the service - movies for instance - would cost a fee.

At present, a number of in-flight connectivity providers are either offering or are planning to offer broadband solutions, including Ku band-based ViaSat, Row 44 and Panasonic as well as ATG-based Aircell, which owns an exclusive 3MHz license to provide wireless broadband on commercial aircraft.

Aircell's system is currently being trialled on American Airlines' fleet of 15 transcontinental Boeing 767-200s. So far the Colorado-based firm has kept usage data close to its chest.

IFE and in-flight connectivity consultant Michael Planey believes that with Oasis, LiveTV is proposing "a reasonable approach that allows its customers to essentially dip their toe into the water without having to jump into the water and sign up for a 10-year agreement for connectivity services, which is the kind of stuff that Aircell and Row 44 are proposing".

In five years, the passenger demand for broadband "will outstrip what this Kiteline and Oasis product will be able to deliver", he suggests, but this will give LiveTV time to develop a broadband connectivity solution for customers.

LiveTV is already making headway on this front. The third step in the firm's three-pronged connectivity strategy involves potentially offering a Ku band-based solution in tandem with LiveTV's soon-to-be-launched third generation live television system. LiveTV engineers are currently working on an antenna to support the dual service.

LiveTV is not yet convinced, however, that there is a market for a pay-for-service broadband connectivity model and continues to take a "hedge and wait" approach.

"If Row 44 and Aircell prove that people will pay $10 or $20 [for broadband] and the doubt is out of the model, we can do a new antenna that does both [DBS] TV and broadband," says Frisco.

Nonetheless, LiveTV still sees live television as the killer application for today's entertainment-hungry world. "TV is the drug," says Frisco.

 

Updated to include Delta comment...see end of story

Delta Air Lines calls the Boeing 767 the workhorse of its international fleet. That workhorse was tested recently when a flight from Atlanta to Moscow apparently lost power to one of its two engines. The aircraft landed safely in Moscow.  

I haven't seen any formal safety reports about the incident yet, but The Aviation Herald says the Pratt & Whitney PW4060-powered 767-300 is registered N181DN. A pic of the aircraft is available at this Flickr account.

Mike Moeller, an executive at JetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV, happened to be on that flight as he and has wife were travelling to Russia to adopt their beautiful new son Liam. Mike recounts his experience on his family's blog. Key passage:

"After flying all night, we were awaken around 8:00 Moscow time (two hours before landing) to breakfast. As we opened our breakfast and were about to be served something to drink, something happened. Suddenly, the plane's engines got quieter, we slowed, all the lights and in flight entertainment went out. No more air coming from the overhead consoles.

"We had lost power. I noticed along with a couple of other people that something was up, but the rest of the passengers continued as is. About 20 seconds later, the head flight attendant came running down the aisle and whispered to the other flight attendants. They very quickly took the carts to the back and sat down. The head flight attendant continued as he ran to the front of the plane and soon returned to look out the windows.

"I then wondered: Have we lost an engine? (I read something about Delta and American losing an engine 2 weeks ago on 767 flights) Is something up with Russia and we cannot land? Is there fighter airplanes outside the widow? Where are we going to land?

"After about 20 minutes, the captain came on 'We have lost and engine (we have two by the way) and will be landing soon'."

The full text of Mike's blog post is definitely worth a read. I admire he and his wife's faith that everything would be alright. Frankly, I would have been a nervous wreck especially after flight attendants began the process of reviewing the fundamentals of crash landing with passengers.

Delta has been in the news of late for other engine issues. You'll recall that the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) last month issued an urgent recommendation to FAA to require operators to cut inspection intervals for Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines to prevent uncontained failures. As reported by Flight's John Croft, the NTSB request is tied to an ongoing investigation of a 6 August incident at Las Vegas McCarran International airport where a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 experienced an uncontained engine failure during its takeoff run.

Investigators later learned that at least four other PW2037 second stage turbine hubs had experienced cracks in the blade retaining lugs, and that during a routine overhaul, American Airlines uncovered a PW2037 second stage turbine hub with cracks in two adjacent blade retaining lugs.

Asked to comment on the Atlanta-Moscow incidednt, a Delta spokesman says: "Pilots received indication light on the left-side engine. Moscow was the closest airport. They powered down the engine. Engine type was PW4000, Flight #46."

My chat with Panasonic director of product marketing Cedric Rhoads about wireless IFE was fruitful indeed. Unfortunately, word count constraints prevented me from using all of his best quotes in my recent Flight piece concerning this subject.

So in classic note-dumping style, here is Part 2 and 3 from that conversation. Part 1 can be found here. (Note: the bolded text within the gray box specifically addresses Bluebox's prior comments about Pansonic and Thales).

2) The challenges of wireless cited in the past by Boeing, Panasonic and Thales - have these been resolved?

"I think that some of the issues have been resolved. At the time that Boeing was making decisions regarding the 787, there was a lot of concern about the 802.11n technology's specification not having yet been ratified by IEEE. There was no clearly defined standard due to lack of ratification, so there was still a lot of movement in the technology itself and as such, no clear supplier base. There was also concern that commitment to a specific variant in the absence of the ratified spec would likely create a lot of obsolescence issues. With the ratification of the 11n spec, this challenge has been overcome."

"One of the other things we learned during the 787 wireless IFE project was that, ultimately, the weight savings in moving to a wireless distribution architecture was not realized as originally envisioned. The concern for us was that the value of wireless was not there and it represented a very big trade-off in bandwidth, and thus capability."

"The two other significant challenges that affected wireless at the time still remain. Mr. Stuart's comment that we weren't 'up to the challenge' (of wireless IFE) was unfortunate; we did it and it worked; it was Boeing that ultimately decided against it because of other factors."

"One of the challenges was the issue of frequency spectrum allocation within the different countries where a wireless IFE system would be expected to operate in an airline environment.  Unlike using a fixed Wi-Fi router in your home or office, an aircraft may have to operate in a country that does not have the spectrum to effectively operate a wireless-based IFE system. At the time, there were insufficient 802.11 channels available in several countries (e.g., China) to ensure a fully functional system in all intended operational geographies."

"In the 787 wireless IFE design there was insufficient 802.11 spectrum to give us what we needed to do a wireless network serving 250 passengers with centrally stored, on-demand content on dedicated wireless channels. Across the 787 type cabin, and this was roughly in the range of about 250 seats, we had to reuse spectrum from the front to the rear of the aircraft to ensure sufficient on-demand bandwidth. The consequence of this was that very specific, custom antennas were required to mitigate interference in the re-used channels that had to operate simultaneously within the same airframe." 

"As I understand it, the Bluebox solution differs in one fundamental regard; they are providing local storage on the user's device, from which the user will access their desired content.  At the time of the 787 Wireless IFE study, content was served wirelessly from head-end-based storage. With local content storage, you solve the bandwidth challenges of serving wireless on-demand content, but you create another challenge:  Content synchronization (storage) across all of the end-user devices each time the content is updated.  The challenge, of course, is the speed at which you can update the content.   The 802.11n technology is the most capable wireless technology today for use in a cabin environment, and yet moving a terabyte of content across 250 seats--essentially 250 terabytes of content migration--is going to take a significant amount of time. This creates a natural limitation in the amount of content you can host when using a wireless distribution methodology.  Further, the cost and adaptability (to in-seat devices) of large-capacity hard-drives is a difficult challenge; typically, you must compromise on the size of these drives (vs. distributed system architectures.)"

"That means that customers who select local-storage systems are going to have to accept this trade-off in that they will not be able to carry the same amount of content.  You must decide either a) less content, or b) a longer period where devices are not synchronized."

3) Does Panasonic have any sort of timeline for bringing something to market (especially in light of competition from Bluebox and no doubt others)?

"Panasonic focuses onboth the OEM requirements and our customer's requirements.  We already possess a variety of solutions and we continue to adapt or innovate to meet the changing demands of the market. We're working closely with Airbus and our customers on the A350 design and will provide a robust product line for this market.  I'm not at liberty to disclose the specifics of schedule or technology at this time."

 

US Airways is deactivating the powerports on its 102 Airbus A320 family aircraft. See below for two pretty informative Q&As between US Airways and its employees about the carrier's plans.

I only hope that US Airways' decision to decimate its domestic in-flight entertainment (IFE) and services in economy class means that it is readying to take a step forward, as previously discussed. Oh I know, that pillow/blanket set sounds really exciting. Calm your enthusiasm.

Q. When we remove IFE systems from our domestic mainline aircraft, are we also going to deactivate powerports?

A. "We currently have powerports on 102 Airbus A320 family aircraft. We'll be deactivating them when we remove IFE systems from these aircraft beginning Nov. 1.The powerport system only permitted limited usage of 8-10 customers at a time and required them to purchase a special adapter. We'll continue to offer universal (adapter-free) laptop power compatible for 145 countries in Envoy on our B767 and 757 fleet and are taking this option for our new A330-200s that are coming online later this year. We'll also continue offering in-seat power in Envoy on our A330-300 fleet."

Q. What about pillows and blankets? When are those coming and what else will we sell? Also, what about new IFE? Who are we working with?

A. "Regarding the pillow and blanket question: They're coming (but no exact date yet) and looking at selling for about $7. In regards to IFE we are talking to all the primary vendors for inflight entertainment and Wireless internet. Given the large costs involved and the 10- to 15-year life cycle of what we choose we will carefully compare the pros and cons of all the choices prior to moving forward."