February 2009 Archives

If ViaSat's relentless objections to Row 44's antenna-pointing has done anything it has held antenna makers' feet to the fire in terms of meeting performance criteria.

That means that ViaSat will need to show FCC regulators that it can meet its own expectations, which are high, very high. But it also means that new entrants now know exactly what they are facing before they enter the game.

Take the teaming of Qest and Tecom, for example. They have come together to bring their Ku-band anntena system, dubbed the KuStream 1000, to market. And they believe the combined product will pass muster with even the most particular of antagonists.

I've obtained an early copy of the product brochure. Click on the pic for more details or check out the entire brochure here:

KuStream_TECOM_QEST_02_2009.pdf

But here are some things you should know:

1) At the end of November 2008, the performance parameters of Qest's horn array aperture were verified in an anechoic chamber. "Meeting all relevant, stringent FCC criteria for airborne Ku band antennas in transmit mode up to a geographical skew angle of min. +/- 35 degrees, the Qest aperture takes an outstanding competitive position," says the firm.

2) In the middle of December, the first functional prototype of the antenna system was assembled and successfully powered-on at Tecom's premises in California; it has been intensively tested since then.

3) Since mid-January of this year, selected customers have been given fully functional system demos at the Tecom location. While testing internet connections over satellite, transmit data rates of > 2 Mbit/s are obtained on a regular basis, says Qest.

4) Currently, Tecom and Qest are finalizing a first flight test prototype of the antenna system; start of serial production is planned for middle of 2009.

5) Named KuStream 1000, this antenna system will be shown from 24-27 March in Washington DC at the "Satellite 09" exhibition (Tecom booth # 296), and one week later at the "Aircraft Interiors Expo" at Qest's booth.

6) An internet site about the antenna system will go live very soon - www.kustream.com

I had the very good fortune to travel to St Croix last week to visit Seaborne Airlines, a gutsy operator keeping a seaplane dream alive despite some pretty challenging conditions. Challenging, but gorgeous, right? (Pic taken by Seaborne pilot and damn good photog Chris Boziel).

While there, I had a great chat with Seaborne president and CEO Omer ErSelcuk, who told me about a clever little promo involving seaplanes and hot sauce. Both are very sexy, don't you know? Well, see for yourself in my latest video blog.

Good gracious, is it me or is the world of IFE&C continuing to hot up out there? I'm not talking about the OnAir eye candy below, cheeky monkey! Here are a few updates smouldering on the burner.

Royal Jordanian Airlines has launched OnAir's on-board mobile phone service on an Airbus A319, enabling passengers to make and receive calls as well as exchange e-mail and text messages.

Passengers will also be able to access the Internet through GSM cards on laptop computers.

Asked by RWG about the speed and efficiency of the Internet via OnAir, which is supported by Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband, Royal Jordanian pointed out that it "has not yet been 48 hours now; so we need some more time to get the real feedback on this". Fair play to ya. I can be an eager little beaver at times.

Meanwhile, Brazilian start-up Azul is offering stored in-flight entertainment (IFE) content on some of its aircraft until the carrier's television offering is ready to go live. Four ex-JetBlue Airways Embraer 190s operating in Azul's fleet are currently outfitted with JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV's IFE hardware.

The E-190s have live television capability "but they're just showing four channels of stored content right now", says an Azul spokesman. Azul also flies three new Embraer 195s and is adding more new airliners to it fleet. The carrier intends to offer LiveTV's live television service by the end of this year or early next, says the spokesman.

However, it appears the timeline for launching live television on Azul is trending towards the right. Previously Azul seemed a bit more confident in a LiveTV launch by year-end.

LiveTV declined to comment, but VP of marketing and sales Mike Moeller previously explained some of the challenges of bringing in-flight live televison to a Brazilian operator.

"Every region has a different DBS [direct broadcast satellite] provider with different satellite gains, frequencies, receiver cards, polarizations, look angles, etc. This forces the hardware provider to design the correct antenna that delivers the optimum performance in a region. Unfortunately, it is not a one size fits all approach," said Moeller. EMS is designing and supplying the antenna for Azul.

Now then, I recently had a long chat with Aircell CEO Jack Blumenstein. I released a quick and dirty here, but you'll note the key points are: 1) Aircell is working with a major satellite player on a hybrid solution to offer airlines an overseas solution; 2) Aircell is pushing out one Gogo-equipped Delta aircraft every day "like boxes of popcorn"; and 3) Aircell is now working with seven carriers, of which two are undisclosed. We'll have more from that interview later.

Marsha, I mean Aircell, Aircell, Aircell. With all the news about Aircell, you might be wondering - what's up with Ambit's lawsuit against Aircell? Whose lawsuit? Ambit of course! If you want more details, I can dredge them up for ya. But, from what I hear, folks are not giving too much credence to this suit. Yeah, yeah, I know. Famous last words, right? Aircell says it does not comment on pending legislation. But I'm going to hazard a guess that Aircell did it's homework on this one.

So who does comment? And what about? Well, I asked a knowledgeable industry chap for his thoughts about that The Internet Safety Act that I was lambasting the other day. Here's what he has to say about that.

Yes, Section 5 of the legislation (two-year data retention) is a bit disturbing.  Under the banner of child protection, the bills significantly extend the data retention requirement for ISPs and other electronic communications services providers.  Indeed, if broadly interpreted, the requirement could be viewed as applying not only to traditional ISPs but also to any person or entity that facilitates Internet access (e.g., anyone who sets up a WAP, hotels with Internet access, businesses that facilitate employee access to the Internet, schools, libraries, universities, etc.).  This is quite a mandate!
 
Section 3 of the legislation (defining the offence of Internet facilitation) also seems broadly worded.  In particular, the inclusion of email service providers is troubling because criminalizing "conduct the provider knows or has reason to believe facilitates access to" covered content may be difficult to interpret since by its very nature email may facilitate access to covered content.  Further, the "reason to believe" standard suggests that the email service provider should (or at least may) expand monitoring of email traffic to avoid potential liability, which raises separate data protection and privacy issues.

So this was a rather useful exercise after all? No comment!

Industry consultant and entrepreneur extraordinaire Addison Schonland put Row 44's Ku-band-based broadband service through its paces today on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 equipped with the system.

Addison says his Wi-Fi-enabled blackberry found the network signal very easily, but when he went through the browser to log on to the system, he ran into a bit of difficulty. 

"Clearly with a small keyboard that was not an easy thing to do" and "in fact the blackberry froze and I actually had to shut it down and restart it and once I restarted the device, it picked up the network right away", he says.

Addison picked up 11 emails "in no time at all". Yet, his attempt to send two outgoing emails was not a success.

I just spoke to Addison on the phone and he felt his Row 44 experience was largely positive. He has some words of advice, however. Listen to his entire podcast at the following link:

http://iagblog.podomatic.com/entry/2009-02-23T15_22_19-08_00

Addison's comments and those of the other passengers interviewed during the flight mirrors the sentiments being tweeted and re-tweeted across the nation. Southwest passengers, it seems, enjoy their Wi-Fi. But how much are they willing to pay for it? 

A SAMPLING OF THE TWEETS

 

testing Southwest's in-flight wifi. Pretty nice. Great speeds. Free....for now

 

Wifi on my southwest flight=awesome, 3meg dwnload speed only 144kb upload, its unsecure & works on [...]

 

788 Kbps down, 144 up on my Southwest flight wi-fi. Not terrible

 

on the internet.. on an airplane. Did you know southwest has free wi-fi? trippy.

 

Using Southwest free wi-fi at 30,000 ft. Hoping their trial run becomes permanent

 

chatting with my bro who is on a SWA flight. That's right baby, inflight WiFi. he is streaming ESPN video too!

 

Is using twitter via his wifi connection on his flight to Chicago. Just another reason Southwest rocks my[...]

 

on Southwest flight.. wifi a bit slow up in the air.

 

is twittering from 10,000 feet up thanks to Southwest's free WiFi. I don't think thats what they meant [...]

 

Tweeting from a southwest flight, free wifi on some flights - AMAZING   

Hell hath not frozen over folks. US Airways is indeed resuming a free beverage service on its domestic flights. I wonder how many negative news articles, passenger complaints and cries of thirst management had to hear about before deciding to cease charging passengers for the bare necessities of life, like water.

But whatever the catalyst, US Airways CEO Doug Parker today said the carrier no longer wants to be the only large network carrier to charge for drinks.

Here's the text of his full letter to employees:

"Tomorrow morning we will make an announcement returning complimentary sodas, juices, tea, water and coffee to US Airways. The free beverage service will resume on March 1. This change reverses part of the a la carte business model we believe is right for our business and I'd like to explain why we made this decision.

"When we launched the beverage purchase program in 2008 we knew it would generate additional revenue.  From this perspective the program was very successful. What we didn't know at the time, but later experienced, was that the cabin atmosphere would also improve with fewer carts in the aisles and shorter lines to the lavatories.

"Today, while we remain firmly committed to the a la carte strategy - we also know it is a work in progress. We know customers don't buy an airline ticket based on whether or not they will get a free soda onboard, but with US Airways being the only large network carrier to charge for drinks, we are at a disadvantage. More importantly, this difference in our service has become a focal point that detracts from all of the outstanding improvements in on-time performance and baggage handling that all of us have worked so hard to achieve over the past year.

"We are not making this decision because the airline industry is now healthy. To the contrary, while oil prices have dropped, a global recession is having a material negative impact on industry revenues and our industry still needs business model changes as much as ever. Moving to an a la carte model has helped us build an airline that can withstand the uncontrollable factors that influence our industry and we need to keep trying new programs, like a la carte pricing. Frankly, it would have been a bigger risk for us not to have tried charging for drinks because innovation and a new business model are desperately needed.

"In fact, we still expect to generate $400 to $500 million in 2009 from a la carte items like checked baggage fees, Choice Seats, and our new blanket and pillow offering - the US Airways Power-Nap Sack .

"Aggressively managing our business by anticipating what our world may look like in the future is the cornerstone of our culture. In other words, we are always thinking differently about how we operate and are not afraid to take a chance on new ideas designed to provide career certainty and stability, great customer service and positive returns for our shareholders. It is also part of the reason we received a vote of confidence from our investors and business partners last fall when we raised close to $1 billion to help keep the airline strong.

"We will be issuing a press release announcing this news early tomorrow morning, as well as posting it on Wings and theHub. Thank you for continuing to take care of our customers." 

It's difficult to argue against legislation that is billed as a means of protecting children. As a mother, there is nothing more frightening and repugnant than the knowledge that child predators are lurking about, including on the Internet.

So when Republicans last week proposed The Internet Safety Act in the House and Senate to reign in the Internet's limitless nature, which "offers anonymity that has opened the door to criminals looking to harm innocent children", it sounded pretty well-intentioned...on first blush. Upon further review, however, the plan appears to trample all over privacy rights, whatever is left of them.

The Internet Safety Act would require ISPs and home users to keep records about users on their networks for two years to aid police investigations.

As Kane's Computing World points out, the bill not only applies to AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and so on, but also to the tens of millions of homes with Wi-Fi access points or wired routers that use the standard method of dynamically assigning temporary addresses. It will turn "everyone with a router at home into an agent of the state".

And yes, the likes of Aircell would also be affected, with the company's pico cells working overtime to facilitate the rule.

But serious questions abound. If this legislation is passed, what will it mean for the increasing number of businesses that offer free Internet to customers and even the general public, asks David Coursey of PC World.

And, he questions, how do I maintain such records if you come over to my house and I give you a password for my access point? And, how will this law treat VOIP telephone calls? Will call data also need to be recorded?

Do you really believe the data collected will be used to focus on the fight of child exploitation? Coursey rightly bets otherwise, predicting that the data collected won't be used nearly as much in the fight for children as it will in other types of investigations.

And if that's the case, and Congress is intent on collecting this information for law enforcement, says Coursey, then we should "reengineer the Internet to collect this information automatically. Heck, we could all login using our new national identity cards, affirm our allegiance to Big Brother, and communicate safe in the knowledge that someone is watching over us".

Of course, there is a slight hypocrisy inherent in our battle cry against Big Brother. Haven't we been quickly marching towards a data-watch society for years? And, isn't the collective "we" already participating in a sort of voluntary Big Brother (FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace, anyone?)

I guess we must ask ourselves - where does the buck stop? Should it stop here, at the Internet Safety Act? It will take some very brave legislators to fight off a bill that espouses child protection. While they're at it, they would be wise to propose legislation that finally gets tough on child predators. Here's a thought - lock them up in the general prison population and throw away the key. Then maybe this mom will get some sleep.

(Graphic by Not Bad Design at notbaddesign.net)

The celebration was fierce yesterday when spunky Irish operator Ryanair finally launched mobile phone connectivity following several delays. Dressed as a mobile phone, Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary joined OnAir's head honcho Benoit Debain in a bit of a a Can-Can dance. And why the hell not? A total 20 Ryanair Boeing 737s have been equipped with the system and the rest of the fleet is expected to be mobile-friendly within 18 months, as the Independent reports. Check out the pics below (note the ease at which the system can be turned ON and OFF...come on America, aren't we ready yet?)

I just stepped off a US Airways Boeing 757 that has seen better days. Grotty is the best and only way to describe the interior of the aircraft that flew me from Philadelphia to St Thomas. And I was in first class! (Note to potentially confused colleagues who wonder where the bank came from - I paid for the $200 upgrade myself. Yes, even first class is going for bargain-basement prices these days, which says a lot).

More to the point, while there was certainly a slot for an IFE system to fit snugly into my first-class seat, there was no IFE to be found. That's because US Airways is still on the fence about its long-term IFE strategy for the domestic fleet.

To be fair, the Star Alliance member is taking baby steps to remedy that situation. Pending regulatory approval, the carrier will shortly begin a 60-day commercial trial of Lumexis' fibre-to-the-screen in-flight entertainment (IFE) system, which has been installed on a single Airbus A320, tail 680, flying between Orange County, California (where Lumexis calls home), Phoenix and Atlanta.

In an employee newsletter, US Airways managing director, consumer and partnership marketing Kevin Jackson notes that the 60-day trial will let management learn more about the types of programming options that customers want - and how they want to pay for them.

"We plan on using what we learn during this time to help us select a long-term IFE system offering in the future," says Jackson.

So what will customers on aircraft 680 get exactly? US Airways says each system offers 227 entertainment options, including 30 movies, 86 television programmes, four audio books, 100 music CDs and seven games. Passengers can pay at their seat using a credit or debit card. Specially trained flight attendants, product experts and a Lumexis representative will be on hand to assist folks.

But how much will it cost? "We'll test different pricing models like pay per view, pay per flight and different price points for different types of programming to measure what our customers prefer and the potential for generating a la carte revenue," says US Airways.

Ah yes. A la carte revenue. It's that juicy ancillary stuff that the likes of Virgin America and Frontier Airlines know all about. Does it guarantee success? Not necessarily. Does it keep the hoards of disgruntled, tightly-packed sardines (er, passengers) from complaining as much? Certainly! Would it make your domestic first offering truly first class? Indubitably!

Now I'm off to prepare for my interview with Seaborne Airlines. Something tells me I won't need IFE for tomorrow's seaplane ride.

Sleeper beds for economy class. It's a titillating concept, but is it realistic or outrageously idealistic?

We've talked about it here. Now I ask the inventor of the Air Sleeper to convince me and you to embrace a paradigm shift in the way we think about travel.

Are you ready to embrace? I am.

This morning's horrific tragedy in Buffalo is deservedly occupying the attentions of many Flight editorial staffers right now. I've pushed out a couple initial pieces about the Colgan Q400 crash for ATI and Flight, as has safety specialist David Kaminski-Morrow.

Here are some key facts from Bombardier this morning:

1) The accident aircraft was delivered in April 2008.

2) A total 220 Q400s have been delivered to date, which have logged more than 1 million flying hours and 1.5 million takeoff cycles without a fatal accident. 

3) This is the first fatal Q400 accident.

4) Bombardier is not speculating as to whether icing played a role in the crash.

5) Over 160 Q400s are currently in operation among 20 operators around the world.

Flight Americas Editor John Croft is picking up the story henceforth today. For further analysis and information about the Colgan Q400 crash, I urge you to check out Croft's forthcoming news posts as well as information and analysis on his new appropriately-titled blog, As the Cro(ft) Flies. His most-recent entry studies the Colgan turboprop's final approach chronology. There is a lot to take in here, but here are some key pars:

Icing, always a concern for commuter aircraft in winter weather, was reported on the approach (a Delta Airlines flight approaching the airport after Colgan 3407 reported picking up ice from 6,500ft down to 3,500ft during the approach. A departing aircraft also asked Buffalo controllers for a continuous climb to 10,000ft in order to quickly pass through the icing layer.

Investigators will invariably explore whether a configuration change or change in autopilot status may have caused an abrupt upset to the aircraft, an event that would have been picked up by the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, assuming the devices survived the crash. Officials at the crash site reported very little lateral damage in the area, indicating a steep vertical descent.

Lots happening out there so here's a news roundup...

First up, kudos to Inmarsat, which is expected to achieve global coverage of SwiftBroadband on 24 February. The aeronautical service supports in-flight mobile connectivity providers AeroMobile and OnAir, as well as a clever Internet solution being developed by Arinc. Check out Inmarsat's satellite repositioning page for a fuller break-down.

Next up, Southwest Airlines is urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to grant authority to Row 44. I've written a fuller story here, but here are a few key points and thoughts:

1) Southwest's trial of Row 44 is being conducted pursuant to a grant of modified experimental authority issued to a Hughes subsidiary on 5 February 2009 by the commission's office of engineering and technology. So essentially, the FCC saw fit to at least green-light the Southwest trial. I'd imagine that this bodes well for Row 44 and its larger aspirations.

2) Southwest says all passengers participating in this testing are being informed that, at this time, the in-flight connectivity service is being provided for experimental purposes only and that it "can be cancelled at any time". Okay, Southwest is being a bit careful here, admitting there is a possibility that final clearance might not be awarded. BUT, if the airline was really worried it probably wouldn't be pushing ahead with further equipage of three more Boeing 737s.  

3) Yes, yes, I know. I've been covering this saga in a blow by blow fashion, and I'm sure you're wondering if I've grown tired of it. The answer to that my dear friends is: Hell No! Row 44 seems to do a lot of its talking in FCC filings these days so that's where I'm hanging. Thank you very much.

Now, what's next? Oh yes, portable IFE maker DigEcor gave me a grand interview yesterday. Check out my piece here. But here are some key points from that little ditty:

1) DigEcor is optimistic that take-up of its portable players will grow this year as airlines defer or cancel deliveries for new aircraft equipped with installed IFE hardware, predicts the firm's president and COO Brad Heckel.

2) DigEcor is still assessing the level at which passengers will use connectivity onboard aircraft. But he says the firm wants passengers to be able to access the Internet over its portable player to take advantage as much as possible of whatever bandwidth is available. As we know, DigEcor's first customer, Alaska Airlines, is slated to shortly begin trialling Row 44's Ku-band-based connectivity system.

3) DigEcor has ongoing programmes "where we are looking at more semi-permanent installations that would not require the type of wiring of an embedded system", says president and COO Brad Heckel. That IS interesting!

Now here's a big ole pic of DigEcor's XT model:

Okay, what else do we have? Ah yes, United Airlines has a very snazy web site about its international premium-class offering called Suite Dreams. The site has the latest info on its fleet retrofits (about 30% is completed). Here's a helpful chart (click on it for a bigger view):

United is one of about a dozen carriers offering iPod connectivity to passengers via Panasonic IFE. Speaking of Panasonic, the company remains confident that most of its airline customers will push forward with plans for IFE retrofits "and new aircraft IFE plans". 

It notes that Airbus and Boeing are forecasting robust production rates for 2009 despite the current global economic crisis.

Lastly, AirFax has a really good update about US Airways' trial of Lumexis' fibre-to-the-screen IFE system. Read the full text here. But here's some key pars:

Firstly, the Lumexis fiber optic system has been installed on airplane T/N 680 in Rome, New York. With work beginning on Jan. 5, 2009 it took some 23 days to complete it. All seats have been equipped for a total of 150 stations. A FAA flight test was performed last week. Insiders state that installation supplier, Inflight Canada, exclaimed that Lumexis is the easiest retrofit of this level of system they have ever performed!  One source noted that one of the installers said that with a bit of pre-installation effort on "A" checks, planes like A330's and A340's could be retrofitted in 7 days! Think about it, cable placement has been made a lot easier because of the complete disregard for EMI/RFI issues - cable placement and noise are a thing of the past because of the under floor seat boxes and dedicated cable "tubes".  

We also understand that Inflight Canada designed the iCache system, which uses a patented beam (stringer) grabber that greatly did away with the drilling, rivets and sealing used in normal mechanical installs, and yes, we asked our spies about the fiber optic cable installation in the seats. It seems Smallhorn went to the Canadian Military to get smart on these processes and we hear they got a real education. The military uses a lot of fiber and has developed a skill set with this technology. This probably contributed to the easy seat modification that ensued. The system needed no special ATE or test equipment... they plugged in cables and it worked! About the only note we feel should be made is with respect to weight. While the Lumexis system itself is probably the lightest installed, full capability in-flight entertainment system, the added boxes and tubes of the full installation package no doubt raised the final number. 

The Inflight Canada and Lumexis folks aren't talking but we think there is another North American customer in the works.

Amended to include update...

A portion of this morning's CBS Early Show was broadcast live via Aircell's Gogo in-flight Internet service from a Virgin America flight out of Boston.

Yep, Branson was on the plane.

We know the Gogo system can handle a live broadcast. Late last year, the first ever air-to-ground (ATG) video stream occurred on a Virgin America aircraft as part of a big YouTube Live event in San Francisco.

But I find the timing of today's CBS broadcast interesting. It comes just days after Southwest Airlines began commercial trials of Row 44's Ku-band-based connectivity system, which has been billed by the California-based firm as better and faster than ATG.

Maybe just maybe Aircell is trying to tell us something.

Here's what an Aircell spokesman had to say about the conventional wisdom that satellite-based connectivity is superior to ATG.

"In terms of the debate between satellite and ATG, remember that we have many years of experience working with satellite and still chose ATG as the better economic and technical choice for the US."

Next month, an entire Early Show will be done in the air! But here's the broadcast from this morning:

Boy oh boy, the timing of this news couldn't be sweeter. Yesterday I travelled to Washington National airport to videotape an interview with A I "Indi" Rajasingham, the head of MmilleniumM Group, which has invented a stacked sleeper for economy class, a product about which I wrote extensively here.

Now TravelMole is reporting that Airbus is considering lie-flat solutions for premium economy. There isn't a whole lot of additional information in the article (could we see this offering on the A350???). But here is the key quote from Airbus head of aircraft interiors Robert Lange:

"It's been the holy grail to find a way of getting premium passenger to sleep horizontally but space and best use of it is always an issue.

"The only thing we haven't explored so far is the overlapping layout and although it won't happen in the near future its something to look at."

Okay, so we probably shouldn't expect to see this in the very near future, as Lange suggests. But if Indi has his way, stacked sleepers will come onboard sooner rather than later. So keep an eye out for that video blog next week. 

Southwest Airlines yesterday formally launched commercial trials of Row 44's in-flight connectivity system, which is a big deal, as I mentioned in yesterday's blog. However, the carrier had already been putting the system through its paces for weeks (as readers of this blog are well aware). Now a Twitter buddy of mine has directed me to the physical evidence. Check out the 26 January video posted to YouTube by Southwest. I wonder if this too will find its way into FCC filings.

"Y'all are my first email from SWA Wifi.  It's awesome! Speed is good. Customers obviously luv it."

And with that simple email to Southwest's executive planning committee, company CEO Gary Kelly issued in a new era for the low-cost giant and the industry as a whole.

Southwest, the carrier that has prided itself on offering the barest of bare bones service has officially upped the ante in the in-flight sector, bringing Row 44's high-speed connectivity to passengers.

Row 44's is the very first Ku-band-based service to come to the commercial market since Connexion by Boeing shuttered its operations at the end of 2006.

The Row 44 system went live today amid an avalanche of protests from Row 44's rivals, which do not believe the California-based company has the appropriate FCC authority to launch commercial trials on Southwest or Alaska, which by the way is next in the queue.

But today, as Southwest formally began those trials on a single Boeing 737 (after a few informal tests), the controversy that has surrounded Row 44's ambitious plan subsided for a moment as the industry took in the gravity of situation.

Southwest, the engine that could, has given Row 44 its stamp of approval. That's huge. The carrier will equip three more aircraft by early March. Passengers can use the service for free until the FCC grants permanent approval to Row 44. 

And so, despite plenty of prior obstacles, and with the spectre of many more ahead, Row 44 - like Aircell before it - gets a golden ticket. That makes two. There were five tickets, remember? But who will be the ultimately triumphant Charlie Bucket?

Well, we've got three more tickets to award and a factory tour to take first! 

With all the tit-for-tat, spit-for-spat playing out in FCC filings between rival satellite-based connectivity providers ViaSat and Row 44, it's easy to forget they share a common antenna partner - AeroSat. Yes, that's the same company that stands to be hurt financially should the FCC continue to delay approval of Row 44's system, as repeatedly requested by ViaSat, and should commercial trials on Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines remain at bay.

And so, the big question is: "Does ViaSat still want to use the AeroSat antenna?" The short answer is "Yes". Indeed you can download a big ole brochure on how AeroSat's antenna fits into ViaSat's in-flight connectivity system for VIP aircraft.

The long answer was given to me today by ViaSat director of regulatory affairs Daryl Hunter.

I understand his concerns but from a consumer standpoint, I'd love to see a Ku-band-based connectivity system flying soon. Wouldn't you?

In any case, here are those notes in full (there is plenty in here to mull over but now it's time for me to go to bed...if I dream about antennas I'll know I have a problem).  

We still believe that the AeroSat antenna meets our needs for certain airborne applications and have no beef with them at all as a supplier/partner. Our concern is the total integrated Row 44 system and the high off-axis EIRP density levels that will result when this antenna is used with Row 44's modem.

I entirely understand their desire to see the Row 44 trials move ahead as it would represent a significant financial boost to them once they start shipping these units in quantity. But to claim that the long term aeronautical internet business will be put at risk should AeroSat fail financially is, well, silly.

On the other hand, for AeroSat to claim financial hardship because their product is being used in an application that does not conform to FCC regulations and request that the FCC move ahead in spite of that is ridiculous. The financial stability of a small niche antenna product should not be a factor in bending FCC rules that affect the whole industry.

It was AeroSat's choice to put their lot in with a system integrator (Row 44) with no established experience in the aeronautical broadband space, and who is using one of the modems that does not sufficiently lower the input power density.

The two-way Ku-band antenna business for aero has been somewhat of a chicken/egg problem. Antenna manufacturers don't want to invest money in bringing a product to market if there's no market, the airlines want a product that's on the shelf, and so on.

Antenna manufacturers for any of the mobile satellite services (maritime, ground, and aero) tend to view their product as the chief enabler of the service. In reality, due to the very real concerns of adjacent satellite interference and current US and international rules, it is the total communications system that users need to consider rather than just the antenna.

Virtually all of the antennas made today or in work for future aero applications are too small physically to meet the narrow beamwidth requirements that are needed to protect adjacent satellite users from interference when used in conjunction with traditional modem modulation techniques. This is because there isn't that much real estate available on top of the aircraft, and because of the need for a low profile to reduce drag - thus the antennas are too small physically to produce a narrow beamwidth.

In order to really use any of the antennas in today's regulatory environment, what is needed is a means to sufficiently lower the power spectral density of the signal supplied to the antenna. This way when emitted by the antenna, the inevitable energy that spills out off the side of the antenna towards the adjacent satellites is low enough that no harmful interference results.

ViaSat recognized the importance of this issue years ago and has spent considerable time and money developing a technical solution to the problem. While the viability of our approach is clearly supported by the years of operational experience with our fielded systems, others have also employed similar techniques (e.g., Connexion by Boeing, and Omnitracs by Qualcomm).

The interference problem is complex and not well understood by users and industry participants who aren't conversant with the FCC and international rules, or the whole satellite communications process as a system. We see time and again where modem, radio, and antenna vendors offer products to users claiming to be useable for these mobile applications, but which when considered as a system, fall short of passing muster with respect to the adjacent satellite interference issue.

You might recall that Embraer has been working to offer new slim seats as a standard option across its E-Jets family.

Well, I can confirm that Austrian budget carrier Niki next year will become the first commercial operator to install the seats in its Embraer 190 aircraft.

The carrier is scheduled to start taking delivery of the first of five 104-seat E-190s this spring. But it will "install slim seats by next year", Embraer executive VP airline market Mauro Kern told me last week.,

He acknowledges that Niki is the launch operator for the seats.

With the C&D-manufactured slim seats, Niki will be able to increase the capacity of its E-190s to accommodate 112 passengers.

The seats are one of three options for E-Jets seating - the others are "standard" and "elite" but airlines can pick "several different configurations within these varieties", notes Kern.

(Photo taken from Niki A320; courtesy of AirTeamImages) 

That's the question I posed to some private and commercial airline pilots, including an American Airlines 777 captain as well as US Airways crewmembers that frequent the popular US Aviation online forum.

The response was decidedly mixed. See for yourself in my latest vlogging effort. As always, I welcome your comments and criticism (we're starting to figure this out, I think, but what do you think?).

It's Friday night and I'm combing through filings to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). I assure you that this activity does not top the list of things I'd like to be doing right now. But the sense of urgency in Row 44 and antenna maker AeroSat's latest pleas to the regulator is palatable and contagious. As you know, Row 44 is poised to begin in-flight trials of its Ku-band-based connectivity system on Boeing 737s operated by Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Yep, that's a Southwest 737 with the radome to the right (photo credits below). And so there is no time like the present to tell you the following:

Let's start with AeroSat, a plucky New Hampshire-based firm that has invested millions of dollars in the development of technology to support Row 44's in-flight Internet system, including the radome, antenna, and plenty of associated hardware. The company is now all but begging the FCC to approve Row 44's applications without delay.

Key quote:

"As a small business, we ask the commission to appreciate that in the current financial climate, additional delay will severely degrade our financial health and place at risk the likely long-term benefits to the aviation industry of a next-generation airborne Internet capability," says AeroSat CEO Michael Barrett in a letter to the agency.

Barrett is particularly concerned that the FCC will agree to a proposal by Row 44 rival ViaSat - as well as ViaSat partner KVH and Echostar Satellite Corp - to require the California-based firm to work with its detractors to design ground-based tests to evaluate the system and prove that it does not pose a threat of harmful interference. 

But AeroSat insists that further ground testing "and further hurdles" are not necessary to ensure the protection of satellite communications from interference. "Rather, additional hurdles and ground test requirements would only serve to hinder this project," says Barrett.

For its part, Row 44 is willing to do more testing, only it wants to do that testing in the air. Hoping to quell any lingering concerns, it has submitted a test plan to the FCC that calls for the firm to share with geostationary operators data derived from in-flight testing.

With respect to its commercial trials, Row 44 vows to "notify all users of it in-flight broadband capability that the service is being offered on a trial basis, and that final FCC approval to operate on a permanent basis has not yet been obtained".

How does the Strawbs song go? So close and yet so far away..

(Photo of Southwest 737 with radome taken by gTarded at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gtarded/3210432763/ )

Virgin America loves Aircell's Gogo in-flight Internet service. Loves it! The Airbus A320 family operator says Gogo has been very popular since it was launched late last year and usage rates have been higher than predicted AND steadily rising.

But just how high are we talking about?

"This past month, it was not uncommon for us to see 30% of the guests on a flight using the service," says a Virgin America spokeswoman.

Wow. That is pretty impressive. So what's the secret to this success?

Key quote from Virgin America:

"...the fact that we've got power outlets at every seat for travellers to stay plugged in, I'm sure impacts the usage numbers."

Added to that, Virgin America has received "many" comments that Gogo is not only "very high-speed" but that it is "transforming the way travellers stay in touch - and organize their workday (i.e. the fear of being disconnected from the offcie for five hours is gone)".

Virgin America will have equipped nine Airbus narrowbodies with Gogo by the end of this week, and plans to have the entire fleet of 28 twinjets outfitted by the second quarter of this year.

The carrier's new service to Boston from LA and San Francisco will have Wi-Fi from launch on 12 February.

Panasonic and Thales share a lot of things in common. They are both giants in the field of in-flight entertainment (IFE) hardware manufacturing. They both have a long roster of high-profile airline clients. And they both pride themselves on being on the forefront of in-flight technology. 

They part ways on a number of key issues, however. Panasonic is pursuing a Ku-band connectivity solution, for example, while Thales continues to see SwiftBroadband over L-band as the way forward for now.

When it comes to iPod connectivity, Panasonic has focused on a very iPod-specific solution, whereas Thales says it is taking  a more "catholic" approach. That's catholic with a small "c" folks (Lord knows I know what Catholic with a big "C" is all about).  

To this latter point, I've just posted a rather hefty article about the two firms' different strategies for enabling passengers to plug-and-play via IFE systems. 

It pulls from my recent interviews with Thales and Panasonic execs. You can also read the piece in its entirety here (but with the benefit of some pretty pics and graphs...ohhhh).

Passenger desire for plug-and-play keeps IFE giants on their toes 

Thales and Panasonic have moved aggressively to ensure their in-flight entertainment (IFE) hardware can support and enable different media applications and personal electronic devices, as today's tech-savvy travellers have come to expect more from their in-seat audio/video on demand (AVOD) systems.

 

But the two giants of IFE system manufacturing have taken different approaches to meet this goal.

From the software side, Thales plans to bring broad file management capability to the passenger. The firm has a software application "launching very shortly this quarter" that will have the capacity to support a variety of different file types on the seat-back screen, including MPEG video and audio, photographs in JPEG, Word documents, and PDF files, says Thales VP media services Stuart Dunleavy.

To do this, the IFE system integrates with different devices, such as digital cameras, personal computers and media players. "It's about providing a conduit for a passenger to integrate various media and file types into the seat-back screen," says Dunleavy.

Among the devices supported is the Apple iPod. However, unlike its rival Panasonic, Thales says it has taken a more "catholic" approach.

"Thales has the ability for passengers to connect to an external content device through USB port and [colour-coded] RCA jack port. Through those two formats, we can support a very wide range of consumer media devices," says Dunleavy.

To date, all of Thales' customers have elected to go with a more general solution rather than investing and installing a very specific iPod connectivity solution.

This differs from the path taken by Panasonic, which met the Apple iPod craze head-on by developing a seat-installed jack and "smart" cable that made using the massively popular device on aircraft as simple as plugging a lamp into a socket. Audio and video is sent from the iPod to the IFE system, which in turn sends power to the iPod (photo of United Airlines' iPod connectivity to the left).

"While I can't speak for our competition, the technology implementation they've pursued is unique to iPod devices. Once you've gone down that path, you've committed to an iPod solution. The RCA solution is generic. It facilitates anything, including Apple devices. Apple sells a RCA jack cable. You plug it into your iPod and redisplay content on the video screen," says Dunleavy, noting that Thales has customers, particularly in Asia, where iPod is not the dominant technology.

"We need to be sensitive to the global market and provide a solution that enables everybody. Having said that, we have a technical solution ready to go. It's on the shelf. We just haven't had a customer who has asked us to install that yet."

Panasonic, meanwhile, has secured deals with nearly a dozen customers to bring iPod connectivity on board aircraft. Singapore Airlines (SIA) became the first carrier in the world to debut this feature when it introduced iPod and iPhone connectivity on its all-business class Airbus A340-500 aircraft last year. The carrier is now claiming the distinction of becoming the first carrier to offer this feature to economy passengers.

All customers on SIA's new Airbus A330-300s, including in economy class, will have access to iPod and iPhone connectivity through SIA's 'KrisWorld' IFE system, which is based on Panasonic's eX2 platform.

The facility forms part of a new multi-port panel placed next to each customer's individual IFE screen. Besides the iPod and iPhone connectivity facility, the multi-port panel contains a USB port, enabling customers to listen to their own music, view their photos or read PDFs. It also contains an audio-video input, which enables passengers to plug in their portable media players to watch their favourite videos via the IFE system.

The initial phase of Panasonic's iPod connectivity development is referred to as "iPod connect". "It is something that has proven very, very popular with customers. It is being offered to everybody as part of the standard offering and most airlines are availing themselves of it," says Panasonic director of corporate sales and marketing Neil James.

But Panasonic's technology roadmap calls for introduction of "iPod merge", which goes a step further by allowing content metadata to be integrated or "consumed" into the graphical user interface (GUI) and displayed to the passenger via the IFE screen.

"The iPod content could be placed anywhere and in any manner within the GUI, but would typically be under a category for 'personal media' and a sub-category for 'iPod' The passenger would see the content divided into major categories (movies, video, music, audio books, and pictures) then sub-categories (genres). Selecting an item of content would cause a command to be sent to the iPod to execute playback and the content would be reproduced via the IFE system to the passenger," says James.

"Thus, there is no 'direct' control of the iPod via the IFE system, meaning, the navigation menu of the iPod is not reproduced. Rather, the content metadata is ingested, and from this, the passenger makes their selection and 'control' happens automatically in the background. This is simple and elegant."

Panasonic has secured a customer for "iPod merge", which is simply the working name for the offering. Introduction into revenue service is scheduled to occur mid-year.

"Being first to market is very important to our core strategy when it comes to functionality of IFE systems. We feel Panasonic is ahead of the pack. Our intention is to stay ahead of the pack," says James.

But Dunleavy insists passenger interest is "not just about the iPod, it's about consumer devices and the increasing trend in personal mobile media".

He adds: "The growth in consumer mobile media is not replacing or obviating the need for IFE. We're not seeing that. What we are seeing is a need for greater convergence of the two. It is really interesting that the airlines are needing to increase the richness and the content provided on the aircraft. It's not being replaced by what's being brought on board."

I've got to give a shout out to Thales, which intends to introduce the next generation of its TopSeries in-flight entertainment (IFE) platform in the second quarter. Korean Air is among the carriers that have agreed to adopt the system. You can read my full piece here.

But here is a key quote from Thales VP media services Stuart Dunleavy about the new system:

"From a media point of view, the architecture is becoming much more web-like in its implementation and that creates huge opportunities for my team to be innovative. Additionally, the server has a lot more horsepower, and can hold nearly a terabyte of storage. And the screens have much faster processing ability. They are essentially like mini-laptops."

A terabyte of storage? Seat-back systems that are like mini-laptops? Lovely stuff. We'll have more from Dunleavy later. Oh, okay, here's a taste.

Thales continues to champion the SwiftBroadband aeronautical service (it is integrating OnAir's email service into its latest IFE system for a customer). However, the firm assures it is keeping its eye on the KU-band space thanks to its network of solutions in that arena (it owns Thales Alenia Space, a leader in Ku-band satellite systems).

Additionally, Thales has "had communications with air-to-ground [providers] in the USA", says Dunleavy. "As commercial models mature, we can use any communications platform as necessary."

Would you like to know more about Panasonic Avionics' strategy for bringing iPod connectivity to a cabin near you?

I spoke with Panasonic director of corporate sales and marketing Neil James last week. He says the firm's two-pronged approach calls for Panasonic to initially offer "iPod connect", a solution that is currently flying with the likes of Singapore Airlines and United Airlines (and in the pipeline for a host of other carriers). 

This allows a passenger to watch content on his or her iPod - and charge the iPod - via the IFE system.

The second phase, known as "iPod merge", gives passengers the ability to integrate metadata for seamless inclusion in passenger's 'library' and no iPod icon. 

James breaks down "iPod merge" for us:

"The iPod content could be placed anywhere and in any manner within the GUI, but would typically be under a category for 'personal media' and a sub-category for 'iPod'. The passenger would see the content divided into major categories (movies; video; music; audio books; pictures; etc.) then sub-categories (genres). Selecting an item of content would cause a command to be sent to the iPod to execute playback and the content would be reproduced via the IFE system to the passenger. 

Thus, there is no 'direct' control of the iPod via the IFE system, meaning, the navigation menu of the iPod is not reproduced. Rather, the content metadata is ingested, and from this, the passenger makes their selection and 'control' happens automatically in the background. This is simple and elegant."

Introduction into revenue service of "iPod merge" is currently scheduled for mid-late 2009.

Amended to include Southwest's comment...

I have it on good authority that Southwest Airlines' crewmembers are encouraging folks to try out the Row 44 in-flight Internet system now installed on a Boeing 737.

"They do have one plane up and running with it. Passengers can try it for free," says a source with knowledge of the situation.

As mentioned in my latest video blog, Southwest has been doing its own testing of the system (which is apparently installed on a 737-700, registered N901WN).

However, a Southwest spokeswoman insists that the commercial trial has not begun. "We are not testing with customers yet," she says.

Amended to include update...

The news moves pretty fast around these parts. US Airways has confirmed to its employees that it is looking at LiveTV's live television system, in addition to Lumexis' fibre-to-the-screen system. Remember LiveTV also currently offers a basic connectivity solution. It's something to think about if you watch my latest vlogging effort below. Also, for the techies among you, I'll give a more thorough break-down of Panasonic's "iPod connect" and "iPod merge" strategy in an upcoming written blog. So keep your eyes open for that one :)