October 2009 Archives

I grew up in an Irish Catholic home, where the word "hell" wasn't so much a curse word as it was a potential destination for my immortal soul.

And so, when an executive from Chinese carrier Spring, during a recent presentation at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in Barcelona, misidentified me as a Chicago-based CEO and misquoted me as saying that stand-up seats would be "an interesting trip to hell", I couldn't help but chuckle.

Lord knows all trips to hell are interesting. I'm told that the problem arises when you actually get there.

But I digress. My friend over at Aviation Week, Andy Compart, was in the audience when the Spring executive showed the following slide.



Compart, who was kind enough to forward the slide along, says:

I didn't even realize until I got a copy of the presentation how badly they butchered your quote -- which is odd, since the original quote already was in English! Someone must have translated it to Chinese and then back into English. The botched version actually slams the airline's proposal.

But should the airline's proposal be slammed? Does Spring's idea for a standing-room only configuration look like a hell of a good one? Or a hellish ride? Or will passengers feel like hell when they reach their destination?

See for yourself. Compart has a raft of amazing pictures to show you in his blog: "Standing-Room Only Seats - The Photos."

Earlier this year, US technology firm Ambit Corp filed a lawsuit against Delta Air Lines and Aircell claiming patent infringement regarding the provision of Internet access onboard aircraft.

I debated whether to report on this event and ultimately decided to write this erudite paragraph, ahem:

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.

Whether the suit has merit or not is beside the point right now. Why is that RWG?

Firstly, the legal action is still in play. Ambit president and co-founder Robert Crowley confirmed that much for me this morning. He declined further comment.
 
Secondly, I'm hearing that at least one airframer, Bombardier, is holding off on offering Aircell's air-to-ground (ATG)-based high-speed Internet system on its business aircraft until the case is settled.
 
As I reported in Flight magazine, two Learjet 60XRs equipped with Aircell's SwiftBroadband (SBB) solution - one outfitted in Bombardier's new "Red" interior and the other labelled "Black" - were on static display at the annual National Business Aviation Association meeting and convention in Orlando, Florida on 20-22 October (look closely at the pic above and you'll see the SBB antenna).

These birds were formerly destined for Jet Republic, which placed the largest ever SBB order and then went out of business (I am not suggesting one had anything to do with the other...cheeky monkey!).

A source on the ground at NBAA says Bombardier informed people at its booth that it is waiting to see how the Aircell patent lawsuit plays out before offering the ATG system on its business aircraft.

Needless to say, on hearing this bit of information, I knocked on everyone's door for comment.

Bombardier said only the following: "We haven't announced a supplier for connectivity."

A spokesman at Aircell's business aircraft division said: "On your question, unfortunately Aircell isn't able to comment on litigation or discussions that take place with its customers."

He did point out, however, that Aircell has scored some nice wins of late, including the newly-announced Hawker Beechcraft selection and a huge deal with Flight Options.

I also tapped Aircell's commercial side for comment (since Delta is named in the suit, and logic would dictate that if Ambit has a problem with Delta it might very well have a problem with other Gogo-equipped carriers).

A spokesman at Aircell's commercial division said: "Aircell cannot comment on pending litigation."

For more information about this case, read the following documents.

Ambit suit.pdf
Ambit suit 2.pdf
PatentSummaryInfo.doc

So, is Ambit's lawsuit against Aircell starting to bite? And is it time to take notice?

One industry insider, upon learning of the case in February, told me the following:
 

...the development is as surprising as it is disturbing, since it may be extended to other satellite-based aeronautical communications applications (e.g., GSM picocell) given its broad language and other mobile applications (e.g., maritime and land mobile) since the patent focuses on "vehicles" of all types.

Flightblogger Jon Ostrower and I took some trains to New York last week to hear Bombardier talk about planes, specifically the Canadian airframer's planned CSeries narrowbody.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Gary Scott told us that, in light of the 787 and A380 delays, airlines' greatest fear these days is new-design aircraft programme execution (can't say I blame them).

With regard the CSeries, Bombardier is keen to dispel any concerns about the airframer's integrated supply chain.

Check out the video. Scott, a former Boeing guy, is a frank son of a gun, eh?
 

I received this photo of Virgin Group president and founder Sir Richard Branson with Virgin America pilots Melinda Senior, Kim Gabrelcik, and Angela Cailliau from the San Francisco-based carrier.

Says Virgin America: 

Sir Richard keynoted the general session of the 2009 California Women's Conference with Gov. Schwarzenegger and FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Baer. Sir Richard and the panel discussed the success of micro-loans to female borrowers in the third world, the importance of risk-taking, and the need for more women to enter fields, like aviation, where a fresh perspective is needed.

Virgin America, the only California-based airline, was the Official Airline Sponsor of the 2009 Women's Conference. Speakers and attendees from across the country flew into Los Angeles for the two-day conference via Virgin America's award-winning service.  Other speakers at the conference included such notables as Annie Leibovitz, Madeleine Albright, Alicia Keyes, Candace Bushnell and Caroline Kennedy.

A lot of great women in that list, but a special hats off to the women in aviation!

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft vice-president marketing Philippe Poutissou shows us the big bags that will fit in the CSeries' big overhead bins.

Two big thumbs up!

Key quote:

"This airplane has been designed with a huge amount of onboard stowage."

"What is your ability to support delivery on the 787 in the 3rd quarter 2011?"

That's one of the questions being asked by Boeing in a request for information (RFI) for an Inmarsat SwiftBroadband-supported satcom interface and onboard mobile telephony installation for the 787.

NOTE: The RFI, obtained by yours truly, is, by nature of the definition, an information-gathering vehicle. It is not a request for proposals. Ya'll know the difference, but its worth underscoring that point.

Also, I asked Boeing for comment and it declined, saying: "We do not comment on RFIs and have no additional comment to offer."

Key info from my Flightglobal article:

Boeing's preferred solution for installation of an onboard mobile telephony system (OMTS) is to have it integrated with the IFE system.

As a minimum Boeing would like to see all server and control functions integrated into existing IFE components.

As part of the RFI, Boeing will also evaluate a non-integrated or standalone OMTS solution.

Boeing is also evaluating multiple SwiftBroadband architectures, and asks that respondents to the RFI address the integration of these architectures and any issues, limitation or benefits their system would have with the different architectures. (The pic above shows Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband global coverage.) 

For an integrated IFE/OMTS system, Boeing wants to know what services will be offered - voice, data, SMS, send/receive, web, email or other.

It also wants a detailed system/design architecture, saying "incorporation of OMTS on the 787 will follow current and future ARINC 824 industry standards".

Key info not in my initial story (because as RWG readers you're special...seriously):

The Boeing RFI says that, for an integrated IFE/OMTS system, Boeing assumes a leaky feeder coax antenna system will be used for the OMTS. It also says the 787 programme would prefer to utilize a leaky feeder antenna system that also supports Wi-Fi.

With regard the SwiftBroadband system interface, Boeing asks: "Would your system interface with a SwiftBroadband system as the off-board link (i.e. IP-based)?" The airframer says its preferred method is PPPoE (streaming or back ground) and the OMTS must have an Ethernet based interface to a broadband off-board system and digital communication circuits with voice priority.

The airframer also wants to know how many simultaneous calls respondents can support and how much dedicated bandwidth is required.

But let's get back to that key question:

What is your ability to support delivery on the 787 in the 3rd quarter 2011, asks Boeing in its RFI.

Jiminy cricket! Please tell me that Boeing will get passenger connectivity on board the 787 sooner than that. Because if it doesn't, won't those initial deliveries, now scheduled for 4Q 2010, look less than state-of-the-art?

It is worth noting that Boeing is gathering info on an in-flight mobile connectivity service, despite the fact that the USA doesn't permit the in-flight usage of cell phones!!!

It is also worth noting that there are, at present, two main providers in the mobile connectivity sector - Arinc/Telenor partnership AeroMobile and Airbus/SITA JV OnAir.

And, it is also worth noting that, should Boeing take the SwiftBroadband path, it won't be the first to do so. Airbus' airline network architecture ALNA v2 is a multi-programme, scalable and modular platform that enables an onboard mobile telephone system and light Internet via SwiftBroadband. (Does Airbus look ahead of the curve or what?)

Oman Air is getting the first ALNA v2-equipped widebody on 27 November. The carrier will offer OnAir mobile services. I told you that bird would be special.

And good gracious, but isn't that a lot of noteworthy stuff?

Did you know that in-flight entertainment (IFE) is the second most expensive item on the modern commercial jet (after the engines), and that it is the most complex system on board the airplane in terms of the amount of wiring, individual components, and lines of software code?

Well now you do. In a unique advertisement in the latest edition of Avion, the WAEA's official publication, readers were presented with some interesting IFE facts care of Boeing (click on pic below). Wanna know my favorite fact?

"When looking across the life of the airplane...the IFE system may actually become the most expensive procured item if an airline converts to an updated system during that span."

One way to avoid such a costly retrofit, of course, if for an airline to acquire state-of-the-art IFE in advance of aircraft delivery (if and when it can).

But shouldn't the same logic extend to connectivity, especially since IFE and C (IFEC) are becoming inextricably linked these days?

What airline wants to bolt on a pricey connectivity system to a brand new just-rolled-off-the-line bird?

Don't put your hands up all at once.

Has Boeing issued a request for proposals (RFP) for in-flight connectivity solutions for the 787 cabin?

That's what I'm hearing from sources, folks, although Boeing has not confirmed the existence of an RFP.

The airframer has, however, confirmed that it has not yet selected an in-flight connectivity solution for the twinjet.

"We are in the process of an extensive trade study on this subject at this time," says Boeing.

According to major IFEC players Panasonic and Thales, Boeing is under pressure to come up with an answer for its 787 customers.

Check out Flight Global's new IFEC channel for the full story, but here is a taster from that piece:

"There is a lot of things that Boeing is trying to do to deliver it [the 787] on time but the overwhelming and loud feedback from the customer is 'you have to address this issue [in-flight connectivity] and you have to do it very quickly'," reveals David Bruner, vice-president, global communications services for Panasonic.

Way back in August 2005, Boeing announced Rockwell Collins as its provider of next-generation avionics systems for the 787. Rockwell Collins is the supplier and systems integrator of the flight deck display system and crew alerting system, pilot controls, communication and surveillance systems, the aircraft's common data network, and the core network cabinet.

So we know Rockwell Collins has the cockpit covered. But what about the 787 cabin? Will it have Internet? Mobile connectivity? Light Internet?

An increasing number of carriers are equipping their aircraft with solutions on offer from Panasonic, Thales, AeroMobile, OnAir, Aircell, Row 44 and others.

With the 787 scheduled to be flight-tested by year-end, and first deliveries slated for the fourth quarter of 2010, is it decision-making time?

With all the calm, cool, collected reserve you'd expect from a top-notch design firm, Neutral, which creates all the branding for Lufthansa's in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, has made it known that it is ready to add to its roster of customers.

Managers at the London-based firm, who admit to being "obsessed with integrated design", sat down with me at the recent World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference to tell me about Neutral and its new expansion plan.

"After eight years with Lufthansa, we now feel we are advanced enough to expand our business and share it with other clients," said Neutral's Tapio Snellman.

A quick scan of Neutral's body of work for Lufthansa (see below) will tell you just how important the firm has been to the Star Alliance member.

In addition to creating the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for the Rockwell Collins eTes and Panasonic eX2 IFE systems on Lufthansa's aircraft, Neutral rebranded the German carrier's 'Magazine OnAir' video programme.

Here's the video:
 
 

And here's the 3D animation that Neutral created to introduce passengers to Lufthansa's new business class environment:



If you're an airline that wants to take its IFE system to the next level, give this firm a call.

Its name is, after all, Neutral.

Neutral founded in 1999, IFE work since 2001
 
Work with Lufthansa includes:
2002 R&D GUI development
2003-2009 Interactive content with monthly updates: Fleet, routes, Lufthansa history, Aviation Group, Miles&More infos
2003 Rebranding of 'Magazine OnAir' video program, establishing of screen design identity for Lufthansa IFE system
2004 Opening sequences for 6 specialised music programmes, updated monthly
2005-2006  Numerous opening sequences and interstitials for the entire IFE system
2004-2009 Production of music tracks following aural corporate identity for incorporation into IFE
2007 eTes GUI for First and Economy Class (including fully functional demos)
2007 eX2 GUI for First, Business and Economy Class (including fully functional demos in German, English, Arabic and Chinese)
2008 Safety videos (3D animation) for 5 aircraft types, in 8 languages each
2009 Flyrobic well-being onboard video (3D animation) in 6 languages
2009 R&D Collaboration with Rockwell Collins on future eTes GUI (ohhh, very  interesting, says I.)
 
Other airline clients include: Angolan Airlines, Finnair and Air New Zealand.

JetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV's new Kiteline World solution was heralded by at least one senior level industry executive as among the three most exciting bright new things to come out of the recent World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Palm Springs, California. The other two, said our senior executive, were Panasonic's Fusion seat with integrated IFEC and The IMS Company's RAVE platform.

But a claim made this week by LiveTV's head of marketing Mike Moeller about the price of Iridium-based Kiteline World in comparison to Inmarsat-supported service hasn't received such a welcoming reception from another industry executive, Inmarsat's head of marketing aeronautical business, Lars Ringertz.

So what did Moeller say?

Moeller told me that, for the general aviation space, LiveTV is taking orders with a full system cost (antenna down to Wi-Fi in cabin) for less than $100,000. "We believe this provides a very competitive price solution compared to Inmarsat of approximately one fourth of their cost," he said.

And how did Ringertz respond to that?

"I don't know where they get their pricing from," he said. "There are a number of Inmarsat hardware manufacturers, which are selling the whole kit for under $100,000 and that's just list price so why would you go for a limited solution when you can get a single-channel SwiftBroadband solution, which offers you all the opportunities of not only doing email, but Wi-Fi in the cabin and Internet?"

Ringertz also pointed me to provider Thrane & Thrane's SwiftBroadband kit, the Aero-SB Lite, which "enables cost effective broadband suitable for the widest range of aircraft possible", according to Thrane & Thrane.

Thrane & Thrane's product marketing manager Jennifer Marts was kind enough to give us a look at the firm's kit from the NBAA show floor (see above).

So, apart from some lovely drama provided by the IFEC world from time to time (which RWG enjoys highlighting...because...well...it's fun, okay? Would you deny me my bit of fun? Would you?), what's the very clear message from all these marketing heads?

Get your kit on!  :)

Design Q's MAXCABIN sideways seating concept for short-haul travel continues to amuse and bemuse. Design Q has revealed that MAXCABIN evolved from a project conducted by Design Q for a primary school classroom.

Want to see how it all got started? Check out the anatomy of Design Q's idea (below).

It makes for a more interesting start than, say, a paper napkin drawing.

As reported here, Design Q is pushing forward with crash tests of its sideways seating idea in the near-term. Yes, the company is serious about the project, even though the majority of folks seem far less pleased with sideways seating than these cutie pie kids do with their new classroom (as evidenced by a torrent of negative comments).

Carl Biersack, executive director of the Inflight Passenger Communications Coalition (which includes stakeholders AeroMobile and OnAir), has written an opinion piece about the USA's farcical ban on the in-flight use of cell phones (you know, those things we can't live without, even on a night out on the town).

The whole piece, which is now running on mysanantonio.com deserves repeating, so here it is in full.

The introduction of every new technology inevitably brings changes in etiquette and behavior. When the automobile was first introduced there were some who protested that this new "horseless" carriage, in the hands of a rude or inattentive driver, would cause mayhem on the roads. A century later, the positive impact the automobile has had on our economy cannot be questioned, rude drivers notwithstanding.

Cellular communications are very much the same -- they get us where we need to go. These days, our cell phones have become as ubiquitous in our daily lives as our cars. In fact, one can now safely make a cell phone call around the world on commercial flights--but not yet in the U.S. If a proposed ban on inflight wireless voice communications and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) passes Congress this year, the U.S. may never join the rest of the globe.

Inflight wireless voice service is now available on 4 of the 5 continents and is provided by 20 international air carriers. The service has been approved for use in 52 nations serving 240 destinations by the equivalents of our Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Over 1.5 million passengers on 12,000 flights per month, are on a commercial aircraft with inflight voice communications and there has not been one reported incident or problem.
Not one.

The introduction everywhere else in the world of in-flight voice services has been warmly welcomed and smoothly implemented. Why then is it that in U.S. airspace critics of the service predict nothing short of the apocalypse?  Is it because people and flight crews from other countries are simply more polite than Americans?

Hardly. The service has been deployed without drama because foreign airlines have developed management practices to ensure that use of the service is not disruptive. For example, the service may be remotely turned on and off by the crew at any time and for any reason. It is common on overnight flights that the service is turned off when the lights are dimmed so passengers can go to sleep.

There are other reasons why voice in overseas skies has been used widely without incident. Generally a limited number of lines are available at any one time regardless of the size of the aircraft because of bandwidth limitations. In addition, the actual experience of voice service inflight is demonstrating that there is no nuisance issue: to quote a top UK-based travel journalist, Charles Starmer-Smith, reporting in The Daily Telegraph "Voices do not travel as far as many feared and, indeed, were hard to hear above the background noise in the cabin."

The service is completely safe and secure. The companies which provide the satellite--based infrastructure for wireless voice on aircraft have gone through exhaustive safety and security procedures to ensure that the signals do not interfere with other electronic equipment on the aircraft or the terrestrial wireless systems.

The wireless inflight voice service represents a substantial revenue stream for American firms and their workers by creating and sustaining high tech jobs from California to Alabama. Wireless connectivity in the air represents a $1 billion dollar a year missed opportunity for the United States.

Lastly, the proposed ban is simply bad policy. It allows older technology in the form of seatback phones to remain as the only voice communication option for passengers and creates an unenforceable provision on new technology by banning VOIP. This despite the fact that there is no effective way to prevent VOIP calls short of turning flight crews into Laptop Cops.

It is also important to remember that a regulatory restriction currently exists regarding the use of wireless voice communications on U.S. commercial aircraft.

Today, an airline operating in the United States would need to apply to both the FAA and FCC, in accordance with a public process, before equipping its aircraft with the technology. This process would allow stakeholders and experts to provide input, insight and real world applications/usages to regulatory authorities. This was an opportunity that was not afforded anyone when the House unilaterally inserted the ban into their FAA legislation earlier this year without any hearing or comments.

Fortunately, the United States Senate recently introduced and reported its FAA bill and there is no ban language in their bill. Hopefully, this will remain the case when the House and Senate reconcile their bills later this year. Cooler heads and common sense policies from Congress would allow the regulatory experts, and the people, to decide how America will move ahead and at last join the rest of the globe.

Some fab IFEC stuff is coming out of NBAA right now.

Check out Flightglobal's special NBAA landing page for all the latest news, blogs and video from the show (IFEC-specific news is on Flightglobal's dedicated IFEC channel). This video from the show caught my eye. Yeah, it rocks.

Bloody hell but Virgin America is a smart promotional cookie (as usual). Aircell has been giving out free "first timers" promos for its Gogo in-flight broadband solution for months, but Virgin America has had the good sense to let Google put its stamp on all that free Wi-Fi love from 10 November 2009 until 15 January 2010. That's a whole lot of free, and a heck of a lot sexier than this:

Apple iPods and iPhones and i-yada, yada, yadas are all wonderful (lord knows I've grown rather attached to my iPhone).

But, even if you've got in-seat power for your device, when it comes to a five-plus-hour flight, all that eye squinting can get bothersome (and wrinkle-inducing).

Enter IFPL (Inflight Peripherals Limited), a company that has spent the last decade engineering solutions for passenger entertainment, and which has brought that expertise to the development of its latest multi-media docking stations (MMDS) for the cabin.

IFPL's second generation docking station (in Qualification) is compatible with iPhones, iTouch, iPod Classic and iPod Nano 4th and 5th Gen players. The MMDS units are made from aluminium so that they can be finished in any colour to match the customer's cabin, even gold plated (note to Middle Eastern carriers).

I spoke to IFPL business development manager Neil Thomas at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition, and asked him to tell me why the latest MMDS is so special.

Key quotes:

"The connector in the MMDS can easily be pulled out a short way to connect with the iPod, which is then retained in the MMDS for use and/or recharging. The passenger's own media, on their PED, can be controlled in the normal way, but is viewed on the larger IFE monitor.  

"Passengers can therefore watch their own supplied movie or last night's missed soap episode on their larger seat screen. A docking station has the additional benefit that because the PED is retained vertically rather than sitting on the tray table, it is less likely to be dislodged by turbulence or damaged by spillages.
 
"The MMDS can be tailored to customer requirements, for instance with the inclusion of RCA, USB and Audio output jacks. These alternate connectors allow other, non-iPod units, to interface. IFPL has signed up for the 'made for iPod progamme' with Apple."

But could a carrier opt to simply offer a screen and a MMDS at each seat and leave the entertainment solely up to the passenger? Why yes it could.

One doesn't normally see in-flight entertainment (IFE) offered on regional jets (depending on your definition of a regional jet, of course).

But Inflight Canada, which showed us a pretty incredible in-seat power installation at the WAEA show last week, has created a drop-down solution - that uses projector technology!!! - for regionals that is "less weight and easy to install" and, oh yes, it can be "installed on an overnight".

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!

The seemingly crazy 'sideways seating' idea tabled by Design Q - and reported by yours truly first (yes, even before FOX and countless other news entities) - is moving quickly forward with possible tests taking place in December.

Oh yes, and it has a name - MAXCABIN.

I'll bet the Asian carriers and Ryanair's Michael O'Leary will be all ears. But isn't O'Leary all ears anyways? Ahem.

Check out Design Q's brand new newsletter, where I snagged the above snippet. As you can see, the firm will be doing lots of other cool stuff at next week's NBAA convention in Orlando.

 

The Airbus A330-300 that will be delivered to Oman Air on 27 November is special for a number of reasons.

The aircraft, MSN1063, will boast Thales IFE and outrageous first class "mini-suites" (outrageous in a good way, see above). But it will also be the first commercial widebody to go into service with Airbus' ALNA v2 platform over Inmarsat's higher-bandwidth SwiftBroadband aeronautical service (providing GSM/GPRS plus WLAN via OnAir).

Does that sound like Greek? Let me clarify. Oman's next A330 will be the most highly connected international widebody in operation today.

Now that's special.

"This is another milestone for SwiftBroadband. Not only is this the first deployment of OnAir on a widebody, it's also the first line fit installation of SwiftBroadband on a widebody airliner," says Lars Ringertz, Inmarsat's head of marketing aeronautical business.

For a solid break-down of the ALNA v2 solution, which was recently tested on an A340 (MSN360), check out the IATA supplement that was handed out last week at WAEA.

08-11 Airbus DES3.pdf

And then take a gander at the type of cabins that business and coach class passengers can expect on Oman's new A330s. Connectivity and comfort (and IFE) go hand in hand in hand.

 

Wow, what a day for Ku-band satellite-based connectivity, eh? Lufthansa finally confirmed its partnership with Panasonic to reignite overseas connectivity, further catapulting Ku-band into the spotlight (after Southwest Airlines announced ut will equip its entire Boeing 737 domestic fleet with Row 44's Ku solution).

Indeed, Panasonic, like Aircell and Row 44 before it, can now lay claim to the illustrious Golden Ticket. Who will prove to be the triumphant Charlie Bucket, surviving the pitfalls of the connectivity factory? Time will tell.

But now that its first big in-flight broadband announcement is out of the way, Panasonic is going to move quickly into the flight-test phase. The company reveals it will trial its solution, known as eXConnect, on a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) within weeks.

That, and other juicy IFEC and interiors news stories are sitting on Flight Global's new IFEC channel right now.

Here is the URL: www.flightglobal.com/IFE

Bookmark it Dano :) Plus, it makes a nice companion to this blog. 

Now then, today's blog headline talks about a Ku-band antenna so let's talk about a Ku-band antenna.

Panasonic is using an antenna supplied by EMS (which includes some Starling technology and looked FAB-UL-OUS at the Panasonic booth at WAEA...more on that later) and Row 44 holds an agreement with antenna maker AeroSat.

But service providers are notorious for wanting (needing?) more than one supplier at the ready (see LiveTV's decision to tap KVH despite its EMS partnership).

This begs the question - can new Ku-band antenna makers get a piece of the action?

One team that is ready to do just that is the Qest/Tecom partnership, which told me at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) show last week that it plans to have its KuStream 1000 antenna system certified by January 2010 and ready for delivery in February. The partnership also said some other interesting things.

Need a Ku-band antenna? Check out the KuStream 1000's specs above, and then check out the video below!

Readers of this blog were not a bit surprised by this morning's announcement that Lufthansa has inked a deal with Panasonic to reignite Ku-band satellite-based in-flight broadband connectivity on its overseas flights via the IFEC giant's eXConnect solution; and that the carrier will offer AeroMobile's GSM/GPRS service through Panasonic's branded eXPhone system.

IAG's Addison Schonland this morning snagged stellar interviews with Panasonic vice-president global communications service David Bruner and Jennifer Janzen, Lufthansa's communications manager.

Here is the link to Bruner:
http://iagblog.podomatic.com/entry/2009-10-12T09_39_39-07_00

Here is the link to Janzen:
http://iagblog.podomatic.com/entry/2009-10-12T10_57_40-07_00

Bruner says we'll see "a lot of airlines taking advantage of this". But, Schonland cleverly asks, what about Lufthansa's Austrian and Swiss units?

Key quote from Janzen:

"...right now we're looking at just having this service onboard Lufthansa, whereas Austrian and/or Swiss may look into it at a later date. At this stage there is no plans to expand it to other airlines in the Lufthansa Group."

Check out what people are saying about today's announcement:

Inflight Canada is best known for its innovative iCACHE underfloor IFE installation system, which makes everything nice and neat and less complicated, and which has attracted customers like Air Canada and Virgin America.

But Inflight Canada is not a 'one trick pony' by any stretch. Indeed, the company showcased two rather amazing products at this week's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition.

The first, captured on video below, is a system that allows you to bring in-seat power to aircraft in an overnight install without re-certifying the seat!

Like iCACHE, the in-seat power installation is nice, neat and less complicated (and much less costly than ripping the plane apart).

To all you carriers bringing in-flight connectivity to passengers - but don't have in-seat power installed on your aircraft - here's your answer.

Thales' concept seat grabbed some headlines at the Paris air show, where this jouna-blogger had a chance to see it (after getting past heavy, heavy security).

The same concept was also on display this week at the WAEA show in Palm Springs, but this time Thales let me take a bit of video footage.

This is guerilla video at its finest (i.e. don't judge).

Key quote:

"What you're going to be looking at here are just concepts, things that may or may not ever fly. They are intended to provoke thought."

Chock it up to incredibly unfortunate timing.

Boeing  placed its 747-8 mini mockup on display at this week's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Palm Springs, California only to announce later in the week that the aircraft programme would be delayed again and that the airframer would take a pre-tax charge of "approximately $1 billion" against its third quarter.

Poking a bit of good-natured fun at Boeing this week, one WAEA attendee approached staffers at the Boeing booth and said something very close to the following: "I hear you're raffling the 747-8 mini mockup and that it costs a dollar to participate."

Boeing, which wasn't raffling the mockup, allegedly gave a quizzical look and asked what the nice gentleman was talking about, to which he replied something like: "Isn't there a raffle for the mockup to help pay for the $1 billion write-down?"

Who says the in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) industry - or IFE&C if you prefer - isn't a bunch of cheeky monkeys?

Meanwhile, check out the common area envisioned by Boeing for the 747-8. Comfy couches and a big-screen monitor. Oh-so-fun!

AeroMobile is about to show the massive transatlantic market what its GSM/GPRS service is made of. The Arinc/Telenor partnership's mobile connectivity solution, branded by Panasonic Avionics as eXphone, is part of the connectivity suite being provided by the IFEC giant to Lufthansa, which, by the way, is already making press arrangements for Monday's big announcement.

While neither AeroMobile nor Panasonic can confirm the Lufthansa deal, AeroMobile chief commercial officer Peter Tuggey tells me: "The scale of transatlantic broadband and cellular connectivity is about to be transformed in the coming days when a major international carrier announces their plans to operate into the US with this capability."

AeroMobile's largest customer to date, Emirates, has already equipped 56 widebodies with the company's in-flight mobile connectivity solution, and is moving as quickly as possible to equip the rest of its fleet because passengers are so happy with the service (and getting so used to having it available to them on Emirates flights). 

"We're running at over 90% reliability and we're starting to see huge penetration of the service," says Tuggey.

Emirates isn't yet using its AeroMobile-equipped aircraft on US routes - they're more profitably employed elsewhere at the moment - but that will eventually change.

Tuggey believes Monday's announcement of a major international carrier will prove a tipping point. "The US carriers will be watching these developments closely - US passengers will be enjoying these services, but only on foreign carriers," he says.

While the Lufthansa deal is HUGE, it represents just one of a total 13 carriers that have selected eXphone.

AeroMobile's SwiftBroadband-supported services, meanwhile, will be flying in the first quarter of next year, reveals Tuggey.  

The annual World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition is hotly anticipating Monday's announcement that Lufthansa has partnered with Panasonic Avionics to reinstate in-flight broadband on its overseas flights, a partnership that was first reported here (for those with short-term memories, ahem).

Sources with knowledge of the situation say Lufthansa will announce the agreement on 12 October (okay, that's a bit later than August).

There is also plenty of gab that T-Mobile - which had previously hoped to reignite Lufthansa's Connexion service under a now-defunct partnership with ViaSat and others - will still be tapped by Lufthansa to play some sort of role.

One champion of Lufthansa's forthcoming announcement is OnAir CEO Benoit Debains. Yes, that's right, you read me correctly.

Why is Benoit excited? Because, in addition to offering high-speed Internet to passengers, Lufthansa will also be offering GSM/GPRS service and that will set the service standard request in Europe for Wi-Fi and GSM/GPRS.

"If the Lufthansa announcement occurs, it will put the product as a reference for GSM/GPRS service. So, super," says Debains.

"It also shows that it's not about Wi-Fi versus GSM - it's both!"

I'd imagine passengers are also going to get damned used to using their cell phones in-flight over the transatlantic (and maybe they'll realize how ridiculus it is to have to turn those same cell phones off once the aircraft hits US airspace).

Let the orders for GSM/GPRS over the Atlantic start rolling in!

I pointed out that Lufthansa intends to retrofit its Airbus A380s - the first of which is now flying - with Panasonic's eXconnect, and that GSM/GPRS (via eXphone, Panasonic's branding of the AeroMobile solution) will be run over the Ku-band pipe, not SwiftBroadband, which is OnAir's current pipe of choice.

But Benoit had a quick retort: "Even with GSM/GPRS over Ku - you still need the leaky line!"

Ah yes, the leaky line. It's the bane, or rather the bone, of GSM/GPRS' existence. "A GSM/GPRS product is the most difficult to do," notes Debains.

What is decidedly not difficult to do is to share a good time with Debains, and the OnAir crew, which snapped the following pic for moi. Merci! 

 

Panasonic's Karma touch-screen handset is hot (yes, we've said that before). But here is an indepth on-camera look at everything you can expect. Coming to an airline very soon....

Lumexis, that plucky California company that is bringing some much-needed competition to the in-flight entertainment space, has introduced a second-generation iteration of its potentially revolutionary fiber optic-based, fiber-to-the-screen (FTTS) in-flight entertainment system.

The first generation product, trialled on a single US Airways Airbus A320, "flew flawlessly and never required even a single system reboot in nearly 300 revenue airline flights", notes Lumexis CEO Douglas Cline.

But for the 2G system, Lumexis' team of engineers decided to push the envelop further, adding high-def, widescreen 8.9in VDUs that weigh less than 2lb and are "priced well under conventional, standard definition monitors from competitors weighing nearly twice as much". 

Importantly, Lumexis was able to substantially increase processing power and move to high density solid state drives (SSDs) storage in its server switch unit (SSU).

"As a result, only two Server Switch Units (SSUs) (as opposed to an original eight) will be needed to serve a single or twin-aisle aircraft of up to 270 seats, notes Lumexis CTO Richard Salter, who was kind enough to show me the systems - including Lumexis' brand new 15.4in model - at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Palm Springs, California.

For all the latest headlines from the show, check out Flight Global's new IFEC channel. This blog is part of that channel, but it certainly isn't the sum total of what Flight is now offering the IFEC community.

My Flight colleague, Jon Ostrower, is also filing some killer stuff from the show, including a very timely "bring your own IFE" post about Row 44's latest announcement.

Come on in. We'd love to have you :)

To the casual observer, Panasonic Avionics' new Fusion integrated seat might seem like just another seat with some sleek IFEC (really sleek...hello highly connected IFE with social networking like Twitter and FaceBook).

But Fusion is much more than that. It could pave the way for a sea change in how IFEC manufacturers, aircraft interiors specialists and seat makers do business - i.e. all the parties get together on a standard solution for the cabin before an airline even places its aircraft order. Sounds logical, huh?

While carriers that live and breath "cabin differentiation" might not be beating down Panasonic's doors for something standard, I wouldn't be surprised if a raft of low-cost carriers will.

And you can be sure they'll come knocking this week at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Palm Springs. Check out what I and Flightblogger Jon Ostrower got to see today.

Glasses will no doubt be raised, or rather, beer bottles will no doubt be clanked, as Carlisle Companies joins with its newly acquired Electronic Cable Specialists (ECS) this evening in celebrating what many football fans are calling "the game of the century".

I'm not going to even pretend I know why the Green Bay vs Minnesota game is so special (other than the Google-searched answer of "Favre"). But I do want to highlight Carlisle's acquisition of ECS in advance of this week's WAEA show.

ECS is known, among other things, for having developed the retrofit solution for OnAir to install its onboard mobile phone system on Boeing 737 aircraft (Ryanair is pleased).

Carlisle chief executive David Roberts says: "ECS complements our specialty wire and cable operations and broadens our product and engineering capabilities for our commercial and defense airframe customers. ECS's product and service capabilities are at the forefront of new developments in avionics and commercial aircraft comfort and business communications.

"The company has an award-winning reputation for satisfying the demanding requirements of a customer base that is shared with our Carlisle Interconnect Technologies. This acquisition furthers our plan to grow Carlisle's businesses in attractive markets in which we play a leading role. ECS will bring many beneficial attributes to Carlisle and with the backing of our resources, the company promises to become an excellent growth platform for Carlisle."

Game on!

The annual World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition got off to a roaring start today (and they haven't even opened the doors to the show floor yet!!)

I and my colleague Jon Ostrower have been filing copy throughout the day so be sure to check out Flight Global's new in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) channel for all the latest headlines.

You'll see a couple of standouts, however, like Panasonic's decision to make its iPod/iPhone connectivity tool, eXport, available to competitors (will Thales ink a licensing agreement with Panasnoic?) and, with that, Panasonic's revelation to yours truly that Griffin Technology is now manufacturing eXport and selling it to airlines, duty free folks and via the Apple online store. 

I even got my hands on one of the first Griffin-made eXport video cables. Now all I need to do is fly on a carrier that offers iPod connectivity such as United Airlines (available in some of its first-class cabins) or Continental Airlines' newly configured Boeing 777s. Check out Jon Ostrower's blog for a timeline scoop about Continental's debut of its BusinessFirst seat.

I wonder how many other IFEC vendors will follow Panasonic's iPod Merge strategy, which goes a significant step further than the current iPod Connect offering 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 answer, says Perlman, is that other vendors are welcome to do whatever they want with eXport once they sign a licensing agreement for it.

Key quote: "We're trying to separate ourselves from the value chain.

 

Nine years after attending my first World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Anaheim, California, I'm headed back to the West Coast for the organization's 30th annual expo in Palm Springs.

As I pack my bags for tomorrow's flight, I am reminded that much has changed in the world of in-flight entertainment since I first stepped foot on the WAEA show floor in 2000 (and later hit some of the after-hours events, ahem).

And yet, much remains the same.

In-flight connectivity, for example, was the big buzz term in 2000 (check out some of my first "IFEC" articles below).

Everyone in Anaheim seemed to have a bright idea for bringing in-flight text messaging, email, "feels like Internet" and full-blown Internet to passengers.

Today, connectivity is still the big buzz and, frankly, many stakeholders are still trying to understand how it fits into the equation. But the industry has come a long way baby!

Thanks in part to connectivity, the way we journalists report on the industry has also evolved. This year, I will be joined in covering the WAEA show by Flight journalist and blogger extraordinaire Jon Ostrower, aka Flightblogger. Be sure to check out Flight Global's web site for all the latest news, blogs and video from WAEA.

If you're a Twitter fan, we'll be tweeting throughout the show. Follow us and participate in the chat at the following hashtags #WAEA and #IFEC.

Inflightonline chief says customer to be named soon
Mary Kirby, Los Angeles (21Sep00, 03:51 GMT, 230 words)

Although Internet service provider Inflightonline.com's plan to announce an airline customer at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Anaheim, California this week has not come to fruition, the company insists it will shortly announce a program with an international carrier.

Company president David Bruner tells ATI that Inflightonline.com will operate the undisclosed carrier's in-flight Internet content under its own brand, rather than as a wholly customized product for the carrier.

ATI sister publication Flight International previously reported that more than 30 aircraft will be involved in the deal.

Inflightonline.com also has a letter of intent from a US carrier to conduct a one-aircraft trial of its content. Bruner says that this will take place about a month after the first deal is announced.

A rash of other in-flight entertainment specialists, avionics manufacturers and Internet service providers here at WAEA are proposing numerous models for which to provide airlines with in-flight e-mail, intranet and Internet capabilities.

Bruner says Inflightonline.com's offering differs in that it will be extremely cost effective, as the content providers absorb most of the cost. Inflightonline's charge for hosting a company's site for one month will be equivalent to a 30sec video spot charged on board an aircraft for one day, he says.

Inflightonline.com has relationships with approximately 100 web sites but expects that number to grow to 400 over the next few weeks.

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

SIA to begin in-flight e-mail trials
Mary Kirby, Los Angeles (20Sep00, 07:35 GMT, 188 words)

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has agreed to field the first in-flight entertainment (IFE) products to surface from the alliance between Honeywell and Matsushita Avionics Systems, including the partnership's e-mail offerings.

The companies say in a joint statement released today at the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition in Anaheim, California that the evaluation is scheduled to begin in December onboard an SIA Boeing 747-400. The trial will run for a two-month period.

Primary applications will include Honeywell's Inflightmail e-mail service, credit card verification and terminal area wireless network. The service will be integrated with Matsushita's highly popular System 2000E IFE system.

Although these services have already been certified by the FAA on corporate aircraft, the Singapore installation will be one of the first FAA certifications of an airborne e-mail service for airline passengers, says the vice president and general manager responsible for Honeywell's aviation information systems business, John Uczekaj.

Follow-on applications also being considered for implementation upon completion of the trial include intranet, point-of-sale, e-commerce, and others.

Matsushita Avionics Systems president Takashim Mizuma calls the company's alliance activities with Honeywell "a natural extension of our core capabilities".

Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

In-flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC), In-flight Wi-Fi, In-flight Internet, Internet OnBoard...whatever you call it, however you use it, if you're an airline you need to figure out how to generate revenue from it.

So says The Travel Strategist Steven Frischling, who agreed to author a guest blog for RWG in advance of the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition, which gets kicked off next week (yahoo!).

Frischling's insight is particularly interesting as we await details from Row 44 about its new revenue model for in-flight Wi-Fi. I've bolded some bits that I find particularly timely. Thanks Fish!

Says Frischling:

Over the past few years as in-flight Internet emerged, disappeared and emerged again, airlines have been caught between the challenges of generating a lucrative return on investment and creating a pricing model that is attractive to passengers. 

There have been multiple models explored and a seemingly unending expanse of revenue model theories considered by industry observers. However in the end, only one true revenue model really make sense.

What is this revenue model? The airlines must charge the end users, ie: the passengers.

While ancillary revenue streams may be generated through a variety of other avenues, the fact is that in-flight Wi-Fi is a premium service and it is one that passengers are willing to pay for.

Creating a pricing model is not as straight forward as determining who should pay for the service however. While some industry observers seem to indicate there should be a straightforward pricing plan, there are multiple factors in play for determining what a passenger will pay to be online.

Some of these factors include
- Length of flight
- Ability to purchase a la Carte service, such as 30-min or 1-hour blocks
- Ability to purchase monthly subscriber services

...and the often over-looked factor, the cost factor for passengers flying on flights over two hours in length on aircraft with no in-seat power.

With the average laptop sustaining just over two hours of battery life, will passengers pay for full-flight Wi-Fi service on a five hour flight knowing their laptop power will only last roughly two hours?

The pricing models will obviously be decided by each airline based on their service and their needs, but regardless of the airline the primary revenue must be passenger generated.

Ancillary revenue streams can be opened up to passengers paying for 'open Wi-Fi' service as well as those not paying for the Wi-Fi service.  

This is possible by creating web sites that are accessible to all devices.

The creation of an ancillary revenue base for in-flight Wi-Fi usage can come from an airline teaming up with a service such as WorldMate (www.worldmate.com), Hotels.com (hotels.com), a variety of rental car providers, allowing passengers the option to apply for a frequent flyer program or the airline credit card. 

As airline social media initiatives evolve, allowing passengers to view the airlines web site and social media portal and click through to revenue generating advertisements or sponsor sites will open the ability for airlines to generate further ancillary revenue, while remaining connected to the passenger throughout their flight experience.

Additional marketing data gathered through in-flight Wi-Fi can further drive revenue and loyalty potential by using the airline's 'captive audience' to complete passenger satisfaction and marketing surveys.

An airline can offer an incentive, such as 100 frequent flyer miles, while gathering vital information from qualified passengers rather than website visitors who may or may not be passengers.

Overall the potential full monetize in-flight wifi is clearly available, viable and passengers are willing to pay for it. In addition to direct revenue the model for secondary revenue should also be fully explored, without removing the primary revenue source...the passengers who use the service.

Frischling, who is also creator of the popular Flying With Fish blog over on Boarding Area (and tweets as @flyingwithfish on Twitter) recently co-authored the "The Airline Industry & Social Media - A Must-Have Strategic Guide For Airlines Marketing and Sales" in conjunction with the Innovation Analysis Group. You can find a sample of the report here, and buy it here. 

Row 44 is planning a big press event at next week's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) conference and exhibition, and with good reason.

The company is about to unveil a new ancillary-revenue tool that "enables airlines to monetize in-flight broadband even among passengers who do not pay for full Internet access" and will be "the first revenue service of its kind flying", says Row 44.

The announcement will name several content, advertising and technology partners, adds the firm.

So, you may be asking, does this new business strategy for in-flight Wi-Fi involve some sort of advertising-based access? Row 44 isn't giving any details until next week. But, let me be the first to say - Oh, very nice!

Row 44 is currently installed on four Southwest Airlines 737s and a single Alaska Airlines 737.

Southwest has opted to rollout the system across its fleet beginning in the first quarter, and Alaska is expected to make a fleet-wide announcement any day now.

Row 44's announcement comes at a time when a growing number of industry stakeholders are questioning the viability of fee-for-service models for in-flight Internet both now and a few years from now.

There is some brilliant stuff coming out of the World Low Cost Airlines Congress 2009, which is being held this week in Barcelona. Flight has created a special landing page for the event, so do check it out.

But two postings have caught my eye - Spring Airlines' reiteration that it is looking at standing-seats (seriously) and Air AsiaX's reiteration that in-flight connectivity is key. IFEC and interiors are hot topics for the low-cost crowd, as you can see.

Also, I've learned from attendees at the event that certain Chinese executives believe I'm the CEO of a Chicago-based aviation firm. To quote Maurice from the classic Eddie Murphy flick Coming to America:

"Hey, I started out mopping the floor just like you guys. But now... now I'm washing lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries; then the grill. And pretty soon, I'll make assistant manager, and that's when the big bucks start rolling in."

Meanwhile, one fair RWG reader has an idea for satiating Spring's high density seating desires - the suit of velcro! Letterman tried it out in 1984 :)