Mary Kirby: February 2008 Archives

I'm here at the Bellagio hotel in Vegas, after attending a gala celebration for Carlson's 70th anniversary last night. The room has everything you'd expect, big baths, fancy bidets, and a range of toiletries that will be unceremoniously chucked into my travel bag before I leave. However, the room falls short in one big way - it has no wireless Internet. Procuring the wired version has been akin to teeth-pulling. Let's hope US Airways has a more seamless experience when it begins implementing its own connectivity strategy. You read it right, folks. The carrier intends to offer airborne connectivity.

This was one of several nuggets shared by management yesterday at US Airways' annual Media Day in Tempe, Arizona. Reporters were initially greeted with a labour picket line (I had a chat with IAM District 141 head Randy Canale on the front line; he says talks with management broke off Tuesday evening and the two sides are now even further apart). Inside headquarters, US Airways executives were extremely forthcoming about the carrier's plans.

1) US Airways is “going to do something” in terms of in-flight connectivity. “We have been studying all the different alternatives,” says senior VP, schedule planning and alliances Andrew Nocella, adding, however, that the current technology will dictate that any such connectivity “is going to be limited for the next three years”. Interestingly, the carrier is also going to test a new AVOD in-flight entertainment system on a single domestic aircraft. It hasn't released the name of the vendor or what aircraft type will be equipped, but the offering aims to study take-up of AVOD in both the front and back of the cabin.

2) US Airways is continuing to source Airbus A340 aircraft for its planned Philadelphia-Beijing service, but says it has been “unable to locate airplanes that suit our needs”, as Boeing 787 customers snatch up available capacity to offset that program’s delay, and Asian and Middle Eastern carriers seek to renew their fleets. The 787 delay “definitely made the problem worse”, says Nocella.

3) US Airways chairman and CEO Doug Parker is confident consolidation “will eventually occur in this industry” even as potential would-be partners Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines now appear to be facing challenges to brokering a merger deal. US Airways remains “a strong advocate of industry consolidation so long as capacity is rationalized, and costs of attaining a deal are reasonable,” says Parker. “Not doing that in an industry that has too much capacity in it is concerning.”

4) US Airways is establishing a “satellite headquarters” office at Philadelphia, after facing severe operational challenges over the last year. The site, which has not yet been chosen, will house staffers from corporate communications, information technology, real estate, finance, government affairs, human resources and safety departments. “This is already in progress. We have people hired and we, right now, are looking for offices,” said US Airways senior VP, east coast, international and cargo operations Suzanne Boda.

5) US Airways’ decision to pick the Airbus A350 over the Boeing 787 was due in part to the commonality with its Airbus aircraft. “Good things are worth the wait, at least that’s what Airbus tells me. It will obviously be our flagship of the future,” says Nocella. “This will definitely be the next phase in terms of global reach, and can effectively reach out far into Asia, and the Middle East if we choose to do so. We purchased at a great price, can’t say what that price is, but it’s a great price.”

6) By 2011, US Airways will have removed all 737-300s and -400s from its fleet. At some point in time, the carrier will replace its Boeing 767s, leaving Boeing 757s, which will continue to fly to Hawaii and Europe, says senior VP and CFO Derek Kerr.

(Photo of Doug Parker from US Airways' latest in-flight magazine)

It’s the eve of US Airways’ annual media day. The carrier’s public relations team is hard at work organizing a “salsa challenge” tonight for journalists (think of a room full of rival publications, lots of onions and knives). I wonder if there will be any tears. Quite seriously, though, I must applaud US Airways for hosting Media Day every year. No other major US legacy annually invites press to its headquarters for a day of hard-hitting questions. In light of the challenges faced by US Airways over the last year, it is very brave of them to make their executives so accessible.

Not unexpectedly, US Airways employees intend to picket the event. A flyer circulating on employee forums calls on pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and all other labor groups to ready the signage. The pilots, represented by ALPA, have been particularly vocal about their disenchantment (“East” and “West” have been on separate contracts since the 2005 merger of US Airways with America West). Do they have good reason for their gripe? Captains and first officers continue to make less than their counterparts at other US majors and some low-cost carriers such as JetBlue Airways. Check out the latest Airline Pilot Pay snapshot for February from Airline Pilot Pay Central.

At the same time, however, US Airways is facing a first quarter loss. Management also believes that high fuel prices will add about $800 million to the carrier’s expenses this year. That helps to explain why US Airways is trying to drive ancillary revenue by instituting a $25 charge for a second bag, following similar moves by United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Skybus and Spirit Airlines.

It goes without saying, then, that Media Day should be very interesting. Now the only question for me is – should I get some rest in preparation for tomorrow or sharpen my knife?

One of my favourite songs as a child was “It’s not easy being green” as sung by Kermit the Frog. Can you blame me? I was taller than everyone else in my class, including the teacher. I stood out like a sore thumb.

If you’re an engine manufacturer today, you just might find yourself humming that tune as you stare at the face of one very tall order - airlines want a new narrowbody aircraft that is ultra-fuel efficient, dramatically cuts emissions AND offers big gains in economics (and doesn't split your eardrums). Oh yes, and they’d like to have it in about seven years (some even earlier). It’s a lofty request. And even the biggest Boeing 737 operator in the world, Southwest Airlines, has expressed the difficulty that proposition entails.

“Some of these goals like super-low emissions and super-low noise and super-low NOx and super-low CO2 are diametrically opposed to each other when you get down to the basic chemistry and physics of it,” says Southwest senior director of engineering and maintenance programs Dale Stolzer, noting that “you can design an engine that’s fuel efficient, and lower NOx” but you will have to compromise elsewhere, such as on noise.

Southwest was one of the first carriers to call for the start of work on a new aircraft to counter the rising cost of fuel. I remember a luncheon in DC two years ago during which Southwest co-founder Herb Kelleher said Boeing should incorporate 787 technology into a new 737 design. Unlike other airlines that have shown open preference for open rotor engine technology, however, Southwest has been relatively quiet on this point.

Stolzer says that an ideal 737 replacement for Southwest would be a next generation narrowbody that offers the purported operational efficiencies over current designs but has “a common type rating” with the 737. Check out my article here.

Whether such a replacement will include open rotor technology remains to be seen. To be sure, engine makers are pushing ahead with new designs. During the recent Singapore Airshow, CFM International - the joint venture between Snecma and GE – reiterated that it is “actively pursing counter-rotating fan technology, as well as open rotor designs that build on the experience of the unducted fan from the late 1980s”. Two potential open rotor designs are being validated for an engine in the 25,000-pound (111 kN) thrust class that could provide a 35:1 bypass ratio.

I think Kermit would approve. As he says, green is “beautiful and I think it’s what I want to be”.

Securing extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) certification for more Boeing 757-200s is part of US Airways’ strategy, despite the Star Alliance member’s substantial standing order for Airbus A330s.

Asked if the eight other 757-200s from its “East” operation will get ETOPS and new winglets, management in its latest employee newsletter said: “A/C 942 is scheduled for conversion this May for use during the 2008 summer season. A/C 941, 940, and 939 are confirmed and planned for modification starting the fall of 2008 for completion prior to the summer season of 2009.”

Flight's ACAS database shows that 939 was built in 1994, while 940, 941 and 942 were built in 1995. All four aircraft are leased from Q Aviation.

US Airways notes that the decision regarding the other four (of eight) aircraft “is still to be determined”.

A prior $15 million investment allowed US Airways to convert six 757s to ETOPS, and add winglets to certain aircraft.

The additional ETOPS-certified 757s enables US Airways to grow its transatlantic operations while it waits for the delivery of new A330s. The carrier in November 2007 announced it will acquire a further five A330-200s and lease two more of the type. Combined with the ten A330-200s currently on order from Airbus – due for delivery through 2009 and 2010 - US Airways' A330-200 fleet will grow to 17 by 2011. Airbus A350 deliveries to US Airways begin in 2014 and run through 2017.

Meanwhile, a FAA advisory circular, for which comments are due on March 4, provides guidance for certifying an airplane-engine combination for ETOPS, as well as guidance for ETOPS reporting requirements. The draft document is available here.

And here's a look at the inside of a US Airways 757 ETOPS aircraft -

A few years ago Bombardier said it intended to build the CSeries wing, horizontal and vertical stabilisers, and nacelles at its structures and composites facilities in Belfast, Ireland; the cockpit in St Laurent, Quebec and conduct final assembly in Mirabel, Quebec.

While these are still the "preferred sites", they may not get the business! Negotiations are still going on, but Bombardier is now evaluating sites in the USA in light of the exchange rate of the Canadian dollar, revealed Bombardier Aerospace president and chief operating officer Pierre Beaudoin.

The fuselage will continue to be manufactured by SAC in China.

Development costs and capital investment for the CSeries will total $3.2 billion, including $2.5 billion in R&D (up from the original $2.1 billion price tag) and $700 million in capital costs of building and facility tooling. Costs will continue to be spread three ways – a contribution split with suppliers, the airframer, and government. But because key final production and assembly sites remain in question, it remains unclear what the government mix will look like, and if Quebec, the UK or the USA (or a combo of these) will make that one third investment.

Another interesting point from the call - the list price for the 110-seat version of the CSeries is expected to be in a “lower $40 million” range while the 130-seater will be on the higher end of that. Stay tuned for more...

Bombardier’s conference call to discuss the board’s authorization to offer the CSeries is about to begin. It has been slightly delayed (no doubt every aviation analyst/journalist and their brother is jumping on the webcast). While we wait, a set of musical gems from the 90s is playing, including Go West’s “King of Wishful Thinking”. You might recall some of the lyrics: “We were never carved in stone.” While Bombardier is now cleared to offer its proposed 110/130-seat CSeries to potential customers, an official launch decision has not been made. That won’t happen until Bombardier obtains firm commitments from customers. To be sure, the program has progressed, with Qatar Airways revealing it is considering an order for 20, and Lufthansa and US lessor ILFC admitting they are studying aircraft, which, if launched, will be powered by Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine. Stay tuned for comment from the call...

Leasing giant International Lease Finance (ILFC) and some major airlines are making very clear their interest in a new, more efficient and economic narrowbody.

ILFC chief Steven Udvar-Hazy, in an interview with Flightblogger at the Singapore Airshow, said a 15% improvement is essential. “But that’s not only in fuel efficiency, it’s in economics,” he said. Executives at American Airlines and EasyJet are looking at even higher gains.

Speaking to Runway Girl, American executive VP of operations Bob Reding said that while the carrier can support near-term growth with additional Boeing 737-800s, it is hopeful of a breakthrough technology for an engine that will give a big leap in narrowbody efficiency. “We’re looking at an engine that can beat that from 12% to 30% but clearly 30% would really get our attention,” he said.

EasyJet, which favors open rotor technology, is looking for as much as a 50% improvement in narrowbody fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide emissions. Roughly 30% would be derived from the engines, 10% from a new airframe and 10% from air traffic management improvements. The 50% comes from targets outlined by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE), although this organization is eyeing a 2020 timeline.

Just doing an update of currently-available engines, says EasyJet strategic planning manager Hal Calamvokis, would be “maybe 10% to 12%” better. “To a point the airframers are being driven by the engine manufacturers in that a large chuck of environmental improvement of the aircraft will be driven by the engine.” The carrier, which last year unveiled a new narrowbody concept, breaks out its agenda in the following slides: Download file

If engine manufacturers delay EIS of new-technology engines for a replacement narrowbody until 2018, it will “play into Pratt & Whitney’s hands perfectly”, says Calamvokis. Pratt’s geared turbofan has been selected for the proposed Bombardier CSeries and Mitsubishi Regional Jet.

Udvar-Hazy agrees. He told Flightblogger that the delay in developing a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 replacement could create a “window of opportunity” for Bombardier to launch its CSeries aircraft. “They now have an engine platform with the [Pratt & Whitney] geared turbofan that appears to show double-digit specific fuel consumption improvement and efficiency improvement.Download file

Managing the risk to Boeing’s image in Japan associated with the late delivery of the first 787 to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) is one of the duties required of whoever is selected to be the airframer’s head of communications in the Asia-Pacific region.

Boeing this week began an internal and external search to fill the position, which will require the winning candidate to “minimize reputational impact and preserve Boeing’s status as preferred manufacturer in Japan” as well as take a "leadership role in managing reputation and perceptions of 787 supplier performance in Japan”.

First delivery to ANA is delayed until early 2009. However, Boeing VP and general manager for the program, Pat Shanahan, recently confirmed that the manufacturer is still assessing the aircraft’s production system. Although Boeing tentatively plans to complete first flight by June and initiate deliveries early next year, the final certification and production schedule will be announced in late April, he said.

Having “reputation and issues management” and the ability to manage “crisis situations” are necessary to land the latest PR job. Sound like good skills to have.

In-flight connectivity “mistruths” and “untold facts” – that’s what AirCell believes is floating around the industry right now, and being broadcast by numerous media outlets. Hoping to quiet the “great deal of noise” created by airlines and communications providers – especially in the wake of an announcement that Southwest Airlines will test Row 44’s Ku-band offering - the Colorado-based firm offered to set the record straight by giving me a one-on-one interview with president and CEO Jack Blumenstein.

Needless to say, I jumped at the opportunity because, frankly, I can’t think of a better topic with which to transition my blog from Blogspot to Flight Global than in-flight entertainment\communications. In the spirit of equality, I gave Row 44 the opportunity to respond. And CEO John Guidon was generous enough to do just that. So let's get started, shall we? AirCell will provide airborne connectivity in North America over an air-to-ground link. American Airlines is to be the first out of the gate with connectivity tested onboard its transcontinental Boeing 767-200s. This will be followed by fleet-wide installations on Virgin America’s Airbus A320s. The decision to offer ATG service versus a satellite-based solution comes after "significant" evaluation of Ku-band in the region and a fair amount of commercial work with Iridium. “From an airline satcom perspective, we have kept a very close eye on the whole range of options. What led us to direct air-to-ground in North America [was that] none of those options now or in the foreseeable future, despite all the smoke and mirrors out there, make sense for North America,” says Blumenstein.

He adds: “We hired some people who do heavy-duty satcom work for all the big defence contractors and asked them to study this and they said ‘no, nobody is going to be out there turning water to wine; it doesn’t work that way”.

A test of Row 44’s system onboard four Southwest 737s, slated to occur mid-year, will help clarify what is feasible. But AirCell believes questions remain about the system. “There are two things that one needs to look for on the way to that – an antenna certified by the US FCC and FAA. The only thing I know of with Row 44 is temporary authority on a month-to-month basis to do ground trials. They don’t have the authority to fly anything at least from [what we see] on the public record.”

“Is there a basis that someone might do a one-airplane trial with temporary authority? I guess it’s possible,” Blumenstein says sceptically. But he insists the Row 44 system “will be heavier, more expensive, with less capacity to service the North American market”.

Wow. Those are some heavy claims! What does Guidon have to say about this? FAA certification "will be in place before the trial," he assures, adding that in terms of the FCC, the company has "obeyed all of the FCC regulations and rules [and] we simply need to get an operating license for a mobile station.

"Row 44 is by far the cleanest flying terminal - in terms of obeying the rules - to have ever been developed. Compared with any previous satellite effort, like Connexion or whomever else, we obey the letter of all the sections of the FCC code, but we do require the license to operate the mobile systems."

He adds: "Rather than engaging in a war of words, we’re circumspect about what we say in our releases to the public and we prefer to let our actions speak for us. We cordially suggest that Jack [Blumenstein] might follow the same policy.”

Say what you will about Mesa's top guy, Jonathan Ornstein, the man speaks his mind. In a candid interview with me today, Ornstein admitted that Mesa's decision not to invest in US Airways during the Star Alliance member's 2005 exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and merger with America West Airlines was a big ole mistake.

Mike Carriker, chief pilot for the Boeing 787 program, in a nice new report lays out the twinjet's flight deck design and features, as well as Boeing's philosophy.

If someone asked me to name the winner of the Super Bowl – and told me I couldn’t Google the answer – I’d be hard-pressed to say who played whom or where the event was held (unless the Pittsburgh Steelers were involved). Please don’t judge me. I spent some rather formative years in Ireland and then moved to western Pennsylvania.

One of the most prominent consultancy firms in the in-flight entertainment and communication industry, Inflight Management Development Centre (IMDC), has released its latest forecast for 2008-2012. And the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA), in its own quarterly Avion magazine, has been good enough to break down some of the key points as follows:

• Over 16,000 commercial jets are expected to be delivered over the period 2007-2012. Over 3,000 of these will be line-fitted with IFE.


• The total value of line-fit IFE is estimated at over $4.6 billion for the period.


• During 2007, airline expenditures on IFE hardware alone represented about $1.45 billion.


• Another key milestone during 2007 was that airline expenditures in the seat market were expected to break through the $1 billion barrier.


• 2008 is expected to be a very busy year for in-flight technology in general. It will most probably be a record year in terms of airline expenditures.


• A number of connectivity solutions will enter operation during 2008. We are expecting rapid take-up rates in specific competitive markets such as North America, transatlantic and the Middle East.


• Portable IFE had a relatively small base of $75 million for 2007. We expect double-digit growth for the next two to three years. Howeer, there will be consolidation in this sector as suppliers implement new business models.

Last September, at WAEA’s annual event, former IATA head – and current Thales Canada chairman - Pierre Jeanniot noted that the entire cabin environment is becoming a “driving force of airline business success”.

Though difficult to quantify an exact return on investment, he said, “investing in premium service is simply mandatory for any carrier committed to remain a credible player in that market segment”.

In light of IMDC's forecast, it appears that Jeanniot’s assessment of the industry was bang-on.

It was September 2003. The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) was holding its annual conference and exhibition in Seattle. As usual I had booked my schedule to max-capacity, meeting with executives from in-flight entertainment (IFE) and communications firms during the day and writing late into the night about their plans. As an added convenience, I was pregnant – perhaps not noticeably so, but enough that I split my skirt while sitting down to a computer at Kinkos, where I was forced to set up residence after my laptop crapped out (pity me yet?).

Needless to say I was keen not to waste any precious time during the event. It turns out that’s exactly what I did when I met with executives from a now-shuttered US firm that called itself SkyWay Aircraft (also referred to as Sky Way).

You might recall this Florida company, venerable subsidiary of SkyWay Communications Holding. It announced it would develop a ground-to-air aircraft communication network built on technology formerly operated by AT&T Wireless Services’ defunct in-flight seat-back telephone service.

SkyWay’s strategy was to upgrade the airborne network - also known as Claircom - to provide state-of-the-art in-flight products, including high-speed Internet, telephone services, and advanced IFE systems. But the plan, in the kindest description, never grew legs.

SkyWay in early 2005 came under fire by certain shareholders, who accused it of falsely representing itself through US Securities & Exchange Commission filings and press releases, and of management for failing to disclose to shareholders that the firm “did not possess the technological capability of transmitting Internet access and voice and data access to commercial airliners as it purported”.

There was also the little matter of an alleged squandering of corporate assets and the purchase of six Hummer vehicles that executives “claimed would be used for ‘marketing’ activities”, among other alleged infractions. SkyWay executives resigned; the company went bankrupt.

Then, in what falls under the “you just can’t make this shit up” category, SkyWay’s former demonstrator aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 painted to resemble an aircraft used by the US Government, in 2006 was seized by Mexican customs officials after it was found to contain a mountain of cocaine. The aircraft flew from Caracas with two pilots and cargo of 100 suitcases, marked “private” no less, and each filled with 50kg (11lb) of the white stuff.

The story gets rather convoluted from there and a quick Google search will give you just about all you’d want to know about it (good luck sorting through the fact, fiction and conspiracy theory). An industry colleague of mine was kind enough to alert me to the latest unfolding drama involving the SkyWay name as reported by MadCow Morning News - which brings me back to my interview at WAEA. SkyWay didn’t have a booth at the 2003 event, but its president Brent Kovar agreed to sit down with me at one of the lunch tables (the hunger was on me and I was ready to eat the table. Luckily, I wasn't quite ready to eat the story).

During our conversation, I remember feeling rather sceptical about SkyWay’s whole offering (admittedly one did not need to be rocket scientist to feel that way – hey they were talking “algorithms” for goodness sake).

However, in light of all the action in the in-flight connectivity world today – and all the big claims - I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at the promises of would-be IFE/connectivity start-ups of yesteryear. Check out my original article below; it ran on Air Transport Intelligence. There are lessens here for all of us, including:

1) Don’t try to squeeze into your size six when you’re busting at the seams.

2) Eat your damn lunch.

3) Don’t mark drug-packed suitcases with the word “private”.

4) Don’t buy six Hummers – five will do.

5) And don’t make connectivity claims you can’t meet.

Oh that last one is a good one, eh? Several companies are planning to trial their connectivity systems onboard aircraft in the near-term – those who acquired real air-to-ground spectrum licenses and those who plan Ku band-based offerings. Who’s got the real goods? It won’t be long before we find out.

Sky Way pushes ahead with IFE business plan despite skepticism
Mary Kirby, Seattle (12Sep03, 05:41 GMT, 800 words)
US startup company Sky Way Aircraft insists it will be able to deliver on its ambitious goal to bring ultra high-speed voice and data services inflight by building on technology formerly operated by AT&T Wireless Services’ defunct inflight seat-back telephone service.
But many long-time industry executives attending the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) annual conference and exhibition this week in Seattle are responding to the company’s plan with skepticism.
Sky Way Aircraft’s strategy is to upgrade the former AT&T Wireless airborne network - also known as Claircom - to provide an array of what it claims will be state-of-the-art inflight products, including high-speed Internet, telephone services, advanced inflight entertainment (IFE) systems with audio/video on demand and video monitored security services, among other inflight offerings.
The company recently acquired and is working to upgrade the 166-tower North American airborne telephone network from AT&T Wireless, under undisclosed terms.
About 60% of the US fleet has the Claircom system installed in their aircraft, according to Sky Way Aircraft. The company claims it is talking to all of these airlines to upgrade their Claircom systems with the Sky Way Aircraft solution. It recently signed a contract with US charter carrier Southeast Airlines to install an IFE system on the airline’s fleet of Boeing MD-80s and McDonnell Douglas DC-9s.
Speaking to ATI at WAEA, Sky Way Aircraft president Brent Kovar says the Florida-based company will be able to deliver 15 Mbps to and from a modified NATS equipped aircraft using existing antennas and radios.
“We replace the [Claircom] box with a new Unix server. When we do that, we put our patented algorithm inside, which runs internally,” says Kovar, who invented the algorithm. The result, he says, would boost the old 9.6Kb circuit mode Claircom network “some 1,667 times” to a bandwidth of 15 Mbps.
Kovar says Sky Way Aircraft parent SkyWay Communications Holding has been operating a ground-based wireless business in Florida for a few years, and will use some of its parent’s patented technology for its Sky Way Aircraft venture.
However, Sky Way Aircraft has some hurdles to jump before getting its system off the ground, such as securing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval to use some of the spectrum that went unused when AT&T Wireless exited the market.
“We’re working with the FCC and feel we’ll be the second company licensed - after Verizon Airfone,” says Kovar.
FCC hearings are being held to determine the best way to use the spectrum. But Kovar anticipates Sky Way Aircraft will receive FCC approval by the fourth quarter.
Kovar says he and other Sky Way Aircraft executives attended the WAEA show this week “to feel the temperature of the business and to see who the competition is”. So far, he insists, “we haven’t found any competitors ... the only one may be Inmarsat.”
But Sky Way Aircraft’s plan has raised several eyebrows at the WAEA show. Top industry executives question how a fledgling company can transform outdated equipment to provide ultra high-speed connectivity to aircraft, something that the biggest connectivity providers have been working to achieve for years.
“I can’t tell you how many times I've heard someone say: ‘I've invented an algorithm that can do this and that’,” says one source.
But Kovar remains undeterred. “I think they won’t be skeptical for long,” he says. “We have general aviation aircraft [equipped with the Sky Way solution], which we have been showing the airlines ... showing how it works and what it does. A lot of people feel AT&T abandoned [the Claircom system] too early. It had a lot of potential.”
He says the company also has displayed some of its inflight security applications to US government officials.
Sky Way is in talks with several companies regarding partnership agreements. One such company - Boulder, Colorado-based Air Base - has signed a letter of intent to maintain the entire Sky Way system, as well as provide program management, repairs, product support and logistics.
Air Base, which currently provides an array of services to major airlines including in-cabin maintenance, in the past conducted repairs of the Claircom system for AT&T Wireless.
Chad Nimeric, an engineer at Air Base, tells ATI that a contract is likely to be signed with Sky Way “in 45 to 60 days”.
Although Nimeric has seen the Sky Way Aircraft system work in a laboratory, he has yet to see it displayed on a full-scale ground station. “I concur that there is some skepticism [in the industry]. But Sky Way Aircraft seems to have the engineering and the patented technology right on the money,” says Nimeric.
He adds: “I think in the next six months we’ll find out if it is true or not. We’re looking forward to seeing if they can do what they say they can do. We hope they can.”
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news

A few weeks ago Panasonic Avionics revealed it is still shopping around for an antenna for its in-flight connectivity solution, after deciding that Starling’s Mijet antenna was not yet up to its specs. Today, Starling announced a memorandum of agreement with EMS Technologies to offer a new Ku band antenna for the US market. Coincidence? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

But the timing, to say the least, is very interesting indeed. “We want a better overall performance that will meet our requirements not today but meet our requirements down the road,” Panasonic director of strategic product marketing David Bruner told me in January.

Perhaps Panasonic will get its wish. Under the agreement disclosed today, Israel's Starling and Georgia-headquartered EMS’s Defense & Space Systems (D&SS) division will offer an ultra-lightweight (45lb), low-profile antenna that will enable “full-featured broadband in-flight applications, such as the Internet, VPN [virtual private network], PDA, VoIP [voice over IP], e-mail, mobile phones, video conferencing, instant messaging and various entertainment applications, including video-on-demand, live TV, online gaming and multimedia applications”.

But here’s a yummy piece of info for ya. The joint product with EMS is a mature product and will be ready within a few months!!! So says Starling VP marketing and sales Jacob Keret, who was kind enough to call me just before he hopped on a flight. Thank You!

Oh yes, and before you write off Mijet, you should know that it has a customer, thank you very much. Certification is underway, and little sister mini-Mijet will be certified in the third quarter. Stay tuned for more info about this – I’ve got to write some follow-up articles for Air Transport Intelligence and Flight first!

But before I dash off, let me leave you with this thought. EMS direct broadcast satellite (DBS) antenna systems are currently sold through JetBlue Airways subsidiary LiveTV. JetBlue general manager of product development Brett Muney said yesterday at an EMS-sponsored event in DC that a broadband offering is among the in-flight connectivity solutions being studied by the airline. Could LiveTV use a new EMS/Starling antenna to offer satellite-based connectivity onboard JetBlue A320s? What about LiveTV's other customers - Frontier and WestJet (and now Continental Airlines)?

Anyone dizzy yet?

(Photo above right of Runway Girl with Panasonic Avionics CEO Paul Margis and WestJet executive Darren Marchinko at a reception last September during WAEA in Toronto)

Put AeroMobile, EMS SATCOM, JetBlue Airways, Inmarsat, OnAir and the World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) in one room and what do you get? A helping of in-flight connectivity insight (and a dash of disagreement)! During a National Press Club briefing hosted by ever-more-visible player EMS this morning, some of the top dogs of the industry chatted about everything from satellite launches in Kazakhstan (Inmarsat) and near-term certifications (AeroMobile) to broadband considerations (JetBlue) and US regulatory impediments concerning in-flight cell phone usage.

A key moment came when OnAir CEO Benoit Debains claimed that the Airbus/SITA joint venture is “the only company able to provide Blackberry service onboard aircraft”. Needless to say AeroMobile director, marketing and strategic relations David Coiley had a few thoughts about that.

I’ve love to get into all the juicy details right now, but I’m on deadline with a few stories from the event (and it’s nearing bedtime in the Kirby household, which now includes an over-fed cat and a miniature poodle who has yet to learn not to do her business on my living room floor).

Before I go, however, let me leave you with some advice from EMS SATCOM vice president and general manager Gary Hebb, who was in attendance at today’s conference. In terms of in-flight entertainment and connectivity:

1) Don’t believe any dates – they’re never true.

2) Don’t believe any bandwidth claims. They might be true sometimes but not often enough to make a difference.

3) There are trials and there are “trials”. Some trials are to prove the technology. They might have stuff from Best Buy held together with duct tape. The trials with Air France and Qantas are much more advanced. They're testing passenger reaction and business models.

4) One has to be very smooth to get money out of passengers.

(Photo of Hebb above left)

The adoption by US carriers of in-seat live satellite television – together with connectivity services - is growing leaps and bounds.

This trend is “really exciting”, says Panasonic director of strategic product marketing David Bruner. “The US market could end up in the next couple of years with a totally different experience when you get onboard the airplane than what you saw a couple years ago.”

A strategy launched at inception by JetBlue Airways through its LiveTV subsidiary is being copied on a broad scale. Frontier and WestJet are long-time customers of LiveTV’s in-flight television system. Continental Airlines recently announced plans to install LiveTV across a large portion of its Boeing narrowbody fleet.

Delta Air Lines, through its Song experiment, followed JetBlue's lead when it began offering Panasonic Avionics-manufactured in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems – with live television – onboard domestic flights. It later announced it would extend the offering to its entire transcontinental fleet.

Start-up Virgin America, meanwhile, offers television and (video on demand) VOD onboard its Airbus A320s.

Added to this, JetBlue, Frontier and Continental have all gone public with plans to offer connectivity over LiveTV technology, while Virgin America plans to offer AirCell connectivity.

That the combo of live television and connectivity is proving hard for carriers to resist is evident by the number of requests for quotations (RFQs) in the market right now, say Bruner.

Although LiveTV intends to offer live television and light connectivity to airlines, Panasonic is going a different direction. In addition to television and VOD, the company is offering satellite-based “full Internet connectivity and the broadest broadband in the world”.

A customer has not yet been announced but Panasonic is confident installations will begin on a US airline by year-end. “The airlines are now very focused on not what is the cost of the system, but what is the net cost of the system if it generates revenue. It may pay for itself and make its customers happy and bring you more customers. That's a positive thing,” says Bruner.

So are the Canadians next to introduce connectivity? As mentioned earlier, WestJet's aircraft are equipped with LiveTV. Air Canada, on the other hand, offers Thales IFE.

(Photo above right of JetBlue's LiveTV system)