Mary Kirby: May 2008 Archives

What a week it has been for the US air transport industry, eh? Mesa Air Group appears to have narrowly avoided Chapter 11 after prevailing in a court case against Delta Air Lines. US Airways and United Airlines have decided that a merger doesn't make sense under current economic conditions (note to Delta and Northwest). And American Airlines has begun axing its schedule in line with its capacity-slashing plan. With respect to the latter, it looks like employees at American and its sister American Eagle Airlines will learn of the magnitude of management's planned layoffs by early July.

In a Q&A document addressed to mainline pilots, obtained by yours truly, American says the fourth quarter capacity cuts announced last week will result in employee reductions companywide. "It will take about four to six weeks to determine the specific schedule adjustments and the resulting effect on employees," says the carrier, which has suspended all pilot recruitment activities.

But why cut frontline employees? "Unfortunately it will be necessary to reduce employees in all workgroups across the company. It's important to note that management has taken aggressive measures during the past several years to reduce its own ranks by nearly a third since 2001. For example, today American represents the best-in-class performance, as measured by our ranking in ratio of officers and director level employees to employees, tied with Delta Air Lines overall," says American in the Q&A.

So if American and Delta lead the industry with one officer or director for approximately every 330 employees, who is worst-in-class? That distinction belongs to Northwest, according to American, which notes that the Minneapolis/St Paul-based carrier "has one officer or director for approximately every 95 employees".

It looks like Northwest has some serious managerial trimming to do. While both Delta and Northwest have pledged not to close hubs or furlough frontline workers as a result of a merger, their respective CEOs Richard Anderson and Doug Steenland in mid-May acknowledged at a House aviation subcommittee hearing that there will be management-rank reductions, and these will take about two months to figure out. So expect some info in July. If I was a manager at Northwest, I know what I'd be doing right now (and it would come from the Neal Cohen playbook).

Since writing my "sexy stuff" blog about Panasonic Avionics' iPod integration strategy and supplying comment to Flight International about the significance of this move, I've been fielding some further queries about the system, which includes a seat-installed "eXport" jack and "smart" cable.

One curious reader asks:  "So, does this mean regular USB - or other non proprietary interfaces - will be supported as well? Is this another apple marketing scheme, or an honest attempt from the aviation industry to integrate personal entertainment?"

It's a good question, deserving of a worthy answer. So I asked Panasonic director, product line management Marshal Perlman to break things down for us (who loves ya, baby?).

Perlman says: "Our IFE system supports a number of interfaces and the eXport jack only complements USB. In the case of Singapore Airlines, they offer both USB and eXport on their aircraft. This is something that we encourage all our customers to do and our system is easily able to support eXport and USB interfaces simultaneously if so desired by the airline.

"The goal of Panasonic Avionics Corporation in creating the eXport jack was to provide airlines passengers with an easy to use solution for integrating personal entertainment devices with our IFE systems. The alternative to eXport would be an "octopus" type cable that is less than elegant. The eXport initiative launched by Panasonic Avionics Corporation's R&D team and it is just the one of the many technology advancements that Panasonic plans on introducing.

"A technical note that might also be of interest is that Apple does not permit video over USB at this time and analog video output is currently the only method available to 'Made for iPod' solution providers like Panasonic. While it is true that digital audio output (over USB) is something that could be implemented, our market research has shown airline passengers want two simple features: (1) output their personal video and audio to the IFE system and (2) having power supplied to their iPod.

"Needless to say, eXport does both of these in a single cable. And since we're using USB technology to send power to the iPod, airlines can provide this service even if they don't have in-seat (PED) power. In fact, this is one of the main reasons that airlines want eXport (and USB jacks)... so that passengers can charge their iPod players, BlackBerry phones, etc. using USB power."

Photo from Panasonic's USB Media Player datasheet found here USB MediaPlayer Datasheet.pdf  

AMR Corp yesterday announced that wholly-owned subsidiary American Eagle Airlines will retire its Saab 340B fleet by year-end, and realign its operations at San Juan by transitioning 12 66-seat ATR 72s to Dallas. Here is management's memo to American Eagle employees (in two parts).

saabpage 1.pdf 

saabpage 2.pdf

So what does this mean for the venerable Saab turboprop? I went to the only logical source for an answer, Saab Aircraft Leasing (SAL) president and CEO Michael Magnusson.

Since it is not yet clear if Eagle will dispose of the turboprops in the near-term, it is difficult to say what impact it will have on the market. However, says Magnusson: "As long as the phase out is structured the worldwide market should be able to absorb them. Since new 30-seat turboprops are not manufactured anymore there is demand for used aircraft.

"Our Saab 340A Cargo market is doing well and this could be another avenue for some of these aircraft as the supply of good 340As is drying up. We at Saab will obviously do our bit to ensure a smooth transfer of Saab's to new operators."

What is Magnusson's reaction to AMR's decision? "In many ways I am not surprised, the Saab 340 is the smallest type in the very large Eagle fleet and being just 25 operational aircraft I suspected it would come under the 'microscope'," he says.

"What happens when a large organization such as Eagle flies a small plane such as the Saab 340? It is often not cost-effective and hence if there are any cuts it will usually hit the smallest aircraft."

Magnusson points out that Eagle previously flew 75 Jetstream 31s and again, as the carrier grew into larger aircraft and its cost-base increased, Eagle phased out all 19-seaters. "Now the time has come for the 30-seaters and I suspect they will focus on the 40-70 seaters going forward."

He adds: "A few years ago, American Airlines phased out the Fokker 100 fleet with a similar logic and retained the MD-80s/B737s as their smallest aircraft. The F100 fleet was placed quickly with non-US customers."

From a public relations standpoint, the timing couldn't be worse. AMR Corp's board of directors boosted the stock-based compensation of its five most senior executives just one day before the company announced major capacity cuts, job losses, potential facility closures and that controversial $15 charge for the first checked bag.

A 22 May filing to the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) details the combination of stock appreciation rights, deferred share awards and performance shares earmarked for chief executive Gerard Arpey; CFO Thomas Horton; EVP-marketing Dan Garton; EVP-operations Robert Reding and SVP & general counsel Gary Kennedy.

The at-risk awards were agreed on Tuesday, May 20th. Strike price on the shares options were based on AMR's closing price for that day. On Wednesday, management revealed its capacity-reduction plan, citing record high fuel prices, growing economic concerns and a difficult competitive environment.

Sure, the filing is procedural. "Every year our [board] compensation committee has to approve the stock awards for that particular year," notes an AMR spokesman. And yes, with AMR's share price worth over three times less than in 2007, the actual value of the compensation appears slightly lower than what was awarded last year.

But all of that must be cold comfort to the thousands of workers at American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines, who now face the very real possibility of losing their jobs.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American's pilots, is already making known its discontent. It says: "To illustrate the magnitude of this stock-based compensation, Arpey is slated to receive stock appreciation rights for 286,000 shares, 116,000 shares under the deferred share award agreement, 58,000 career performance shares, and 230,000 shares under the performance share plan.

"The number of shares awarded to Mr. Arpey under the performance share plan is more than triple the number he received for 2007, with the other four senior executives also receiving much larger numbers of performance shares. Also, Mr. Arpey could ultimately collect up to 175% of the 230,000 performance shares and 58,000 career performance shares he is eligible to receive, depending upon how AMR stock performs."

That final sentence is important, of course. Everything depends on AMR's stock performance. Nonetheless, even seasoned veterans are crying foul. "While senior management announces a large fleet reduction and capacity cut, they've quietly feathered their own nest...several millions more in executive compensation while the line employees are dreading cutbacks and furloughs," says an American pilot, who does not represent the union.

AMR points out, however, that Arpey's total compensation in recent years has been more than 50% below the median for CEOs at comparable companies. And it makes several other points in an email to me. They are that:

n      Gerard's cash compensation in 2007 included $656,500 in salary and zero in short-term incentive awards (which we consider a cash bonus and which hasn't been paid since 2001 for the 2000 performance).

n      While it is the board's intent to bring Gerard's compensation closer to median, in light of the current financial condition of the industry and the company, the Board decided to keep Gerard's 2007 salary at the same level that he had in 2006, except for the 1.5% increase in base salary that all AA employees.

n      At risk compensation is an important element of our compensation program, which generally represents more than 75% of the proxy officers' total compensation.

n      At risk means that it is not guaranteed. The April 16 vesting of the 2005/07 performance share plan is a good example of what we mean by at risk.

n      At an $8.92 share price, individual proxy officer PSP (performance share plan) amounts were 73% to 75% lower than in 2007 and 52% to 56% lower than in 2006.

n      Gerard's PSP distribution in April was valued at $1.67 million, 75% lower than his 2007 distribution. (received $6.6 million in 2007; $00 in 2006, $130,061 in 2005 and 151,020 in 2004).

n      Some people might forget that Gerard's PSP payout was ZERO for 2006 because he declined stock awards when he was promoted to CEO in 2003. He received less than $300,000 combined in this category in when his performance share grants vested in 2005 and 2004. Again, this is what we mean by at risk.

n      According to one of our compensation consultants, Hewitt Associates, use of performance shares at Fortune 200 companies has grown from 37% in 2005, to 46% in 2006 and 54% in 2007.

n      In fact, performance shares are becoming a bigger part of the mix of long-term incentive compensation for corporate officers. According to Hewitt, among large US companies, Performance Plans represented 17% of long-term incentive compensation in 2005, 34% in 2006 and 42% in 2007.

Looking for a little light reading as we head into the Memorial Day Weekend? Then look no further. An Aircell patent application that was filed on 31 October 2006 has just been published. It details the company's invention for providing multiple radio frequency communication links simultaneously between the aircraft and multiple terrestrial cell sites. 

US20080102814.pdf 

Yesterday, businessman Lou Pearlman was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for running a lengthy scam that swindled folks out of $300 million. Pearlman is best known as having founded popular boy bands Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, and living large. You might also recall that he had his fingers in the aviation business. Pearlman's Trans Continental Airlines misadventure is well documented, but he was also involved in another industry failure. Remember Florida-based Planet Airways, which operated Boeing 727 charters, including for the US Department of Defence?

I covered the Planet saga for Flight premium news service Air Transport Intelligence. It was part of my "third-tier airlines" beat. Back then, Planet co-investor and CEO Peter Garrambone said - in what now seems like a rather humorous comment - that the carrier had "endured a difficult certification process that required extensive flight crew tests and significant capital investment to meet the tough standards required to operate in the United States".

Tough standards maybe, but Planet nonetheless got the green-light from the DOT to operate service. Check out FedSpending.org's breakdown of Planet's government contract. The carrier's operating certificate was suspended in 2005.

I'm stuck into serious business today - American and American Eagle face big fleet cuts, job losses and potential facility closures. For some momentary relief, a colleague sent me this - a humorous video taken by a group of visitors to Bombardier's Toronto facility. Check it out. Unique is the word.

What will commercial aircraft look like in the future? To answer this question, a revisit to the past might be necessary. This includes studying a possible return to seaplanes for cities within 30 miles of coastal waters, Airbus VP strategic marketing Philippe Jarry said in mid-March at the ISTAT conference in Orlando. Jarry makes a good point. People are flocking to coastlines around the world "in one of the greatest human migrations of modern times", writes John Tibbetts in his excellent November 2002 article Coastal cities - living on the Edge. "Many experts argue that cities will have to cope with almost all of the population growth to come in the next two decades, and much of this increase will occur in coastal urban centers."

Mindful of this, and the fact that at some point in the future flying boats might replace a lot of the work performed by container ships and cargo-configured aircraft, a Vancouver-based aviation enthusiast has laid out a design for a widebody twin hull flying boat. Richard Benbaruj is not an engineer or even a pilot. He's a self-taught designer who is "trying to turn a real passion into a career". He says he proposed the design to Canada's National Defence department, which says it's not interested at this time, and gave Bombardier a look-see a few years ago.

Bombardier already holds a presence in the amphibious sector with the Bombardier 415 or Superscooper as it is marketed in the USA. Bombardier sees "expanding the role beyond fire fighting", says the manufacturer's director, program management office and director of marketing, Benjamin Boehm. While the company is not currently looking at a commercial amphibious aircraft, he says: "The good thing is that Bombardier is positioned well. We have a foot in that water per say."

So, where does Benbaruj go from here with his design? Well that's where you come in. Here are some photos of static models and sketches of Benbaruj's mid-size version, which he estimates could hold 200 passengers. The configuration calls for a twin hull, high wing, with an integral elevator mounted on the trailing edge of the bridge, and a single vertical stabilizer. Two turbofan engines would be mounted on top of the wing. So, do you think this bird will fly?

R - Rudder

V - Vertical Stabilizer

W - Wing

T - Turbofan

C - Cockpit

H - Hull

B - Bridge

E - Elevator

As mentioned here last week, Panasonic Avionics is finalizing contracts with suppliers for its eXConnect system, and could announce launch customers in about two months.

For those of you waiting with bated breath for the launch of in-flight broadband connectivity, I've got some interesting news to report. Panasonic Avionics has revealed it is in the process of finalizing contracts with key partners for its eXConnect broadband system, and will shortly announce "a supplier or suppliers" for the ever-important antenna. Launch customers for the Ku-band offering could be unveiled in about 60 days.

Panasonic previously picked Israel's Starling as a non-exclusive antenna partner in its satellite-based connectivity system, but requested performance improvements to the firm's fuselage-mounted Mijet antenna as well as from other would-be suppliers. Starling later entered a partnership with EMS Technologies to produce a new ultra-fast, ultra-lightweight (45lb/20kg) Ku-band airborne antenna system that will be targeted at the US commercial airline market. It is not yet clear if the EMS/Starling antenna being now touted has remedied Panasonic's concerns.

Panasonic Avionics director of strategic product marketing David Bruner says: "The aircraft antenna is a really big challenge. A lot of them [suppliers] thought they had a pretty good mousetrap, but all needed redesigned." Selecting the best antenna is a key step before customers are willing to move forward, he adds.

Separately, Aircell is quickly making headway to bring its air-to-ground connectivity solution to market. This blog recently reported that WiFi hotspot aggregator Boingo, which previously listed now-defunct Connexion by Boeing as one of its roaming partners, sees Aircell et al "as another major hotspot provider to work to expand the Boingo network".

One week lalter, iPass announced a roaming partner agreement with Aircell that will allow iPass enterprise users or individual subscribers to connect over Aircell hotspots on commercial aircraft in flight. The news marked Aircell's first roaming partner agreement.

Asked whether Boingo will be next, Aircell says it is in discussions with numerous partners, and is open to the idea of beginning additional discussions. To date, Aircell has formally announced the following partnerships around the commercial ATG Gogo system: Aricent; Formation; generationE Technologies; and Martin Dawes Systems.

(Photo above from Panasonic's eXConnect web page)

Singapore Airlines today became the third carrier to publicly discuss its decision to allow passengers to play music and video content from their own Apple iPod players over installed Panasonic in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems. You'll recall that late last year United Airlines started touting iPod integration, when it revealed details about a $165 million, multi-tiered program to revamp its business travel offering. It looks like Singapore has actually beaten United to the punch, becoming the first carrier to officially offer the iPod - and iPhone - connectivity (starting today on the first of five Airbus A340-500s). It is understood, however, that United is qucikly readying to go live on its international widebody fleet.

Also, just this week Panasonic revealed that Air New Zealand has opted to retrofit 13 Airbus A320s and five Boeing 767s with Panasonic's X Series IFE systems, which features iPod integration. Folks, this is just the beginning. And boy is Panasonic in a sweet spot. The company says its IFE solution is the only one that can natively support Apple's authentication technology.

"Based on my involvement with our sales and marketing team, I can tell you that just about every airline we speak with has asked us to demonstrate this feature," Panasonic Avionics director, product line management Marshal Perlman tells Runway Girl.

"Just as in the PC world, device integration and system expandability are hot topics. And if you break it down, iPod integration is a simple and cost effective solution that helps bridge the gap between the IFE and PMP (personal media player) markets."

So how does all this work? Here are some visuals for your pleasure, and some facts from Panasonic about the the world's biggest and highest flying iPod accessory (as someone from Apple put it).

1) Allows audio and video to be sent from a passenger's iPod to the IFE system while simultaneously powering and charging the iPod.

2) eXport solution consists of two main components: eXport jack (installed in the seat) and eXport cable (connects the iPod to the eXport jack).

3) Cabin crew will make the eXport cable available to passengers during the flight.

4) Solution is the world's first Apple approved "Made for iPod" and "Made for iPhone" solution designed specifically for the commercial airliner market.

5) Natively supports Apple's authentication technology.

6) In the near future Panasonic will introduce additional functionality that allows for two way communication between the iPod and IFE system.

7) Both iPod and iPhone (in "airplane mode") are supported.

Northwest Airlines has been a busy bee of late. Sure, there is that little merger deal it thrashed out with Delta Air Lines. But the SkyTeam member has also been quietly replacing its entire public relations team.

Fellow journalists, especially those on newswire-tight deadlines, may share my frustration at how Northwest press contacts seemingly disappeared overnight. So what the heck happened?

I went to Northwest VP - corporate communications Tammy Lee for the answer. She says: "We don't comment on specific personnel issues but, at a high-level, unique business environments require unique talent. We needed to assemble a media relations team that was prepared to handle a complex merger situation.

"This environment is fast-paced, frenetic and stressful. It's not everyone who wants to work in this kind of environment and it's not everyone who is suited to it.  In a merger situation, you need the dream communications team of those who can do the job and those who want to be here."

As Northwest pushes to merge with Delta under the Delta brand, it is safe to say that further changes will take place. Just ask Neal Cohen - essentially Northwest's second in command, who is leaving the firm in June.

However, the new Northwest PR team appears ensconced for now, and includes media relations managers Michelle Aguayo Shannon, Kristin Baur and Robert Laughlin. All three report to Lee, who joined the carrier in October 2007.

Last week I had the great privilege to spend some time in my favourite country, Ireland. I flew on a Continental Airlines Boeing 757 from Newark to Belfast to attend Bombardier’s pre-Farnborough briefing, and then took the train down to Dublin for a day of expensive fun (such a shame that the dollar is about as valuable as used toilet paper). The entire trip was rather eye opening on a number of levels.

A cropped pic of my tired self and Flight news editor Dan Thisdell at the Bombardier event

While I loathe all but a few of the now commonplace travel blogs that detail the rage-inducing missteps of airlines, I find that I must comment on my Continental service experience – because it was so good! The carrier, God bless it, appears to be really trying to separate itself from the pack – both literally and figuratively.

I don’t think anybody jumps up and down in glee at the prospect of flying a 757 on a transatlantic route. But last summer Continental began retrofitting its 757 economy cabins with Panasonic IFE to make the ride a little easier. Although the exercise is not quite finished (the aircraft flying the Newark-Belfast leg didn’t have it), a little bit of seat-back entertainment made such a difference on the Dublin-Newark flight. For those of us in the back row, placing a plastic cup over one’s earphones worked as noise-cancelling devices. Note to earphone makers – surely you’ve got something better in the offing?

More importantly, however, the Continental flight attendants both on the inbound and outbound trip were, perhaps, the friendliest, most accommodating group I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting (they weren’t carrying the fake-smile-smugness of so many others). Could it be that Continental staffers – well attendants at least – are genuinely content? Oh yes, one attendant happily reported. He also expressed gratitude that management has decided to keep Continental independent rather than push forward with a tie-up with United, and suggested that Continental simply snatch up the good assets when/if United goes out of business.

United last month announced it had grown its first quarter loss by $253 million year-over-year to $537 million. The company had cash and equivalents of $2.4 billion at the end of March compared with $3.1 billion the previous year. Consolidation, said CEO Glenn Tilton at the time, is one of many changes needed in this environment.

Spearheading this activity, of course, is the planned merger of Delta and Northwest. Mused one friendly attendant in so many words: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Double ouch.

So what in the world does all of this have to do with Bombardier? Well, you can be sure that they are keeping a keen eye on how consolidation plays out in the USA. Delta and Northwest each boasts regional feeders with significant CRJ fleets. While not addressing these mainline operators specifically, Bombardier Business Aircraft president Steve Ridolfi in Belfast said he believes that 100-seaters will be operated by US regionals as early as next year “as some of our customers take CRJ1000 into their fleets”.

One of my pilot friends disagrees with Ridolfi’s assessment. “The concession stand is closed. There is NO WAY that any union representing a major airline in this country would allow the out-sourcing of a 100-130 seat airplane.”

Time will tell, as they say. What now appears perfectly clear, however, is that bigger is better in the current economic climate.

As I reported today for Air Transport Intelligence, still further evidence that 50-seaters are playing a rapidly waning role in the USA emerged last week when Bombardier predicted the entire industry would require delivery of just 500 aircraft in the 20- to 59-seat range between now and 2027, a full 500-aircraft decrease from the long-term forecast released by the airframer last year.

The USA boasts a massive fleet of aircraft in this range, yet many US majors are keen to reduce these feeder operations as radically high fuel prices continue to bite into their bottom lines. “The trend is toward ‘larger smaller aircraft’ in our case, says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Gary Scott.“Seventy-seaters are replacing 50-seaters and 90-seaters are replacing 70-seaters. The dynamics in the industry are really driving the movement up in size.”

Bombardier Aerospace VP, strategy and business development Mairead Lavery notes that the manufacturer is transitioning “to a more international customer base that features less emphasis on the USA”.

As Bombardier’s market expectations for smaller aircraft diminish, the firm’s forecast for types in the 60-99-seat and 100-149-seat sectors has improved. Taking into account its reassessment of all three market segments, Bombardier now expects demand for 20- to 149-seat to reach about 12,900 new aircraft, valued at $528 billion, from 2008 to 2027. This represents a net increase in demand for a total 1,700 airliners in the 20-year period.

A few years ago WiFi hotspot aggregator Boingo added Boeing’s Connexion to its list of roaming partners. Boingo users were given access to Connexion’s high-speed connectivity services via their existing Boingo accounts. It was a sweet little arrangement (albeit short-lived due to Connexion's demise). It is also the type of partnership we are likely to see mimicked as new in-flight connectivity providers step up to the plate.

Boingo is looking towards the sky again. The company tells Runway Girl: “The advent of in-flight WiFi access is a natural extension for Boingo; people are still going to be in the airport an hour to two hours prior to take-off, and they will want to get online to be productive for work (or to be online for entertainment). As they board the plane, they will continue to use WiFi for productivity and/or entertainment.”

So can we expect to see a relationship with Aircell and other in-flight connectivity providers? “We see Aircell, et al as another major hotspot provider to work to expand the Boingo network. Boingo is there for its members in airports, in hotels, in cafés and restaurants … and the natural extension will be to be there on airplanes,” says Boingo.

Boingo’s role on the ground is already well established. This is one road warrior who remains very grateful for their airport access. And if you’re like me, you might be happy to know that Boingo is running a new promotion, whereby travellers get 15 minutes of free WiFi at major airports in the US and the UK on an iPhone or iPod Touch.

The 15 minutes comes after a 15 second advertisement; the service is offered at 28 airports with Boingo WiFi networks and includes major hubs such as Chicago O’Hare, Toronto Pearson International, London Heathrow, and JFK and LaGuardia in New York.

The full list in the United Kingdom is: EDI, GLA, LHR, LGW, SOU, STN; and in North America: AZO, BNA, BWI, DTW, EWR, HOU, IAH, JFK, LGA, MDW, MEM, MKE, MSP, OAK, OKC, ORD, SDF, SJU, SLC, STL, YOW, YYZ.

“Sometimes, you just want to do a quick e-mail check and surf before boarding – this gives travelers an opportunity to use their Wi-Fi devices to do that, for free for 15 minutes,” says Boingo.

Canadian and US regulators remain a stubborn bunch when it comes to in-flight cell phone usage – they just don’t want it, can’t see needing it, and insist that travellers abhor the prospect of such chatter in the sacrosanct cabin environment. Oh yeah, and some of them think it might be dangerous too. For heaven's sakes! It’s mind-boggling that North America continues to drag its feet on this issue. We look like a bunch of ninnies when Europe and the Middle East are figuring ways through the social and technological issues associated with using cell phones during flight.

Sure there have been hiccups along the way. The UK’s Sunday Times is running a fairly comprehensive piece about how Air France passengers haven’t had the most robust connectivity during a trial of OnAir’s service. But you can be sure that these trouble-spots will be resolved, and where will North America be? Still scare-mongering about potential interruption to aircraft avionics? Still claiming that chatty-Kathy passengers will drive other travellers to the brink of rage?

Further evidence that North America is nearly stagnant on the issue has emerged in recent weeks. In the USA, Congressmen Peter DeFazio, Jerry Costello and John Duncan held a press conference to announce the “HANG UP Act”, which would ban passengers from talking on cell phones abroad US airlines. Both the US Federal Communications Commission and the FAA already ban this activity and have refused to budge on regulations governing it. So these lawmakers are suggesting that we ban something that has already been banned? Now that's rich. The legislation came on the heels of an announcement by the European Union that they will eliminate the ban on cell phones onboard aircraft.

At the same time, Canadian regulators are considering loosening rules that prohibit passengers from making cell phone calls after the aircraft has landed and is taxiing to its gate (like what other countries have been doing for years). Amazingly, however, Transport Canada remains unconvinced that the in-flight use of cell phones or Blackberry-like devices are safe “There is always a risk of potential interference” to aircraft avionics, says a spokesman.

While not keen on cell phones in-flight, the USA is moving forward with trials of WiFi-based services. Aircell recently became the first communications operator to receive approvals from the FAA to provide air-to-ground (ATG) in-flight mobile broadband for US domestic flights. The Colorado-based firm plans to roll out its service – branded Gogo - to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean as soon as possible in 2009 but for now, its focus remains on the US launch.

But the WiFi path that Canada might travel remains unclear. The pending proposed notice about cell phones will likely prompt this discussion, says the Transport Canada spokesman.

(Photo from Air France's web site at www.airfrance.com )