Earlier this week someone asked us if an 802.11N aircraft router was in existence. Yep, and VT Miltope has one newly developed, approved, and ready for service…it is called the nMAP. Contact Bob Guidetti if you need more information (rguidetti@miltope.com). Check out the PDF data sheet below.

Airbus told us that they are going to raise prices this year by an average of 5.8% and it applies to all new aircraft sales beginning in 2010. This is the first price rise in two years. The price increases were calculated according to the Airbus standard escalation formula over the January 2008 to January 2010 period. “We have tried to keep prices down for as long as we can,” said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “However, even with record aircraft deliveries and impressive orders in recent years, the continuing strength of the Euro against the US Dollar and the ongoing financial challenges ahead have forced us to take action.” An ongoing US Dollar weakness, an increased cost of materials as well as commodities are all factors in the decision.

Here are a couple more tasty bits: You probably remember the story we broke a couple weeks ago about AeroMobile filing under “administration”, well now it seems that AeroMobile has finalized a deal in which it will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telenor Group. The deal will enable AeroMobile to emerge from “administration”, where it has been since late last year. On the airborne Wi-Fi front, Southwest Airlines is to begin installing equipment in an agreement with Row 44. The Ku Band solution will be installed on the Southwest fleet beginning in the second quarter 2010. The airline plans to install at a rate of 15 aircraft per month, accelerating to 25 per month later, with all installations complete by 2012.

We have been expecting a YouTube video chronicling the Airbus/Boeing subsidy struggle. You will find it in a link called Launch Aid below.

A long-time reader sent us pictures of a new South African regional carrier…”if these folks have a sense of humor on their livery, I’m flying with them the next time I am in South Africa.” Check out the detail, it is hilarious. We need more of this stuff! See the link below.

Like the little boy digging enthusiastically in a large pile of manure and exclaiming, “There must be a pony in here somewhere…”, we faced a daunting task again this week (plainly visible) as bits and pieces of inflight entertainment and aviation news came dribbling in to our offices. Not necessarily news, recent events on the supply chain front also piqued our interest. Both Boeing and Toyota have brought some new focus to the supply chain, and from our perspective, some overreaching in the value side of the supply chain is at issue here. This focus will no doubt, come into play on the airline side as well, but are by their nature, a bit less immune. As you may know, the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg is May 18 thru 20, 2010, and it looks like the supply chain is an issue here as well. “For this reason an important theme at this year’s Aircraft Interiors Expo will be how the cabin interiors supply chain can prepare for the expected upturn, while recognizing that conditions are still challenging. ‘Airlines are looking for a changing mix in the cabin – some will look to change the cabin interior to be able to fine tune to meet both demand and current capacity,’ said Ian Crawford, Group Exhibition Director at Reed Exhibitions.” We found a good accounting of a real world Boeing fastener problem that has to be a classic in the fastener SC…it’s in the links below. Also included are a couple other supply chain finds that may help you in your next meeting. As Boeing will no doubt tell you, tackling supple chain value is not without attendant risk.

Links:

• VT Miltope nMap data sheet (readers should note that the reference to DO-160D should be DO-160E)
• Launch Aid
• Kulula Aircraft PDF
• Supply Chain Links
  • Things With Wings
  • Integrating Supply Chain Management and Project Management (PDF)
  • Boeing’s long supply chain: causing delays?