As you all know, this week is Farnbourgh Air Show in the UK. Needless to say, there is a ton of new aircraft sales being reported daily from Boeing, Airbus et al. Next week’s issue of IFExpress will have a synopsis for you – so stay tuned for a convenient snap shot! We should note that some $44 Billion dollars worth of aviation goods were sold the first day and a lot of aircraft large orders went to “non-disclosed” purchasers.

GOGO

Gogo Inc., the leading global provider of broadband connectivity products and services for aviation, announced that it has completed a comprehensive analysis of its business and is implementing an Integrated Business Plan (“IBP”) designed to improve the Company’s operational and financial performance. The IBP, branded as “Gogo 2020”, transforms Gogo’s business model and is intended to significantly reduce its cost structure, improve quality, drive revenue, streamline business processes and prudently strengthen its balance sheet. Oakleigh Thorne, President and CEO of Gogo, said, “The initiatives we are executing under our Integrated Business Plan demonstrate our commitment to taking aggressive action to position Gogo for sustainable value creation. Gogo 2020 represents a new era for Gogo with a significantly reduced cost structure, much lower capital expenditures, and a streamlined and standardized approach to meeting the needs of our customers with improved quality and service. As we prioritize resources to strengthen the resiliency of our model, we remain focused on accomplishing our objectives without sacrificing our long-term growth opportunities and will continue to evaluate strategic options to drive revenue, monetize assets and realize the significant value of our business.”

Gogo 2020 resulted in the following:

• Targeting Free Cash Flow break-even for the full year 2020;
• Targeting significant annual EBITDA growth each year in our plan, reaching over $200 million in 2022;
• Continuing to build on the significant improvement in 2Ku performance metrics, including availability of over 97% in June, by enhancing product and service quality;
• Maintain cash capex reduction in 2018 with further material reductions in 2019;
• Materially reducing upfront equipment subsidies for airline contracts;
• Reducing total operating spend in Gogo’s Commercial Aviation “CA” business (excluding satellite costs) by nearly 20% by the end of 2020;
• Reducing total cash burn in 2019 by over $100 million from expected 2018 cash burn and by a further $100 million in 2020;
• Reviewing multiple options to address our outstanding convertible debt before it becomes current in March of 2019;
• Renewing focus on third-party payer revenue streams to better monetize existing connected aircraft;
• Focusing on improving the range of user experiences;
• Reviewing a range of attractive strategic alternatives, including opportunities suggested by various strategic and financial parties, with the goal of maximizing shareholder value.

The Company provides 2018 guidance as follows:

• Total revenue of $865 million to $935 million, in line with prior guidance;
• 2Ku incremental aircraft on-line to be at the low end of the prior guidance range of 550 to 650;
• Gross capex of $150 million to $170 million and cash capex of $110 million to $130 million, in line with prior guidance;
• Adjusted EBITDA guidance of $35-45 million.

Editor’s Note: This news release opens the door for future changes that may include sale, business restructuring, and a lot more. Keep your eye on the company in the next year or so.

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SITAONAIR

SITAONAIR’s trademark ‘open platforms’ approach is turning the aircraft Internet of Things (IoT) concept into a reality, in a key development for the air transport industry.

By applying its open platforms approach to delivering bespoke IoT capabilities onboard, SITAONAIR will securely integrate diverse aircraft avionics – encompassing sensors, connectivity, hardware, applications and more – heightening the potential of the connected aircraft.

For this aircraft IoT project, SITAONAIR is joining forces with two pioneering cargo carriersAirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) and CargoLogicAir (CLA) at the 2018 Farnborough Air Show. They will demonstrate how SITAONAIR’s IoT platform enables two strategic partners, ABC and CLA, to monitor, in real-time, the journey of sensitive pharmaceutical cargo inflight.

SITAONAIR’s specific IoT solution for AirBridgeCargo and CargoLogicAir works by collecting IoT data provided by OnAsset Intelligence, its demo partner and cargo-monitoring specialist, during the course of a flight. This OnAsset Intelligence data is then fed through SITAONAIR’s onboard IoT edge gateway. The data can then be sent, securely, to its ground data management and dispatch platform, built to monitor the inflight status of carriers’ goods.

Currently, there are no other solutions on the market that provide inflight cargo sensing and freight condition visibility, as perishable and temperature-sensitive goods can only be monitored on the ground. SITAONAIR’s collaboration with AirBridgeCargo and CargoLogicAir therefore represents a shift in technological intelligence, enabling actions or decisions to be made inflight to help optimize performance.

Sergey Lazarev, General Director of AirBridgeCargo Airlines, says: “As one of the world’s leading cargo airlines, digital pharma is a priority innovation focus for us. With genuine Internet of Things capabilities, enabled for us onboard by SITAONAIR, our digital pharma service is born, ensuring we can provide the best transportation conditions inflight for customers’ invaluable cargo.”

David Kerr, CEO of CargoLogicAir, highlights: “Customers in the air cargo industry are aiming at getting a better digital experience. With SITAONAIR we will be able to move towards the establishment of a holistic digital environment for our customers”.

Dominique El Bez, SITAONAIR VP of Product & Strategy, says: “We are proud to work with AirBridgeCargo and CargoLogicAir to further improve inflight aircraft and transported assets monitoring, bringing additional value to the airline.

“With over two-thirds (67%) of commercial airlines surveyed by the SITA Group aiming to invest in Internet of Things initiatives in the years ahead, the IoT arena is truly set to take off. As the true experts in delivering the promises of the connected aircraft, through our wealth of inflight connectivity, aircraft data management and aircraft communications solutions, we are naturally positioned to bring game-changing innovation to the aircraft Internet of Things space.

“Our vision is for SITAONAIR to become the enabler of IoT ecosystems onboard aircraft, with an open platform that will be aircraft safety compliant and cost effective. Developed in collaboration with the wider aviation industry, our experts and engineers are enthusiastically exploring aircraft IoT functionalities, and with our rate of development, we aim to bring a sweep of aircraft IoT portfolio products to market from 2019.”

For more information and to discover the full SITAONAIR connected aircraft portfolio, visit www.sitaonair.aero

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INMARSAT

Inmarsat, the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, and the European Space Agency (ESA), have successfully completed the first test flight using the world’s most advanced aviation satellite technology for their Iris programme in support of European air traffic modernisation.  The evaluation is a significant step forward in realising more precise flight surveillance and more efficient air traffic management.

The Iris programme is a public-private partnership, sponsored by ESA and led by Inmarsat to enable secure, high bandwidth datalink communications over Europe.  The three-hour test flight, which departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, was supported by the Iris technology partners Honeywell, CGI and SITAONAIR using Inmarsat’s SB-S L-band service. Using a Cessna Citation II aircraft provided by Dutch company NLR, a number of real-time communication exchanges were completed between the cockpit and flight control facility over continental and oceanic airspace.

The evaluation moves the Iris programme a step closer to enabling SESAR’s concept of pinpointing aircraft in four dimensions (4D) – latitude, longitude, altitude and time – which results in more precise flight tracking and more efficient air traffic management. This allows pilots and controllers to calculate the shortest available routes, cruise at optimum altitudes, and use continuous climb and descent paths, saving fuel and lessening environmental impact.

The Iris programme will enhance airspace utilisation and aviation safety, while reducing flight times, delays and CO2 emissions, all in support of the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) masterplan.  It will also heighten aircraft communications security through the use of security gateways, which provide a VPN (Virtual Private Network) barrier that securely connects flight management systems onboard the aircraft to corresponding systems used by air traffic controllers on the ground.

Powered by Inmarsat’s new SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) platform, the enhanced IP-based capabilities will relieve pressure on crowded VHF (Very High Frequency) channels, which are near capacity, by moving pilot-controller communications from voice communications to high-speed data link (text messages).

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Turkish Technic

Turkish Technic and Havelsan will carry out the production of in-flight entertainment systems. This Joint Venture Company will perform activities in the field of in-flight entertainment and internet service provider systems and other softwares used in civil aviation including design, production, maintenance, repair, marketing, sales and after-sales services in land, sea, rail systems and air platforms. The Company is aiming to provide linefit in-flight entertainment systems as approved supplier for both Turkish Airlines’ new generation aircraft to be delivered between 2022-2023 and other domestic and international airlines’ aircrafts. In-flight entertainment systems which play very important role especially for long haul flights and foster customer satisfaction, are planning to be produced by this Company with high technology and competitive prices. At the first stage, the Company, to be operational at Turkish Technics’ Sabiha Gökçen International Airport facilities in 2018, is planning to commercialize its products for domestic airline operators and other operators within its close region.

 

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OTHER NEWS

• Alaska Air: The Seattle-based carrier converted its 15 737-8 orders to the larger variant, bringing its firm commitments for the Max 9 to 32, during the first quarter, a financial filing shows. It also has 11 737-900ER orders. Alaska will take its first Max in 2019 with deliveries continuing through 2023. – FlightGlobal
• Want to know more about software API’s? It’s an application program interface and, yes, it is the part of the software/hardware that receives requests and sends responses – Check out this descriptive article
• On Tuesday, an Air China flight from Hong Kong to Dalian dropped 25,000 feet in just a few minutes, causing the oxygen masks to deploy. The cause? One of the pilots was vaping and tried to hide the smell, as The South China Morning Post explains: CAAC, which seized the aircrafts flight data and voice recorders and interviewed crew members, said preliminary investigations found that the co-pilot had, without telling the pilot, attempted to turn off a circulation fan to prevent e-cigarette smoke from reaching the cabin. “[But the co-pilot] mistakenly switched off the air-conditioning unit that was next to it, resulting in insufficient oxygen in the cabin and an altitude warning.,” said Qiao Yibin, of the authority’s safety office, at a press briefing on Friday, according to state-run Xinhua news agency. OOPS!!
• Perhaps probiotics can help jet-lag? Take a look at this article.