INMARSAT
Inmarsat announced that its award-winning GX Aviation inflight broadband service has been selected by Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) for its brand new fleet of Airbus A350 aircraft. SAS has ordered a number of new Airbus A350 aircraft as part of an extensive fleet renewal program, the first of which will be delivered from the Airbus factory in Toulouse at the end of this year with GX Aviation pre-installed. The aircraft has been named ‘Ingegerd Viking’ and will officially enter service on  January 28, 2020, serving long-haul routes to destinations such as Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong. GX Aviation’s unique proposition of fast, seamless global coverage was a key factor in its selection by SAS. GX Aviation will be a key part of the world-class experience in the new aircraft’s economy, premium economy and business class cabins, allowing passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream video and audio, check social media, instant message and more, with speeds on par with mobile broadband on the ground. The airline will also benefit from major upcoming enhancements to the GX network, with additional capacity being introduced by three new satellites launching in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, Inmarsat recently signed an agreement with Airbus Defence & Space to develop a pioneering new generation of GX satellites, which  the company says will mark a transformative step-change in inflight broadband capabilities. The ground-breaking satellites, named GX7, 8 & 9, are optimized for real-time mobility and feature thousands of dynamically-formed beams that direct capacity with laser-like precision over high-demand areas.

---

MORGAN STANLEY RESEARCH
Entering the Paris Air Show, investor concerns included order activity, aftermarket trends, and Defense health amongst others. But, the event addressed these overhangs and eased the subdued A&D cycle sentiment, in MSR’s view. Here are Morgan Stanley Research’s 5 key global takeaways from the Paris Air Show: 1) Order flow was light, but better than expected; 2) Boeing is making progress on the MAX slowly but surely; 3) Airbus announced the XLR and noted a supportive outlook at its analyst event; 4) Supplier commentary showed a degree of confidence in the outlook, albeit with production risks lingering; and 5) A lack of panic on Defense trends, while Bizjets are not doing a whole lot.

---

SPAFAX
Global entertainment and media agency Spafax, a leading providers of media, entertainment and content marketing services to the airline industry, announced it has been selected by Japan Airlines (JAL) to license, curate and deliver its short-form content selection onboard all aircraft including TV shows, documentaries and compilations. Spafax’s entertainment efforts for JAL will be led out of its Hong Kong office and be supported by its entertainment teams in London and Southern California. Spafax’s first content cycle for JAL is due for delivery by August 2019.

---

AIRBUS

• During the 2019 Paris Air Show, Airbus achieved new business for 363 commercial aircraft, comprising 149 firm orders and 214 commitments. In addition to these totals, airlines and lessors also converted 352 existing aircraft orders – mostly from the A320 single-aisle aircraft up to the larger A321neo and also to the new A321XLR, clearly reflecting Airbus successful strategy in offering customers longer-range aircraft in this segment. Moreover, Le Bourget saw successes for the A220 which won new business for 85 aircraft, and for the widebody A330neo for which Airbus received orders and commitments for 24 new aircraft. The star of the show was clearly the new A321XLR – the next evolutionary step from the A321LR. The XLR is world’s most efficient and longest-range single-aisle aircraft, which will enable operators in this segment to access markets requiring even more range and payload. Overall, this newest model won orders for 48 aircraft, commitments for a further 79 aircraft and 99 conversions from A321 to XLR. These came from a wide range of launch customers from around the world.
• Airbus is saddened that one of its founding fathers, Roger Béteille, who not only shaped Airbus’ first commercial aircraft – the A300B – but also Airbus Industrie, passed away on 14 June at the age of 97.
  Born in Aveyron, France, in 1921, Roger Béteille studied at Supaéro in Toulouse before joining France’s SNCASE, which later became Sud Aviation, in 1943. He received his pilot’s licence in 1945, becoming thereafter flight test engineer in 1952. He was part of the flight test team on the Caravelle’s first flight. In July 1967, the idea to develop a 300-seater all new wide-body twinjet was progressing and Mr Béteille was appointed chief engineer for the A300 program at Sud Aviation. It soon became clear that launch customers Air France and Lufthansa wanted a smaller product. From the very start, Roger Béteille nurtured a dream: to found an aircraft family. “I was convinced that Airbus would never take off with a single aircraft,” he explained. “Potential customers would wonder if we’d still be around in ten or 20 years’ time.” His dream truly came to fruition towards the end of his career, when in March 1984 he managed the formal launch of the A320.
  Roger Béteille was instrumental in developing its fly-by-wire (FBW) controls, with increased flight safety and wider fuselage, all of which were key to its huge commercial success. Fly-by-wire also enabled the start of cockpit commonality and cross-crew qualification for pilots across Airbus aircraft.
• China Southern Airlines took delivery of its first of 20 A350-900 becoming the newest operator of this latest generation and highly efficient twin-engine, long-range widebody aircraft. The Guangzhou-based carrier operates an Airbus fleet of 335 aircraft, including 282 A320 Family aircraft, 48 A330 Family aircraft and 5 A380 aircraft (figures at the end of May 2019). China Southern’s A350-900 aircraft features a modern and comfortable three-class cabin layout of 314 seats: 28 business, 24 premium economy and 262 economy. The airline will initially operate the new aircraft on its domestic routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai and Beijing, followed by flights to international destinations.

---

BOEING
Boeing launched its latest round of flight-testing to assess new technologies that could address real-world challenges for airplane operators and passengers — from enhancing safety and sustainability to improving the flying experience. The company is debuting a Boeing 777 that will serve as the 2019 flying test bed for 50 projects. “This is the latest addition to our ecoDemonstrator program, where we look at how crew and passengers can have a better experience and how technologies can make flying safer, more efficient and more enjoyable,” said Mike Sinnett, vice president of product strategy and future airplane development at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Using the 777 flying test bed lets us learn faster and move forward on improvements much quicker and with greater fidelity in defining their value.” Among the technologies being tested on this year’s ecoDemonstrator program are:

• Sharing digital information between air traffic control, the flight deck and an airline’s operations center to optimize routing efficiency and safety.
• An electronic flight bag application that uses next-generation communications to automatically provide rerouting information to pilots when weather conditions warrant.
• Connected cabin technologies that make galleys and lavatories smart, and monitor cabin conditions such as temperature and humidity to facilitate automatic adjustments.
• Cameras to provide more passengers with a view outside the airplane.

Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator program first took to the skies in 2012. Five airplanes — a 737-800, 787-8 Dreamliner, 757, Embraer E170 and 777 Freighter — have tested 112 technologies through 2018. More than a third of the technologies have transitioned to implementation at Boeing or by program partners. Nearly half remain in further development while testing on the other projects was discontinued after learnings were accomplished. Among the technologies now in use are iPad apps that provide real-time information to pilots, enabling them to reduce fuel use and emissions; custom approach path information to reduce community noise; and a camera system on the 777X that will help pilots avoid ground obstacles. A key part of the ecoDemonstrator program is collaboration with industry partners to jointly test technologies and share learnings that advance aviation. More than a dozen partners are participating in the 2019 program, including an industry consortium developing a connectivity standard for networked cabins of the future known as iCabin. Flight tests will be conducted this fall. The flights will include a trip to Frankfurt Airport in Germany, where the ecoDemonstrator’s technology mission will be presented to government officials, industry representatives and STEM students to help inspire the next generation in aerospace leadership. A majority of the test flights will fly on sustainable aviation fuel to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and demonstrate the fuel’s viability.

Aviation connects our world by efficiently and rapidly moving people, opening new economic opportunities and transporting food and goods all over our planet. Aviation promotes global understanding, generating rich cultural exchanges and thereby contributing to peaceful co-existence. At the same time, climate change has become a clear concern for our society. Humanity’s impact on the climate requires action on many fronts. The aviation industry is already taking significant action to protect the planet and will continue to do so. Aviation contributes to two percent of human-made carbon dioxide emissions. The industry has challenged itself to reduce net CO2 emissions even while demand for air travel and transport grows significantly. Through the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), the aviation industry became the world’s first industrial sector to set an ambitious target: reduce CO2 emissions to half of year 2005 levels by 2050, and to limit the growth of net CO2 emissions by 2020. We are on track to meet those near-term commitments, including the 2019 implementation of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) program as agreed upon by the nations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Chief Technology Officers of seven of the world’s leading aviation manufacturers are now each working at an unprecedented level to ensure the industry meets these aggressive and necessary commitments.

The Strategy
There are three major technological elements to sustainable aviation:

1. Continuing to develop aircraft and engine design and technology in a relentless pursuit of improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.
2. Supporting the commercialization of sustainable, alternate aviation fuels. Around 185,000 commercial flights have already proven that today’s aircraft are ready to use them.
3. Developing radically new aircraft and propulsion technology and accelerating technologies that will enable the ‘third generation’ of aviation.

Aviation will continue to rely on liquid fuels as the fundamental energy source for larger and longer-range aircraft for the foreseeable future. Even under the most optimistic forecasts for electric-powered flight, regional and single-aisle commercial airplanes will remain operating in the global fleet with jet fuel for decades to come. Therefore, the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAFs) which use recycled rather than fossil-based carbon and meet strong, credible sustainability standards is an essential component of a sustainable future. Five pathways for production of SAFs have already been approved for use, with commercial scale production of one of these pathways already in place. We believe that accelerating production scale-up of all commercially viable pathways, while simultaneously developing additional lower cost pathways, is the key to success. This work is already underway at research institutions and within companies in various industrial sectors. What is needed is an expansion of government support for technology development, production facility investment, and fuel production incentives around the world.
We are fully supportive of any fuel, which is sustainable, scalable, and compatible with existing fuels. We will work closely with fuel producers, operators, airports, environmental organizations and government agencies to bring these fuels into widespread aviation use well ahead of 2050. Other factors, such as efficient air traffic management and aircraft routing that minimizes fuel consumption also have a vital part to play. Our industry has demonstrated significant progress on reducing noise and other environmental impacts and will continue to do so.

Aviation is at the dawn of its third major era, building on the foundation laid by the Wright brothers and the innovators of the Jet Age in the 1950s. Aviation’s third era is enabled by advances in new architectures, advanced engine thermodynamic efficiencies, electric and hybrid-electric propulsion, digitization, artificial intelligence, materials and manufacturing. Larger aircraft will begin to benefit from novel designs that will further improve efficiency through management of aircraft drag and distributing propulsion in new ways. New materials will enable lighter aircraft, further improving efficiency. We are excited by this third generation of aviation and, even though all of the represented companies have different approaches, we are all driven by the certainty of its contribution to the role of aviation in a sustainable future. We believe aviation is entering its most exciting era since the dawn of the Jet Age. This third era promises a transformative positive impact on lives around the globe — and we stand ready to make it a reality.

---

OTHER NEWS

• We wonder if airplanes are next? Google Maps can predict how crowded your train or bus will be
• Could 10 year old Uber will become an air taxi company? Uber flying air taxi network plan – Axios And, driverless too! A sky full of driverless flying cars in just a decade – Axios
• Tired of getting on airplanes with your head cold? There is a solution for that – Eustachi Eustachian Tube Exerciser – Unclog Your Ears Naturally : Target
• Need drone data? Here are 20 of the best – From Retailers To Insurance Providers, Here Are 20 Corps Using Drone Tech Today – CB Insights Research
• One way or another, drones are going to be involved in your flying future! The race to add drones to nationwide air traffic control system | ZDNet You might like this as well if FAA control of drones is of interest – FAA to Debut Remote ID Rule in July – Rotor & Wing International
• We found a good read and if you like “ — bi-weekly updates on the evolving world of drones, air taxis and eVTOLs.”, check out Skyport, it’s free, and from our perspective, a good deal! The Skyport: Your Guide to the World of Urban Air Mobility – Rotor & Wing International
• So, when will we see hypersonic flight? OK, how about supersonic? When will we see hypersonic flight? | World Economic Forum
• If you really need a report on the state of AI (or you just want to get caught up) here is the “State of AI Report for 2019” and it is only a 136 page presentation (from London). The authors note: “Consider this report as a compilation of the most interesting things we’ve seen that seeks to trigger an informed conversation about the state of AI and its implication for the future.” State of AI 2019
• Would you like to see the Qatar proposed aviation security guidelines? All 57 pages downloadable – A Good Start! Aviation Cyber Security Guidelines
• Trying to figure out a flight from your vacation location back to work for an emergency? Here is a solution: Worldwide routes and flights from all airports – FlightsFrom.com