ASTRONICS

Astronics Corporation is launching a new family of flexible, compact, 64-bit avionics I/O computing platforms for problem-solving and tech insertion in areas such as mission computing, distributed control and avionics data conversion.

---

VIASAT

EL AL Israel Airlines and Viasat Inc. announced they expanded their successful relationship, adding the Boeing 777 widebody fleet to the mix of EL AL aircraft with Viasat’s equipment for high-speed in-flight connectivity (IFC). In addition to the Boeing 777 fleet, Viasat equipment currently powers the connectivity experience across EL AL’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 737-900 and part of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. EL AL plans to have all widebody aircraft equipped with Viasat’s latest generation IFC solution and all narrow-body fleet equipped with Viasat’s in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) offering. EL AL expects to have the majority of its fleet connected with the Viasat service by the end of 2020. “EL AL takes great pride in being an innovative airline, and they continue to push the in-flight connectivity boundaries,” said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Aviation, Viasat. “EL AL was first to launch Viasat’s fast IFC service in Europe and the Middle East; first to deploy high-speed internet on transatlantic flights using the advanced ViaSat-2 satellite; and are now the first airline to bring IFC to the Boeing 777 aircraft for global routes before the launch of our ViaSat-3 satellite constellation. Enabling high-speed, high-quality internet to their full fleet confirms their dedication to bring customers and crew fast, reliable connectivity service—no matter where they fly.” The Viasat in-flight Wi-Fi service offers an at-home or office experience in the sky, keeping flight crews connected for enhanced passenger service and enabling passengers using smartphones, tablets or laptop computers the ability to browse websites, connect to email and instant messaging, use apps and social networks and to stream music and/or films when in-flight. Today, EL AL offers three in-flight Wi-Fi packages—Basic, Social and Business—which can be purchased during the flight through the EL AL Wi-Fi portal via credit card or EL AL Matmid Club points.

---

AIRBUS

Air Canada’s first Airbus A220 was unveiled this week when it rolled out of the painting hangar at the A220 final assembly line in Mirabel. In December, Air Canada will be the first Canadian airline to take delivery of this Canadian-designed and developed aircraft when it receives the first of its 45 A220s on order. The A220 features an innovative cabin design, as well as significantly lower emissions and a reduced noise footprint. The A220-300 for Air Canada will provide passengers with superior comfort in a 137-seat dual-class cabin layout. Air Canada’s brand new A220-300s will replace the flag carrier’s existing mainline fleet of smaller, older narrow-body aircraft and support the airline’s hub and network growth, creating one of the world’s youngest and most fuel efficient fleets. Now that the aircraft is decked out in Air Canada’s livery, it has moved to pre-flight activities in the A220 flight line hangar in Mirabel, before taking off for its first flight later this fall. Currently, there are 94 A220 aircraft flying with six operators on regional and transcontinental routes in Asia, America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, proving the great versatility of Airbus’ latest family member. The A220 has an order book of 530 aircraft as of the end of October 2019.

Airbus and China are strengthening their long-standing partnership as both sides commit to a further deepening and broadening of cooperation in the aviation industry. A Memorandum of Understanding on the Further Development of Industrial Cooperation was signed in Beijing by He Lifeng, Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China and Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron. According to the MoU, both sides have agreed to take practical and effective measures for new initiatives regarding both Airbus single-aisle and widebody aircraft. As part of Airbus’ objective to reach a global A320 Family production rate of 63 aircraft per month in 2021, the Airbus Tianjin A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL Asia) remains on track to ramp up its production to six aircraft per month by the end of 2019, which is a 50% increase compared to its original design. A350 XWB capabilities will be extended into the Airbus Tianjin wide-body Completion and Delivery Center (C&DC) from the second half of 2020. The C&DC is scheduled to deliver its first A350 aircraft by 2021 from Tianjin. The potential of China’s aviation market is huge: While China domestic is set to become the world’s largest market, international traffic to and from China has nearly doubled over the last 10 years. According to the Airbus Global Market Forecast, China is expected to require some 7,560 new aircraft over the next 20 years. In both Airbus’ single-aisle and widebody aircraft programs, cooperation is well established. In single-aisle, the FAL Asia has been successfully operating for over a decade since its inauguration in September 2008. To date, 450 A320 Family aircraft have been delivered from Tianjin to Airbus’ Chinese and Asian customers since. In twin-aisle aircraft, the first Airbus’ widebody center outside Europe, the C&DC – inaugurated in September 2017 – has successfully performed A330 aircraft completion activities including cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test, as well as customer acceptance and aircraft delivery. The A350 XWB has garnered 913 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide.

October was a landmark month for Airbus in terms of new business, with orders logged for 415 new commercial jetliners. This includes one of the company’s largest-ever transactions with a single airline operator, and overall bookings that significantly strengthened the extra-long-range A321XLR’s market positioning – while the 77 deliveries brought the total number of A320neo/A321neo jetliners delivered to customers/operators above the 1,000 mark. Leading October orders was Indian carrier IndiGo’s for 300 additional A320neo Family aircraft, taking its overall order for the type to 730. Other bookings in October for the A321XLR included 30 for Malaysia’s AirAsia X, 20 for Hungarian-based Wizz Air, 12 for JetSMART of Chile, and two for an unidentified customer. Another unidentified customer ordered 13 A321XLRs in a transaction that also included 12 A330-900 highly efficient wide-bodies. Completing the A320 Family orders during the month was China Airlines’ contract for 11 A321neos; seven A320neos for Taiwan’s Tigerair; and an agreement by the U.S. based lessor Aviation Capital Group for three A320neos. Overall, the A320neo Family reached a new milestone of over 7,000 orders from 113 customers with a backlog of more than 6,000. New transactions were also booked in October for the latest member of Airbus’ single-aisle product line: the A220. France’s Réunion Island-based airline, Air Austral, signed a firm order for three A220s, becoming the first A220 customer in the Indian Ocean region; while Air Tanzania, the A220’s initial African-based operator, extended its fleet of A220-300s with two additional aircraft. The 77 deliveries during the month were made to 45 customers and led by the A320 Family with 59 deliveries (56 NEOs and three CEOs). Since the A320neo Family entry into service in 2016, October marked Airbus’ 1,000th A320neo Family delivery, an aircraft which was received by IndiGo. Among the other notable deliveries in October were the first A321neo for Taiwan’s STARLUX Airlines (through lessor GECAS). Completing the October deliveries were four A220s, along with 14 Airbus wide-body aircraft: eight A350-900s and six A330s (four NEOs and two CEOs). During the first 10 months of 2019, Airbus made 648 deliveries overall to 92 customers, compared with 584 aircraft over the same period of 2018 – equivalent to 64 more deliveries. Taking the latest orders and deliveries into account, Airbus’ aircraft backlog as of 31 October stood at 7,471 aircraft including 6,107 A320 Family, 436 A220 Family, 593 A350 XWBs, 284 A330s and 51 A380s.

---

BOEING

Boeing will showcase its broad portfolio of commercial and defense products, services and technologies at the 2019 Dubai Airshow, which runs November 17-21 at Dubai World Central. The company’s presence and activities at the show will focus on safety, innovation and industry partnerships in the growing Middle East market. At Boeing’s exhibit, visitors can immerse themselves in a 360-degree theater and learn more about the company’s capabilities throughout the product life cycle. An interactive display will highlight Boeing’s latest family of aircraft and services, as well as the company’s vision for the future of mobility. A seating mock-up and virtual reality experience will offer visitors a closer look at the 777X. The exhibit will be located near the main entrance of the exhibit hall (1110). On the airfield, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will demonstrate the breakthrough capabilities and innovations that have made it a favorite of both operators and customers. This unique 787 sports a full-body decal celebrating the Employees Community Fund of Boeing, the company’s employee-managed charitable fund. An Etihad 787-9, Emirates 777-300ER and a Boeing Passenger Air Vehicle (PAV) will be on static display. The U.S. Department of Defense also will display several Boeing platforms at the show, including an F-15E fighter, an MV-22 tiltrotor and a KC-46A tanker. The UAE will showcase a CH-47F Chinook helicopter. Boeing’s market outlook values the Middle East commercial airplane and services market at more than $1.5 trillion over the next 20 years. Boeing also anticipates 40% of defense and space opportunities in the next decade will originate outside the U.S., with strong platform and services growth opportunities in the Middle East.

In observance of Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, Boeing announced a $10.4 million charitable grants package to support 102 veterans nonprofit organizations worldwide. The package will fund programs through 2020 and beyond. This latest investment builds on Boeing’s three-year, $25 million commitment to increase veterans giving. Since 2017, Boeing has donated $27.4 million in support of veterans programs. Boeing’s investment includes a $500,000 grant to the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (MSCCN) and its sister nonprofit, Corporate America Supports You (CASY). Funds will support the direct placement of 1,500 military spouses and 2,000 unemployed and underemployed National Guard, reservists and veterans over a three-year period.

---

OTHER NEWS

• Well, the link title says it all – and it is really, really, really big! Just use your right arrow key to see how small you really are!
• To see how financially small you really are! Mapping the Population of Global Millionaires in 2019
• Your microvascular system may help determine aircraft cooling Mimicking body’s circulatory AC could keep airplanes, cars and computers cooler: Researchers’ program designs materials with human-like microvasculature — ScienceDaily
• How about some hot music in your safety video – try Korean Air! Korean Air X SuperM Safety Video – YouTube And as one reader noted: “Imagine the amount of people who may buy a ticket to literally anywhere just to see this video.” Pretty cool!
• What is happening to the A380? Why was the Airbus A380 a Failure? – YouTube
• “A new game called Airplane Mode might provide the most relaxed gaming experience imaginable, as players are only tasked with enjoying the ride as a passenger on a six hour trans-Atlantic flight that plays out in real time.” Honestly, a Video Game That Strands You On a Boring Six-Hour Flight Is Just What I Need Right Now
• Wow, how stupid am I? Recently I got in some photo’s of flight scenery from Bob Bogash, a retired, smart friend and airplane enthusiast. In my last email we sent, I suggested he build a website for some of the amazing air pictures he has. “Hah”, he noted, and this is why: Trains, Planes, and —