Envee Inflight Entertainment has partnered with China Eastern Airlines to help them engage passengers and enrich their inflight experience.

Long Beach, California | September 26, 2017– Envee Inflight Entertainment is a leading international IFE provider founded in 2010. The company’s headquarter is based in California, USA with a second office in Chengdu, the ca- pital city of Sichuan, China. Envee focuses on making passenger’s flight experience more entertaining by offering inflight games, applications, media content and customized software solutions to airlines. Envee’s content is already available on Panasonic, Thales, Rockwell Collins and Zodiac IFE systems flying on more than 80% of China’s airlines. 2017 is a spe- cial one for Envee due to the successful partnership with China Eastern Airlines, which has helped Envee to become a leader in the IFE software market of China.

It is not easy to integrate with IFE, but Envee is convinced that it is making the best decision. Envee is confident that its deep knowledge of the Chinese people and culture will help it pro- vide the most suitable content for China Eastern Airline passengers.

Games such as “Mahjongg,” “Gumoku” (aka “Five in a Row”), “Huarong Path,” “Chinese Chess” and “Zuma” are favored by Chinese passengers but Envee hasn’t forgotten its Wes- tern passengers or those who want to break from traditional Chinese games. Envee’s IFE ga- ming portfolio has over 140 titles, including puzzles, sports, action-adventure games and ca- sino-style card games. Popular among passengers are Real 3D Extreme Racing and Magic Forest developed by Envee’s skilled team of technicians. Thanks to partnerships with the in- ternational licensors, passengers can play popular online games such as Scrat Adventures, Save the Puppies, Real Football 2016, and Super Party Sports: Football.

Locally in China, Envee has partnered with China Southern Airlines, Air China, Hainan Air- lines, Xiamen Airlines, Tibet Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and Shenzhen Airlines, along with international airlines such as Eurowings.

Black Swan and partner IAG took home award for Best Inflight Entertainment Innovation

London, UK | September 26, 2017– Black Swan Data, one of Europe’s leading data science technology companies, last night won the Best Inflight Entertainment Innovation award at The Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) annual awards in Long Beach, California. The accolade was received for Black Swan and IAG’s ground-breaking and innovative in-flight portal for the 2017 launch of LEVEL, IAG’s new long-haul, low cost airline brand.

 

Passengers can customise and manage their in-flight experience by connecting to LEVEL’s entertainment platform through a combination of a fully integrated seatback portal and an app on their personal device.  The technology allows customers to seamlessly browse and purchase items whilst on-board, including the latest film, TV and music releases, as well as buying food & drink, duty-free goods and Wi-Fi packages. Through the use of advanced cryptology, secure payments can even be made whilst the aircraft is offline, enabling normal operation to continue if internet connectivity is not available. This innovative Pair and Pay functionality is unique to LEVEL, and the first in the airline industry.

 

In addition to offering passengers greater flexibility in how they spend their time in the air, it provides the carrier with an end-to-end view of passenger usage and behaviour through automated reports providing insights and metrics not possible before now. Over time this will be integrated with other data sources to further enhance the customers’ travel experience.

 

“We are absolutely delighted to have won this award with IAG,” said Steve King, CEO, Black Swan Data. “Data-driven technologies are impacting almost every single industry and avionics is now on the cusp of transforming its interaction with passengers through connectivity. By offering a truly integrated experience from door to door, airlines can expand not only their relationships with customers, but also with commercial partners.”

 

APEX is the only non-profit membership trade association dedicated to improving the entire airline passenger experience. This year’s APEX Awards, held on 25^th September, recognised airlines and vendor partners in passenger experience who have successfully implemented new programmes and services in the last 12 months.

BoardConnect Media Services already in use on more than 100 commercial aircraft

Raunheim Germany and Long Beach, California | September 26, 2017 – A completely new approach to content services provisioning characterizes the BoardConnect Media Services offered by Lufthansa Systems in collaboration with Touch Inflight Solutions Inc. (Touch). Since the two companies began cooperating closely just over a year ago, their product has been successfully installed on more than 100 aircraft of commercial airlines – including Eurowings, Austrian Airlines and Azul Linhas Aereas.

Although demand for an Internet connection is rising when it comes to onboard entertainment, current bandwidth is not yet sufficient to enable all passengers to stream content simultaneously. “While we expect connectivity to increase further and prices to drop in the next three to five years, bandwidth in the air will not be comparable to normal bandwidth on the ground even then,” said Michael Childers, Chief Consultant Content and Media Services at Lufthansa Systems. “That’s why providing airlines with a content offering stored on local servers on board the aircraft and streamed via a local WiFi network is a reliable and sustainable option that can also be combined with future Internet services. Our wireless BoardConnect in-flight entertainment (IFE) solution enables us to offer our customers exactly that.”

Integrated approach
Unlike some other IFE providers, Lufthansa Systems and Touch have adopted an integrated approach to in-flight entertainment. Rather than seeing the content and system-based components as separate entities, they directly consider the technological possibilities of the IFEC system when determining which content the product should include. The infrastructure, design and selection of content maximizes the system’s performance. What’s more, new content should be available even faster than ever. By using cloud technology and eDelivery, it makes it possible to place new content on the platform extremely fast, quickly taking Lufthansa Systems and Touch from the industry’s 90 days window to a mere fraction of this period.

“When we design the infrastructure components for the content, we have to be aware of the technical capabilities of the passengers’ current smartphones and tablets. Only then can we do everything we can to offer them a passenger experience that gets the best out of their devices,” said Joe Carreira, Managing Director of Touch Inflight Solutions. “We are working closely with Lufthansa Systems in this context. Our aim is to create solutions customized to fit the individual requirements of airlines and their passengers.”

The individual content on offer ranges from global and regional films and TV series, branded and web content, music, magazines as well as airport guides and destination content. When it comes to offering Hollywood movies, Lufthansa Systems and Touch Inflight Solutions have a direct, close and long-term working relationship with the film studios.

Content services for business jets and VIP fleets
In addition to its core target group of commercial airlines, Lufthansa Systems and Touch are also aiming their product at business jets and VIP fleets, and are working closely with Group subsidiary Lufthansa Technik and their joint venture IDAIR in this area, with first successful deliveries already having been made.

BoardConnect enables passengers to use streaming technology during a flight to access an airline’s entertainment program on their own devices. The product suite includes three hardware versions: the permanently installed classic BoardConnect solution, the flexible BoardConnect Portable version and the BoardConnect Plus connectivity solution. All products work in perfect harmony with each other and can be acquired separately or in combination. BoardConnect is already running on a total of nearly 400 aircraft, and another 300 will follow in the next twelve months.

APEX EXPO Long Beach, California | September 25, 2017–SITAONAIR has activated Asia’s first GX Aviation-enabled commercial aircraft, becoming the first Inmarsat valued-added reseller (VAR) to achieve it.

GX Aviation’s high-speed broadband connectivity is now available on one of Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, making SITAONAIR’s complete, nose-to-tail, high-speed connectivity experience over GX Aviation available to passengers.

SITAONAIR has equipped SIA with its full suite of high-speed connectivity-enabled services for cabin. These span everything from its custom-made high-speed inflight Wi-Fi hub Internet ONAIR and mobile data services (Mobile ONAIR), to digitized devices for cabin crew, to enhance the passenger experience and operational efficiencies.

The upgrade of SIA’s SBB-enabled aircraft is the continuation of a journey started five years ago between Singapore Airlines and SITAONAIR, demonstrating how long-term partnerships help airlines derive the best value out of the connected aircraft for their passengers, crews and operations.

Yann Cabaret, VP Customer programs of SITAONAIR, says: “Our Singapore Airlines’ aircraft upgrade program has been an extremely challenging project. It required SITAONAIR’s long-lasting expertise in the management of complex industrial consortiums, operating in constrained environments, to deliver the project on time, and synchronized with the planned grounding period for the aircraft.

“I would like to commend our strong working partnership with SIA, as well as with key partners such as Aeroconseil, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies, Honeywell, Inmarsat, KID-Systeme GmbH, SIA Engineering Company, and Zodiac Inflight Innovations, for helping make SIA’s end-to-end integrated solution a reality.”

Discover how SITAONAIR can deliver your unique, complete, connected aircraft reality – visit sitaonair.aero, speak to your local SITAONAIR contact or submit an enquiry form.

APEX EXPO Long Beach, California | September 25, 2017– Visitors to APEX Long Beach 2017 will experience the latest in passenger interface, connectivity, personalisation and payment solutions thanks to In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) specialists IFPL.

IFPL lead the way when it comes to deploying contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) payment systems on-board aircraft, with global OEMs and airlines now using IFPL’s technology for seat back in-flight retail and customer personalisation.

APEX 2017 will see IFPL demonstrate it’s NFC ‘Pin-On-Screen’ solution that enables high-value off line transactions by removing the current low-value payment barrier. This step change will allow airlines to expand and sell high-value items, therefore increasing ancillary revenues. This has the ability to completely change the dynamic of the IFE systems value proposition, as passengers now have a combined entertainment and retail platform allowing them to browse, order and pay at their own convenience. Combine this with connectivity, big data, passenger personalisation and broader distribution channels to deliver to the gate or at home, the airlines now have the opportunity to develop significant new revenue streams.

Visitors to stand #134 will also see IFPL’s ‘Charge 2’ concept. IFPL designed the ‘Charge 2’ to leverage its NFC Payment Terminal to control the switching on of passenger services at the seat. The ‘Charge 2 Charge’ demonstration allows the passenger to pay to turn the power on to the USB port, enabling them to charge a personnel device or other USB device.

In addition, due to its ability to transmit and read data, it can negotiate with data from an App on a PED or via an NFC loyalty card, enabling enhanced passenger personalisation and allowing targeted promotions or alerting cabin attendants to the customer presence or specific requirements.

IFPL’s established range of IFEC products and solutions will be on display and the expert team from IFPL will be on hand to discuss any requirement that visitors to APEX 2017 may have.

• London School of Economics and Political Science predicts airlines will generate an additional $30 billion in incremental revenue
• Airlines to benefit from significant revenue growth in broadband enabled e-commerce, advertising and premium content

London School of Economics | September 26, 2017–

Inflight broadband has the potential to create a $130 billion global market within the next 20 years, resulting in $30 billion of additional revenue for airlines by 2035. This is the conclusion of a first-of-its-kind research study, ‘Sky High Economics: Quantifying the commercial opportunities of passenger connectivity for the global airline industry’, carried out by London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in association with Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L), the world’s leading provider of global, mobile satellite communications.

Market potential

Based on current IATA data and industry sources, Sky High Economics has developed an independent forecasting model. It predicts broadband enabled ancillary revenues for airlines will come from four main revenue streams:

• Broadband access charges – providing connectivity to passengers inflight
• E-commerce and destination shopping – making purchases on-board aircraft with expanded product ranges and real-time offers
• Advertising – pay-per-click, impressions, sponsorship deals with advertisers
• Premium content – providing live content, on demand video and bundled W-IFEC access

At present, only some 53 out of an estimated 5,000 airlines worldwide offer inflight broadband connectivity.[i] On the back of strong passenger demand, inflight internet will be ubiquitous on commercial aircraft by 2035. Currently, airlines receive an additional $17 per passenger from ‘traditional’ ancillary services such as duty free purchases and inflight retail, food and drink sales. Broadband enabled connected ancillary revenues will add an extra $4 by 2035.

Drivers for growth

Full service carriers look set to claim the lion’s share of airline revenues (63%), generating $19 billion by 2035. Capitalising on longer flight times, additional revenue will come from the ability to maximise e-commerce platforms and striking deals with content providers to offer premium packages. The Sky High Economics study predicts low cost carriers will generate $11 billion by 2035, the bulk of which will come from selling connectivity to passengers.

Regional differences

The research also identified that regionally, the greatest opportunity for broadband-enabled ancillary services is in Asia Pacific. Driven by passenger growth and availability of services, airlines in Asia Pacific will benefit from $10.3 billion of ancillary revenues by 2035, followed by Europe ($8.2 billion) and North America ($7.6 billion).

Dr Alexander Grous (B. Ec, MBA, M.Com, MA, PhD.), Department of Media and Communications, LSE and author of Sky High Economics said: “The opportunity available to airlines is enormous. The Sky High Economics study predicts the creation of a $130 billion market within the next two decades. Globally, if airlines can provide a reliable broadband connection, it will be the catalyst for rolling out more creative advertising, content and e-commerce packages. We will see innovative deals struck, partnerships formed and business models fundamentally changed for new players to lay claim to the $100 billion opportunity away from airlines. Broadband-enabled ancillary revenue has the potential to shape a whole new market and it’s something airlines need to be planning for right now.”

Frederik van Essen, Senior Vice President Strategy & Business Development, Inmarsat Aviation, commented: “As airlines start to act more like retailers, they will realize the benefits of closing the inflight connectivity gap. Doing so will lead to unlocking $15 billion per year in additional ancillary revenues within the next decade, one of the biggest sources of growth. The key to this potential and getting to the eventual $30 billion revenues, is fast, high quality inflight internet that can be relied upon without drop-outs.”

Inmarsat is transforming the global aviation industry by bringing complete connectivity to every aircraft and flight path in the world. It is the first and only provider with a complete next-generation High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) network spanning the world. Inmarsat is also the only aviation broadband provider capable of connecting the complete aircraft from cabin to cockpit. Inmarsat’s world-leading passenger solutions are complemented by its industry-standard certified safety and operations services. GX Aviation is the world’s first global, high-speed inflight broadband service from a single operator. It allows airline passengers to browse the internet, stream videos, check social media and more during flights, with an on-board connectivity experience on par with mobile broadband services available on the ground.

 

San Francisco, CA | September 25, 2017– On 26th September SkyLights will reveal its 2nd generation immersive-IFE solution at the Airline Passenger Experience (APEX) Expo in Long Beach. It combines the new, premium AlloSky headset, and freshly signed content partnerships with Warner Brothers, National Geographic, Lionsgate and BBC. Air France’s new airline Joon and the product and service provider gategroup are among the launch partners for the new solution, which is tailored towards upgrading and differentiating the business class experience.

The AlloSky headset is the latest addition to SkyLights’ portfolio, and was co-created through the company’s new partnership with immersive headset producer Allomind. AlloSky brings a host of new features, including full HD resolution (1080p each eye), a 60% weight reduction to its predecessor (the Bravo Theater), and dioptric correction to cater to the eyesight of all passengers. Furthermore, it can be connected in-seat; meaning reduced cost and logistical complexity for airlines.

In terms of content, the new partnerships compliment SkyLights’ longstanding supporters, 20th Century Fox and Dreamworks, to offer a strengthened selection of films, series and documentaries in 2D, 3D and carefully curated 180°.

“Our new solution is guided by our learning from thousands of flights commercially deployed with our first generation. We have identified what matters most and have kept this knowledge at the core of the 2nd generation solution. It’s more premium, more comfortable and has streamlined logistics. We believe this is a breakthrough, making the future of in-flight entertainment a reality today.” said David Dicko, SkyLights’ CEO.

SkyLights is running an early-access launch program as part of the solution’s inauguration. Among the participants are Air France and gategroup, with Air France set to deploy the solution early next year through its new, millennial-focused airline Joon. Other members of the program are to be announced in the near future.

To learn more at the APEX Expo, visit SkyLights on booth #566.

APEX 0415: Onboard Advertising

First up, at APEX 2017 in Long Beach, California.  On Monday, there is an educational session that you should attend in the afternoon for sure. It is an inflight advertising initiative and Michael Childers, the Inflight Ad Guru, will talk about the constraining technical and organizational issues surrounding the challenge of inflight advertising. Why are there issues on this subject? We asked Michael Childers about it and he told IFExpress about the need for this seminar. “This is a heads-up regarding an important initiative that we’re launching in the Technology Committee  that will establish the necessary specifications and guidelines that will enable IFE to become part of a global, cross-platform digital advertising ecosystem that opens IFE to ad buys from the major Madison Avenue buyers and agencies.” We pressed Michael for more information on what his presentation will be about and he said: “For ages, airlines have dreamed of advertising revenues paying for all of the costs of IFE, but that was never realistic. However, there is definitely an opportunity today for airlines to greatly improve the revenue potential of advertising on their IFE systems. How? By making IFE a part of the emerging global, cross-platform advertising ecosystem that integrates traditional broadcast advertising and cable and satellite advertising with Internet advertising, OTT (Amazon, Hulu, Netflix), and particularly the growing ‘out-of-home’ and ‘digital place-based’ advertising sectors.” 

If you are like many of our readers (or us for that matter), you probably thought that either the IFE advertising world was pretty well sorted out, or that like standard print media, you chose your space and you paid for the content – no big deal. But that would be wrong, noted Childers: “Traditional IFE content delivery doesn’t support dynamic ad placement, nor does it leverage the highly desirable demographics of airline passengers and their specific location and environment to personalize ads. But with APEX 0415 laying the groundwork, IFE now has a big opportunity to re-invent IFE ad delivery and significantly impact IFE ad revenues over the next few years. We will discuss this during the Content Track B3, “Content Delivery Ecosystem” on 25 September at EXPO, and again at APEX TECH on 23-24 January 2018 at the Sheraton. So, if you plan advertising, or you want to see the inflight advertising world you might not have pictured, this should be on your Monday agenda.” Michael has a few program plans and discussion answers that you should probably see and comment/contribute to. See you on Monday!

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Some Booth Highlights

Thales
Booth: 213

Contact: Adam.KOSTECKI@us.thalesgroup.com

This year at APEX Expo, Thales is focused on the essential passenger engagement technologies – integrated connectivity and IFE.

Thales’ InFlyt 360 vision of passenger engagement takes the concepts of paired connectivity and IFE to a new level by combining those enablers with leading digital expertise. Together, these technologies create passenger profiles and tailored content for a more personalized passenger experience.

With its state-of-the-art AVANT IFE system this experience comes to life. Enabled by an open architecture platform for its evolving operating system, software environment, state of the art security and the capability to enable data-driven decisions, Thales’ best-in-class HD and 4K resolution displays bring a new brilliance to the passenger experience.

Bookended by connectivity, Thales’ offerings for seamless global and regional coverage provide the most for passengers with Global Xpress and FlytLIVE^TM – the most advanced and efficient aeronautical connectivity solution in the Americas region.

Lufthansa Systems
Booth: 453
Contact: ansgar.luebbehusen@lhsystems.com

Lufthansa Systems and group subsidiary Lufthansa Technik are sharing a stand for the first time. The two Lufthansa Group companies, who collaborate closely in providing on-board Internet and entertainment, are both presenting their own connectivity solutions. Lufthansa Systems will demonstrate the multi-award-winning BoardConnect wireless inflight entertainment (IFE) platform and its different hardware versions, while Lufthansa Technik will showcase its LConnect hardware and service package. The airline IT provider is also presenting its new mCabin/Messenger app, one of the apps of the mCabin Product Line.

Panasonic
Booth: 955

This year part of our focus will be on the “Internet of Me”

Similar to the “Internet of Things” concept, the “Internet of Me” takes all of the things that people care about and brings them together to deliver hyper-personalized and contextual experiences. We are the sum of all our things and the relationships in between.

Targeted advertisements based on browsing history, the “login with Facebook” capability on all of our favorite websites, and location-based services are just a few examples of digital experiences on the ground that are uniquely yours because of the “Internet of Me”.

We’ll also be looking at ways to automate Operations with services like ZeroTouch and our automated analytics services.

AXINON
Booth: 135

You’re invited to visit Axinom at APEX in Long Beach at booth #135 to discover company’s latest technology advancements, enjoy product showcases and get their experts’ advice on any topic of your interest.

If you’re interested to learn more about how Axinom CDS enables a new digital flight experience and how you can benefit,  read this short article
and this  letter from AXINON re their product offering

Rockwell Collins
Booth: 711

Rockwell Collins will be showcasing its suite of aircraft cabin and connectivity solutions at this year’s Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Expo in Long Beach, Calif., Sept. 25-28. The company will have two separate exhibits, booth 419 and booth 711, that will feature demonstrations of its wireless connectivity and interior cabin products that are helping reimagine the air travel experience for both passengers and crew.

This marks the first APEX that Rockwell Collins will feature both cabin connectivity and interior systems products since the company acquired B/E Aerospace in April 2017.

“Our goal at APEX is to help airlines see the innovative options available to them that deliver a better passenger experience while improving cabin crew productivity,” said Alexis Hickox, head of business development, Commercial Aircraft Cabin Solutions for Rockwell Collins.  LINK TO FULL RELEASE

SkyLights
Booth: 566

On 26th September SkyLights will reveal its 2nd generation immersive-IFE solution at the Airline Passenger Experience (APEX) Expo in Long Beach. Be sure to stop by our booth and visit us!

SPAFAX
Booth: 619

• Education Day:
  • Catch our own Andrea Whyte, Director of Commercial Content Strategy on the Content Track panel from 15:05-15:55 as she weighs in on how to make the most of your IFE investment.
  • Mary Rae Esposito, our Media Sales Director based in New York, leads a discussion on how to effectively monetize the passenger journey.
• Where to find us:
  • Booth 619 – come say hello!
  • Join us for Happy Hour at our booth on Tuesday from 4 PM and Wednesday from 5 PM.

• Education Day:
  • Catch our own Andrea Whyte, Director of Commercial Content Strategy on the Content Track panel from 15:05-15:55 as she weighs in on how to make the most of your IFE investment.
  • Mary Rae Esposito, our Media Sales Director based in New York, leads a discussion on how to effectively monetize the passenger journey.
• Where to find us:
  • Booth 619 – come say hello!
  • Join us for Happy Hour at our booth on Tuesday from 4 PM and Wednesday from 5 PM. 

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Note from the IFExpress Team: We expect this week’s APEX EXPO to be an innovative one with many new technological advances and product iterations. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible in the coming days. Be certain to send us your press releases so we can cover your show highlights and we wish you all a successful and fun filled time in Long Beach.

• 20-year outlook projects 4,210 new airplanes needed, valued at $650 billion

Singapore | September 21, 2017— Boeing [NYSE: BA] projects a demand for 4,210 new airplanes, valued at $650 billion, over the next 20 years in Southeast Asia.

The company presented its Southeast Asia Current Market Outlook (CMO) today during a briefing at Boeing’s regional headquarters in Singapore. The annual report forecasts the region will continue its strong annual traffic growth at 6.2 percent, outpacing the world’s average growth rate by 1.5 percent.

“Southeast Asia continues to be one of fastest growing markets in the world – and a key focus area for Boeing – as the region accounts for more than 10 percent of the total global demand,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Driven by fierce competition and growing passenger demand, airlines in Southeast Asia need the most capable, flexible, economical and passenger preferred airplanes available,” added Keskar. “With their new technologies, superior capabilities and advanced efficiencies, the continued orders for the 737 MAX, including the new 737 MAX 10, as well as the 787 Dreamliner, demonstrate the value Boeing’s airplanes are providing to airlines in region.”

Single-aisle airplanes, such as the 737 MAX family, will account for more than 70 percent of new deliveries. As in previous years, the low-cost business model continues to be a main driver of traffic growth in Southeast Asia, growing to more than 50 percent of the total Southeast Asian market by the end of the forecast period.

Boeing projects a worldwide demand for 41,030 new airplanes over the next 20 years. Boeing’s Current Market Outlook is the longest running jet forecast and regarded as the most comprehensive analysis of the aviation industry. The full report can be found at www.boeing.com/cmo.

• Turkish Airlines announces intent to order 40 787-9 Dreamliners

New York | September 21, 2017— Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Turkish Airlines today announced the airline’s intention to order 40 787-9 Dreamliners. The order will be reflected on the Boeing Orders and Deliveries website once finalized.

“The 787 Dreamliner is the most technologically advanced airplane in the world,” said M. İlker Aycı, chairman of the board and the executive committee, Turkish Airlines. “Our intent to purchase these Dreamliners is to meet the demand for wide-body airplanes at the 3^rd Airport, further strengthen our fleet capacity on the 100th anniversary of the Republic and to enhance passenger satisfaction.”

“Turkish Airlines is a great partner, and we value their confidence in us and the 787 Dreamliner,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Kevin McAllister.

Boeing and the Turkish government also announced the Boeing Turkey National Aerospace Initiative, which is designed to support the growth of the Turkish aerospace industry, in conjunction with the targets set by Turkey’s Vision 2023, and strengthen Boeing’s presence in the market.

“Boeing’s relationship with Turkey spans more than 70 years and we have outstanding long-term partnerships,” said Ray Conner, Boeing vice chairman. “Working together with Turkey, we are now taking our collaboration to the next level, which will accelerate the growth of the Turkish aerospace industry while achieving Boeing’s long-term objective to expand its presence in the marketplace.”

The initiative outlines a strategic framework that aligns Boeing investment and programs with the government, Turkish airlines, aerospace service companies and industry suppliers in the areas of research, engineering and skills development. It reflects Boeing’s confidence in the long-term outlook for Turkey as a significant market and a leading global industry participant.

Boeing has maintained a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey since the 1940s. Boeing is a provider of commercial jetliners to Turkish airlines and a significant and trusted partner of the Turkish aerospace industry.

 

• New airplanes to boost capacity on domestic routes

Seattle, Washington | September 20, 2017–Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Japan Airlines (JAL) announced an order today for four 787-8 Dreamliners. The order, which was previously listed on the Boeing Orders & Deliveries website, attributed to an unidentified customer, is valued at more than $900 million at current list prices and will expand JAL’s Dreamliner fleet to 49 airplanes.

“This order for additional 787 Dreamliners, is a key part of our strategy as we look to bolster our existing route network and strengthen our position ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, President of Japan Airlines. “The superior noise performance of the 787 will play a critical role in meeting our commitment for quieter operations within our domestic network going forward.”

Japan Airlines currently operates the second largest 787 Dreamliner fleet in the world, with 34 airplanes. The carrier is expected to receive its 35^th Dreamliner, a 787-9 later this week. With this new order, Japan Airlines’ 787 fleet include 29 787-8s and 20 787-9 airplanes.

“We are honored to partner with Japan Airlines once again as they further expand their world-class fleet with additional 787 Dreamliners,” said Kevin McAllister, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “JAL has been able to successfully grow its business over the years, while generating healthy profits due to the efficiency and reliability of their 787 fleet.”

Japan Airlines became the first airline in the world to take delivery of a 787 powered by fuel-efficient General Electric GEnx engines in 2012. In addition, JAL was one of the first airlines to launch new routes with the 787, as it launched its Boston and San Diego routes with the Dreamliner that same year.

The 787 Dreamliner family is being operated on more than 530 routes, with 150 brand new nonstop routes planned or in service since the airplane began commercial service in 2011. To date, 69 customers worldwide have placed orders for 1,278 airplanes, making the 787 Dreamliner the fastest selling twin-aisle airplane in Boeing history.

• First wide-body centre outside Europe, first European and Chinese made A330 delivered 

Tianjin, China and APEX Long Beach, USA | September 20, 2017– Airbus has inaugurated its A330 Completion and Delivery Centre (C&DC) in Tianjin, China, taking additional steps in the expansion of its global footprint and strategic partnership with China. At the same time, the first A330 to be delivered from the C&DC was handed over to Tianjin Airlines.

Located at the same site as the Airbus Tianjin A320 Family Final Assembly Line and the Airbus Tianjin Delivery Centre, the A330 C&DC covers the aircraft completion activities including cabin installation, aircraft painting and production flight test, as well as customer flight acceptance and aircraft delivery. Some 150 Chinese staff members of the C&DC were trained by Airbus experts in Toulouse.

The new plant is composed of paint shop, weighing hangar and one main hangar with three aircraft positions covering an area of 16,800m².The A330 C&DC in Tianjin will employ more than 250 people and is ready to deliver two aircraft per month by early 2019.

“The inauguration of our A330 C&DC in Tianjin, together with the first of many deliveries, marks a new milestone for Airbus’ international footprint and underlines the strong spirit of cooperation with our Chinese partners,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus COO and President of Commercial Aircraft. “Wide-body aircraft completed in China is an Airbus and an industry first which demonstrates our mutual commitment to a strong and growing Chinese aviation sector.”

To celebrate C&DC inauguration, a first A330 aircraft was delivered to Tianjin Airlines. The aircraft which was assembled and equipped in Toulouse with Chinese and European staff is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines and is configured in two classes with 260 seats.

By the end of August 2017, the in-service Airbus fleet with Chinese carrier included 1,484 aircraft, 1,282 A320 Family and 202 A330 Family. The A330 is the most popular wide-body aircraft in China operated by nine airlines.

The A330 is one of the world’s most efficient and versatile widebody aircraft with best in class operating economics. To date the A330 Family has attracted nearly 1,700 orders and over 1,300 A330 Family aircraft are currently flying with more than 110 operators worldwide. With an operational reliability of 99.5 percent and various product enhancements the A330 Family is the most cost-efficient and capable widebody aircraft to date.

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of €67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

• First aircraft delivered to Southwest Airlines with Global Eagle Entertainment’s KU Band connectivity installed at Boeing factory

Long Beach, CA | September 25, 2017– Kontron, a leading global provider of embedded computing inflight entertainment and connectivity equipment, today announced the launch of Boeing 737 MAX line-fit deliveries in association with a one of its key customers, Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: ENT).  Securing line-fit offerability from Boeing and Airbus is a strategic priority for Kontron, given the resulting efficiencies that can be offered to airlines in terms of cost savings and eliminating the need to take an aircraft out of service. Global Eagle recently announced that its Airconnect 3.0 inflight equipment is the first catalog-offerable line-fit connectivity system available for installation during assembly of the new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Kontron began working with Global Eagle in 2015 to obtain Boeing line-fit approval for Kontron’s Server Management Unit, Modem Data Unit and Cab-N-Connect™ wireless access point. These Kontron designed and manufactured Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) are enabling components of the Global Eagle Airconnect 3.0 inflight Wi-Fi system. Airconnect 3.0 provides KU Band connectivity, IPTV and wireless IFE services to passengers and crew, and is already proven on 865 aircraft around the world.

To obtain Boeing line-fit approval for the three LRUs, Kontron worked with Global Eagle to develop an extensive qualification test program to the Boeing specifications for 737 MAX cabin equipment. The test procedures were successfully executed on the three LRUs by the combined Global Eagle and Kontron teams, with Boeing representatives witnessing. The final qualification test report was generated by Kontron and approved by Global Eagle and Boeing.

“Kontron’s aviation product development strategy includes the concept of line-fit readiness,” said Andy Mason, vice president technology at Kontron America. “This means Boeing and Airbus OEM requirements are considered during the product design and preliminary qualification phase. Our due diligence in creating a qualification test program matched to strict aircraft cabin specifications is proving useful for the future. Kontron is actively pursuing Boeing and Airbus line-fit qualification for our new ACE Flight™ 4608 Server and other avionics products.”

 

“Our collaboration with Kontron adds best-in-class inflight connectivity and helps to remove the worry of aircraft downtime and revenue loss for retrofit installations,” said Per Norén, Global Eagle Senior Vice President, Aviation.

 

Kontron will showcase its extensive line of certified IFE&C open platform solutions at the 2017 APEX Expo in Long Beach, California, September 25-28in Kontron Booth #533. For more information on its avionics product portfolio, please visit: https://www.kontron.com/industries/avionics