Inmarsat Receives Aviation Achievement Award | EAN Celebrates Third Year Anniversary | Thales Alenia Space & Microsoft Announce Strategic Collaboration | Analogic’s ConneCT Checkpoint Security Screening | ASL Orders 20 Additional B737-800s

INMARSAT WINS ‘SATELLITE OPERATOR EXCELLENCE’ ACCOLADE FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR AT AVIATION ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS

Inmarsat has taken top honors at the Aviation Achievement Awards, after being crowned winner in the ‘Satellite Operator Excellence’ category for the second consecutive year. The prestigious accolade was presented during an awards ceremony in Dubai, with special praise from the judging panel for Inmarsat’s ‘exceptional leadership, innovation and resilience’ over the past year.

As the aviation industry continues to recover from the unprecedented global impact of Covid-19 on air travel, Inmarsat was hailed for providing outstanding support to customers of its market-leading cockpit and cabin connectivity solutions in both the airline and business aviation markets. It also achieved a number of contract wins, installations and activations, with the latest milestones including:

GX Aviation selected by more than 35 airlines (including SAUDIA as a new customer) and activated on over 550 aircraft, with approximately 1,000 additional aircraft in the order book.
European Aviation Network(EAN) becoming available on more than 265 aircraft, with Greek national carrier AEGEAN joining British Airways, Iberia and Vueling as a new airline customer.
More than 215 aircraft flying with SB-S, with new customers including Cebu Pacific and Tunisair.
Thousands of business jets equipped with Jet ConneXand SwiftBroadband.
Launch of OneFi airline passenger experience platform to monetize inflight connectivity.

Judges for the awards, which are primarily focused on the Middle East, described Inmarsat as a ‘pioneer of satellite innovation, achieving an impressive number of industry firsts during the last 12 months’. They added that ‘Inmarsat enjoyed another strong year of milestones, from launching I-6 F1, the largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellite, to unveiling it to transformative ORCHESTRA network, which draws together the benefits of multiple technologies to create one cohesive solution’.

Neale Faulkner, Inmarsat Aviation’s Regional Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEASA), said “Inmarsat prides itself on being a customer-centric organization and we are delighted that the Aviation Achievement Awards have once again acknowledged the outstanding service we provide, alongside our world-class partner ecosystem, to both airline and business aviation customers. Although Covid-19 has continued to impact air travel during the last 12 months, conditions are improving thanks to the re-opening of borders and easing of travel restrictions, which is helping to boost passenger numbers.

“Inmarsat is excited about the fundamental role that connectivity will play in this exciting new era for aviation, from providing an enhanced onboard experience that boosts passenger confidence and unlocks new revenue opportunities for airlines, to transforming operations and safety by powering concepts such as ‘4D’ trajectories and electronic flight bags. Our latest innovations, such as the ELERA and ORCHESTRA networks that were also praised by the award judges, will further enhance our capabilities and unlock even more innovations for decades to come.”

Kenneth Mitchen, Executive Director at Creative Middle East Media, organizer of the Aviation Achievement Awards, said “Satellite connectivity has played a vital role in aviation for many years now and its importance has only grown since the global pandemic. For airline and business aviation passengers, connectivity is keeping them connected with friends, family and colleagues, allowing them to catch up on work or keep entertained with streaming, social media and more, while also supporting a touchless journey onboard the aircraft. It’s also vital for enhancing operations and safety to become more efficient and cost effective. However, to achieve all of this, you need to work with a forward-thinking and innovative satellite operator. Inmarsat has a successful track record of delivering for its customers and we congratulate them on once again winning our Satellite Operator Excellence Award for 2022.”

INMARSAT AND DEUTSCHE TELEKOM CELEBRATE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF EUROPEAN AVIATION NETWORK BEING OFFERED COMMERCIALLY BY AIRLINES

Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom are celebrating the third anniversary of their award-winning European Aviation Network (EAN) inflight broadband being offered commercially by airline customers. To date, more than 50 million passengers have enjoyed access to the advanced, high-speed connectivity solution on over 420,000 flights across the continent with British Airways, Iberia, Vueling and AEGEAN.

As Europe’s fastest inflight broadband service, EAN allows passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media, enjoy real-time interactive applications such as gaming, and more. It has marked a paradigm shift in the airline experience, with incomparable speeds, uninterrupted coverage and significantly lower latency than any other inflight Wi-Fi network in the continent.

EAN has now been activated on more than 265 aircraft, including the entire British Airways short-haul fleet. These numbers will continue to grow in the coming years, as final roll-out progresses with Iberia and Vueling – both members of the International Airlines Group (IAG) alongside British Airways – in addition to all of Greek national carrier AEGEAN’s existing and new Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft.

EAN’s popularity reached new heights last year, with record usage as passengers returned to the skies. This aligns with Inmarsat’s latest Passenger Confidence Tracker, the largest global survey of its kind, which found that 41% of the 10,000 respondents believed inflight Wi-Fi had further increased in importance post pandemic. The results also indicated digital solutions that keep passengers connected and minimize their contact with cabin crew and fellow travelers are helping to boost travel confidence.

Philippe Carette, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Back in March 2019, British Airways became the first airline to make our EAN inflight broadband service commercially available to passengers. It has since been joined by Iberia, Vueling and most recently AEGEAN, which have all been able to delight passengers with the highest standard of connectivity on short and medium haul flights. EAN has played an important role in enhancing their onboard experience, unlocking new revenue opportunities for airlines and instilling greater confidence in air travel following the pandemic. We’re delighted to celebrate this anniversary with our partners and customers, especially at a time when passenger usage of EAN is now higher than ever before, showing an increased desire to stay connected post Covid-19.”

Rolf Nafziger, Senior Vice President, Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier and Global Business, said: “EAN is Europe’s leading inflight connectivity service for good reason, offering reliable, uninterrupted, high-speed broadband on par with services on the ground. Now, airlines are fighting hard to win back customers, and EAN is the best solution available to meet the needs of their passengers, who want to be connected and entertained onboard. Our joint EAN service with Inmarsat means we can continue to help airlines put their passengers first, by providing the fastest and most reliable connectivity available.”

As the world’s first inflight broadband solution that combines dedicated satellite coverage with a complementary LTE-based ground network, EAN has been developed by Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, and Deutsche Telekom, in partnership with leading European companies such as Thales, Nokia, Airbus, Cobham and Eclipse Technics. Specifically designed to meet the needs of European aviation, it delivers the fastest speeds over one of the world’s most congested airspaces, plus the quickest installation times and easy scalability to meet growing demand in the future.

THALES ALENIA SPACE WITH HELP FROM MICROSOFT DEMONSTRATE ON-ORBIT COMPUTE TECHNOLOGIES ONBOARD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION TO GATHER UNMATCHED EARTH OBSERVATION INSIGHTS

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft to explore the enablement of new capabilities in the Space Edge Computing (SEC), Artificial Intelligence Space Observation tools (DeeperVision) and Digital Ground Segment.

In particular, Thales Alenia Space plans to deliver advanced connectivity, analytics and compute in space with Space Edge Computing (SEC) with Microsoft. To this end, the companies will demonstrate and validate on-orbit computing technologies and potentialities onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2023. Thales Alenia Space will deploy a powerful on-orbit computer, an on-orbit application framework, and high-performance Earth Observation sensors to unlock new on-orbit climate data processing applications for the benefits of our planet sustainability. Thales Alenia Space will work with Microsoft Research in remote sensing, computer vision and climate science to demonstrate the potential of next-generation on-orbit compute for Earth observation. This space edge computing capacity will allow gathering faster, to-the-point Earth observation insights immediately applicable for our planet’s surveillance, understanding and protection.

PLATTSBURG INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYS ANALOGIC’S ConneCT™ CHECKPOINT SECURITY SCREENING SOLUTION

Analogic Corporation announced it has successfully deployed its ConneCT™ Computed Tomography (CT) checkpoint security screening system at a US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint in Plattsburgh International Airport (PBG) in New York. The deployment is part of the TSA’s new Checkpoint Property Screening Systems (CPSS) program which will have Analogic deploy over 300 Mid-size CPSS Systems into airport security checkpoints across the country. Analogic Corporation expects the new CT screening technology to significantly improve both aviation security as well as the passenger experience by providing enhanced 3D images to security officers and by limiting divesture and increasing throughput, all in a touch-free environment.

Tom Ripp, CEO of Analogic said, “This is an important milestone for Analogic because it demonstrates our commitment to advanced technology, to operational efficiency, and to the satisfaction of the traveling public. This is the first true step on the journey toward implementation of totally friction-less security processing.” Mr. Ripp continued: “Coming only months after our contract award, this deployment is a tribute to the hard work of the TSA, the team at Plattsburgh, our airport partners, and Analogic’s dedicated employees.”

ASL ORDERS UP TO 20 ADDITIONAL B737-800 CONVERTED FREIGHTERS TO DRIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Dublin-headquartered ASL Aviation Holdings (ASL) and Boeing announced an order for up to 20 additional 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF). The agreement is for 10 firm orders and 10 purchase rights.

“This new order is an important element of our fleet renewal program, and we are delighted to expand our partnership with Boeing on the 737-800BCF,” said Dave Andrew, Chief Executive, ASL Aviation Holdings. “The 737-800BCF offers increased reliability and performance, and equally its lower fuel burn reduces our environmental footprint. This is very important to ASL as an aviation group committed to environmental sustainability in aviation.”

This is ASL’s second order for the 737-800BCF and including options, will bring the organization’s total 737-800BCF orders and commitments with Boeing to 40 aircraft. The aircraft will be converted by Boeing at approved MRO sites including STAECO in Jinan, China and at Boeing’s London Gatwick MRO facility in the United Kingdom.

“We are honored to play a crucial role in the fleet renewal underway across ASL Aviation Holdings’ operation,” said Jens Steinhagen, director of Boeing Converted Freighters. “Boeing Converted Freighters support progress towards sustainability goals by providing operators like those under the ASL Group umbrella an economical way to replace less efficient, older-generation freighters.”

The 737-800BCF carries more payload – up to 23.9 tonnes (52,800 lbs.) – and flies farther – 2,025 nautical miles (3,750 km) compared to 737 Classic freighters.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, April 5, 2022 at 10:38 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, Broadband, communication, Connectivity, Satellite

Panasonic Enhances Inflight Television with Asian Football Confederation | SD adding SKYTRAC Iridium Certus products to SD Xperience | Vantis and Thales Partner to Build BVLOS Network | IATA | Other News

PANASONIC AVIONICS

Panasonic Avionics is enhancing its in-flight Live Television sports offering with the addition of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

AFC’s competitions are being added to IMG’s Sport 24, the world’s first and only live in-flight sports platform, which is offered exclusively in-flight by Panasonic Avionics. These include all the major football championships in the Asia-Pacific region, including qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

It will join a wealth of other content on Sport 24 including NFL, NBA, NHL, tennis’ Grand Slams, golf’s Majors, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, AFC Champions League, European and Asian World Cup Qualifiers, and more.

Sport 24 broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, connecting airline passengers to more than 16 hours of premium live content from over 30 different global sports leagues each day. It creates a unique viewing experience for passengers – from the casual to the avid sports fan – which results in a dwell time almost three times higher than the most popular US sports channel.

Dominic Green, Senior Director, Digital Product Management of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, said, “We are delighted to be enhancing the live sports we offer airlines across the globe with the addition of top-flight football from the Asia-Pacific region. Football is one of the most popular live sports we offer in-flight and we are confident that AFC tournaments will prove a hit with passengers from the outset.”

Richard Wise, Senior Vice President, Content and Channels, IMG’s media business, said, “We are delighted to bring Asia’s top national team and club competitions to our audiences and bolster our portfolio. Our long-standing relationship with Panasonic Avionics enables us to broadcast live sports coverage to passengers all over the world.”

The AFC is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six Confederations making up FIFA. Established in 1954 in Manila, the AFC is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and comprises 47 Member Associations.

Almost 1,000 aircraft across the globe are installed with Panasonic Avionics’ Live Television service, of which Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are an integral part.

SATCOM DIRECT

SD adding SKYTRAC Iridium Certus products to SD Xperience portfolio
Deal enhances connectivity configuration options for SD customers globally
SKYTRAC addition expands current broadband offering to satisfy increased demand

Satcom Direct, has signed a deal with SKYTRAC, a Canada-based provider of intelligent connectivity solutions for aviation, to become an exclusive reseller for the business aviation sector. The newly ratified agreement positions SD as a global reseller of SKYTRAC Iridium Certus® hardware and data services directly to business aviation jet owners, operators, and business aircraft manufacturers.

Aligning with the SD strategy, which offers customizable, robust connectivity solutions for aircraft of all sizes, the agreement immediately adds an impressive range of Iridium Certus products to the SD Xperience portfolio. A full suite of robust connectivity options, powered by the Iridium LEO Certus constellation are available to satisfy the increased demand for connectivity from all sizes of business aviation aircraft. The SKYTRAC offering meets both cabin and flight-deck communication requirements for a range of business aviation platforms through its compelling broadband solutions.

“What sets us apart within the industry is our consultancy service that streamlines connectivity acquisition and ensures a seamless service that’s easier to manage. The addition of the SKYTRAC component enables a greater variety of options for owners and operators of business jets of all sizes, to receive consistent, secure, reliable connectivity, now. It also boosts our mixed fleet offering which, as we add more and more fleets worldwide to our roster, adds real value for the customer. We are proud to have partnered with one of the industry’s most respected Iridium Certus suppliers,” says Chris Moore, President, Satcom Direct Business Aviation.

The SKYTRAC products and services bring even more flexibility to the SD Xperience portfolio to support internet browsing, email, voice, and text services in the cabin, even on smaller aircraft. Flight-deck tools include improved situational awareness through flight tracking, weather alerts, and FANS capabilities. The additional products augment the SD commitment to provide cabin and flight-deck communications services, aircraft connectivity hardware, data management, and flight operations software, from a single resource. The SD Xperience portfolio delivers purpose-built technology to satisfy the unique, evolving requirements of business aviation, and gives SD the capabilities to create tailored, customer-driven solutions. In addition, all SD SKYTRAC customers will benefit from the award-winning SD 24/7/365 customer support.

“SD has gained impressive global market share of the business aviation sector and is dedicated to empowering owners by harnessing the full potential of data connectivity. This new relationship immediately broadens our potential customer base,” said Jan van der Heul, Vice President Sales of SKYTRAC. “The SD market penetration, combined with the expansion of the SD Xperience portfolio with the SKYTRAC products, adds up to a powerful connectivity offering for the international business aviation market. We’re excited to work with SD to bring our products to a much wider audience.”

THALES

Vantis and Thales Partner to Build Nation’s First Statewide BVLOS Network

Vantis, North Dakota’s Statewide Unmanned Aircraft Systems Network, has selected a long-term systems integrator to build out this groundbreaking UAS, or drone, infrastructure across the state. Thales, a global technology leader, was one of three aviation giants providing engineering and integration services being evaluated to enable BVLOS UAS flights on Vantis. A state selection committee made up of members from the North Dakota Department of Commerce and Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), which administers Vantis, selected Thales as the long-term systems integrator for Vantis design, operations and maintenance.

“We’re excited for the next phase of our partnership with Thales,” said James Cieplak, program manager of Vantis. “They were chosen not only because of their outstanding technical performance and innovative approach to building this system, but because they provide the best long-term value to the state. Thales shares our vision for what a partnership of this magnitude could achieve, and for Vantis as the future of the UAS industry.”

One of the major barriers to commercial UAS flights – package deliveries, infrastructure inspections, search and rescue efforts – is that UAS currently must remain within visual line of sight of the pilot. Vantis is a State of North Dakota-funded technology infrastructure that uses radar, radios, and other communications equipment on towers distributed throughout the state to provide command, control, and situational awareness to UAS pilots flying aircraft within the network’s coverage area. With Vantis, UAS pilots can see and avoid obstacles and fly safely at a distance – which means commercial UAS flights that are economically feasible and scalable to the size of business.

“North Dakota continues to be the nation’s proving ground for the testing, training and commercialization of unmanned aircraft systems, and this partnership with Thales to build out the first-of-its-kind Vantis statewide network will help cement our state’s reputation as a UAS leader,” said North Dakota Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford, who chairs the Northern Plains Unmanned Systems Authority. “Our state’s nearly $50 million investment in this groundbreaking technology is attracting companies, jobs and entrepreneurs and diversifying our economy for the benefit of all North Dakotans.”

As the systems integration partner for Vantis, Thales will deploy new communications and surveillance infrastructure in phases across the state. This infrastructure will be supported by a Mission and Network Operations Center (MNOC) that uses the State of North Dakota’s fiber optic telecommunications network along with robust digital services deployed on cloud-based infrastructure to support operational resilience.

Vantis infrastructure has been installed at key sites in western North Dakota, where testing is currently underway. Testing standards were developed in collaboration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ensure they are rigorous, do not interfere with existing manned aviation operations, and to prove the safety and reliability of Vantis moving forward. Currently, approvals to fly BVLOS must be obtained directly from the FAA on an individual basis. Working with the FAA as the Vantis network is built out and proven will enable any operator who flies on the network to receive the appropriate approvals to facilitate true BVLOS flights – something that does not exist at this scale anywhere in the country.

“BVLOS operations are the greatest economic driver for sustained commercial UAS use-cases and, until now, there hasn’t been any common, or shared-use, infrastructure to support routine BVLOS operations,” said Todd Donovan, Vice President, Airspace Mobility Solutions, Americas, Thales. “Ultimately, the approach for unmanned systems with Vantis in North Dakota will likely shape how we approach UAS integration more broadly.”

As the system matures, Vantis will continue its expansion across the state. The expansion strategy targets areas with existing use cases where commercial interests and capable UAS operators intersect, such as the initial stage in North Dakota’s Bakken oil fields. The second stage of implementation will include the Red River Valley, priming Vantis to support businesses in two of the state’s largest metropolitan areas as well as one of the major agricultural regions in the state. Then, Vantis will begin connecting these major economic powerhouse areas across North Dakota.

“BVLOS flights are the future of UAS. They are how we achieve repeatable, scalable, economically viable commercial UAS services,” said Trevor Woods, interim executive director of NPUASTS. “Vantis, through our partnership with Thales USA, is making that future a reality. We’re building the blueprint for commercial BVLOS flights across the country.”

IATA

Mehmet T. Nane, CEO of Pegasus Airlines, has been appointed Chair of the IATA Board of Governors at The International Air Transport Association’s 77th Annual General Assembly, to commence his term in June 2022. Mehmet T. Nane, who will serve as the first Turkish Chair of the IATA Board of Governors, will commence his term at the 78th Annual General Assembly to be held in Shanghai on 19-21 June 2022, succeeding the current Chair of the Board of Governors Robin Hayes. Mehmet T. Nane will serve until the conclusion of the 79th Annual General Assembly in 2023. With this appointment, Mehmet T. Nane will also become a Member of the IATA’s Chair Committee and this Chair Committee Membership will last three terms as an elected, active and former Chair of the Board of Governors.

OTHER NEWS

Stay up on this airplane – Widebody Challenger: The CRAIC CR929 Is Now Under Production – YouTube Russia and China are building it!

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, October 12, 2021 at 9:07 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, communication, Connectivity, entertainment, IFE, IFEC, passengers, travelers, Wi-Fi

Panasonic Forms Strategic Partnership | Inmarsat Unveils ELERA | New Study From Sustainable Aero Lab | Other News

PANASONIC

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic Avionics) is enhancing its in-flight mobile connectivity offering through a strategic partnership with GigSky, a global mobility provider based in Silicon Valley, California.

The partnership between Panasonic Avionics, its subsidiary AeroMobile and GigSky enables any eSIM-equipped mobile phone user to enjoy their in-flight mobile connectivity service—regardless of network operator—on selected airlines and flights. By downloading the award-winning GigSky app prior to departure, passengers can effortlessly pay for and access a daily connectivity pass.

Kevin Rogers, Senior Director, Mobile Services at Panasonic Avionics, said, “Digital innovation is at the forefront of everything we do at Panasonic Avionics. Our collaboration with GigSky marks our first eSIM partnership and enables us to enhance and bring more choice to the passenger experience. With GigSky’s support of our mobile services platform, passengers can connect their mobile phones across the globe regardless of which network provider they are with, replicating on-the-ground integrated connectivity in the skies.

Ravi Rishy-Maharaj, Founder and CEO at GigSky, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Panasonic Avionics to bring a first of its kind service to airlines and passengers. Through the GigSky app, we now offer data services in the air, land and sea with our partners. With the addition of an inflight plan, customers can stay connected at their destination – and in between destinations – truly enabling an always-online, always-connected experience, anywhere they go.”

INMARSAT

Inmarsat ELERA will be a catalyst for the next wave of world-changing technologies and is ideally suited for the Internet of Things and the billions of devices that are being connected every year
Inmarsat ELERA builds on the company’s global leadership in L-band satellite services with breakthrough technologies that will deliver unparalleled L-band speeds and the smallest, low-cost user terminals, underpinned by Inmarsat’s record for reliability, resilience and availability
Inmarsat ELERA will help ensure the world works better for decades to come, by delivering vital services already trusted by businesses and governments worldwide to drive operational efficiency and effectiveness, while protecting people, assets, data and our environment
ELERA will be a key component of Inmarsat ORCHESTRA, a world first network that will combine GEO, LEO and 5G into one harmonious solution

In its second major announcement in two weeks, Inmarsat is unveiling Inmarsat ELERA; a global narrowband network that is ideally suited to the rapidly evolving world of the Internet of Things (IoT) and for global mobility customers, including aviation, maritime, governments and select enterprises.

“ELERA is perfectly suited to the needs of the connected IoT world,” said Rajeev Suri, CEO, Inmarsat. “Global reach, extraordinary resilience, faster speeds, smaller and lower cost terminals are all part of ensuring that we remain ahead of others in meeting the needs of our customers.”
“ELERA is a further sign of a company with true momentum and one that is delivering new innovations and strong performance,” continued Suri. “I expect that Inmarsat will grow strongly in 2021 compared to the previous year, and that growth will span most of our business units. Our progress was evident in the first half, where we saw strong growth in revenue and EBITDA and robust cash flow. We have sharpened our strategy to focus on driving growth, accelerate decision making, launch new innovations, and are creating a more commercially focused, customer-centric culture.”

ELERA builds on Inmarsat’s #1 position in Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) and will be a springboard for innovation, unlocking, accelerating and scaling pioneering use cases on land, at sea and in the air. Its foundation is Inmarsat’s world class L-band network and incorporates new innovations ranging from higher speeds to smaller, low cost terminals and [the previously announced] Inmarsat-6 satellites, the first of which (I-6 F1) is scheduled to launch before the end of the year.
Coming just 14 days after Inmarsat announced ORCHESTRA, the world’s first network to combine GEO, LEO and 5G into one harmonious global communications solution, ELERA underlines Inmarsat’s strategic focus on the global mobility segment of satellite communications. It is also a signal of a company with momentum, delivering major technological innovations and growth.

The unique capabilities of ELERA, combined with Inmarsat’s superior spectrum and the ideally suited orbital position of its satellite networks, will make it the essential catalyst for new IoT use cases, across everything from autonomous transport and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to industrial and agricultural IoT applications.

ELERA is built on Inmarsat’s market leading L-band network, which already delivers the world’s most reliable and flexible global connectivity service with unique resilience in all conditions and full global redundancy. It supports everything from worldwide maritime and aviation safety services and humanitarian missions to IoT applications across agritech, transportation and utilities, among many others.

The new innovations that the company is investing in to bring to market in the near future include spectrum management technology to deliver L-band speeds up to 1.7Mbps, the smallest footprint, low cost L-band terminal and two new L-band satellites, which are the largest and most sophisticated commercial communication satellites ever created.
The new spectrum management capabilities (known as Carrier Aggregation) being incorporated into the ELERA network will deliver the fastest speeds globally available to L-band customers, far outstripping the capabilities of any other worldwide L-band network.
Live customer trials in commercial aviation are scheduled to start during the course of 2022 and this technology will be rolled out across a range of sector specific applications for Inmarsat’s mobility, government and IoT customers over the coming few years.

ELERA will also see the creation of the smallest footprint, low cost terminal for L-band users, delivering the ideal framework for satcom IoT at scale, with supporting cloud-based management, for vertical sectors such as infrastructure, rail, logistics, mining, agriculture, government, maritime and aviation.

Inmarsat is launching two new satellites to enhance the ELERA network. The I-6 satellites, the first of which is scheduled to launch at the end of 2021, are the largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellites ever built.

The L-band capacity on each I-6 satellite will be substantially greater than Inmarsat’s 4th generation spacecraft and, among other enhancements, they will deliver 50% more capacity per beam; meaning that much more data can be carried over the same geographical area, in addition to unlimited beam routing flexibility.

ELERA will also deliver a major extension to Inmarsat’s portfolio of voice-enabled devices, bringing new capabilities and innovations to hundreds of thousands of customers. This initiative represents our commitment to voice service innovation and underlines the company’s long-term commitment to the handheld voice services over satellite market.

“ELERA is the exciting vision of how Inmarsat is planning to transform the capabilities offered to IoT and mobility customers for years to come and confirms our long-term commitment to L-band services. We will be sharing further detail on these innovations with our partner community in the coming months and continue our programme of announcements as we achieve major milestones.” said Rajeev Suri, CEO, Inmarsat.
The investments in ELERA are already included in Inmarsat’s current CAPEX plans and guidance.

HAMBURG AVIATION

With climate change progressing, the measures that are currently planned by the aviation industry will be not enough. A new study by Hamburg-based Sustainable Aero Lab maps 40 promising startups in the new field of sustainable aviation.

The overview by Sustainable Aero Lab maps 40 promising startups, clustering sustainable aviation in four technological fields: Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), Electric Propulsion, Hydrogen, and the Digital Backbone. It also looks at global venture capital investment into zero emission tech, a field that has gained significant traction over the last six years, but so far has been shy to connect with the aviation sector, especially when it comes to complex segments such as hydrogen. Yet with a growing attention in all industries to act on climate change and reduce global CO2 emissions, the potential for new players in aviation technology has never been greater.

Sustainable Aero Lab is focused on accelerating startups and has been mentoring startups in each segment outlined in this study since its launch in February 2021. Some of the most prominent experts from all segments of aviation have already joined as mentors.

You can find the entire study by Sustainable Aero Lab, including the startup map and an analysis of venture capital investments into zero-emission tech, on the Lab’s website www.sustainable.aero.

OTHER NEWS

This is so scary …. Afghans Climb on to Plane During Takeoff in Attempt to Flee Taliban News
The IMGUR folks had an interesting post on technology..“If you are not a scientist, and you disagree with scientists about science, It’s actually not a disagreement. You’re just wrong”
Bitcoin mining – Inside the Largest Bitcoin Mine in the U.S News And you thought Boitcoin didn’t use any power!
As you may know, the world is getting into hypersonic weaponry and here is a AvWeek pix link to a look at US hypersonic technology – Hypersonics Through The Years | Aviation Week Network

Editor’s Note: It is with much sadness that IFExpress reports the passing of long time IFE professional, Harry Gray. Harry worked in the inflight entertainment realm for 30 years and was the consummate professional, as well as, an extraordinary salesman. But most importantly, he was a great friend. Our hearts go out to the Gray family at this time. Rest in peace Harry, you will be sorely missed.

Posted by Patricia on Wednesday, August 18, 2021 at 12:56 am
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, Aviation, communication, inflight entertainment, passengers, Wi-Fi

Sustainable Fuel | LATAM Expands Their 767 Freighter Fleet | Qingdao Airlines Commits To Xstream By FTS | News From Boeing | Other News

Sustainable Fuel

Air France-KLM, Total, Groupe ADP and Airbus Join Forces to Decarbonize Air Transportation and Carry Out The First Long-Haul Flight Powered By Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Produced in France.

At 3:40 p.m., Air France Flight 342 took off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport’s Terminal 2E for Montreal with its tanks filled for the first time with sustainable aviation fuel produced in Total’s French plants.

This flight is a tangible result of the four groups’ shared ambition to decarbonize air transportation and to develop a SAF supply chain in France, prerequisite to the generalization of their use in French airports.

No modifications to storage and distribution infrastructure, aircraft or engines are required to incorporate biofuels. Their gradual introduction worldwide should significantly reduce CO2 emissions from air transportation, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development
Goals.

The biofuel used for this flight was made from waste and residue sourced from the circular economy. Total produced the SAF from used cooking oil at its La Mède biorefinery in southern France and at its Oudalle factory near Le Havre, without using any virgin plant-based oil.

This first 100% French SAF received ISCC-EU certification from the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification System, an independent organization that guarantees sustainability. The 16% blend on this flight avoided the emission of 20 tons of CO2. By developing and supporting France’s first industrial SAF production, Air France-KLM, Total, ADP Group and Airbus are paving the way for France to drive innovation in the energy and environmental transition. French legislation calls for aircraft to use at least 1% SAF by 2022 for all flights originating in France, ahead of the European ambition scheduled to gradually ramp up to 2% by 2025 and 5% by 2030, as part of the European Green Deal. To meet these requirements, Total will also produce SAF at its Grandpuits zero-crude platform near Paris as from 2024.

The flight also illustrates the synergy of the different drivers for reducing aviation’s environmental footprint, i.e., sustainable aviation fuel, latest-generation aircraft and electrification of ground operations. The Airbus A350 used for the flight consumes 25% less fuel than its predecessor. What’s more, the aircraft was serviced by the first 100% all-electric refueling truck, developed in France with Total expertise, and all of the ground support equipment used by Air France was fully electric powered. Air France-KLM is a pioneer in testing sustainable aviation fuels. KLM made its first SAF-powered flight in 2009. Since then, the Group has multiplied the number of innovative programs. Between 2014 and 2016, for example, it carried out 78 Air France flights powered by a 10% SAF blend in collaboration with a Total affiliate. These tests showed that the use of SAF had no impact on the reliability of airline operations. Air France-KLM intends to strengthen its leadership in SAF in the years ahead, while contributing to research on future generations of aircraft. In addition to this flight, Airbus is conducting several series of tests to certify airliners to fly with 100% SAF in the coming decades. Airbus has also installed SAF refueling stations at its industrial facilities so it can be used in production operations, as well as for aircraft deliveries. These installations contribute to Airbus’s ambition to decarbonize all of its industrial operations.

(Editor’s Note: Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a blend of conventional aviation fuel (JET-A1) and biojet fuel made from waste and residue sourced from the circular economy (animal fat, used cooking oil, etc.). Biojet fuel has similar properties to JET-A1 and produces up to 90% fewer CO2 emissions over its lifecycle compared with the fossil equivalent.)

LATAM Group

LATAM Group (“LATAM”) announced the expansion of its freighter fleet growth under which it now plans to add 10 Boeing 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighters over the next three years. This will bring the fleet size to up to 21 freighters by 2023. The first aircraft will be expected to begin operations in December 2021. The Group’s freighter fleet growth plan initially included four firm conversion orders with Boeing and another four conversion options. Two months after the initial announcement, LATAM has exercised the four options, eight planes, and the conversion of two additional Boeing 767-300ERs. This means that the freighter fleet will be comprised of up to 21 aircraft by the end of 2023. Upon completion of the plan the Group will have almost doubled its freighter capacity as well as reduced the average fleet age from 17 to 14 years. Growing from 11 to 21 freighter planes will enable the LATAM Group’s cargo subsidiaries to expand and reinforce their capacity to, from and within South America, and positioning the Group as the main freighter operator group in the region. The first eight airplanes have been allocated to markets that are critical for key customer segments.

LATAM also announced that it will use some of the 767-300ERs that are awaiting conversion under a hybrid format to benefit customers in the short term. The seats will be completely removed from three planes for this purpose in order to have a payload of up to 46 tons per flight. Two of these planes are already operational. The third one is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2021. Furthermore, LATAM is optimizing commonality across their fleet of 767-300 production and converted freighters to maximize capacity, including the ability to transport delicate goods.

FTS

Qingdao Airlines announced that it is fully committed to
expand and accelerate the deployment of high-speed in-flight satellite Internet on its aircraft fleet. This follows the successful evaluation of the first commercial high-speed Internet flight trial in China that was launched by Qingdao Airlines on July 2020. This marks a major milestone in this groundbreaking collaboration project whereby FTS is supplying the Xstream™ high-speed satellite inflight system while TD Link Technology is providing internet service operations.

The Xstream™ system suite developed by FTS comprises of XstreamSAT™ satellite communication, XstreamLITE™ cabin WiFi, and XstreamOP™ cloud management platform. It is the first China developed IFEC system to receive all three major international airworthiness STC certifications from FAA, EASA and CAAC. The system is integrated with China Satcom’s ChinaSat-16 Ka-HTS satellites and is capable of providing up to 150 Mbps bandwidth between aircraft and ground. Over the past 10 months, the trial aircraft has flown more than 1,200 flights flawlessly with impeccable service, delighting Qingdao Airlines passengers with unprecedented inflight connected experience equivalent to ground 4G performance, with services such as movies, social media, live video broadcast, maps and e-commerce (with mobile payment).

FTS XStreamOP™ ground-based cloud management platform which has been in service since beginning trial has proven to be critical in ensuring service delivery with real-time monitoring of airborne systems, connectivity status, as well as consolidating all inflight data for ground analytics. This open cloud architecture enables the airline and service providers to integrate with airline backend IT to provide an efficient and easy-to-use method of managing all the on-
board internet equipment and services.

Although the coronavirus pandemic has brought far-reaching and fundamental impact to aviation, the China domestic air travel is leading the industry in terms of recovery and even growing beyond pre-COVID period. A spokesperson at FTS commented they are seeing more confidence, optimism and interest from domestic airlines on making long term investment on Inflight connectivity as they believe this is a pivotal enabler to drive digital transformation of passenger service, airline operations and auxiliary revenue from which airlines could benefit to achieve recovery and long-term sustainability.

The decision from Qingdao Airlines is not taken lightly especially in the current challenging climate. It came after rigorous scrutiny of trial results concluded that FTS system performance, reliability and benefits far exceeded airline expectations. Qingdao Airlines’ innovative and pioneering spirit has attracted strong endorsement and support from local government, CAAC and industry bodies. After carefully
weighing all these factors and firmly believing in the benefits of connected aircraft, the airline stood firm in its decision to go full steam and accelerate the fleet-wide adoption of inflight
connectivity.

In preparation for the accelerated fleet wide deployment, FTS is ramping up its operations and capabilities. It announced that it has obtained CAAC PMA certification and Part 145 maintenance and repair overhaul approvals for its range of components.

Boeing

In observance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States, Boeing announced the company is donating $1.1 million to organizations working to combat anti-Asian hate and promote justice, advance appreciation for AAPI history and culture, and fund community service projects and leadership development programs in communities across the United States.

“At Boeing, we know that being a truly equitable, diverse and inclusive company requires a commitment to our team members here at the company and in the communities where our employees and partners live and work. These investments build on Boeing’s longstanding commitment to supporting those in underserved and marginalized communities and recognizes the challenging issues currently being faced by the Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” said Tim Keating, Boeing’s executive vice president of Government Operations.

*Boeing’s contribution will support 17 national and local initiatives. Nonprofits receiving immediate grant funding include:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice – $200,000
Asian American Heritage Council of Central Florida (FL) – $10,000
Asian American Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy – $10,000
Asian Counseling & Referral Services (WA) – $75,000
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (OR) – $10,000
Asian Pacific Cultural Center (WA) – $10,000
Little Tokyo Service Center (CA) – $35,000
Asian American Youth Foundation (MO) – $15,000
Neighborhood House (WA) – $100,00
One America (WA) – $75,000
Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (CA) – $35,000
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center – $250,000
Society of Asian Scientists & Engineers – $50,000
Stop AAPI Hate – $50,000
Tacoma Community House (WA) – $90,000
United Cambodian Community (CA) – $35,000

In 2020, Boeing invested more than $15.6 million to promote racial equity and social justice programs – including funding aimed at diversifying the aerospace pipeline.

(Editor’s Note: As Boeing hustles to evolve from the 21 month MAX crisis, quality problems and the management of the repair operations of the 787, 737 MAX, 767 Tanker, are to be reviewed by the government. Boeing (and the FAA as well) are to be reviewed by the US House Committee on Transportation. These reviews are probably based on the continuing issues we have all seen on these planes. Stay Tuned on this one because if issues continue, it will be quite an impact for both organizations and products … especially with any new management and their decisions!)

Other News

A friend sent us a very interesting video on why planes do not fly over Tibet – Do you know why? Here is the answer: 4 dangerous reasons why airplanes don’t fly over Tibet – YouTube
Bet you didn’t know that plastic could be turned into jet fuel! Plastic waste can now be turned into jet fuel in one hour – The Academic Times

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 at 10:10 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airbus, Airlines, Boeing, communication, passengers, Satcom, sustainable Fuel

Inmarsat Participates in Project HEART | Panasonic Avionics & IMG Extend Long Standing Relationship | Boeing News | Latecoere’s Redmond Office Moves | Other News

Inmarsat

Inmarsat announced its participation in a ground-breaking new initiative funded by the UK Government to develop the country’s first automated, zero carbon regional air transportation network. Project HEART (Hydrogen Electric and Automated Regional Transportation) will develop hydrogen powered, automated and remote piloting solutions for small aircraft carrying between 9 and 19 passengers, traveling ‘short hops’ of fewer than 500 nautical miles. In addition to its environmental credentials, the convenient zero-carbon travel option aims to enable scalability and lead to reductions in operating costs, door-to-door travel times and ticket prices. Up to 100 licensed airfields throughout the UK will be made available as part of the initiative, which is expected to enter service in 2025.

Existing ‘short hop’ air travel is economically unsustainable and reliant on government subsidies to cover high maintenance and running costs. Current operations, which require two onboard pilots, depend upon expensive and polluting gas turbine powertrains.

Project HEART offers an affordable alternative that address these deficiencies with next generation technology and a ‘system-of-systems’ approach, bringing together a network of experts to re-develop the entire aviation ecosystem. As part of this approach, Inmarsat will help to power a hybrid connectivity solution that seamlessly combines its satellite communications with terrestrial networks, enabling remote ‘digital’ co-piloting and journey critical communication in the cockpit. This allows the human pilot and the digital co-pilot functions, designed by Blue Bear Systems Research, to work together effectively and operations to be managed remotely. The technology will be evaluated on Britten-Norman aircraft.

Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Project HEART represents a greener, smarter and more efficient future for aviation. We are proud to support this important project of the UK Government, utilizing our 30 years of experience in satellite communication, navigation and surveillance for both commercial and private aviation, as well as expertise in unmanned vehicle traffic management. Working alongside our extensive network of partners, including Honeywell Aerospace, we are particularly excited about enabling remote operations for aviation networks of the future.”

Project HEART is led by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and is funded by the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) Future Flight Challenge (FFC). The consortium comprises of leading UK technology companies that will contribute resources in the areas of technology, operations, infrastructure and think tank experience.

Other innovations in development for the project include hydrogen fuel cell powertrains for aircraft (led by ZeroAvia), hydrogen refueling solutions (led by Protium), and a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) platform, with integrated sub regional flight travel mode (led by Fleetondemand), with acceptance testing headed by The Transport Research Institute of Edinburgh Napier University. In addition, architects Weston Williamson + Partners will lead on new airport infrastructure design, while the airline Loganair and Highland and Island Airports Limited will lead on accommodation of automation and hydrogen fueled aircraft operations.

Panasonic Avionics

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic Avionics) and IMG have agreed to extend and expand their long-standing relationship to deliver live sports content to the world’s leading airlines.

The companies have signed an agreement giving Panasonic Avionics all international in-flight rights to Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra, the world’s only global live sports channels. Airlines that offer Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra will be able to connect their passengers to unmissable live sporting moments from around the world with live content available in real-time.

Per the terms of the agreement, Panasonic Avionics will exclusively provide IMG’s Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra channels, to any airline, regardless of the in-flight entertainment system or connectivity network they use. Sport 24 is the only truly global, live sports channel that is available to airlines, and it’s exclusively available from Panasonic Avionics. It includes exclusive in-flight coverage of the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, NFL, NBA, NHL, Tennis Grand Slams, Golf Majors and the Ryder Cup, the NRL, and much, much more live sporting action. It broadcasts 24-hours a day, 365 days a year, connecting passengers to over 16 hours of premium live content each day. Over 30 different global sports leagues, federations and unique events will be shown in 2021, including the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and UEFA Euro. As part of the agreement, Panasonic Avionics and IMG intend to work together to develop new sports content offerings that could be made available under the Sport 24 umbrella.
Panasonic Avionics’ live television service creates an exciting entertainment experience by offering premium live sports and news as it unfolds. In this new golden era of television, this service gives passengers the ability to watch anything they want, when, and where they want. Airlines that include live television as part of the in-flight experience, have an opportunity to stand out as thought leaders in a crowded marketplace.

Almost 1,000 aircraft around the globe are connected with the company’s live television service, of which Sport 24 and Sport 24 Extra are an integral part.

Boeing

Boeing and BBAM Limited Partnership announced the lessor is expanding its 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter fleet with six firm orders and six options. The agreement brings BBAM’s 737-800BCF orders and commitments to 15 and highlights the continued strength of the e-commerce and express cargo market.

“As we look ahead to expanding our cargo fleet, the 737-800 Boeing Converted Freighter provides the performance and efficiency our customers need,” said Steve Zissis, CEO of BBAM. “Adding these highly capable freighters to 276 Boeing airplanes in our managed fleet helps to further strengthen our leadership position in the marketplace.”

Based on the popular Next-Generation 737, the 737-800BCF is meeting customer demand for a newer-generation freighter that offers higher reliability and lower fuel consumption and operating costs per trip compared to other standard body freighters. Primarily used to carry express cargo on domestic or short-haul routes, the airplane is capable of carrying up to 23.9 tonnes (52,800 pounds) and flying up to 2,025 nautical miles (3,750 kilometers). Since entering service in 2018, the 737-800BCF has won more than 150 orders and commitments.

“BBAM is one of the industry’s leading full-service leasing companies and has built their reputation on smart investments. We are honored that BBAM has selected more 737-800BCFs, based on the success of our standard body freighters in their portfolio,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing. “The continued strong demand for the 737-800BCF demonstrates the critical role these converted freighters play in the growing express and e-commerce market.”

BBAM is the world’s largest dedicated manager of investments in leased commercial jet aircraft, providing over 200 airline customers in more than 50 countries with fleet and financing solutions over the last three decades. BBAM is the only manager in the aircraft leasing industry focused exclusively on generating investment returns for third-party investors. BBAM currently has more than $28 billion of assets under management and employs over 150 professionals at its headquarters in San Francisco and in additional offices in Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich, Dublin and Santiago. For more information about BBAM, please visit its website at www.bbam.com.

Also From Boeing:

Boeing is setting an ambitious target to advance the long-term sustainability of commercial aviation, committing that its commercial airplanes are capable and certified to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels by 2030. Boeing has previously conducted successful test flights replacing petroleum jet fuel with 100% sustainable fuels to address the urgent challenge of climate change.

According to the Air Transport Action Group, U.S. Department of Energy and several other scientific studies, sustainable aviation fuels reduce CO2 emissions by up to 80% over the fuel’s life cycle with the potential to reach 100% in the future. Today, sustainable aviation fuels are mixed directly with conventional jet fuel up to a 50/50 blend — the maximum allowed under current fuel specifications. In order to meet aviation’s commitment for reducing carbon emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2050, airplanes need the capability to fly on 100% sustainable aviation fuels well before 2050.

“Our industry and customers are committed to addressing climate change, and sustainable aviation fuels are the safest and most measurable solution to reduce aviation carbon emissions in the coming decades,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Stan Deal. “We’re committed to working with regulators, engine companies and other key stakeholders to ensure our airplanes and eventually our industry can fly entirely on sustainable jet fuels.”
Boeing’s commitment is to determine what changes are required for its current and future commercial airplanes to fly on 100% sustainable fuels, and to work with regulatory authorities and across the industry to raise the blending limit for expanded use.

“With a long history of innovation in sustainable aviation fuels, certifying our family of airplanes to fly on 100% sustainable fuels significantly advances Boeing’s deep commitment to innovate and operate to make the world better,” Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Raymond said. “Sustainable aviation fuels are proven, used every day, and have the most immediate and greatest potential to reduce carbon emissions in the near and long term when we work together as an industry.”

Boeing has been a pioneer in making sustainable aviation fuels a reality, partnering globally with airlines, industry, governments and research institutions to expand limited supplies and reduce the fuels’ cost. Boeing worked with airlines, engine manufacturers and others to conduct biofuel test flights starting in 2008 and gain approval for sustainable fuels in 2011. In 2018, the Boeing ecoDemonstrator flight-test program made the world’s first commercial airplane flight using 100% sustainable fuels with a 777 Freighter, in collaboration with FedEx Express.

Sustainable aviation fuels can be made from a wide variety of feedstocks, including non-edible plants, agricultural and forestry waste, non-recyclable household waste, industrial plant off-gassing and other sources. Sustainability of the fuels is assured through strong, credible sustainability certifications through third-party organizations such as the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials.

Latecoere/Aircraft Cabin Systems

We note that we have received a note from the ACS folks with a change of address (.2 miles south of the previous location) to:
Latecoere Interconnection Systems US, Inc.
18047 NE 68th Street
Suite B130
Redmond, WA 98052
USA

Other News

We thought our readers might understand the challenge of journalism in mainland China with this Aljazeera video of the early days of COVID challenges in China – New Videos Show Wuhan During Earliest Days of COVID Outbreak

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 at 5:43 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, Aviation, Boeing, communication, eco, green, Inmarsat, Panasonic, passengers

Viasat Commends International Telecommunication Union Member States for Expanding Ka-band Spectrum Availability for Satellite Broadband Mobility Services at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference

Decision Allows Viasat to Expand its Global Mobility Broadband Offerings and Enhance its Position as a World Leader in Satellite Services for Aviation, Maritime, Government and other Key Markets

Carlsbad, California | November 26, 2019 — Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced its ability to offer enhanced gate-to-gate in-flight connectivity and pier-to-pier maritime services through an international agreement signed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Member States opening more Ka-band spectrum for satellite mobility solutions. The treaty, which was signed at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19) on Friday November 22, 2019, provides access to four times more global Ka-band spectrum for satellite-powered aviation and maritime broadband connectivity.

The treaty ensures that Earth Stations in Motion (ESIM) can access the full Ka-band spectrum consistent with Viasat’s strategy—focusing on broadband mobility services operating worldwide—in preparation for the upcoming launch of its global Ka-band satellite constellation, ViaSat-3.

During WRC-19, Ka-band spectrum availability for ESIM received resounding support from the international community after comprehensive studies were completed and reviewed. The decision reaffirmed the WRC-15 decision that Ka-band is the optimal band for expanding satellite broadband services. It also ensures a harmonized international framework for authorizing ESIM services throughout the band and across the world, opening the door for airlines and shipping lines to digitize their fleets, and connect more passengers and crew on a single network.

“We are grateful for the global recognition of the importance of Ka-band satellite broadband for use on mobile platforms from aircraft, ships and ferries to buses and trains,” said Mark Dankberg, chairman and CEO, Viasat. “Having a uniform regulatory framework for ESIM applications across nations will enable Viasat to meet escalating customer requirements for mobility service enhancements, while creating a broader environment for further innovation in the mobility sector.”

Airline opportunities continue to grow with added global Ka-band spectrum

Today, the airline industry is facing growing demand from passengers, crew and aircraft fleet operators and suppliers alike who expect gate-to-gate connectivity. New services that will improve flight operations as well as deliver enhanced passenger experiences will benefit from the added Ka-band spectrum for these services providing affordable, high-quality broadband in the air.

Gilberto Lopez Meyer, senior vice president, Safety and Flight Operations (SFO) at the International Air Transportation Association (IATA) added, “The airline community congratulates the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 for its successful work on the issue of ESIM. ESIM will support airlines in providing better broadband connectivity for on-board passengers. It will also serve as an enabler for airlines’ digital transformation effort in enhancing current and future gate-to-gate operations.”

Posted by Patricia on Monday, December 2, 2019 at 7:53 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with communication, Connectivity, ITU, Ka Band, ViaSat

OneWeb Set To Revolutionize InFlight Connectivity

OneWeb will provide the world’s first global LEO satellite broadband coverage for aircraft and passengers that will deliver high-speed, low latency service seamlessly over all air routes, including the Arctic region.
OneWeb’s global aviation connectivity service will be available for customer demos in 2020 – with full service launching in 2021.

September 9, 2019–OneWeb, a global communications company with a mission to connect everyone, everywhere, is set to revolutionize in-flight connectivity by delivering a seamless, global fiber-like broadband service to any air route, short or long-haul flights, and over the polar region.

Working with carefully selected distribution partners, OneWeb’s communications network is designed to allow airlines to offer passengers and crew a significantly faster and more reliable experience in accessing data and internet services in-flight. This game-changing service will be available over airline routes previously not possible to connect, such as Arctic routes. It will also allow airlines to meaningfully fulfil their digitization programs across the whole passenger journey – from booking to inflight, landing and onward journeys.

With OneWeb’s high-speed, low latency capabilities, passengers will feel the difference and improvement wherever they travel. Live TV, content streaming services such as Netflix, real-time gaming, accessing cloud applications, as well as web browsing, email and social media, all of which have become part of passengers’ daily lives, will now become a much richer experience.

OneWeb’s inflight services will be available in a variety of packages to suit the needs of all types of airlines, with fit for purpose onboard equipment to match each airline’s requirements.

“The airline community is restricted by the throughput and latency constraints of today’s in-flight connectivity services. There is an acknowledged need for a step change and our global airline services will democratize the connectivity experience, enabling everyone to enjoy high-speed, low latency connectivity, even on 500-passenger aircraft,” said Ben Griffin, OneWeb’s VP Commercial Aviation.

“Our vision for aviation is fully customized, truly global passenger broadband. We are excited to launch OneWeb to the aviation industry and look forward to working with distribution partners to bring our service to life,” he added.

Participating for the first time at the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Expo in Los Angeles, CA (September 9^th to 12th), OneWeb will be highlighting its global aviation connectivity services, including plans for complete polar coverage across the northern tracks and live service within two years.

Posted by Patricia on Sunday, September 8, 2019 at 5:42 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airlines, communication, Connectivity, IFE, OneWeb

SmartSky and Snowflake Collaborate on Skytelligence

SmartSky Networks has been busy. First, the company announced their collaboration with Snowflake Software in early April. The collaborative effort between the two companies will occur through SmartSky’s Skytelligence Aviation Data Marketplace. In case you don’t know about Skytelligence, it is an open marketplace for shared data and services that powers transformation by eliminating the need for multiple contracts, complex integrations, and high upfront capital costs. Snowflake Software provides secured data access to the latest fused and validated aviation data from its Laminar Data Hub cloud platform through Skytelligence, which facilitates application developers to rapidly deploy and simplify the support of aviation-based applications.

The continued growth of available aviation data has software developers and service providers eager to deliver innovative services, optimize operations and improve the inflight experience. Skytelligence is an open marketplace for shared data and services that powers this transformation by eliminating the need for multiple contracts, complex integrations, and high upfront capital costs. Snowflake Software has provided secured data access to the latest fused and validated aviation data from its Laminar Data Hub cloud platform through Skytelligence. This access allows application developers to rapidly deploy and simplify the creation and support of aviation-based applications.

Through comprehensive data ownership and privacy controls, Skytelligence promotes and enables widespread access to external data and algorithms across platforms which had previously remained elusive due to the lack of standards and inflexibility of legacy aviation IT systems. This lack of common standards results in extensive normalization efforts increasing both the time and cost for application developers getting to market. Skytelligence accelerates innovation through efficient access to the industry’s leading APIs and data, enabling application developers and service providers to capture new revenue opportunities and reduce costs through enhanced passenger experiences and optimized operations.

“Providing access to Snowflake’s Laminar Data Hub through Skytelligence supports our goal of connecting the aviation ecosystem to an integrated set of public, private and proprietary data, as well as services through the network-independent software framework. Now the brightest minds in the aviation community are empowered to build applications that transform the flying experience, mitigating flight delays and minimizing maintenance costs,” said one SmartSky representative.

Furthermore, they have announced that they have initiated the final site completion phase of its next generation Air-to-Ground (ATG) network for business and commercial aviation, launching later this year. SmartSky’s airborne network, which began its nationwide deployment a few years ago, incorporates many 5G wireless technologies that have been experienced during a large number of highly successful inflight demonstrations for the media and market. The company’s unique technology has received the critical threshold regulatory certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Communications Commission.

SmartSky uses 5G technology broadly and the network’s future-ready design can incorporate advancements appropriate for ATG as those technology upgrades become available. We were told that their aviation network already includes many 5G components/features like those being used in new terrestrial network builds. Here are some examples: Software Defined Radios, Network Slicking, Low Latency Architecture, Network Function virtualization, Beam-forming, Primary Internet Gateway Relocation.

SmartSky states that they offer the most compelling user experience to the aviation traveler because of the dedicated secure signal to each aircraft from their patented single-beam-per-aircraft network architecture that eliminates the noise and congestion other networks typically experience.

EUROPEAN AVIATION NETWORK
The European Aviation Network (EAN), the fastest inflight broadband service in Europe, is now being offered by airlines to more than 30,000 passengers across the continent each day, allowing them to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media, enjoy real-time interactive gaming, and more during flights. Currently under a ‘soft launch’ phase with initial airline customers, the award-winning connectivity solution can already be accessed on more than 100 routes from key destinations such as London, Madrid, Barcelona, Athens, Lisbon, Prague, Rome and Vienna. To date, almost two million passengers have traveled on flights with access to EAN. Building upon unique European infrastructure, EAN marks a paradigm shift in the airline passenger experience for the continent, with incomparable speeds, uninterrupted coverage and significantly lower latency than any other inflight broadband network in the market. Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “EAN has established an unprecedented new benchmark for inflight broadband, not only in Europe but on a global basis. It combines the expertise of Europe’s most innovative companies to provide best-in-class connectivity unmatched by any other solution. We have been working with our initial airline customers to monitor and fine-tune the service during their soft launches before it’s rolled out on their wider fleets. We are extremely pleased with the initial response from both the airlines and their passengers, which is testament to the important role EAN is already playing in the European aviation industry. This vision of a unique, pan-European high-speed inflight connectivity network is being deployed with advanced infrastructure in the skies and on the ground.”

Developed by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom (DT) in partnership with leading European companies such as Thales, Nokia, Airbus, Cobham and EAD Aerospace, EAN has been designed from scratch specifically for the needs of European aviation. It delivers consistent inflight broadband across Europe, one of the world’s most congested airspaces, with more than one billion passengers and 11 million flights per year. For airline customers, EAN also offers the fastest ever installation time for a connectivity solution, requiring under nine hours per aircraft, meaning significantly less downtime. Combined with the system’s low weight, low drag and low maintenance, this results in lower overall operation costs.

AIRBUS
Indonesian carrier Lion Air received its first A330-900, becoming the first airline from the Asia-Pacific region to fly the A330neo. The aircraft is on lease from BOC Aviation and is the first of 10 A330neos set to join the airline’s fleet. The A330neo will be used by Lion Air for non-stop long-haul services from Indonesia. These include pilgrimage flights from cities such as Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The flight time for such routes can be up to 12 hours. Lion Air’s A330-900 is configured for 436 passengers in a single-class configuration. The A330neo is the true new-generation aircraft building on the most popular wide body A330’s features and leveraging on A350 XWB technology. Powered by the latest Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330neo provides an unprecedented level of efficiency – with 25% lower fuel burn per seat than previous generation competitors. Equipped with the Airbus Airspace cabin, the A330neo offers a unique passenger experience with more personal space and the latest generation in-flight entertainment system and connectivity.

BOEING
Boeing announced it will recognize an impact to earnings when it releases second-quarter 2019 results on July 24.
Boeing will record an after-tax charge of $4.9 billion1 ($8.74 per share) in connection with an estimate of potential concessions and other considerations to customers for disruptions related to the 737 MAX grounding and associated delivery delays. This charge will result in a $5.6 billion reduction of revenue and pre-tax earnings in the quarter. While the entire estimated amount will be recognized as a charge in the second quarter, the company expects any potential concessions or other considerations to be provided over a number of years and take various forms of economic value. Additionally, Boeing’s estimated costs to produce the aircraft in the 737 accounting quantity increased by $1.7 billion in the second quarter, primarily due to higher costs associated with a longer than expected reduction in the production rate. The increased 737 program costs will reduce the margin of the 737 program in the second quarter and in future quarters.

Boeing continues to work with civil aviation authorities to ensure the 737 MAX’s safe return to service, and these authorities will determine the timing of return to service. For purposes of the second-quarter financial results, the company has assumed that regulatory approval of 737 MAX return to service in the U.S. and other jurisdictions begins early in the fourth quarter 2019. This assumption reflects the company’s best estimate at this time, but actual timing of return to service could differ from this estimate. The second-quarter financial results will further assume a gradual increase in the 737 production rate from 42 per month to 57 per month in 2020, and that airplanes produced during the grounding and included within inventory will be delivered over several quarters following return to service. Any changes to these assumptions could result in additional financial impact.
“We remain focused on safely returning the 737 MAX to service,” said Boeing Chairman, President and CEO Dennis Muilenburg. “This is a defining moment for Boeing. Nothing is more important to us than the safety of the flight crews and passengers who fly on our airplanes. The MAX grounding presents significant headwinds and the financial impact recognized this quarter reflects the current challenges and helps to address future financial risks.”

Boeing Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Enterprise Performance and Strategy Greg Smith added, “We are taking appropriate steps to manage our liquidity and increase our balance sheet flexibility the best way possible as we are working through these challenges. Our multi-year efforts on disciplined cash management and maintaining a strong balance sheet, in addition to our strong and broad portfolio offerings, are helping us navigate the current environment.” Boeing’s previously-issued 2019 financial guidance did not reflect impacts related to the 737 MAX. Due to the uncertainty of the timing and conditions concerning 737 MAX return to service, new guidance will be issued at a future date.

Boeing will issue its full second-quarter earnings release on July 24 and discuss the company’s financial results and outlook, including impact of 737 MAX grounding, during a conference call that day.

On another note, Boeing also announced that it has dedicated $50 million of a previously announced $100 million fund to provide near-term financial assistance to families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Flight 302 accidents. Boeing also announced that it has retained Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, renowned experts in establishing and overseeing victims’ compensation funds, to design and administer the fund. The $50 million fund represents the initial expenditure of a $100 million pledge by Boeing to address family and community needs of those affected by the accidents. All monies distributed by Mr. Feinberg and Ms. Biros will be independent from any resolution provided through the legal process.

OTHER NEWS

Approximately 50 years ago, the Apollo 11 Mission ran into a computer problem on the moon lander module. A glitch that, at the time, was unclear as to the cause. However, we now know why. Neil Armstrong manually landed the module and we now know what happened! An Engineer On Apollo 11 Explains What Really Caused The Infamous Computer Error – Digg
Airport food too expensive? Here is why – Why is airport food so expensive?
You had probably better learn about neurotrophic systems as they are 100 times faster than standard CPU’s and 10,000 times more efficient. And no, we really don’t understand the technology yet, but you had better. Intel’s Neuromorphic System Hits 8 Million Neurons, 100 Million Coming by 2020 – IEEE Spectrum And if you find out some better information, we would be interested!
Flight bumped? Here are some benefits – What to Ask For When You’re Bumped From a Flight
You probably thought Artificial Intelligence was most important? Well, perhaps, Artificial General Intelligence is more important. Microsoft’s CEO Staya Nadella said: “The quintessential characteristic for any application being built in 2019 and beyond will be AI.” Microsoft said that it would invest $1 billion in artificial-intelligence startup OpenAI LP, as the software giant seeks to enhance its Azure cloud-computing platform. Perhaps, aviation will benefit from the cloud solutions–we will see. Microsoft wants to build artificial general intelligence: an AI better than humans at everything – Vox

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, July 23, 2019 at 6:46 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Aviation, communication, Connectivity, passengers, SmartSky

Galgus Launches A New Release of Their Wi-Fi Optimization Software

The folks at Galgus sent us a note: “Yesterday, was a special day for Galgus as we launched release # 9 of our Wi-Fi optimization software. This version comes with lots of new features, some of them never seen before. Our team has put a lot of enthusiasm and expertise made of listening, detecting and building WiFi solutions for the market.” So, to find out the new software features, we checked out the “secret” Galgus site and here are a few of the features of their new software to be announced in a couple days:

Advanced Mesh with Self-Healing, Dynamic Re-Routing, QoS and Power Control
Unveiling of Hidden MAC Addresses
New Modular Licenses and an Auto-Download Licensing System to Easy License Upgrades to Access New Features
High Density Scenarios
Support of Multi-thread Operation
WPA Enterprise with Radius Support + Dynamic VLANs (802.1x)
Location of Connected Clients with Real or Randomized MAC Addresses
Zero-Touch Provisioning
Discovery of IEEE 802.11 Amendments Supported by User Devices
Better Algorithms, Bug Fix Binaries, Cloud Manager…and More!

So with all the new features of the Wi-Fi software, we asked the Galgus team a few questions that we all could understand.

1. Please describe how big, and where the Galgus software (CHT Wi-Fi Optimization) is used.
Presently, 800+ airplanes worldwide are flying with our SW inside. Besides that, CHT is also deployed in Hotels & Resorts, covering 400,000 sqf. outdoor areas; also a Convention Center with a capacity of 3,000 people served with 18 access points, there, 100+ events are celebrated every year. In the railway industry the whole fleet of a British operator (45+ trains) are equipped with our technology. Also is important two mention that we have presence in two cruise ships in the Mediterranean Sea, +400 buses worldwide and even in a 55,000 people stadium of the Spanish soccer first division!

2. Does the CHT software effect data speeds on aircraft Wi-Fi?
Yes it affects: it improves the speed even for the weakest of the devices with respect to the case without CHT. In case it refers to whether our protocol occupies a lot of bandwidth: no, it is not noticeable.

3. What hardware vendors and airlines are customers of this software?
In the airline industry, we work with VT Miltope, they are our main customer. Regarding which airlines our software is deployed, due to confidentiality agreements we can’t unveil which ones are they.

4. Also, please describe what the software does that is different and why.
The new software comes with a nice set of new and improved features. Among them, we would like to underline the location of connected clients with real or randomized MAC addresses. Using only the WiFi network, without diminishing its performance, CHT is able to locate connected devices whether they randomize their MAC address or not. This is all achieved without the user having to install anything additional or modify their device. The network owner can access this information and compare it to quality of service metrics in our dashboard Cloud Manager.

Also, as a second mail innovation, with our new release we ensure network security and customer privacy by dynamically assigning an individual VLAN to each customer. This feature allows the accomplishment of enterprise grade projects where security and privacy is a must But, there are much more new features included and the July 10 webinar will cover the new content.

5. Will this software and features be displayed at any future airshow?
Yes absolutely. Jointly with VT Miltope, we regularly attend the main events in the industry, such as the AIX in Germany or APEX in the USA. At both them or at any other that we finally attend, we will introduce all new and improved features that our new release brings with them. And yes, they have a book available on Amazon

INMARSAT
Inmarsat announced a contract to introduce two new payloads for its Global Xpress (GX) network in partnership with Space Norway and its subsidiary Space Norway HEOSAT, supporting the continued fast-paced development of its award-winning GX Aviation and Jet ConneX inflight connectivity solutions.
The new payloads, GX10A & 10B, will provide Inmarsat’s airline and business aviation customers with even more capacity to meet rapidly growing demand for seamless, reliable, high-speed mobile inflight broadband. In addition, the satellites will be fully compatible with current and future terminals, ensuring that both existing and new customers will reap the benefits from this latest extension to the network. Scheduled to launch in 2022, GX10A & 10B will be the first satellites in the GX network to be placed into Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), showcasing Inmarsat’s highly innovative and flexible approach to providing customers with gold-standard connectivity.

The satellites are designed to deliver enhanced capacity for aircraft flying in higher elevations and across the Arctic. They will be operated by Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ABSM) team and seamlessly integrate into the GX network.

AIRBUS
Azores Airlines, the Azores archipelago-based carrier, has taken delivery of its first of three A321LRs to be leased from Air Lease Corporation “ALC” becoming the latest operator of the long-range single-aisle aircraft. Powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, the Azores Airlines’ A321LR comprises 190 seats in a two-class configuration (16 Business class seats and 174 seats in Economy) offering premium wide-body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft cabin and with single-aisle operating costs. With this new A321LR, the Portuguese operator will continue its strategy of growth and network expansion to European destinations as well as transatlantic routes between the Azores and North America.

BOEING
Ahead of Independence Day in the U.S., Boeing announced $100 million in funds to address family and community needs of those affected by the tragic accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. These funds will support education, hardship and living expenses for impacted families, community programs, and economic development in impacted communities. Boeing will partner with local governments and non-profit organizations to address these needs. This initial investment will be made over multiple years. “We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. “We know every person who steps aboard one of our airplanes places their trust in us. We are focused on re-earning that trust and confidence from our customers and the flying public in the months ahead.” Boeing will release additional information in the near future. Consistent with Boeing’s regular process for employee charitable donations, company employees will also have the opportunity to make donations in support of the families and communities impacted by the accidents. Boeing will match these employee donations through December 31, 2019.

BOEING announced it is providing $100m in funds to address family and community needs of those affected by the 737 MAX accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. These funds will support education, hardship and living expenses for impacted families, community programs, and economic development in impacted communities. Boeing will partner with local governments and non-profit organizations to address these needs. This initial investment will be made over multiple years.

OTHER NEWS

Folks under the age of 35 have a lot of innovations says the MIT folks – and, half are women -it’s a good sign!
What is biohacking? The new “science” of optimizing your brain and body. – Vox
Do you wonder how supersonic planes can fly with glass windshields? Well, you have a point and here is an answer on how it might be done. NASA’s New Supersonic Jet Will Be Missing a Front Window
Applied Science, that’s what the over 200 short videos are on technology are about on YouTube. Here’s the description and they are technically right on and very good: “See interesting applications of science and technology. You’ll see how an electron microscope was built in a home shop, how an X-ray backscatter system works, how to make aerogel, and many other hi-tech projects. Topics usually include electromechanical systems, chemistry, and electronics. Hosted by Ben Krasnow.” 109) Applied Science – YouTube
Boeing’s 777-x has similar characteristics to 747, however it does so with only 2 engines Boeing: 777X and Boeing: 777X Reveal
A lot of times when you are flying from or to a small airport on one airline, there is little information on where the others who fly there have connections to. It can be frustrating because most airlines want you to fly them and reasonably dont show you who else flies there. If you need a better list of what airlines fly to an airport here is a site called FlightsFrom that does that. Here is a website that covers that problem – Worldwide routes and flights from all airports – FlightsFrom.com
So, if you are afraid of new cars with potentially incorrect self-driving systems, had you ever considered self flying(landing) planes? Watch a plane land itself truly autonomously for the first time | TechCrunch
Having been fans of Leo Laporte for technical reporting in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, he now has a show called The Tech Guy. Leo is now 62 and hosts a show that covers technology and if you remember shows like Call For Help and Screen Savers, well, he is back and has a weekly show/newsletter on TWiT.tv and iOS Today as a podcast. Hey, it must be popular as then show this week is Episode 726! and a weekly newsletter that you can get them here Subscribe or iOS Today – Hey it’s free!

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, July 9, 2019 at 5:07 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, Aviation, communication, Connectivity, Satellite, Wi-Fi

News From Inmarsat, Spafax, Airbus & Others

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:

Continuing to develop aircraft and engine design and technology in a relentless pursuit of improvements in fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions.
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.
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

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 5:51 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airbus, Aviation, Boeing, communication, Inmarsat, passengers, sales, Satellite

Astronics Announces Acquisition of Freedom Communication Technologies

Augments radio test solution offerings

East Aurora, NY | July 1, 2019– Astronics Corporation, a leading provider of advanced technologies for global aerospace, defense, and other mission critical industries, announced today that it has acquired Freedom Communication Technologies, Inc. (FCT) a developer and manufacturer of communication test equipment for the land-based mobile radio test market providing innovative solutions to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) high-speed wireless communications customers globally. Astronics has acquired 100% of the equity of FCT for $22 million in cash.

Peter J. Gundermann, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, “FCT is a leader in wireless communications testing, primarily for the civil land mobile radio market. Their market focus and technology complements those we already have, and together, we will offer a broader range of test solutions to an expanded market. The acquisition gives us a stronger market position in the radio test arena, a strong brand for our offerings and a larger addressable market. We are excited to expand our test capabilities and to bring FCT on board with our Test business.”

Based in Kilgore, TX, FCT was founded in 2015 and offers communications analyzers for testing and maintaining Land Mobile Radio (LMR) communications systems. FCT also provides an extensive range of capabilities, including automated radio testing and alignment, coverage mapping, and interference analysis.

In 2018, FCT had $11 million in revenue and is expected to contribute approximately $10 million in revenue in the second half of 2019.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 5:23 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Astronics, Aviation, communication, equipment, FCT, Test

Interview With Astronics Corporation And A New Broadband Partnership

At this year’s APEX we thought it would be interesting to watch out for the following as examples of potential show announcements: consolidations; large companies seeking smaller companies and ancillary products; and even passenger apps that help expand business, save money and allow for personalized customer experiences. And without saying, there will be more industry changes to write about in the coming weeks. True to form, this week’s Hot Topic primarily pertains Astronics, a big player that is getting even bigger. With recent acquisitions, Astronics is expanding and diversifying within the aviation realm. We were fortunate enough to have some questions answered by Executive Vice President, Mark Peabody and several other company Division Presidents.

1. Mark, could you please provide us with a broad statement on company updates: number of subsidiaries, number of employees, locations, and a broad product focus to set the stage?

Astronics serves the world’s aerospace, defense, and semiconductor industries with innovative power, lighting, connectivity, interiors, structures, and service solutions. Comprised of 11 subsidiaries, the Company employs nearly 3,000 team members in locations around the globe.

2. How many of the Astronics’ subsidiaries deal with data and connectivity for the aviation industry and who are they?

Five of Astronics subsidiaries provide connectivity and data solutions for the aviation industry, as outlined below:

Astronics Ballard Technology – Aircraft data systems
Astronics AeroSat – Connectivity solutions including IFC antennas and radome systems
Astronics Connectivity Systems & Certification (formerly Telefonix and Astronics Armstrong Aerospace) – Inflight entertainment hardware systems, including installation design, kitting, and certification
Astronics Custom Control Concepts – VIP IFE and CMS systems
Astronics PGA – VIP IFE and CMS systems

Astronics CCC and PGA often cooperate on providing solutions together for the VIP/BizAv markets. For the purposes of this article, we will include information from Astronics Ballard Technology, Astronics AeroSat, and Astronics CSC, where their product lines serve the needs of commercial transport.

3. What specific products/systems (antennas, WAPs, servers, data storage, etc.) does Astronics currently manufacture via their subsidiaries?

For commercial aircraft, Astronics offers a broad system of hardware and software components to help customers create complete system solutions. These include:

Aircraft Data Systems – New smart sensing systems, aircraft interface devices, avionics I/O computers, avionics test & simulation interfaces, and other data and connectivity related products.

Inflight Entertainment Hardware Systems – Cabin wireless access points, IFE content loaders and servers, modem managers, custom IFEC LRUs, corded and cordless control units, and systems certification services.

IFC Antennas and Radome Systems – Complete connectivity system solutions including Aircraft SATCOM Ku-band antenna systems, aircraft radomes, adapter plates, and other necessary system components.

Here is a link that outlines our offerings.

Power to Support IFE. In addition, we support inflight entertainment and connectivity for the airlines with integrated IFE seatback power systems. We also support the passengers in a BYOD environment by providing in-seat power systems to keep their devices charged while consuming content.

4.What features and benefits do the data and connectivity products from Astronics have over the competition?

Collaborative partner with product development, engineering, integration, and certification services for program success
Proven experience in the ecosystem – serve all major IFE ad IFEC providers with the most pertinent technology to provide a solution
Customer-centric solutions ranging from a simple LRU to an entire system
Breadth of product line, single supplier advantage
System agnostic hardware components, supports most IFE suppliers
Open architecture systems, putting the customer in control of their data
Vertically integrated engineering for fast solution deployment
Systems installation design, kitting, and certification, in house

5. Broadly speaking, how many aircraft have this type of your equipment installed today?

We have some systems with large installed bases, and some that are new to the market. Some of our product lines are on a few hundred aircraft, and in other connectivity product lines, we estimate that we supply about 85% of long haul aircraft. The numbers of installations, and the numbers of systems per aircraft, are not always reported back to us. In general, we estimate that Astronics connectivity and data solutions are in service on thousands of commercial aircraft worldwide.

6. We asked Mark what types of data and connectivity are provided. Specifically, is Astronics providing any other types of data connectivity besides passenger related – if any? Flight data, computational analysis, AI? And how is it used: on the aircraft, on the ground, both?

Here are the inputs from three of our various Division Presidents.

From Jon Neal, President of Astronics Ballard Technology: “Astronics Ballard Technology provides connectivity from aircraft data systems to pilot and crew devices. Through our aircraft interface device products including the webFB and webCS, we host applications that can process that aircraft data and provide useful information in real-time to pilots and crew as well as off the aircraft (with a connectivity system). We work with third party software developers that create helpful applications such as en-route optimizations, fuel savings, weather avoidance, electronic logbooks, data processing/analytics on the aircraft, storage of operational manuals/procedures, and many more. We also provide a Quick Access Recorder application that allows for collection of aircraft data to be downloaded off the aircraft later for analysis.”

From Michael Kuehn, President of Astronics Connectivity Systems and Certification (CSC): “Astronics CSC’s Summit Line of connectivity products serve up passenger connectivity on board the aircraft. Our offerings include servers, content loaders, cabin wireless access points, and other related equipment for the industry’s inflight entertainment providers. We estimate that over time, we have enabled the internet of flight with 16,000 LRUs plus 20 million IFEC cradle and cord reel assemblies in both linefit and retrofit installations.”

And from Matt Harrah, President of Astronics AeroSat: “Equipment from Astronics AeroSat bridges the connectivity on and off the plane to deliver passenger connectivity via Ku-band satellite networks (both traditional wide-beam and next generation HTS spot-beam satellites). Passengers use our bandwidth for internet streaming (emails, text, videos, movies, etc). Our FliteStream Series antennas come in both tail-mount and fuselage-mount versions and serve as today’s highest performing antenna technology, with a bandwidth/spectrum RF efficiency that provides the least impact to satellite network operators while providing cost benefits for aircraft operators. Astronics’ IFC system incorporates an open architecture, with the ability to work across satellite networks and minimize connectivity costs. Finally, our new AeroShield Radom System delivers the lowest drag to reduce fuel burn costs for aircraft operators with connectivity.”

7. Let us now continue with Mark: As a result of these company acquisitions that can deliver complete IFE systems, has this caused Astronics to rethink what and how you sell? In other words, some of the newer subsidiary acquisitions never sold directly to the airline, instead they were suppliers to other IFEC vendors. Is there a new strategy now? Along the same lines, historically when we have visited the Astronics booth at a trade show we would see various ‘boxes’ that help comprise an IFE system. Can we now expect to see an “Astronics IFE System(s)” in the near future?

Astronics intends to remain system agnostic and primarily support our partners in creating complete IFE systems. Our solutions enable global airlines, inflight connectivity providers, systems integrators, and airframe manufacturers to create seamless connectivity experiences.

8. Was there a future company strategy involved in the acquisition of companies involved in data, data analysis, data transmission/acquisition or did acquisitions happen more based on dollars and/or complimentary diversification to the existing business model?

Astronics looks opportunistically at companies that are available to acquire and certainly considers long-term strategy as part of our decision to move forward.

9. In the past, Astronics has been a data communicator. Do you see a future whereby Astronics is going to be a data analyzer? In other words, historically Astronics data efforts have been directed more toward passenger data. Do you see Astronics adding more data sources and considering data analysis? Furthermore, since around 1990, aviation has seen an increasing value of, and usage of data, to-and-from the aircraft. As technologies like Artificial Intelligence and massive data analysis have provided better analytical information of things like engines and onboard computers, the use of data both to-and-from the airplane is helping things like maintenance, failure prediction and longer operational usage. Thus, data is becoming a very new and important part of aircraft operations, fault isolation and monitoring. Add this to an increase of passenger usage of data to-and-from the plane will be another part of data growth. The only question is will the airplane use one or multiple data systems and connectivity to deliver the data to the ground? While passenger data has been primarily (we guess) Astronics connectivity reason, we were wondering if this new data avenue is part of your future data goals?

Astronics understands the importance of data and analytics. Our goal is to enable our airline and airframe customers to access their data, and use this data to run their operations more efficiently. We provide the hardware, firmware, and software to make this happen. Let’s hear from Jon Neal, President of Astronics Ballard Technology on this subject as well: “The choices of what networks to use on the aircraft along with the number and types of off-aircraft connectivity systems to implement are challenging issues that our customers face. Given our breadth of experience in aircraft data systems and the integration of various hardware systems to all work together, we believe that we are a great partner to our customers when navigating these choices.”

10. One or more of your recent subsidiary acquisitions have established manufacturing business relationships with China and Astronics has successfully marketed the EmPower product line to Chinese airlines over the years. As an industry leader with this much experience in the PRC, how do you see the recent trade disagreements between the USA and Chine affecting the IFEC industry as a whole?

Business climates can suddenly change. Trade disagreements can affect our industry, and we focus on ensuring our business offers a balanced global reach so that we can absorb the ebb and flow of these issues.

11. What will Astronics be showing at APEX in Boston?

At this year’s APEX Expo, Astronics will display a variety of power and connectivity solutions that improve passenger experiences and aircraft operational efficiencies. For seamless passenger and crew connectivity, Astronics will demonstrate a newly certified FliteStream inflight connectivity system hardware plus their Summit Line inflight entertainment system hardware. In power solutions, Astronics will present a breadth of new EmPower in-cabin products for use by passengers and crew, including a new wireless charging module and a new USB Type-C passenger power system. The Astronics SmartTray passenger PED holder will round out the offerings.

During the show, booth visitors who tweet a photo from the Astronics booth with the tag @AstronicsCorp and the hashtag #APEXexpo will be entered to win an iPad with an Apple store gift card to enjoy IFE content on the way home. View all of these solutions and enter to win in the Astronics booth, #343.

For additional information on Astronics power and connectivity solutions, visit Astronics.com.

Astronics also plans to demonstrate some brand new technologies, including an intelligent bin sensing solution, which provides bin capacity and other bin data to crews for increased safety, faster passenger boarding times, and improved operational efficiencies. The other new technology Astronics will feature is an exploration of Li-Fi, and ideas for harnessing it for use on aircraft. Li-Fi leverages light to send information, in contrast to Wi-Fi, which uses radio waves. Proven capable of transferring unprecedented data at several Gigabits per second, Li-Fi could eventually empower passengers to download an HD video in just a few seconds, for example.

INMARSAT & PANASONIC

Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) have agreed a strategic collaboration, for an initial ten-year period, that enables them to combine their highly complementary market leading services to offer broadband in-flight connectivity (“IFC”) paired with high-value solutions and services to customers in the commercial aviation industry worldwide.

This collaboration will enable airlines, aircraft manufacturers and passengers to benefit from the combined expertise of two companies that have been at the forefront of technology and innovation for nearly four decades.

Under the terms of the agreement, Inmarsat will become Panasonic’s exclusive provider of Ka-band IFC for commercial aviation. Panasonic will now be able to offer Inmarsat’s high-speed, broadband connectivity service, GX Aviation, powered by Global Xpress, the world’s first global Ka-band satellite network, owned and managed by a single operator. Panasonic will continue to invest in its own network and, with GX Aviation as a primary offering for new business, will be perfectly positioned to serve both its current and future customers.

In addition, Inmarsat will now be able to offer Panasonic’s market-leading portfolio of services and NEXT solutions to Inmarsat’s commercial aviation customers. This includes customer support services available from Panasonic’s Customer Performance Center and Technical Services teams.

The collaboration, which is already being deployed with a mutual customer, presents a unique opportunity to leverage Inmarsat’s proven track record of high-quality and innovative global mobile connectivity, and Panasonic’s market-leading in-flight entertainment, digital services and connectivity solutions.

Looking forward, Inmarsat and Panasonic will also collaborate on the development of a next generation GX Aviation terminal, as well as new connectivity-enabled services, data analytics and technology to improve overall end-to-end performance.
By delivering this step-change in aviation services capability, airlines will have access to new and better solutions that address widely recognized industry challenges of capacity, coverage and compatibility. This will give greater quality, consistency of experience and more choice to airlines and their passengers in the IFC market, which by some estimates could exceed $100 billion by 2035[1].

Posted by Patricia on Monday, September 24, 2018 at 4:08 am
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, communication, Connectivity, entertainment, IFE, IFEC, passengers, Wi-Fi

News From Rockwell Collins, Thales, Inmarsat and Others

Below is an update on the latest news since last week’s edition of IFExpress.

ROCKWELL COLLINS
Rockwell Collins has unveiled a new aviation resource management system to help airlines manage aircraft, fuel and cabin crew expenses and enable non-stop global operations.

The aviation resource management system is a turnkey, cloud-based platform comprised of modules that cover every aspect of an airline’s operations as well as a unified database. It enables operational data to flow seamlessly, accurately and in real time between airline functions, allowing the most cost-optimized use of resources as possible.

“Our aviation resource management system eliminates the need for airlines to connect disparate applications that were never designed to work together in the first place and replaces them with an integrated solution,” said Heament Kurian, head of Value Added Applications & Solutions and Strategic Partnership, Information Management Services for Rockwell Collins. “This means that if something like a flight delay occurs, data is automatically distributed to the impacted systems, improving airline personnel’s near-term scheduling and long-term planning abilities.”

The Rockwell Collins solution features a full suite of software-based applications that use prescriptive analytics to automatically recommend the best aircraft and cabin crew usage and greatly simplify the handling of disruptions.

The aviation resource management system complements the company’s ARINC Paxlink, a passenger service system that creates more efficient operations and enhances passenger satisfaction. “These solutions can be used independently or combined to simplify and cost-effectively connect operations from the back office all the way through to passenger-related activities, helping airlines of any size better manage their resources and expenses,” said Kurian.

The Rockwell Collins aviation resource management system is a collaboration with Laminaar Aviation Infotech, which designs and produces innovative solutions for the global aviation and airline markets.

THALES

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently acknowledged Thales’ performance in engineering, quality, reliability and product support as one of the company’s top performing suppliers. Thales was presented with this award at a ceremony held on June 3, in Savannah, Georgia. Fewer than one percent of Gulfstream suppliers were commended with a Supplier of the Year Award.

Thales began its relationship with Gulfstream in 2007 when it was selected to supply Fly-by-Wire Flight Control Electronics (FCE) for Gulfstream’s flagship aircraft, the Gulfstream G650. Thales’ advanced FCE solutions are also on the Gulfstream G500 and G600. The FCE ensures a smooth ride, superior performance and uncompromising attention to safety whilst reducing weight and optimizing volume. It consists of field-tested quad-dual digital flight control computers and one back-up flight control unit.

INMARSAT

Deutsche Telekom, one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies, and Inmarsat, the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, have been awarded the prestigious German Innovation Award for their highly successful joint venture, the European Aviation Network (EAN). It is the world’s first inflight broadband solution that combines dedicated satellite coverage with a complementary LTE-based ground network, was announced as the winner in the Aviation and Maritime Technologies category, during a ceremony in Berlin.The German Innovation Award was founded by the esteemed German Design Council and launched by German Parliament. Entries undergo a comprehensive evaluation that considers factors such as user benefits, economic feasibility, sustainability, technical quality and durability. Winners are therefore considered to be ‘best-of-the-best’ in their categories.Judged by a panel of high profile experts from various German industries, EAN was commended for its exceptional performance and the potential of the network to positively influence the future of air travel. The win follows EAN also recently being named ‘Best Inflight Connectivity Innovation’ by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).

EAN is available to both commercial airlines and business aviation aircraft across all 28 EU States, in addition to Norway and Switzerland. With the solution, passengers will experience high quality broadband in the skies and the increasingly congested European aviation industry can meet the accelerating demand of new data hungry generations. David Fox, Deutsche Telekom’s Vice President Inflight Services and Connectivity, said: “It is truly an honour for our network to be designated an ‘innovation made in Germany’, and being so named by the German Design Council is proof of the extraordinary value of EAN.”

SITA

SITA announced that it has been chosen by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) as the technology partner for biometric exit at Orlando International Airport. Orlando International is the first U.S. airport to fully deploy the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Biometric Entry and Exit Program. Over the coming months, SITA will integrate Smart Path, its sophisticated biometric technology, at the airport’s 30 international boarding gates.

Earlier this year, SITA worked with GOAA, British Airways and CBP to incorporate the U.S. biometric departure check for British Airways’ customers. The trial’s success has prompted airport-wide implementation of the technology. The system makes passenger boarding quicker and easier, while it also incorporates the new secure biometric exit checks. British Airways is boarding flights of almost 240 customers in around 15 minutes. With Smart Path, passengers just need to look at the camera, without having to present boarding passes or passports.

John Newsome, Chief Information Officer, GOAA, said: “Our decision to implement biometric exit checks across the whole airport follows a hugely successful live trial. The innovative boarding process we tested is really popular with passengers. They simply look at the camera and within seconds the gate opens and they can board the flight. It is easy, fast and most importantly, secure. The solution works on common-use boarding gates and can be easily used by the many international airlines that we serve at MCO.”

Diana Einterz, SITA President, Americas, said: “GOAA’s implementation of SITA Smart Path for the U.S. CBP biometric exit checks will deliver a simpler travel process for the airport’s six million annual international passengers. SITA is a world-leader in biometrics and we are committed to delivering secure seamless journeys for airline passengers globally. It is great to be GOAA’s technology partner as it becomes the first airport to fully implement biometrics for international flights from the U.S.”

Passengers can expect to enjoy 100% biometric boarding for international flights at Orlando International Airport by October. Over the next four months, SITA will integrate Smart Path at 64 boarding lanes, at 30 boarding gates across the airport. As part of the agreement, SITA will provide the technology solution, professional services, hardware and maintenance. This will be backed by SITA’s global service management, which supports the operational needs of the world’s top airports and airlines through 24/7 worldwide availability and proactive monitoring.

AIRBUS

AIRBUS finalized deal to acquire majority stake in C SERIES AIRCRAFT LIMITED PARTNERSHIP on July 1 (ahead of schedule) from Bombardier and Investissement Québec; head office, primary assembly line and related functions will remain in Québec and a second line is to open Mobile, AL

Airbus to acquire majority stake in the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership, effective July 1, 2018
All regulatory approvals required for the closing of the transaction have been obtained
Partnership head office, leadership team and primary final assembly line located in Mirabel, Québec (representing some 2,200 employees and subcontractors), with the support of the C Series global supply chain
Partnership brings together two complementary product lines, with 100-150 seat market segment projected to represent 6,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years
Addition of Airbus’ global reach to create significant value for C Series’ customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and communities
Significant C Series production efficiencies anticipated by leveraging Airbus’ production ramp-up expertise
Growing market for C Series to support second Final Assembly Line in Alabama, serving U.S. customers

Having received all required regulatory approvals, Airbus SE (EPA: AIR), Bombardier Inc. (TSX: BBD.B) and Investissement Québec (IQ) have agreed to close the C Series transaction effective on July 1, 2018. The transaction by which Airbus will acquire a majority stake in the C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP) was initially announced in October 2017. The Mirabel-based partnership, which was originally established between Bombardier and IQ, will benefit from Airbus’ global reach, scale, procurement organization and expertise in selling, marketing and producing the C Series – a state-of-the-art jet aircraft family in the 100-150 seat market. Airbus will work with its partners Bombardier and IQ to fully unlock the C Series’ potential and create significant new value for customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders and the communities in which the partnership operates. The partnership’s head office, primary assembly line and related functions will be based in Mirabel, Québec.

As previously announced, Bombardier will continue with its current funding plan of CSALP. Due to the early closing of the partnership, the terms of this plan are updated according to the following schedule: Bombardier will fund the cash shortfalls of CSALP, if required, during the second half of 2018, up to a maximum of US$225 million; during 2019, up to a maximum of US$350 million; and up to a maximum aggregate amount of US$350 million over the following two years, in consideration for non-voting participating shares of CSALP with cumulative annual dividends of 2%. Any excess shortfall during such periods will be shared proportionately amongst CSALP’s Class A shareholders. Airbus will consolidate CSALP effective from July 1, 2018 onwards. Further financial information on the transaction will be provided later this year.

The C Series program continues to ramp up. Having delivered 17 aircraft in 2017, it is gearing up to double its deliveries in 2018. With the C Series’ demonstrated in-service performance and the finalization of this partnership, the parties expect increased demand to support a second C Series Final Assembly Line in Mobile, Alabama, dedicated to supplying U.S.-based customers. The C Series is positioned to capture a large percentage of the estimated 6,000 aircraft needed in this market segment over the next 20 years.

Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said: “This partnership extends our commitment to Québec and to all of Canadian aerospace, and we are very glad to welcome so many C Series teammates into the extended Team Airbus. The strength of the entire Airbus organization will be behind the C Series. Not only will that enable this outstanding aircraft to fulfill its market potential, but we are convinced the addition of the C Series to our overall aircraft product offering brings significant value to Airbus, our customers and shareholders.”

OTHER NEWS

One of the best information articles – Ever – 19 Incredibly Useful Websites You’ll Wish You Knew Earlier
“We know a lot of you love your BOSE headphones because we have seen you use them on flights. But did you know you can use a plug in device on them to turn them into Bluetooth wireless listening devices? Just type in “AirMod” into Amazon and get the converter…and thank BOSE for using a plug-in wire for the source connection…”
We had never seen a good summary of the new action roles of management consultants till we read this article – Information, Expertise, Insight, and Execution: Killing Strategy: The Disruption Of Management Consulting
Skift’s Sean O’Neil just published what we consider as one of the best future looks at traveling with some 20 startups to watch in 20i8. Dont miss this article for the future hotshots of travel. As they note “No scooter startups or flying taxis. No blockchain-based dreams. And nothing from Silicon Valley — which hogs the spotlight enough as it is.” Skift’s Top Travel Startups to Watch 2018 – Skift
Here are 32 reasons (out of 10,000) why we love Japan: 32 Times the Japanese Were Light Years Ahead of the Game
Watch your phone videos privately on the plane with $20 googles! Check it out here

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at 5:23 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with airports, Aviation, communication, Connectivity, IFE, IFEC, Wi-Fi

Qatar Airways Commences Rollout of Inmarsat’s GX Aviation Inflight Broadband Service

Airline offering ‘super wifi’ on Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 fleet, marking an industry first for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

United Kingdom | April 30, 2018– Inmarsat (LON: ISAT), the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, announced today that its new GX Aviation inflight broadband service is currently being rolled out on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 aircraft.

Qatar Airways is the first airline in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to offer GX Aviation, the world’s first inflight broadband solution with reliable, seamless high-speed global coverage provided through a single operator. In total, the service will be equipped on more than 130 of the airline’s Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 aircraft.

The rollout follows a highly successful inflight test campaign across Qatar Airways’ global flight routes. As part of the service offering, passengers will now be offered one-hour of free access to GX Aviation, after which full-flight access can be affordably purchased.

Mr. Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Qatar Airways is renowned as one of the greatest innovators in global aviation with passengers being at the centre of everything they do. We are delighted that they are now pioneering our game-changing GX Aviation inflight broadband across the globe. This unprecedented service adds to the airline’s award-winning, five star onboard experience by allowing passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media and more during flights.”

His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, said: “In another first for the MENA region, Qatar Airways passengers can now enjoy high-speed broadband connectivity, providing rich content without restriction, whether using the internet for work or relaxation during their journey. Business travellers in particular will be able to maximise their ‘office in the sky’ with seamless continuity.”

Airlines connect to the GX network using exclusive new JetWave terminals produced by Honeywell Aerospace. The terminals are designed for ease of installation and maintenance to assure the lowest downtime for any cabin connectivity solution in the market, allowing installation with minimal labour and using standard tools available in maintenance hangars.

The rollout of GX Aviation follows a separate announcement that Qatar Airways has activated an advanced new space-based system, supplied by Inmarsat, to track all of its flights across the world. Inmarsat worked exclusively with Qatar Airways to develop this cutting-edge solution, which utilises Inmarsat’s market-leading satellite technology to provide the exact real-time location of the airline’s aircraft in latitude and longitude.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 2:37 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Broadband, communication, GX Aviation, Inmarsat, Qatar

SITA Wins ‘Service Provider of the Year’ Award

SITA recognized for providing IT and communication solutions to the air transport industry at 2018 Air Transport Industry Awards

Dubai | March 26, 2018–SITA has been named Service Provider of the Year in the prestigious annual Air Transport Awards held in Dubai. The winners are voted for by the readers of Air Transport News and a jury of international aviation experts, chaired by Henrik Hololei, Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission.

The Service Provider of the Year award was given to SITA in recognition of its role in providing IT and communication solutions globally to the air transport industry. SITA’s unique role as the community provider – being owned by the industry – means it has an unprecedented understanding of the industry’s requirements, combined with dedicated teams around the world which deliver services needed to keep people flying.

Barbara Dalibard, CEO, SITA said: “Being named as Service Provider of the Year at the 2018 Air Transport Awards is a significant achievement and a strong validation of our unwavering collaboration and contribution to the air transport community. To be selected by our industry peers for this award is testament that our continued focus on delivering real value to the community is both justified and valued by the industry.”

Nearly every passenger flight in the world relies on SITA technology. SITA works with the industry to provide technology solutions that make a difference. It innovates collaboratively, while developing and managing solutions over the world’s most extensive network, one that forms the communication backbone of the global air transport industry.

In recent months, SITA has taken the lead in the development of biometric solutions. This has included innovation solutions for airlines and airports as well as looking to the future uses of biometrics as the technology develops. A key innovation is SITA’s Smart Path^TM solution which allows passengers to use their biometric identity every step of the way.

The Air Transport Industry Awards were presented at a ceremony at the Burj al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with air transport, airports, communication, IT, SITA

Panasonic, PTS, SITAONAIR, and Other News

Before we start your IFExpress Hot Topic, we wanted to remind readers (especially advertisers) that AIX is coming soon and If you have show info you want to pass along, we are at your service! Now, lets get IFExpress started with some satcom deeds from Panasonic (see the above image):

Panasonic

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) and APT Mobile Satcom Limited (APSATCOM) announced a major evolution in connectivity for mobility markets – Extreme Throughput Satellite (XTS) service. APSATCOM is an affiliate of APT Satellite Company Limited (APT), the operator of the APSTAR satellite constellation. With this new satellite, the companies are building on a long-standing and successful capacity relationship.

The new satellite, APSTAR-6D, gives Panasonic the capacity to meet the needs of its customers and to position itself for sustained growth in the region. In addition, Panasonic will continue to optimize its global network and add more state-of-the-art satellite capacity in high-density regions to ensure industry-leading performance everywhere its customers fly.

APSTAR-6D was jointly designed by APSATCOM and Panasonic to best serve Panasonic’s connectivity customers. It is tailored to put capacity where it is most needed, rather than spread evenly over the Earth. APT has provided technical support in design and project management, and will provide satellite operation after launch. This XTS satellite will provide Panasonic customers with multiple gigahertz of new Ku-band capacity over China and high-density routes around East Asia including Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia using narrow XTS spot beams.

In addition, APSTAR-6D provides HTS coverage over the full field of view of the satellite including the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Australia and the Southern Oceans down to Antarctica. This includes areas not served by any other HTS satellite. Tailoring the capacity to areas of demand will provide Panasonic customers with better service, unprecedented coverage and the ability to dramatically increase throughput. One of the markets to benefit the most from XTS service is air transport. Today, 21 Asian carriers, representing over 800 aircraft, have already selected Panasonic for connectivity service, including many of the region’s leading airlines, such as Air China, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, China Airlines,China Eastern, China Southern, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Xiamen Airlines. In addition, other leading airlines around the world that are Panasonic connectivity customers will use this advanced satellite capacity as their aircraft fly routes to and over Asia.

Hideo Nakano, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, noted: “Today is a milestone moment as Panasonic leads the industry with plans for the next evolution in inflight connectivity. Targeted, flexible use of extreme high throughput capacity ensures that Panasonic can meet the needs of our airline customers for cost-effective and reliable high bandwidth services well into the future.”

This XTS satellite will be integrated into Panasonic’s recently launched third generation communications network, which is built to meet the growing connectivity demands of airlines and their passengers. This flexible network is designed to place capacity where it’s most needed across the globe to meet demand. Panasonic’s third generation communications network supports the provision of services such as fast internet, video streaming, VoIP applications, improved TV picture quality and broader channel choice, 4G phone services, and greater bandwidth for crew applications. The network is backed by Panasonic’s new Customer Performance Center, which drives improved network performance, greater reliability, and faster response and resolution times, along with business intelligence tools and reports that provide customers with the data and analytics to deliver and monitor targeted pricing and advertising campaigns.

Today, approximately 2,000 aircraft flying routes all around the world use Panasonic’s global high-speed inflight connectivity service. The company expects more than 10,000 aircraft to be connected to its world-class global high-speed communications network by 2025.

AIX – Passenger Technology Solutions

Passenger Technology Solutions (PTS), the brand new event focused on how technology can help create a seamless passenger journey, has today revealed the major companies and cutting-edge start-ups that will speak at the inaugural show.

The event, which takes place in Hamburg from 10 – 12 April, will explore how technology can be ‘in the DNA’ of the passenger journey, featuring speakers including Jorge De Luis Sierra, Cabin Interior Design Manager, Airbus, as well as representatives from Norwegian and US rail operator Amtrak.

PTS will also feature some of the most exciting disruptors and pioneers in the industry, with contributions from social listening experts Black Swan Data, design consultancy Reaktor and brand experience management agency branding.aero.

In addition to exploring travel’s most topical technologies, PTS will also showcase best practice: for example, the newly reopened Changi Airport, where the entire passenger journey is designed to be seamless and automated.

The event is co-located with existing events Passenger Experience Conference, Aircraft Interiors Expo and World Travel Catering and Onboard Services Expo, and is designed to offer a holistic view of the passenger experience, with speakers tackling trends such as big data, biometrics and artificial intelligence. Archana Sharma, Exhibition Director, Passenger Technology Solutions, said:

“Our program brings together established companies and brand new players to explore the most exciting and significant trends shaping travel today.It is designed to take attendees on a journey into the future, inspiring and educating them on how technology can create a truly seamless passenger experience. “We look forward to welcoming our speakers to Hamburg and to working with them in the meantime to ensure that the first show is a huge success.”

Gillian Jenner, Editorial Director, Passenger Technology Solutions, said: “My experience putting together speaker programs in this space goes back many years, but curating the line-up for PTS has been especially interesting. It has been an opportunity to ‘zoom out’ from specific technologies and trends to consider what these innovations can achieve when combined. “It is this focus on the bigger picture that I believe makes PTS a must-attend for anyone involved with passenger experience – whether in aviation, rail or one of the many other services that shape the journey.” For more information about the educational program at Passenger Technology Solutions, visit: www.passengertechnologysolutions.com/programme.

SITAONAIR

SITAONAIR is delivering a next-generation connected aircraft ‘smart core’ that will significantly enhance airline data communications and operations. The company has partnered with Astronics Ballard Technology to provide an integrated product solution using their new webCS® Wireless Aircraft Communications Server along with SITAONAIR’s e-enabled application software. This closely-integrated software and hardware solution greatly reduces deployment complexity and will bring even greater value to SITAONAIR’s airline customers – delivering enhanced capabilities and operational efficiencies – empowering airlines to realize the promises of the connected aircraft. The ‘smart core’ brings together the vast connected aircraft data collected by SITAONAIR’s e-Aircraft® DataCapture solutions for cockpit, cabin, and aircraft operations. It then distributes this SITAONAIR-processed data onboard using Astronics Ballard Technology’s flexible webCS, a smart AID/server/router that securely bridges avionics data with wired and wireless networks in a single compact box. Today’s offering of an integrated product will further enhance airline customers’ data management approach. The combination of SITAONAIR’s established portfolio of passenger, crew and flight operations solutions with Astronics Ballard Technology’s innovative hardware and strong technical expertise in the area of aircraft avionics interfacing, will form a central pillar of airlines’ connectivity and e-enablement strategies, delivered to airlines as a managed service.

Next, An industry-leading weather-alerting feature, empowering flight dispatchers to avoid or anticipate weather disruption throughout flights, has been launched as a new feature of SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM® FlightTracker, in partnership with DTN.

Airline dispatchers using AIRCOM® FlightTracker will now be equipped to help aircraft avoid inclement weather – including aircraft-specific turbulence, icing, and thunderstorm forecasts – supporting the smoothest and safest possible flight experience for those onboard, and maximizing fuel efficiency. Already adopted by airlines operating more than 250,000 flights every month, SITAONAIR’s AIRCOM® FlightTracker is a ground-based software system delivering vital global real-time aircraft position alerting to airline operations teams. The application aggregates the best available inflight position data from a wealth of sources – including cutting-edge spaced-based ADS-B provided by FlightAware and Aireon using the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation – on a single aircraft position display. What’s more, no modifications to the aircraft are required to activate it. Interest in FlightTracker, and its enhanced, 100% global minute-by-minute update capabilities, is accelerating as the industry counts down to the ICAO GADSS 15-minute flight-tracking recommendation, coming into force in November 2018. The incorporation of DTN’s Flight Route Alerting data represents an important addition to the solution, making it indispensable to flight operators in their flight planning and flight following.

SITA

ITAPassengers flying with British Airways from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London Gatwick are enjoying a secure and seamless departure with new biometric boarding at the gate. A quick photo is all that is needed to board the international flight – no passport, no boarding card – thanks to innovative technology. SITA, the global air transport IT provider, integrated automated boarding gates with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and airline’s IT systems to allow the necessary checks and authorize boarding.

This is a joint initiative by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), British Airways and CBP to incorporate the US biometric departure (exit) check for passengers as smoothly as possible. SITA, using its extensive airline and airport expertise, has ensured fast and easy implementation for the airport and airline. By merging the usual boarding procedures with the CBP biometric exit check, SITA is delivering a smooth experience for passengers. A quick photograph taken at the gate is used to confirm passengers’ identities and authorization to travel.

Rockwell Collins

Norwegian Air will feature Arthur Collins, the founder of Rockwell Collins, as a “tailfin hero” on the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner aircraft throughout 2018. Collins joins over 80 other tailfin heroes depicted on Norwegian aircraft since the airline began operations in 2002.

“Norwegian is a technology-progressive airline that’s pushed aviation forward by challenging industry norms,” said David Nieuwsma, senior vice president, Information Management Services for Rockwell Collins. “It has embodied a spirit of adventure and accomplishment, which is quite fitting with Arthur Collins’ legacy.”

“Our tailfin hero program was created to honor individuals who have pushed boundaries, made a difference and inspired others,” said Thomas Ramdahl, chief commercial officer at Norwegian. “Through our partnership with Rockwell Collins, we learned of Arthur Collins’ story, whose innovative spirit reflects those characteristics, making him a perfect tailfin hero and part of the Norwegian family.”

Collins, born September 9, 1909, was an electronics enthusiast from a young age. At the age of 15, he was an avid ham radio operator making contact with other ham operators around the world. He founded Collins Radio Company in the basement of his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which was formally incorporated in 1933. The company, renamed Rockwell Collins in 1973, initially designed and produced shortwave radio equipment, but has grown to become a leader in cockpit, cabin, communication and connectivity solutions provided by nearly 30,000 employees worldwide. His full story can be found here.

Thales

GSA and Thales launch the EDG²E project to further optimize aviation navigation with Galileo. The European Union’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) has officially launched the EDG²E project (Equipment for Dual frequency Galileo GPS and EGNOS) with a consortium led by Thales. This four-year project intends to develop a dual-frequency multi-constellation receiver, enabling enhanced navigation capabilities, support standardization and certification preparation. The consortium includes Thales, Thales Alenia Space and ATR, as well as contributions from Dassault Aviation and the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

Other News

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We will have to see this on an airplane sometime in the future – One of the main areas in which a lot of 5G development is progressing is on mmWave techniques. However another area that needs to be considered is light communications. A company named pureLiFi has developed a very effective in home or in-office link using light communications. With bandwidth of many systems being a limiting factor, this could prove to be a airplane winner. Technology – pureLiFi
Today, Boeing employees gathered around the 10,000 B737 MAX 8 for Southwest Airlines, which has broken the Guinness World Record title for the most produced commercial jet aircraft model.
And lastly, remember, success is what you do internally, not externally! The Reason You’re Not Successful Is Because You Don’t Want To Admit This 1 Thing | Inc.com

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 5:33 pm
Filed under Hot Topics · Tagged with Airlines, Aviation, Broadband, communication, passengers, Satcom, Satellite, Wi-Fi

SITAONAIR to Deliver Next-Generation Connect Aircraft ‘Smart Core’

France | March 12, 2018–SITAONAIR is delivering a next-generation connected aircraft ‘smart core’ that will significantly enhance airline data communications and operations. The company has partnered withAstronics Ballard Technology to provide an integrated product solution using their new webCS® Wireless Aircraft Communications Server along with SITAONAIR’s e-enabled application software.

This closely-integrated software and hardware solution greatly reduces deployment complexity and will bring even greater value to SITAONAIR’s airline customers – delivering enhanced capabilities and operational efficiencies – empowering airlines to realize the promises of the connected aircraft.

The ‘smart core’ brings together the vast connected aircraft data collected by SITAONAIR’s e-Aircraft® DataCapture solutions for cockpit, cabin, and aircraft operations. It then distributes this SITAONAIR-processed data onboard using Astronics Ballard Technology’s flexible webCS, a smart AID/server/router that securely bridges avionics data with wired and wireless networks in a single compact box.

SITAONAIR already plays a central airline e-enablement and data management role, in an age where the volume of data generated by aircraft has sky-rocketed from five parameters in 1958, to more than 200,000 today. As testament to its expertize, SITAONAIR last year launched its pioneering e-Aircraft® DataCapture solution – a result of the company’s collaboration with Air France to deliver ‘virtual black box’ flight recording solutions for automatic data collection.

Today’s offering of an integrated product will further enhance airline customers’ data management approach. The combination of SITAONAIR’s established portfolio of passenger, crew and flight operations solutions with Astronics Ballard Technology’s innovative hardware and strong technical expertise in the area of aircraft avionics interfacing, will form a central pillar of airlines’ connectivity and e-enablement strategies, delivered to airlines as a managed service.

Dominique El Bez, SITAONAIR Vice President, Product and Strategy, says: “Our new partnership marks an evolution in SITAONAIR’s e-enablement strategy and is a true hallmark of the connected aircraft age. The arrival of our smart core for an intuitive, integrated connected aircraft reinforces SITAONAIR’s pioneering open platforms vision, by encompassing complete, flexible and scalable aircraft data management solutions both onboard and on the ground.”

Jon Neal of Astronics Ballard Technology says: “We are extremely pleased to be selected by SITAONAIR to provide the secure platform on which to build this total e-enablement solution. We share their desire to allow airline customers to access their data to enable and empower better decision-making that will streamline and transform their operations.”

To explore the SITAONAIR connected aircraft portfolio, including its e-Aircraft DataCapture®, AppsConnect® and ACARS over IP services, visit www.sitaonair.aero, speak to your local SITAONAIR contact or submit an enquiry form.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 4:03 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airline, Astronics, communication, data, SITAOnAir, smart core, webCS, wireless

GSA and Thales Launch the EDG2E Project to Further Optimize Aviation Navigation with Galileo

France | March 8, 2018–The European Union’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA) has officially launched the EDG2E project (Equipment for Dual frequency Galileo GPS and EGNOS) with a consortium led by Thales. This four-year project intends to develop a dual-frequency multi- constellation receiver, enabling enhanced navigation capabilities, support standardisation and certification preparation. The consortium includes Thales, Thales Alenia Space and ATR, as well as contributions from Dassault Aviation and the French Civil Aviation Authority (DGAC).

The GNSS receiver is the cornerstone of aircraft navigation systems. The system processes signals from satellite constellations and the Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS) to accurately determine aircraft position, altitude and velocity. The prototype receiver developed under the auspices of the EDG2E project will use signals from US GPS and European Galileo positioning systems, as well as from SBAS multi-constellation EGNOS. The project aims to achieve a prototype demonstration by 2021. The prototype receiver performance will be evaluated during a flight test campaign performed by ATR using one of the company’s test aircraft.

Initiated by the European Commission’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems Agency (GSA), the EDG2E project will support the launch of the Galileo satellite constellation.

Philippe Benquet VP R&T for Flight Avionics, Thales declared: “Leading the EDG2E project puts Thales at the forefront of the next generation receivers which will equip future aircraft by 2025, making navigation more precise and thus safer, unleashing the potential for increased air traffic”.

EGNOS has been certified for use in aviation since February 2011, and is a very effective system to complement the US GPS, in order to provide better levels of performance, consequently enhancing aircraft approach capabilities. The next generation of EGNOS, called EGNOS V3, will further enhance performance by complementing both the EU Galileo and the US GPS satellite navigation constellations.

“EGNOS v3 will provide aviation users with an increased quality of services, better accuracy and extended coverage area among other key performance indicators” said Jean-Marc Pieplu (GSA Head of EGNOS Services Programme). Fundamental Element Programme is a medium that supports development of terminals and antennae fostering use of E-GNSS in all domains. In this perspective, EDG2E is an important step for GSA as it will contribute to availability of high technology products on the aviation market, taking benefit of Dual Frequency Multi Constellation feature offered by EGNOS v3”.

At the end of the EDG2E project, a new standard for GPS Galileo and SBAS aviation receivers will be completed, and the first SBAS dual-frequency GPS Galileo receivers for aviation will be ready for final development and provide safer operations not only for the aviation sector but also for other safety-critical applications.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, March 13, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Aviation, communication, dual-frequency, Galileo GPS, GSA, multi-constellation, Satcom, Thales

Lufthansa Again Selects SITA to Support Its Service Center Communication Network

SITA infrastructure supports more than 11-million customer interactions every year

Frankfurt, Germany | January 15, 2018– Lufthansa InTouch, responsible for managing customer service across the Lufthansa Group, has again selected SITA to manage its service center communication network and key infrastructure elements, ensuring that more than 11-million customers are connected to service agents every year.

SITA, a long-standing partner to Lufthansa InTouch, will continue to manage and maintain its service center communication network and key infrastructure to meet the airline group’s constantly evolving needs. SITA supports more than 500 local numbers in more than 90 markets, efficiently delivering traffic via a global IP network across seven service centers managed by a team of 2,230 staff speaking more than 30 languages.

The service provided by SITA has transformed how customer calls to Lufthansa Group airlines are handled. A close integration between SITA’s global voice network and Lufthansa InTouch’s Genesys contact center platform, ensures a caller – regardless of their location – is automatically and directly routed to a consultant best equipped to meet their specific requirements. These calls are allocated according to the routing policies defined by Lufthansa InTouch on their Genesys platform.

Through this optimization, Lufthansa InTouch has benefited from savings in transmission costs of up to 20% as well as significantly improved call quality, notably by eliminating forwarding of calls between sites.

SITA’s Unified Communications portfolio has allowed Lufthansa InTouch to consolidate voice, data and audio into one platform while effectively connecting the airline to its far-flung destinations.

Erik Mosch, CEO of Lufthansa InTouch, said: “Our customer service consultants at Lufthansa InTouch are the main point of contact for all our passengers across Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian airlines. They represent the airline and are there to assist passengers 24 hours a day – whether by phone, email, chat or social media. Supporting this fast-moving organization requires a partner we can rely on. SITA is such a partner, ensuring that our customers are quickly connected to an agent that can assist them in their own language in every market we fly to.”

Sergio Colella, SITA President for Europe, said: “We have leveraged our global experience and footprint to provide a service that is able to meet the evolving needs of Lufthansa InTouch. We understand that technologies change, new destinations are added and passengers shift the way they communicate. Our strength is to meet those changes with the most efficient communication infrastructure that supports an effective interaction with each of their customers.”

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 3:28 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airlines, airports, communication, Frankfurt, InTouch, Lufthansa, SITA

Panasonic Avionics Unveils Third Generation Satellite Communication Network

Substantially increased bandwidth, greater reliability, enhanced network management and new operational tools

Las Vegas | January 8, 2018–Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) has today introduced a major evolution of its satellite connectivity service with the introduction of its third generation communications network.

Panasonic’s third generation network is built to meet the growing connectivity demands of airlines and their passengers. Throughout the first quarter of 2018, aircraft from a number of airlines will be transitioned to Panasonic’s new network. In addition, Panasonic subsidiary, ITC Global, will leverage Panasonic’s new broadband network to deliver connectivity to its energy, maritime and enterprise customers.

Hideo Nakano, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation, says: “Our new satellite communications network is more than just greater bandwidth – it represents a major evolution in our approach to partnering with customers to deliver the highest standards of service and to ensure that their passengers enjoy an unmatched, connected experience inflight.”

The new communications network is built on Panasonic’s high throughput satellite service, which today covers all dense mobility traffic areas around the globe with high throughput spot beams and wide overlay beams that support Panasonic’s global inflight television service. When combined with the rollout of the company’s new satellite modem, developed in conjunction with Newtec, Panasonic now offers bandwidth up to twenty times greater than previously available. This supports the provision of services such as fast internet, video streaming, VoIP applications, improved TV picture quality and a broader channel choice, the capability to offer 3G phone services, and greater bandwidth for crew applications.

The network is backed by a range of new measures Panasonic has launched to provide higher levels of support to its customers. These initiatives are channelled through Panasonic’s new Customer Performance Center, which drives enhanced network performance, reduced outage times, and faster response and resolution times for all customer inquiries.

The Customer Performance Center offers a range of value-added services including traffic shaping tools, live monitoring and management of the user experience, and Panasonic’s ZeroTouch™ service, which enables real-time content loading, validation and management.

Additionally, Panasonic is offering new business intelligence tools and reports that provide customers with the data and analytics to deliver targeted pricing and advertising campaigns.

Today, over 1,800 aircraft flying routes all around the world use Panasonic’s global high-speed inflight connectivity service. The company expects more than 10,000 aircraft to be connected to its world-class global high-speed communications network by 2025.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 3:59 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airlines, Aviation, Broadband, communication, IFE, IFEC, Satellite

SITAONAIR and DECEA Working Together to Extend ATS Datalink Services in Brazil

December 5, 2017–Further enhancing aviation safety and efficiency in Brazil’s airspace, air navigation service provider, the Department of Airspace Control (DECEA), is working with SITAONAIR to expand ATS datalink services for main airports in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

Following previous successful datalink installations, DECEA is expanding ATS datalink services for departure clearance (DCL) and digital ATIS (d-ATIS) for control towers at both Santos Dumont and Campinas airports.

The announcement marks an important step in the country’s role as the regional datalink pioneer, and will play a central role in the wider transformation and modernization program currently taking place across Brazilian airspace and airport infrastructure.

The latest upgrade program follows SITAONAIR’s successful introduction of datalink technology across 23 Brazilian airports in preparation for the World Cup and the Rio Olympics. Since then, Brazilian airlines such as TAM, GOL and Azul are leading the way, representing nearly 91% of total generated traffic. In total, more than 3.5 million d-ATIS and DCL messages are transmitted every year.

Brig. Luis Ricardo Nascimento, Head of Operations at DECEA says: “Following the major success of our existing airport datalink services, we are pleased to be working with SITAONAIR again to further expand services to important regional and international aviation hubs at Santos Dumont and Campinas airports.

“Our relationship with SITA, and now SITAONAIR, stretches back to the deployment of an ACARS VHF system in 1985, and we are very happy to continue making use of SITAONAIR’s vast aviation experience today.

“The latest expansion of ATS datalink services with SITAONAIR underlines both the strength of our relationship and our commitment to make flying in Brazil even safer, more reliable and more efficient.”

François Bardin, Director Air Traffic Solutions at SITAONAIR, added: “SITAONAIR is delighted to work with DECEA as it continues its transformation program, and we hope that this will encourage other ANSPs in the region to adopt a similar strategy.

“As well as the benefits to DECEA itself, the latest announcement marks another important step in the region’s connected aircraft revolution, allowing airlines and passengers in Brazil an even greater level of safety and efficiency.

“By improving the accuracy of their communications and allowing information to be transmitted at any stage of the flight, workloads for both air traffic controllers and pilots will be reduced – ultimately delivering an improved service for the ever-increasing volume of passengers in the region.”

To find out about SITAONAIR’s connected aircraft portfolio, visit www.sitaonair.aero, speak to your local SITAONAIR contact or submit an enquiry form online.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airlines, airports, Aviation, communication, data, IT

Evolving ACARS Landscape is Backbone of Connected Aircraft Age

France | November 1, 2017–An evolving multi-link ACARS landscape, embracing cutting-edge cockpit connectivity and solid VHF foundations, will remain the backbone of the aviation industry for the foreseeable future. So saysSITAONAIR, global leader in aviation operational and ATC communications, in its latest white paper, ACARS: Timeless tech for the connected aircraft age.

With a staggering 7.2 billion passengers expected to take to the skies in 2035, according to IATA projections, SITAONAIR’s latest report argues that driving the evolution and diversification of its ACARS technologies is key to empowering the industry to negotiate an increasingly crowded airspace.

SITAONAIR recently announced major partnerships with Inmarsat and Teledyne Controls that illustrate the adaptability of ACARS capabilities for emerging technologies, reflecting and supporting the diverse global aviation community in the connected aircraft age.

SITAONAIR has added Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband-Safety (SB-S) to its portfolio; an ACARS-reliant next-generation flight deck communications platform giving airlines a dedicated IP connectivity service supporting enhanced safety and operational efficiency.

Working with Teledyne Controls, SITAONAIR is delivering the aviation industry’s first-ever airline-integrated ACARS datalink terrestrial cellular 3G/4G service. Employing Teledyne Controls’ GroundLink® Comm+ system, SITAONAIR is able to integrate terrestrial cellular services into its core datalink network, giving airlines the flexibility and benefit of another transmission channel for aircraft communications.

Meanwhile, VHF, VDL and legacy networks continue to be adopted, advanced, and work alongside these alternate technologies, around the world. Among these significant programs, detailed in the white paper, SITAONAIR has upgraded Europe’s primary ATC-airline communications network, delivering Europe’s first Multi-Frequency (MF) Very High Frequency Digital Link mode 2 (VDLm2) infrastructure. In March 2017 the Czech Republic’s Air Navigation Service Provider, ANS CR, appointed SITAONAIR to deliver a “communication gateway” to Prague Airport and others – through its ACARS network.

The company’s VHF/VDL network has also established an important new aircraft communications infrastructure in developing parts of the world, with more than 50 sites established in Brazil prior to the Rio Olympic Games.

Evolving ACARS landscape

Paul Gibson, Portfolio Director, AIRCOM at SITAONAIR, explains: “SITAONAIR’s ACARS network continues to evolve from its VHF origins, embracing satellite services, VHF and higher-speed VHF Digital Link (VDL), to deal with the steady rise in air traffic.

“Our recent announcement with Inmarsat on our adoption of SwiftBroadband-Safety to our wide-ranging connected aircraft portfolio will prove critical. We’re excited about the potential SB-S will bring to enable us to further innovate new, and enhance our existing, services and solutions, around a dedicated, secure IP connection to the cockpit.

“SITAONAIR is taking strides to ensure the ACARS network is evolving in tandem with the digital age, to enable message transmission using alternate technologies. Traditional ACARS and ACARS over IP will have a mutually important role to play in the ground-to-air connectivity landscape. Whether supporting the transmission of millions of ACARS messages exchanged every day, advancing Brazil’s complete VHF and VDL datalink network ahead of the Rio Olympics, or launching a next-generation flight deck IP communications platform, SITAONAIR is and will remain central to our industry’s ACARS story.”

ACARS remains heavily integrated into the ground systems of most airlines. Huge volumes of vital aircraft data come to and from aircraft via ACARS messaging, with 220 airlines now relying on SITAONAIR’s multi-link ACARS technology. The white paper highlights why ACARS, in its diversity, remains the most reliable, efficient and cost-effective ground-to-air messaging system, with SITAONAIR as its core service provider.

To find out more, download the full white paper, ACARS: Timeless tech for the connected aircraft age.

To explore the SITAONAIR connected aircraft portfolio, visit www.sitaonair.aero, speak to your local SITAONAIR contact orsubmit an enquiry form online.

Posted by Patricia on Saturday, November 4, 2017 at 5:40 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with ACARS, ATC, Aviation, communication, IT, navigation, operations, surveillance

Inmarsat Certified for Jet ConneX Inflight Wi-Fi Installations on Gulfstream G550 Aircraft

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for installation of Honeywell JetWave™ system will provide access to next generation Wi-Fi service on popular business jet

October 12, 2017–Inmarsat (ISAT.L), the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, announced today that its Jet ConneX business aviation inflight Wi-Fi service has received a Supplement Type Certificate (STC) for the popular Gulfstream G550 aircraft.

The certificate, awarded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), approves Gulfstream G550 business jets to be equipped with the exclusive JetWave™ antenna and terminal, produced by Inmarsat partner Honeywell. The system enables seamless access to Jet ConneX high-speed Wi-Fi across major flight routes and islands off the beaten path, allowing passengers to browse the web, stream live television, video conference and more.

Following more than a year of investment in development and testing, initial installations on G550 aircraft are now underway. Gulfstream, in cooperation with Inmarsat and Honeywell, is currently conducting in-service evaluation and final terminal Type Approval activities.

Kurt Weidemeyer, Vice President of Business Aviation at Inmarsat, said: “The Gulfstream G550 community has been eagerly awaiting this Jet ConneX installation approvaland has told us about their desire to have a powerful global high-speed Wi-Fi solution for their principals. Many are heavy users of Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband solution and are happy with the service reliability but are now looking to upgrade to a next-generation network that is fast enough to handle the demands of today’s applications.”

Honeywell is the exclusive provider of JetWave™ hardware and played an integral role in supporting the Gulfstream G550 STC.

Warren Nechtman, Vice President of Connected Aircraft Systems at Honeywell, commented: “Honeywell worked closely with Gulfstream to successfully integrate the JetWave™ hardware into the existing G550 architecture. However the real credit goes to the Gulfstream team who worked expeditiously to bring Jet ConneX to their customers. They did it in record time.”

Jet ConneX is the only global, high-speed Wi-Fi option available for business jets today. It offers the same fast and reliable on-board connectivity experience comparable to the mobile broadband services they may receive on the ground. Using Inmarsat’s advanced Ka-band satellite network, Jet ConneX offers data plans up to 15Mbps and consistent global coverage, providing a differentiator to do business whenever and wherever.

Posted by Patricia on Monday, October 16, 2017 at 2:42 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Broadband, Business Aviation, communication, Wi-Fi

Air Transat Turns to SITA to Enable Fast Route Development

SITA’s local presence, combined with reliable global service, provides the airline with flexibility

Montreal, Canada | October 4, 2017–Air Transat, Canada’s number one holiday travel airline, has turned to SITA to support its route development in airports across the Caribbean, South and Central America. A fast time to market is key to the airline’s success and SITA delivers communications network services at new destinations quickly.

Air Transat faces challenges to uniformly connect and equip its staff across all destinations. Regardless of where it flies, it must have reliable network connectivity to access its applications. Over the next three years, SITA will provide Air Transat with network connectivity in Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico and Panama.

Many smaller and low-cost airports do not have common-use equipment and hardware has to be provided by the airline. However, it is not easy to transport computers in and out of countries quickly or have support staff available immediately to service the equipment; it’s also costly to store equipment in the off-season when not needed. SITA will provide end-user computing services to manage this challenge, allowing Air Transat to add new seasonal destinations quickly and smoothly.

Martin Lachance, Director, IT Solutions, Air Transat, said: “SITA has delivered a solution tailored exactly to our business needs. This is a combination of SITA’s network connectivity with global presence and local support, simplified billing, and fast streamlined implementation across our ever-changing seasonal network. SITA’s uniform global service—driven by a comprehensive service level agreement with standardized equipment and processes—controls costs and simplifies billing, giving us the flexibility we demand in our business.”

SITA has solved both problems of equipping staff and providing connectivity wherever Air Transat flies. Its global presence at airports and relationships with local governments enabled SITA to provide a turnkey solution. This included everything from customs clearance of laptops; deployment of the equipment once on-site; remotely supporting the equipment; maintenance and repair; spares provision; decommissioning; storage in the off-season if needed; and Internet/network connectivity. SITA’s global team of engineers have specific air transport industry and end-user computing experience and knowledge that allows them to efficiently support the Air Transat team in every location.

Randy Pizzi, SITA President, Americas, said: “SITA is excited to partner with Air Transat to deliver services that support the flexibility this dynamic business requires. The combination of our end-user computing services and reliable network availability allows Air Transat to save time and control costs while ensuring high levels of service and site management.”

Air Transat is a Canadian leisure airline based in Montreal, Quebec, operating scheduled and charter flights that serve about 60 destinations in 26 countries. In 2016, Air Transat was named Best North American Leisure Airline for the fifth consecutive year by Skytrax. In 2017, the airline is celebrating its 30th anniversary in business and its 30th year as a SITA member.

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 3:30 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Airlines, communication, Connectivity, IT, network, SITA

First Airline In Latin America: Avianca Will Offer In-Flight Internet

Inmarsat’s GX Aviation selected to arrive in Latin America in association with Avianca, strengthening the airline’s leadership in digitalization of in-flight services

Bogota and London | June 22, 2017– Avianca and Inmarsat today announced the signing of an agreement that will allow travelers to enjoy the most advanced broadband technology onboard its aircraft.

With this project, Avianca becomes the first airline in Latin America to make its aircraft available for the provision of GX Aviation, the new and advanced solution developed by Inmarsat to offer Wi-Fi to passengers and cabin crew during flights.

GX Aviation is the first in-flight broadband solution from one operator with reliable and high-speed global coverage from a single operator, allowing Avianca’s passengers to browse the internet, stream videos, check social media and more during flights. A new in-flight connectivity experience that’s in a class of its own.

GX Aviation will initially be available to all Avianca passengers on approximately 125 Airbus A320, A330 and Boeing 787 aircraft, with the potential for additional aircraft to be provisioned at a later date. Avianca’s GX-equipped aircraft are currently expected to be rolled out starting at the end of the year.

Hernan Rincon, Chief Executive Officer of Avianca, said: “Today, technology is one of Avianca’s fundamental pillars. Therefore, and to allow our travelers to be always connected, we have signed an agreement that will enable us to continue advancing in our digital transformation with the support of Inmarsat.”

Leo Mondale, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “GX Aviation is now live as the most advanced in-flight connectivity solution in the world. It has been specifically designed from the ground up as a seamless and robust service for airlines and their passengers, overcoming the shortcomings of traditional in-flight internet providers. The rapid uptake from airlines is evidence of the market’s confidence, with launch customers signed in key regions such as Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Australasia and now, Latin America.”

He added: “Avianca understands that its passengers and cabin crew today expect a consistent, reliable and fast in-flight broadband service wherever they fly. GX Aviation is also scalable with the high growth expected in Latin America over the next decade.”

Posted by Patricia on Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 2:29 pm
Filed under News Releases · Tagged with Avianca, Broadband, communication, GX Aviation, IFEC, Inmarsat

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