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Airservices Australia Cancels ADS-B Avionics RNP
Airservices Australia has canceled its RNP (request for proposal) process to purchase and install a quantity of ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) avionics, saying it couldn't, "in good faith continue with the RFP while important issues about the introduction of ADS-B technology in lieu of en route radars remain unresolved."

Rockwell Collins' Next Generation MultiScan Has Five New Features
Rockwell Collins says the latest version of its MultiScan Hazard Detection System has five new features that add important new capabilities not previously available.

Harris Transitions FAA's Bulk Weather Service to FTI Network
The Harris Corporation says it has completed the transition of the FAA's Bulk Weather Telecommunications Gateway service to its FTI (FAA telecommunications infrastructure) network.

Cathay Pacific Renews ARINC Datalink Contract
Cathay Pacific Airways has renewed its datalink contract with ARINC.

Kuwait to Deploy SITA Advanced Passenger Processing System
SITA will deploy its new passenger processing system designed to decrease passenger handling delays while increasing security at Kuwait International.

Boeing Confirms It's Considering Dropping Connexion
In a press release issued yesterday, Boeing confirmed that it is "taking a series of near-term actions [to accelerate its] evaluation of options for the future of its Connexion by Boeing high-speed broadband communications business."

Verizon Dropping Out of Inflight Phone Service
The Associated Press is reporting that Verizon Airfone intends to discontinue its seat-back telephone service on airliners before the end of the year.

OnAir Selects Monaco Telecom as Ground Infrastructure Partner
OnAir has selected Monaco Telecom to be its ground infrastructure partner.  Monaco Telecom will supply and operate key ground components of the OnAir network, and will assist OnAir in establishing roaming agreements with mobile operators and GSM (global system for mobile) service providers in Europe and other markets.

Lockheed Martin and Embry-Riddle Team on Airport Technology Testbed
Lockheed Martin says it has teamed with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to create an airport technology test bed at Daytona Beach, Florida, to investigate new interoperability and information sharing concepts.

SITA Launches Air Transport Industry VOIP Exchange
SITA has launched what it describes as a "voice exchange" for the air transport industry (ATI) that will deliver "VoIP peering" which completely bypasses traditional PSTNs (public switched telephone networks) for calls within the community.

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Airservices Australia Cancels ADS-B Avionics RNP

Airservices Australia has canceled its RNP (request for proposal) process to purchase and install a quantity of ADS-B (automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) avionics, saying it couldn't, "in good faith continue with the RFP while important issues about the introduction of ADS-B technology in lieu of en route radars remain unresolved."

At the same time, however, the Australian provider of air navigation services reaffirmed its commitment to the introduction of ADS-B in its upper level airspace following a successful trial of the technology in the Burnett Basin in Queensland.

In explaining its decision, Airservices said that replacing en route radars with ADS-B technology in lower-lever airspace is "a significantly more complex matter than upper level airspace, and raises a number of operational and policy issues that require resolution before a decision to proceed can be made; and it needs more time to consider the costs, timeframe and implementation issues."

The announcement was met with consternation among avionics suppliers.  In Sydney's newspaper, The Australia, Steve Creedy wrote Airservices "backflip... has angered avionics companies bidding to develop and supply equipment for the new system, and hands millionaire aviator Dick Smith a victory in his long-running airspace campaign."  Dick Smith, who is also a former chairman of Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, has been a vocal critic of the technology, and has recently claimed that a hacker using inexpensive gear could create false aircraft returns to appear on a controller's screen, thus creating "total chaos."

But one small, unidentified, company complained it had spent more than $100,000 and many hours working on the project after an enthusiastic endorsement of its benefits by Airservices, according to Creed's account.

Airservices, however, insisted there is still "broad stakeholder support for the benefits of ADS-B technology," even though it felt compelled to take this action.

Richard Dudley, a spokesman for Airservices, said "It's more the policy issues rather than operational issues," and noted that questions such as who would pay the cost of installing the transponders needed by the new system in general aviation aircraft, had to be addressed. "In using ADS-B in lieu of en-route radars we have a situation where we need to go out and consult far more widely,"  Mr.  Dudley conceded.  06-28-2006.  (Top)

Rockwell Collins' Next Generation MultiScan Has Five New Features

Rockwell Collins says the latest version of its MultiScan Hazard Detection System has five new features that add important new capabilities not previously available.

The next-generation system's foundation is its Directed Sequential Hazard Assessment, Rockwell says, which uses a combination of horizontal and vertical scans to adjust the radar's frequency, wave length and pulse-width parameters, to better evaluate the specific weather's threat potential. The assessment provides pilots with better information on storm height, growth rate and turbulent potential.

The system's Flight Path Hazard Analysis combines the Assessment information with the aircraft's projected route.

A Predictive Overflight Protection feature measures a storm's growth rate and then makes a prediction on whether the storm or the clear air turbulence bubble above a developing storm cell will reach the aircraft's flight level, which is also graphically displayed to the crew.

The tops of pertinent cells are estimated by the system's Storm Top Information which uses MultiScan algorithms to make the determination and present the information on the aircraft's navigation display.

In addition the system has an Enhanced Turbulence (E-Turb) feature that detects light to moderate turbulence along the aircraft's projected flight path and provides flight crew warnings up to 40 NM ahead.  Speckled magenta areas on the radar display indicate light to mild turbulence and solid magenta areas identify regions of moderate or greater turbulence.  E-Turb functionality was made possible through a 2004 contract with NASA that Rockwell Collins won to bring E-Turb to the market.

Other core capabilities of the original MultiScan system, including its 320 nautical mile weather detection and display capabilities, ground clutter suppression and geographical weather correlation will remain, Rockwell says, and its software is upgradeable to the new MultiScan Hazard Detection system.

More details on Rockwell Collins MultiScan Hazard Detection System are available at www.rockwellcollins.com/multiscan.  06-28-2006.  (Top)

Harris Transitions FAA's Bulk Weather Service to FTI Network

The Harris Corporation says it has completed the transition of the FAA's Bulk Weather Telecommunications Gateway service to its FTI (FAA telecommunications infrastructure) network.

The transition moves the FAA's legacy satellite network for weather services to FTI, which should enable the agency "to downsize its costly satellite communications infrastructure and save millions of dollars," according to John O'Sullivan, the FTI program vice president for the Harris Government Communications Systems Division.

The legacy service had consumed the most bandwidth of any of the FAA's satellite network users and its transition to the more efficient FTI network will result in substantial cost savings to the FAA, Harris says.

The Gateway broadcasts weather data from the FAA's Herndon, Virginia, command center to 20 air route traffic control centers across the U.S. and its New Jersey technical center, via an IP over ATM (Internet protocol over asynchronous transfer mode) network backbone.  Harris collaborated with Cisco Systems to develop Circuit Emulation over IP, a new technology that encapsulates the proprietary FAA Gateway protocol into IP packets and enables the FAA to transition many of its legacy systems over a homogeneous IP network infrastructure.

The transition moves the large-bandwidth Gateway from a satellite to a terrestrial network that is much smaller and cost-effective, while maintaining the same functionality, according to Harris.  06-27-2006.  (Top)

Cathay Pacific Renews ARINC Datalink Contract

Cathay Pacific Airways has renewed its datalink contract with ARINC.

Cathay Pacific uses ARINC's GLOBALink/VHF, HF, Satellite, Graphic/Text Weather services, and other applications including automatic downloading of engine data and proactive diagnostic data for its IFE (inflight entertainment) system components.  06-24-2006.  (Top)

Kuwait to Deploy SITA Advanced Passenger Processing System

SITA will deploy its new passenger processing system designed to decrease passenger handling delays while increasing security at Kuwait International.

Once operational, SITA says its Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system can nearly instantly check basic passenger data against watch and visa lists maintained by the Kuwaiti government, thereby allowing passengers to be cleared to board within seconds while at the check-in counter.

APP uses SITA's communications network to send a passenger's basic biographical data available on the person's passport to a database and watch list, maintained by Kuwait's Ministry of Interior.  A message returns automatically to the airline check-in counter indicating whether the passenger is allowed to board or not.  In many cases the process is fully automated via the use of machine readable passports.

The APP fully compiles with IATA standards and the most stringent privacy laws, SITA says.  And, in fact, the system can reduce fines and liabilities for airlines that inadvertently transport passengers without appropriate authorization or documentation.  SITA says it can provide the capability to filter out any sensitive personal data, as identified by the European Union or other jurisdictions which would infringe on an individual passenger's right to privacy.

According to Thomas Marten, SITA's vice president for government and security, the U.S. and U.K. have both announced their intention to migrate their existing legacy border management solutions to the next generation interactive solution in the coming year.  Bahrain, Australia and New Zealand are already using the technology.

An interim system will be deployed by August at Kuwait International Airport for arrival, departure and transit passengers.  06-26-2006.  (Top)

Boeing Confirms It's Considering Dropping Connexion

In a press release issued yesterday, Boeing confirmed that it is "taking a series of near-term actions [to accelerate its] evaluation of options for the future of its Connexion by Boeing high-speed broadband communications business."

This announcement comes after the Wall Street Journal last week reported that the company might sell or shut down its Connexion in-flight Internet service after six years of failing to turn a profit on the business.

Boeing says it has pursued the business vigorously, and believes it has developed technology that has worked well and evolved into a useful product. "However, the market for the service has not developed satisfactorily. Therefore, the company will be working in conjunction with customers to thoroughly evaluate the Connexion marketplace and business model to determine next steps," according to its statement.

Meetings are being scheduled with its Connexion customers, Boeing says, to assess the current state of the market and develop plans that address market conditions.  But in the meantime, it will limit further commercial expansion of the service.

Up till now, Boeing has promoted Connexion heavily, and number of carriers have outfitted their aircraft with the Connexion systems, or are in the process of doing so.  These include Lufthansa, which launched the program, as well as ANA, Asiana Airlines, Korean Air, SAS and Singapore Airlines.

Boeing has approached satellite communications providers including SES Global SA, Inmarsat and Loral Space & Communications about purchasing the unit or becoming a partner, the Journal said.

It is unknown at this time what effect this action will have, if any, on Boeing's campaign to essentially make its aircraft airborne nodes that would be connected to a network of air traffic control, airports and operations' offices, to make the whole enterprise more capable and efficient.  06-27-2006.  (Top)

Verizon Dropping Out of Inflight Phone Service

The Associated Press is reporting that Verizon Airfone intends to discontinue its seat-back telephone service on airliners before the end of the year.

About 1,000 aircraft operated by United, Continental, Delta and US Airways are currently flying with Airfone equipment.  The company said it will continue to provide telecommunications services on about 3,400 corporate and government planes.

Airfone essentially conceded the business to others when it exited early from an auction of nationwide airwaves by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently.  The company's license to use the bandwidth expires in 2010.

AirCell was the high bidder in the FCC's spectrum auction for air-to-ground broadband frequencies.

Formerly a unit of GTE Corp. Airfone was acquired by Verizon Communications Inc. in 2000.  A spokesman for the company said Verizon will focus on its core business of broadband, wireline and wireless.  06-27-2006.  (Top)

OnAir Selects Monaco Telecom as Ground Infrastructure Partner

OnAir has selected Monaco Telecom to be its ground infrastructure partner.  Monaco Telecom will supply and operate key ground components of the OnAir network, and will assist OnAir in establishing roaming agreements with mobile operators and GSM (global system for mobile) service providers in Europe and other markets.

OnAir intends to launch GSM and GPRS (general packet radio service) mobile services on selected European flights in 2007, allowing passengers to make and receive phone calls and exchange text messages and emails using their own mobile phones and PEDs (personal electronic devices) like BlackBerrys and smartphones.  Air France, bmi and TAP Portugal have signed up to commercial trials of the OnAir service.

In addition to a dedicated ground network and roaming services, Monaco Telecom will support and host OnAir's GSM access network and will manage its international gateway access.  And when the OnAir network goes live, Monaco Telecom will handle OnAir's related financial and data clearing activities.

Key network infrastructure will be provided by Siemens through its own contract with Monaco Telecom.  Siemens is already supplying Airbus with the picocell and onboard channel selector for the OnAir system.  06-26-2006.  (Top)

Lockheed Martin and Embry-Riddle Team on Airport Technology Testbed

Lockheed Martin says it has teamed with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to create an airport technology test bed at Daytona Beach, Florida, to investigate new interoperability and information sharing concepts.

The team's "teaching airport," dubbed the Airport of the Future, will demonstrate how current and new technologies can be integrated to connect entities, such as air traffic controllers, airport operators, security officials and airline dispatchers, with more comprehensive data.

Judy Marks, the president of Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, said the team "will explore concepts such as how to make door-to-door travel more secure and faster for travelers."  Ms. Marks makes the argument that, "Even with increased efficiency in the sky, systems will be limited unless we effectively manage aircraft on runways.  The question becomes how we can best use surface management technology to increase airport capacity - without laying pavement for new runways."

To do that, Lockheed Martin believes the future should focus on interoperability of current and future systems and information sharing among transportation stakeholders, said Marks. "By integrating complex systems in a seamless way, we break down stovepipes to get the right information to the right people at the right time...to make informed decisions quickly."  06-26-2006.  (Top)

SITA Launches Air Transport Industry VOIP Exchange

SITA has launched what it describes as a "voice exchange" for the air transport industry (ATI) that will deliver "VoIP peering" which completely bypasses traditional PSTNs (public switched telephone networks) for calls within the community.

According to SITA, as VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) technology has become mature and stable, and IP-based networks have proliferated, an increasing number of enterprise customers have created their own communication "islands", and have substantially reduced the cost of communications within their organizations by bypassing long-established communication systems.  However, communications need to stretch outside the corporate network - known as "off net" calls, these have remained within the domain of legacy telecom providers who have done little to link neighboring islands and address industry-specific communication needs.

SITA' says its VoIP exchange will keep these calls "on net" within the ATI to reduce complexity and transit costs while delivering end-to-end IP-based voice communication with "guaranteed" quality, support for multiple VoIP protocols, electronic numbering directory services, instant messaging and a secure business grade softphone.

A softphone is a piece of software for making telephone calls using a computer.  It is usually used with a headset connected to the sound card of the PC, or with a USB (universal serial bus) phone.

The exchange will use ATI naming conventions for addressing instead of traditional phone numbers, which are made possible by the SITA-managed .aero top-level domain names, and the latest DNS (domain name system) technologies such as ENUM (telephone number mapping).

Participating ATI customers will be able to call each other using "click-to-call" softphones, IP phones (hardware) or legacy PBX telephones.  They will be able to dial legacy numbers, but calls will stay within the IP network.  Calls outside the voice exchange can be provided at globally negotiated rates, SITA says.

The service is available immediately.  06-24-2006.  (Top)

China Eastern Airlines will buy 30 A320s for delivery between May 2008 and November 2010.  06-28-2006.

EVA Air took delivery of its third B-777-300ER from Boeing.  06-28-2006.

Copa Airlines will take delivery this month of a B-737-700 and two CF34-10E-powered Embraer 190ARs.  06-28-2006.

The Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Co, Ltd. (GAMECO) has completed the first B-737-300 cargo conversion in China.  The GECAS-owned aircraft, will be delivered to China Postal Airlines after the conversion at GAMECO.  GAMECO plans to do several cargo conversions of B-737-300/400 aircraft in the next few years in cooperation with Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI).  06-28-2006.

Stork Fokker, one of Stork Aerospace's operating companies, will manufacture raked (backswept) wing tips for five Boeing P-8 MMAs with an option for a sixth.  The P-8 multi-mission aircraft is a military version of the B-737-800. The wing tip is an advanced design, containing more than 50% carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), and provides the same efficiencies as an Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglet.  The first wing tips will be delivered in the summer of 2007.  06-28-2006.

ExpressJet took delivery of Embraer's 275th ERJ 145 family aircraft.  ExpressJet operates with a fleet of 30 ERJ 135s and 245 ERJ 145s, making it the largest Embraer regional jet operator in the world.  06-28-2006.

Cathay Pacific Airways ordered six PW4062A-powered B-747-400ER freighters from Boeing for delivery starting in 2008.  These six are in addition to the six 747-400 converted freighters Cathay previously ordered. The airline currently operates 14 B-747Fs.  06-28-2006.

SWISS will add two A330-200s to its long-haul fleet by the end of this year.  06-28-2006.

Continental Airlines has chosen GE - Aviation's GEnx engine to power its additional order of 10 B-787s.  Continental's deliveries of 20 GEnx-powered B-787s should begin in 2009.  06-28-2006.

Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) chose GE CF6-80C2 engines to power two additional B- 747-400Fs it has ordered.  06-28-2006.

Swiss International Air Lines will lease two Lufthansa A330-200s for its winter schedule.  A leased A300-600R from Hapag Lloyd will be replaced by one of the aircraft.  06-28-2006.

TransAsia Airways will purchase two new ATR 72-500s and took an additional option for delivery in 2007.  06-28-2006.

Philippine Airlines selected the CFM56-5B to power nine A320s it has on order.  06-28-2006.

Finnair took delivery of a former Virgin Atlantic A340-300.  It expects to receive two more A340s over the next two years.  It ordered nine A350s and three A340s in December to replace its MD-11s.  06-28-2006.

Bravo Aviation took deliver of a second Finnair ATR 72 in a transaction arranged by Skyways Aviation.  06-28-2006.

Luxair ordered three Q400s from Bombardier along with three options.  06-28-2006.

Airbus has disagreed with an ICAO interim recommendation for a 10 nautical mile separation between its A380 and aircraft landing behind it.  An Airbus senior VP for flight described the ICAO position as "not reality," and insisted that Airbus's own extensive testing revealed that heavy aircraft need only a six-mile longitudinal separation from the A380 on approach, which he said is one more than what is currently is required for aircraft flying behind 747s in the same circumstances.  The airframer is recommending that based on current data, aircraft categorized as medium should be seven miles behind A380s on approach and light aircraft should be nine miles behind.  06-28-2006.  (Top)

Belgocontrol managed 97,389 movements in May, an increase of 3.15% from May 2005.  06-28-2006.

U.S. Domestic Airline Trends

The four charts below depict operating profit, unit revenue, unit expense and yield trends for 21 U.S. carriers that report to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Statistics.  (The first quarter 2006 numbers exclude ATA Airlines.)

Operating Profit/Loss as Percent of 1st Quarter 2006 Total Operating Revenue

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Form 41

Operating Revenue per Available Seat Mile

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Form 41

Passenger Revenue Yield

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Form 41

Passenger Revenue Yield

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Form 41

06-28-2006.  (Top)

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