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As Market for In-flight Wifi Grows, the Debate Continues

April 10, 2013
Business Aviation News
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The in-flight wifi debate continued last week as service providers all have a different approach to bandwidth.

Bill Sullivan, Director for Strategy and Business Development at ViaSat, commented, “People value speed, whether at home or in mobile environment. We have built a system around a very high speed experience. So we are taking that and bringing it into the airline sector.”

However, not everyone agrees that speed is the answer, especially when in-flight wifi provision is so expensive.  Row 44’s John Guidon argues,

“Just talking about speed is not satisfactory. It doesn’t explain the totality of the experience,” adding, “Really people are most interested in, in my opinion, page load time.”

There is no doubt that connectivity for in-flight wifi is in demand.  It is not a question of whether aircraft need it; it is now an account of which service to choose.  Ka-band wifi will provide speeds of at least 12Mbps per passenger, with even faster speeds being achieved with Ku-band or satellite in-flight wifi operations.

Most airlines recognise passengers’ growing demands for in-flight wifi and with the buzz created by the different broadband connectivity providers, the market is exploding.

WSI Follow ARINC with the Development of New iPad App

April 8, 2013
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Following the success of ARINC’s development and introduction of their ground-breaking flight planning app for the iPad, yet another contender enter into the marketplace.  WSI are the latest company to launch a weather and flight planning app.

Named WSI Pilotbrief, the General Aviation and Flight Planning app is iPad specific and is set for launch at the Sun N Fun annual event in Florida this year.

ARINC developed their industry-leading iPad application for ARINC Direct after figures showed that more than half of their business jet aviators were accessing their accounts using the tablet device.

A valuable tool, the app integrates into the flight planning process, assisting pilots and increasing efficiency for effective, real-time operations.  Using the flight planning app, pilots are able to access up-to-the-minute weather data and geographical information, in addition to fuel burn data, ETA and flight tracking with sharing capabilities via iCloud networks and Bluetooth connections.

Pilots Asleep in the Cockpit Over London

April 7, 2013
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Pilots Asleep in the Cockpit Over LondonShould the public be concerned about the occurrence of Pilots falling asleep ‘at the wheel’?

Not according the the CAA, who say, “The evidence the CAA has is that the fatigue of crew is not a significant safety concern.”

This follows the release of data after a request to the CAA for ‘Freedom of Information’ revealed that pilots had dozed off during flights over London in June 2010 and June 2011, one having to be shaken awake after a colleague was locked out of the cockpit.

Pilots blame long hours and fatigue caused by unrealistic rostering, which is set to grow worse if the proposed change in European law is passed, expecting them to work extra hours and extend overnight flying.

Dr Hunter, head of flight safety at Balpa said, “A pilot falls asleep on the flight deck on a UK-registered airplane at least once in every 24 hours – and probably a lot more than that.”

This alarming statement is not backed up by figures, but with a two year prison sentence attached to falling asleep in the cockpit, Dr Hunter estimated that pilots would rarely report themselves, as they would be “writing the evidence for their own prosecution”.

ARINC AviNet Chosen by Seal Dynamics for Type B Messaging

April 4, 2013
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Seal Dynamics, a division of Heico Aerospace will use ARINC’s AviNet mail from now on for all their critical Type B messages.

Seal Dynamics stock, manufacture and sell millions of components for the aviation industry, processing hundreds of orders each day.

It is important for them to ensure highly reliable and fast communication of these orders, often consisting of urgent replacement parts from their diverse range of products, to minimize delays or ground-time for their aviation partners – a costly exercise.

ARINC are world-leaders in communications solutions, serving hundreds of aviation businesses and handling millions of critical Type B messages every day.  AviNet mail is capable of delivering mission-critical Type B messages within one second and is the most reliable in the industry.

Type B messaging is used by aviation companies to deliver global mission-critical communications for a number of reasons, such as replacement aircraft components, weather data, flight planning and passenger reservations.

“We chose ARINC’s AviNet Mail because it provides us with high message reliability, ease-of-use, accessible support, alternative methods for accessing Spec2000 messages and on-demand traffic analysis,” said Vice President of Technology at Seal Dynamics, Marc Alter.

Yun Chong, ARINC Vice President of Global Network and IT Solutions, said “ARINC values the opportunity to serve a recognized market leader and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”

WINGX Reports Fall in Business Aviation Figures

April 4, 2013
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It was recently reported in the latest release of the Wingx Business Aviation Monitor that business aircraft flight departures fell by 10% in Europe over the past year.  The figures reflect a major decrease over the year, mostly due to March 2012’s strong figures, as March 2013 showed 20% more activity than February 2013.

The Euro Zone financial crisis has been blamed for the major decrease, as there were increases in flights from the Middle East, BRIC countries and East and West Africa.

Christoph Kohler, Managing Director of WINGX Advance, said, “March analysis indicates a slump which was certainly precipitated by further Euro Zone tensions, especially affecting demand in Germany. The overall picture is gloomy, but there is growth, in selective aircraft types and on specific routes.”

Growth was recorded, however, in the Russian Federation, Norway, Turkey and the Ukraine with a couple of activity spikes in Malta and Cyprus.  The relatively small business aviation market associated with Ireland also saw an increase.

Piston activity was badly hit, being 27% down over the year, business aviation charter activity coming down by 6% compared to March 2012.

This comes as business aviation services become more affordable to the sector and surprisingly the largest drops were felt by smaller aircraft, such as Cessna, Beechcraft and Piper aircraft, while the industry experienced a rise in usage of Ultra-long range, Bizliner and Heavy Jets.

Seal Dynamics Chooses ARINC For Type B

March 27, 2013
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Seal Dynamics, one of the world’s largest and diverse suppliers of aviation parts and components becomes one of the latest customers for ARINC’s industry-leading AviNet Mail.

Based in the U.S. and with field locations across the globe, Seal Dynamics are committed to meeting customer demand, fulfilling hundreds of daily orders of FAA PMA approved, self-manufactured parts and components from OEM-approved manufacturers for the International market.

With a focus upon reliability and timely delivery of critical parts for airlines, Seal Dynamics needed a solution that provided essential back-up for their electronic ordering system.  Their reputation depends upon excellent service and efficient processing of parts orders to ensure the continuity of airline operations.

ARINC Incorporated, with their global reputation for the provision of innovative communications solutions proved that AviNet Mail is more than capable of the job in hand. Using Type B messaging services to handle critical communications is a daily occurrence for ARINC, serving many hundreds of aviation customers with decades of industry assurance of delivery and utmost reliability.

‘We chose ARINC’s AviNet Mail because it provides us with high message reliability, ease of use, accessible support, alternative methods for accessing Spec2000 messages and on-demand traffic analysis’ said Seal Dynamics Vice President of Technology, Marc Alter.

Yun Chong, ARINC Vice President of Global Network and IT Solutions said ‘ARINC values the opportunity to serve a recognized market leader and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship.’

India Hands Over APIS

March 17, 2013
Business Aviation News
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India has handed over an advanced passenger information system to the Maldives.

The Maldives biggest source of revenue is from tourism and the authorities there have been handed an Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) providing a safe and efficient immigration service to travellers.

The system was installed at the Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and according to authorities marks a ‘giant step’ for the country to provide a much better service to travellers.

The APIS will give the Border Control System advanced information about people travelling to and from the country. The population of the Maldives is about 350 000 and has around 1 million visitors per year.

Dnyaneshwar M Mulay the High Commissioner of India to the Maldives handed over the APIS to Maldives’ Controller of Immigration & Emigration Mohamed Ali.

For more information on APIS please see this link.

ARNIC Direct close to switching on Connect Service

March 14, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Connect - providing airborne communications addressing and reporting system

Connect – providing airborne communications addressing and reporting system

ARINS Direct hope to launch its Connect low-cost business aviation communication service before the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) convention this October in Las Vegas. They have just a few regulatory hurdles and technical issues to resolve.

Designed to provide airborne communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) messaging via an Apple iPad application, the service is the future of ACARS’s communications traditionally provided by the like of the ARINC AviNet service.

James Hardie ARINC Direct director said “We were looking at having the box ready for the second quarter of this year, but we’re a little bit behind with some of the things we’ve had to do to refine things, We’re very confident that by NBAA we’ll be in full production offering it up to customers, and in between we’ll be looking to do some trials as well”

“Connect” currently is only a working title for the product and fresh branding will be announced at the EBASE show in May.

At the 2012 NBAA convention the product was announced and a pre-production version will be available for demonstration at the EBASE show.

James Hardie added  “It is designed to provide airborne communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) messaging via an Apple iPad application, high quality voice communications using an iPhone or Android device, and email. We’re looking to enable connectivity into new markets and also into existing markets with this box. If they’ve got an Iridium phone system then this box can take the place of some of that, using the antenna infrastructure. We’ve had an awful lot of interest from all sorts of operators, from medevac to charter. They might buy this equipment and put it on board a charter aircraft that they are managing for another individual.”

Connect is also being offered as a low-cost enabler for on-board services. “We think there’s an opportunity there to enable across a much wider range of aircraft because of technological developments in terms of miniaturisation of equipment and better understanding of interference issues, a lot of those issues that were around at the top of people’s agendas a few years ago are very much resolved. The next iteration will be looking at developing a user interface for the data link in the cockpit, which would be done through the iPad and connecting to the Arinc Direct box.”

James Hardie added the Connect iPad app is “essentially an electronic flight bag providing a paperless cockpit capability”.

At the request of their customer various new features have been added including “Cloud” connectivity for continuous synchronisation.

Carrying on James hardie said “If you write something down on your iPad it’s appearing on the co-pilot’s iPad, and as long as the aircraft has got a connection to the ground then we can provide data back to our cloud servers. They’ll store that information so if there are any problems with it, it can be regenerated and the content of your flight plan is accessible in flight and after the flight by everybody.”

Other  features to be included shortly include ad hoc flight planning within the app, as well as “just before flight” activities such as weight and balance sign-off.

New Business Aviation Broadband Solution to be Launched by Inmarsat and Kymeta

March 10, 2013
Business Aviation News
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A agreement has been signed by Inmasat and Kymeta to develop a new satellite antenna that will enable business jets to use high speed broadband connectivity worldwide using Inmasat’s Global Xpress (GX) service

Only GX users will be able to use the propriety Kymeta Aero Antenna enabling the two company’s opportunities in the fast expanding business aviation market.

Managing Director of Inmarsat Global Xpress, Leo Mondale said, “Over the coming 10 years, some 10,000 new business jets are forecast to enter service. In this changing world, where enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of the business executive is paramount, the need to offer constant connectivity is non-negotiable. It is this absolute requirement to keep executives connected, wherever they are, that is driving demand for solutions which support smaller aircraft. Our partnership with satellite technology specialist, Kymeta, will make business jet travel an even smarter and more efficient option for executives”

CEO of Kymet, Vern Fotheringham added, “Our technology for flat-panel, beam-forming antennas will enable a number of new markets and a new generation of customers to benefit from lower cost, high-speed satellite internet connectivity anywhere in the world. We are excited to reach this milestone and engage with Inmarsat to bring next-generation broadband services into the global business aviation market.”

Inmarsat is a long standing player in the industry providing passenger communications solutions for both commercial airlines and business jets.

Korean Air to Boost Business Aviation

March 7, 2013
Business Aviation News
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Korean Air set up a dedicated charter team in 2007, now, having 3 VIP aircraft in its fleet, it is planning to boost demand for its business jet service by focusing on the Hong Kong and Chinese markets.

The VIP aircraft consists of a Boeing Business Jet, a Bombardier Global Express XRS that it flies internationally, and a Sikorsky S-76C+ helicopter that it operates within South Korea. It is planned that passengers on Korean Air‘s private jet charter service will earn First Class mileage points and will have access to the airline’s VIP lounges.

The airline also has a Flexjet Connect Service, which allows passengers to connect from a regular Korean Air flight to a private jet service for non-stop travel throughout the USA. A spokeswoman from the airline said “With many opportunities from Hong Kong and China, Korean Air is keen to capture a share of the business jet market with a focus in Hong Kong,” “We look forward to flying people to different cities from Hong Kong to China as well as various destinations around the world. With state-of-the-art aircraft, unparalleled services and competitive offerings, Korean Air is confident of capturing a share of the market in Hong Kong and in other countries in the region.”

Please see this link for a full range of business jet support and communications services.