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Tag Archives: satellite communications services

SATCOM Direct Open New Offices

February 18, 2015
Business Aviation News
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SATCOM Services ProvidersSATCOM Direct have opened new offices in Melbourne, Ottawa and Denver, bringing their totals now to nine international and five U.S. offices.

The company, who provide training, support and SATCOM consultations for pilots, maintenance departments and flight crews, will be celebrating the opening of the Melbourne, Australia office at AVALON – the Australia International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Expo.

“This expansion supports our mission to provide total solutions to our customers. We are where they are,” said David Greenhill, SATCOM Direct president. “Each new location was strategically selected to serve our expanding customer base.”

Global satellite communications providers are in high demand in the aviation industry as passenger demand grows ever higher for inflight communications.

Singapore Airlines Introduce Mobile Cabin Services Solution

February 16, 2015
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Other Providers of Cabin Services Solutions - AirCrew Connect Singapore Airlines have introduced a new, tablet-based mobile app for cabin crew to improve and enhance customer services.

The app, TCS CrewCollab will automate and streamline many of the inflight processes that the cabin crew deal with in the air, such as processing customer flight lists, flight information and crew information, which traditionally has been handled on paper.

The entire system will increase efficiency throughout the cabin and improve passenger experience through enhanced customer services.

Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President Cabin Crew, Mr Marvin Tan said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with our long-standing partner Tata Consultancy Services to develop TCS CrewCollab Solution. The application is vital to how we will continue to improve our operations and enhance our customer servicing on board. We look forward to developing the application further in partnership with TCS, to enable our crew to offer a more personalised customer experience and meet our customers’ evolving travel needs.”

“Digital forces like mobile, social and big data analytics are creating tremendous possibilities for businesses globally. TCS CrewCollab Solution harnesses these digital forces in the hands of airline crew to deliver enriched customer experience,” said Ms S Sukanya, VP and Global Head, Travel Transportation and Hospitality Unit, TCS. “Singapore Airlines is one of our most valuable and long standing clients in the region and this partnership brings an industry-validated, ready-to-deploy solution to the airline industry.”

Avionics for NextGen 2015 Conference

February 4, 2015
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More Information about CPDLC NextGen BenefitsThe FAA’s Bruce DeCleene will be a keynote speaker at the Avionics for NextGen 2015 conference later this year, opening the discussions about the modernisation of the National Airspace System.

The two-day conference, set for October 14 and 15 will open with Mr DeCleene’s discussion about the FAA’s progress with the implementation of major flight technology projects for the benefit of the aviation community as a whole.

Four initiatives are to be targeted over the next two to three years:

  • Datacomm
  • Performance Based Navigation (PBN)
  • Multiple runway operations
  • Surface & data sharing

Also open for discussion at the conference will be the ability of a range of different aircraft types to use existing infrastructure to implement next generation communications initiatives, such as CPDLC, and the ADS-B network in addition to discussions regarding Optimised Profile Descents (OPDs) and the wide area augmentation system.

The challenges associated with the provision of new procedural initiatives and the creation of increased peak throughput at the U.S.’ busiest airports, including re-categorisation of aircraft wake turbulence characteristics will be highlighted at the conference and attendees will hear from pilots and air traffic controllers about the advantages of Controller-Pilot Data Link Comms (CPDLC) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) in terms of the improvisation of the use of national airspace, fuel cost savings and operational efficiencies.

It is hoped that many questions will be answered at the conference and operators will be assisted with their decision-making regarding the right investments to make for onboard technology to meet the objectives of the NextGen air transportation system.

Aircraft Tracking Capabilities Becomes a Priority for Singapore Airlines

February 2, 2015
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Providers of Superior Aviation Messaging Services for Flight TrackingFollowing the tragic events of last year, and with a nudge from the UN civil aviation department for the industry as a whole to address the problem, Singapore Airlines is looking to enhance its aircraft tracking capabilities as a priority.

Aircraft and operational messaging systems need to provide seamlessly reliable messaging on a global scale and operate within a messaging architecture than is robust enough to handle real-time conversion, messaging switching and have tracing capability.

Although the capabilities exist, a handful of carriers are working together with communications providers to develop new systems that can recognise when an aircraft is experiencing difficulties or leaves its planned route, in addition to real-time tracking and monitoring.

Mr Nicholas Ionides, spokesman for Singapore Airlines gave confirmation of the carrier’s participation in ‘trials related to aircraft tracking’, but gave no further clue as to the extent of the trials.

Software for Passenger Reservations Selected by Alitalia

January 27, 2015
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Passenger Reservations and Aviation Messaging Solutions ProvidersItalian-based carrier, Alitalia has selected an SaaS platform as a part of its modernisation program to handle critical airline operations, including its passenger reservations system.

CEO of Alitalia, Silvano Cassano said, “We are reinventing Alitalia. In the coming years, we expect that you will see a healthy carrier with a fresh and exciting new brand. This is a significant, multi-year initiative and technology will be the cornerstone of our success.”

Alitalia, one of Europe’s largest carriers, have selected Sabre Corporation, U.S. based travel and tourism technology providers, to implement their new passenger reservations system.

Across the globe, the numbers of international travellers is increasing and airlines are seeking new ways to streamline the passenger reservations and processing system. With API requirements also increasing worldwide, it is becoming critical to ensure that reliable aviation messaging solutions are in place, not only for compliance, but also to ensure security.

Other leading solutions providers, such as Rockwell Collins’ ARINC AviNet, provide a robust system architecture to ensure that all mission critical messaging is delivered swiftly and reliably while maintaining seamless security on a global scale.

Many carriers also realise that a reliance upon the latest technology is clearly the way forward.

Gogo Set to Install Record Numbers in 2015

January 26, 2015
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Other Leading Providers of Inflight Internet & CommunicationsGogo, global aviation communications providers, who recently acquired FAA regulatory approval for its in-flight connectivity solution, has today announced that it may break its own records for installs during 2015.

With a backlog of more than 1000 commercial aircraft installs and a growing base in the business aviation sector, the company expects that at least 50% of its backlog will be scheduled and installed this year, which will break records for the company, who also expect to bring online 500 additional commercial sector installs by the end of the year.

In-flight connectivity solutions are big business this year and with upgrades and retrofits for NextGen systems, Gogo and other global communications providers are in for a busy time!

Making the Transition to CPDLC – Deadline Moved

January 6, 2015
Business Aviation News
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Providers of CPDLC for Enhanced Operational MessagingThe transition to Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC), according to the original timeline, should by now be well under way, with retrofit requirements under the Single European Sky initiative due by next month.

The European Commission has indicated that the deadline will now be moved to make sure that the industry is ready and that CPDLC avionics are reliable. Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) are implementing the infrastructure in advance of the mandates and the SES initiative is still a global reality.

Although the process is slow, and the costs for retrofitting high, the transition to CPDLC will save airlines and operators in the long-term and increase safety for the skies on a worldwide scale. It is unlikely that CPDLC will replace voice communications altogether, but datalink messaging needs to be implemented in order to cope with the upsurge in air traffic that is expected over the next two decades.

It is not just Europe that is attempting to embrace the CPDLC technology. Data link communications are being trialled in the U.S. under the NextGen program and in Canada, nationwide implementation of CPDLC was completed last summer.

Although phase two of the SES initiative was planned for next month, it seems likely that the plans, so far fraught with technical difficulties, training delays and the cost of retrofitting, may be moved as far as five years into the future.

Dassault Falcon 8X Unveiled in Bordeaux

December 19, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Dassault Falcon 8X Ultra-Long-Range Business JetThe latest ultra-long-range luxury business jet from Dassault was unveiled in typical French style this month during a ceremonial dinner at their Bordeaux Merignac factory.

Olivier Villa, senior vice-president for civil aircraft said, “The program is right on schedule” as the executive aircraft was proudly showcased with barely dry paint in a launch that was described as mixing “prestige, passion for aviation and the French touch.”

As the aircraft undergoes some modifications that were highlighted during recent testing, the first flight is planned for the first quarter of next year, after each system is signed-off by Dassault’s flight test team. This is expected to be accomplished by the end of January, according to Frederic Petit, vice-president for the Falcon programs.

Three aircraft will be tested by the Falcon 8X program chief test pilot Eric Gerard and test pilot Herve Lavergne. Two of the three aircraft will be available for sale to customers after being demonstrators for approximately one year and the other will remain in Dassault’s fleet.

Aircraft Tracking via Satellite with ESA Iris Program

December 12, 2014
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Providers of Aircraft Tracking Services for Business AviationThe European Space Agency (ESA) have outlined the Iris program this week in a collaboration with the Single European Sky ATM Research Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU) program, with a view to increasing the efficiency of global aircraft tracking through a satellite-based communications system.

Making improvements to future Air Traffic Management techniques is a key part of the initiative and Iris will potentially leverage a satellite-based system with current VHF ground-based communications systems that may bear the weight of overcrowded airwaves in the near future. It is planned that data link channels and ATM operations will become accessible and give new opportunities for aircraft tracking in a four-dimensional capacity – latitude, longitude, altitude and time. The system is known as 4-D trajectory management and it is hoped that it will be fully accessible by 2018.

In spite of various delays with upgrades to aircraft, the Iris program is designed to dramatically improve communications and bring the increased efficiency to operational productivity that has been sought by airlines, ATM and operators for more than 20 years.

Aircraft tracking via satellite communications will work in real time and use aircraft positioning reports, in addition to the complement of voice communications. Both continental and oceanic airspaces will be reliably covered to give truly global, uninterrupted coverage.

Business aviation enjoys the reliability of real-time aircraft tracking with providers delivering a satellite communications service over a robust system architecture, such as the Rockwell Collins’ ARINCDirect service, which provides seamless coverage via Inmarsat SwiftBroadband and Swift64 in conjunction with Iridium satellite communications. Real-time flight tracking is a sought-after service that is growing in demand, particularly since the disappearance of flight MH370 earlier this year.

As air traffic grows, demand upon the airways increases and the latest technological developments are needed to ensure utmost safety and reliability for all aircraft, both commercial and private.

JetWave SATCOM on Airbus and Boeing Jets to Get Retrofitted by GDC

December 7, 2014
Business Aviation News
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Providers of Passenger Communications for Business AircraftHoneywell’s JetWave SATCOM systems will be fitted by GDC Technics in an agreement signed in Dubai last weekend for in-service Boeing and Airbus business and commercial aircraft. The system, JetWave, will be available during 2015 and supports the Inmarsat JetConnex (JX) WiFi service, promising to deliver consistent, high-speed inflight connectivity for business aircraft all over the globe.

GDC, Texan-based provider, will develop the STCs for the aircraft, including the Boeing range of business jets and Airbus corporate jets, which will enable the retrofit process to commence. The STCs will also be marketed to other completion centres and will encompass the following aircraft:

  • Airbus A319
  • Airbus A330
  • Airbus A340
  • Boeing 737
  • Boeing 747
  • Boeing 777
  • Boeing 787

Mike Beazley, vice-president of Aftermarket Sales for Business & General Aviation at Honeywell said, “Through this agreement with GDC Technics, Boeing and Airbus operators will soon be able to easily upgrade their aircraft with one of the most advanced and capable in-flight connectivity systems on the market. JetConnex will bring high speed, consistent global in-flight internet connectivity via WiFi to the cockpit and cabin and we expect to see significant demand for the technology, particularly for long haul commercial and business planes flying out of the Middle East.”

The partnership agreement the system will be focussed upon the Ka- and Ku-band, bringing greater bandwidth with Inmarsat SwiftBroadband for flight deck communications requirements.

Mohammed Alzeer, general partner of GDC Technics said, “High speed, consistent in-flight WiFi over land and sea is a technology game-changer for the industry. Through this agreement with Honeywell, bizliners and commercial air transport aircraft around the world will soon be able to access Inmarsat’s JX service.” Continuing, he echoed a sentiment that is widespread in the aviation industry, particularly in the business jet sector, “In today’s always-on society the ability to stay connected while in the air is fast becoming an expectation rather than a nice-to-have, making the JetWave hardware from Honeywell and JX service from Inmarsat an important differentiator for operators.”

Expectation is increasing noticeably in the business jet industry, as more and more executive travellers need the benefits of an ‘office-in-the-sky’ environment.