FAA aprooves Honeywell's wireless system

Honeywell Aerospace's JetWave™ wireless in-flight connectivity system has received U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval for the Boeing 757. Honeywell's JetWave is the exclusive hardware for aircraft to connect to Inmarsat's Global Xpress, the only high-speed broadband satellite network spanning the globe that will provide fast, seamless and reliable connectivity over both land and water.

The certification validates the reliability and capability of Honeywell's hardware to connect to Global Xpress (GX) Aviation service to provide passengers with the same high-speed Wi-Fi experience they get at home or in the office while traveling at 35,000 feet. JetWave and GX Aviation will enable fliers to have seamless access to onboard Wi-Fi to browse the Internet, check emails, stay connected on social media, watch videos and more, even on transcontinental flights. It also simplifies the path for U.S. government approval for the use of JetWave hardware on other aircraft.

"The ability to connect with others is not a luxury anymore; it's an expectation of both passengers and pilots alike," said Jack Jacobs, vice president of Safety and Connectivity at Honeywell Aerospace. "This first commercial certification for Honeywell's JetWave hardware is a leap forward in making the system available commercially and accelerating access to reliable and fast connectivity for airlines and passengers traveling across the world."

"Airlines have previously struggled to meet the expectations of modern-day passengers for reliable, efficient, high-speed connectivity on board flights due to the lack of available technology," said Leo Mondale, president of Inmarsat Aviation. "However, the entry into service of GX Aviation this year will mark an important turning point, allowing passengers in the air to browse the Internet, download files and watch videos online, just as they would on the ground. The certification of Honeywell's JetWave hardware is a key milestone in the program and we congratulate our partner on this achievement."

The certification of Honeywell's JetWave hardware was achieved following more than 180 flight hours and multiple rigorous tests aboard Honeywell's Boeing 757 test aircraft, which showed that the system would stay connected to Inmarsat's GX network at various altitudes, angles and speeds, through several different types of weather, and over land and water.

Broader access to onboard connectivity has increased in-flight productivity and completely changed the modern flight experience. With GX Aviation, passengers and pilots will have access to Wi-Fi speeds that bring the same experience using mobile devices aboard aircraft as on the ground.

ATR Achieves 2 Billion Dollars Turnover in 2015

Firm orders for 76 aircraft, along with 81 options (totaling 157 aircraft), were received in 2015 from clients on the five continents (see table 1). Since 2010, ATRs have been the bestselling aircraft with 90 seats or less worldwide. They represent 37% of all aircraft sales in this category (77% if only turboprop planes are taken into consideration).

ATR welcomed twelve new operators for the new ‘-600’ series last year, allowing it to pass the threshold of 200 operators (all models included), from nearly one hundred countries.

In 2015, ATR received its 1500th firm order since the beginning of the program. The contract, signed with Japan Air Commuter (regional subsidiary of Japan Airlines) at the Paris Air Show, represented its first sale in Japan, a country with high potential for the latest generation ATRs. In addition, ATR opened two new sales offices, in Tokyo and Beijing.

ATR begins 2016 with a backlog of 260 aircraft, valued at some 6.6 billion dollars, which guarantees almost three years of production. Since the beginning of the program, ATR has received firm orders for 1,538 aircraft and has delivered 1,278.

Patrick de Castelbajac, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, declared to be “satisfied with the results and the performance of ATR in 2015. Despite of a difficult economic climate in regions historically important for us, we have consolidated our commercial success, which is based on the versatility, reliability and comfort of the latest generation ATRs.”

In 2015, ATR obtained certifications for two new cabin models of the ATR 72-600: the “High Density” cabin, which brings the maximum capacity to 78 seats, and the “Cargo Flex” cabin, which combines 44 passenger seats with a doubled cargo capacity of nearly 20 m3. These new developments are part of ATR’s strategy of continuing to improve its range of products to retain its leading position in the choices of regional airlines.

ATR’s environmental commitment took a step forward in 2015 with the participation in the first flight test campaign of the European Clean Sky program. An ATR 72 was used to test new composite panels allowing to reduce the weight and the fuel consumption of the aircraft. In 2016, a second series of test flights will take place to test new systems for reducing energy dispersion.

Following through with one of its lines of development, ATR continued to expand the presence of its customer support network in 2015 with the establishment of a spare parts center and a new partnership for maintenance activities in Brazil. In the near future, ATR will further develop its worldwide presence with the opening of a new pilot training center in Miami.

Lufthansa Aerial Services and DJI join forces to develop commercial applications for drone technology

Lufthansa Aerial Services, a division of Lufthansa Consulting, today signed a deal with DJI to use the world’s leading drone-maker’s aerial platforms to develop commercial applications for its key customers. Using DJI’s drones and open onboard systems, Lufthansa will integrate hardware and software, manage operation of the technology and facilitate data analysis. The two companies will work together to optimize the technology for special requirements sought by Lufthansa Aerial Services customers.

“Lufthansa Aerial Services is a perfect partner for DJI for joint market development of commercial UAV-applications,” said Martin Brandenburg, DJI’s European Marketing Director. “The feedback from Lufthansa’s clients is of great value for the further development of our products.”

“The market potential of commercial drone applications is growing inexorably thanks to the continuously improving regulatory situation and speed of technological progress in the market and innovation that DJI as the global leader has initiated. This includes a variety of commercial applications such as for infrastructure inspection, measuring and monitoring purposes,” says Christian Hartmann, program director of Lufthansa Aerial Services.

Lufthansa Aerial Services e.g. recently completed a pilot project with a wind-turbine manufacturer, using DJI equipment to inspect rotor blades on wind turbines. The task previously required manual inspection using a steeplejack – a more-dangerous and time-consuming method. In addition to the safety factor, drones can collect data that can be used later for analysis, such as how frequently a rotor blade needs inspection and maintenance.

Lufthansa Aerial Services is also involved in aviation-industry projects at and around airports, as demonstrated through recent tests with Fraport and DFS on Frankfurt International Airport, but also carrying out joint inspections of Lufthansa aircraft surfaces with sister company Lufthansa Technik.

Beyond these mentioned example use cases, LAS also plans to deploy drones equipped with thermal-imaging systems that can facilitate day-to-day inspections of infrastructure, such as wind power and photovoltaic systems, electricity and railroad lines and pipelines laid above ground. Aerial technology also makes it easier to monitor crops, construction and extraction sites.