AirGuide Travel Tech News

Transport-funding impasse could affect sustainability effort

2010-03-11T08:56:00.001-05:00

The White House's decision to delay action on the transport-funding bill could have a knock-on effect, with GOP lawmakers seeking to link the legislative holdup to the administration's planned sustainability programs. Two House Republicans argued Wednesday that efforts to reduce sprawl and improve livability should be put on hold until the transport-funding impasse is resolved.
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Next-gen e-readers will be more rugged, versatile

2010-03-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

E-readers coming to market this year will make current offerings "look like Model T versions," Yardena Arar writes. Emerging technologies such as E-ink, LCD screens and Qualcomm's Mirasol display technology will soon shake up the marketplace, Arar argues.
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Commercial jet packs finally are coming to market

2010-03-10T08:55:00.001-05:00

Martin Aircraft in New Zealand is preparing to release the first commercial jet pack, a 250-pound, carbon-fiber device that can take to the air for 30 minutes at a time. Purchasers will need to complete a training program before bringing home the $86,000 aircraft.
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Coca-Cola, other companies roll out green vending machines

2010-03-10T08:55:00.000-05:00

A new generation of vending machines is ditching hydrofluorocarbons -- potent greenhouse gases long used as refrigerants -- in favor of cleaner options such as propane, ammonia and carbon dioxide. Some big companies have already switched to hydrocarbon-cooled vending machines, and General Electric is at work on a home-use refrigerator that uses similar technology. "The proof that natural refrigerants work is our grandparents had refrigerators charged with ammonia, propane and carbon dioxide," says Greenpeace research director Kert Davies.
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Chocolate-powered car is off to the races

2010-03-10T08:54:00.000-05:00

A chocolate-powered racecar built from components derived from carrots and potatoes is wowing green-auto fans on both sides of the Atlantic. The Formula 3 racing car, developed by British researchers to demonstrate sustainable-design principles, maxes out at 135 miles per hour and can go from zero to 60 in 2.5 seconds. "It's a racing car that cleans up as it goes along," says one member of the design team.
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Southwest Airlines To Offer Wi-Fi

2010-02-03T11:51:00.001-05:00

Southwest Airlines has announced that it will install Row 44's satellite-based Wi-Fi service on its entire fleet of 540 passenger aircraft. The decision sets the stage for a Wi-Fi battle in the skies with Aircell's Gogo Wi-Fi service, which is already installed in more than 700 U.S. aircraft. In recent days, Aircell reported that it has raised $176 million in financing to spur the growth of its service. The FCC had held up approval for Row 44's service and Aircell rushed to install its service on aircraft of several different airlines. Bay Area Internet Solutions Row 44 has been testing and implementing in flight wireless Internet access on SouthWest and Alaska Airlines. The company's CEO talks about how it works, how the company is working to control content and about its business model. "We'll begin installing the equipment in the second quarter of 2010," stated Southwest in a blog. "We expect to install equipment on around 15 aircraft per month initially, with the goal of increasing that number to 25 aircraft a month as we ramp up the process."Row 44's service, which is supported by Hughes Network Systems, is expected to be offered on a global basis to other airlines as it is not constrained by terrestrial towers and can operate across oceans. Alaska Airlines, which flies over sections of the Pacific Ocean, also has installed Row 44 service. The FCC has outlawed all airlines from using VoIP communications for in-flight conversations. The Canadian and Mexican governments have approved Row 44's service, clearing the way for cross border use of its system. Southwest has not yet set pricing for its service, but it said the service "will be a great value." Most of the existing Aircell service is priced around $12 and $13 per flight. While usage figures are preliminary, as airlines gradually introduce the Wi-Fi service, Ron LeMay, Aircell's chief executive, has said usage is expected to grow substantially as more consumers fly with smartphones. Citing the recent financing, LeMay said: "Aircell is well positioned to continue its ongoing aircraft deployment and rapid acceleration in customer adoption of Gogo throughout 2010 and beyond." Aircell's Gogo service is offered American, Delta, AirTran, Virgin America, Air Canada, US Airways and Continental. AirTran has installed the Gogo service on its entire fleet of more than 300 aircraft. Although its deployment lags Aircell's in numbers, Row 44 hopes it has some advantages that will boost its deployment. "Because we're satellite-based, we can offer higher bandwidth," said a Row 44 spokesman in an email. He added that Row 44's arrangement with Hughes means it "can quickly add capacity with almost no infrastructure costs." At the same time, Europe's Onair in-flight consumer communications service has shown interest in entering U.S. markets. Unlike in the U.S., where voice calls are banned on flights, cell phone service is offered throughout Europe and consumers like it, according to Onair. So far, however, flight attendant unions and some members of Congress have battled to ban voice calling on U.S. flights.
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Moog 1Q earnings fall 29 percent on higher costs

2010-02-03T11:47:00.001-05:00

Moog Inc., which supplies motion control systems for machines from airplanes to wind turbines, said Monday its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 29 percent as higher costs crimped better overall sales. The company earned $21.6 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with $30.3 million, or 70 cents per share a year earlier. Revenue rose to $495.2 million from $446.1 million a year ago. The cost of sales rose to $350.8 million from $308.2 million a year earlier. Moog's reporting earnings per share met Wall Street's expectations, but analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected still more improvement in sales. They forecast revenue of $507.8 million. "Our company is in the early stages of a recovery from the recession-impacted results of last year," Chairman and CEO R.T. Brady said in a statement. "Our recent acquisitions have provided sales momentum, and the segments that were most affected last year are slowly improving their profitability. We're anticipating slow but steady improvement as the year progresses." The company reaffirmed its profit expectations for fiscal 2010. For the fiscal year ending in September, it expects to earn $2.15 to $2.35 per share on sales of $2.12 billion. Analysts forecast a profit of $2.26 per share on sales of $2.11 billion. Shares of Moog rose 6 cents to close Monday at $30.24.
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TripIt Launches Free BlackBerry App

2010-01-22T12:25:00.001-05:00

TripIt, the trip management company, today announced that TripIt is available to travelers using BlackBerry(TM) mobile devices. This free mobile app gives travelers access to all their travel plans right on their BlackBerry, no matter where their travel was booked. TripIt travelers simply forward their travel confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com and TripIt automatically creates their master travel itineraries. With the TripIt for BlackBerry app, a traveler then just clicks to check flight status on any airline, view a confirmation number from any rental car supplier, or get directions to their hotel, restaurant, meeting or anything that's part of their free TripIt itinerary. TripIt for BlackBerry also supports features of the TripIt Pro premium service, including mobile flight alerts and alternate flight options. "We've been beta testing our BlackBerry app with a group of international travelers for months and are now ready to give everyone the opportunity to use it," commented Will Aldrich, TripIt VP of Product. "We're also excited to include support to sync TripIt travel plans to the built-in BlackBerry calendar, which in turn syncs those plans to a traveler's Outlook calendar." The TripIt for BlackBerry Beta app is available for download now at www.tripit.com/uhp/blackberry and will be live in the BlackBerry App World soon. It supports BlackBerry operating system 4.3 or later, which includes nearly all BlackBerry devices released in the past several years. Learn more about TripIt's free mobile apps for BlackBerry, Android and iPhone at www.tripit.com/uhp/mobile
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Travelocity Releases New Travel Tools

2010-01-13T12:09:00.000-05:00

Southlake, Texas-based Travelocity has rolled out a new set of tools focused on finding travel deals, the firm said today. Travelocity says its new Deals Toolkit will help users find the best travel deals in three new ways, including through a desktop application, a mapping application, and a customized web tool for finding best travel deals. The firm said the custom deals engine will allow users to filter travel deals by price, date, theme, destination, and other features; the map-based tool allows users to see deals based on region and city; and the new, desktop application will provide access to trips and travel deals direct from Mac and Windows computers.
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Alaska Air wants to gain revenue through Web sales

2009-12-09T10:37:00.001-05:00

Alaska Air Group wants to boost revenue next year by increasing sales on its Web site, continuing to focus on improving customer service and gaining market share in Portland, Ore.
Chief Financial Officer Glenn Johnson says the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air has been working hard to improve on-time performance.
He told investors at a conference in New York on Wednesday that the company is remaining disciplined in terms of capacity, which is measured by the available seats an airline offers times the miles flown.
Alaska Airlines' capacity is expected to increase 1 percent to 2 percent in 2010, while Horizon Air's capacity is expected to be flat.
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ParkSleepFly.com Pre-Flight Overnight Alternative to Air Travelers

2009-12-08T10:36:00.000-05:00

Pressures to overeat and overspend during the holidays drive most people to worry about how they can manage their weight, budgets, and stress and maintain their healthy habits while they travel. Jack Lambert, managing partner of ParkSleepFly.com, Inc. (www.ParkSleepFly.com) says one way is to make better choices about airline travel. "Our service offers airport hotel park and stay deals in over 129 airports in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Travelers book pre-flight park and fly packages that include a one night's stay at the airport hotel, free parking for 7 to 14 days, and complimentary shuttle to and from the terminal," said Lambert. "This translates into being rested and well-fed before a flight, on time for departure -- and costs can be about the same as long-term airport parking fees alone."
Waistline
Airport terminal food can be notoriously unhealthy yet alluring when a traveler worries about what, if any, food will be available on the flight. "When you stay in the airport hotel the night before your flight, you'll have more control over your healthy breakfast or lunch instead of grabbing high-calorie, sugar-packed snacks near the gate," said Lambert. "You can avoid the high-sodium or fatty airport sandwiches, wraps, and coffee drinks too, since you've already had a nutritious meal at the hotel."
Wallet
With an airport park and fly package, many pay what amounts to $25 to $35 to stay in a first-rate hotel when the cost of what parking would be is figured in. For example, compare $110 a night for a park and fly hotel with $75 for long-term airport parking alone.
Stress
Business or leisure air travelers can keep their blood-pressure levels low with a reservation made through www.ParkSleepFly.com or at 800-PARKING. "You won't have to get up at the crack of dawn, drive through heavy traffic to the airport, worry about long security lines, or miss your flight looking for parking," Lambert said. "This time of year, we can really help reduce holiday stress through a more comfortable airport experience."
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Continental expands paperless service to Germany

2009-12-03T10:52:00.001-05:00

Continental Airlines Inc. has become the first U.S. carrier to offer paperless boarding passes outside of the United States.
The Houston airline on Tuesday made its mobile boarding pass service available at Frankfurt Airport in Germany.
The service allows passengers to receive boarding passes via cellphones or PDAs.
The electronic boarding passes display a two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information that security agents can validate using scanners at the security check point.
Continental was the first carrier to offer paperless boarding passes in the United States in a pilot program with the Transportation Security Administration that began in December 2007.
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Cheap Christmas Airfare: The 10 Best Web Sites

2009-12-03T10:52:00.000-05:00

You are looking to book a vacation but want the cheapest possible airfare . There are countless Web sites out there with airfare searches, but some offer substantially cheaper flights than others. Most travelers will scour several sites before actually booking a ticket.
So we decided to put 10 of our favorite sites to the test. We looked at cost, flight options and ease of use. The idea was to look at five random itineraries and see which site offered the best fares.
The results will surprise you. While some trips were nearly identical across the board, others differed dramatically from site to site.
All searching was done Friday, Oct. 30. The trips selected were: New York to Denver from Nov. 26 to Nov. 29 (nothing like a little Thanksgiving travel, the lessons of which can now be applied to Christmas), Chicago to London from Dec. 14 to Dec. 21, Nashville to Omaha from Dec. 3 to Dec. 10, San Francisco to Houston from Nov. 19 to Nov. 23 and, finally, Minneapolis to Miami from Jan. 10 to Jan. 15.
We should note that none of these sites include Southwest Airlines, which likes to keep its system to itself and not pay out booking referral fees. (For our search, this did not matter because Southwest was not cheaper on any of the routes.)
Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter

Travelocity

This might be one of the big powerhouses of the travel industry, but when looking for airfare, we found the site was clunky and not cheaper than any of the others. Travelocity no longer charges to book flights and, like other sites, guarantees that if you book a vacation package and the fare drops (the exact same flights and hotel on the same dates), you will get that lower price.
The real annoyance here was that Travelocity kept trying to sell us hotel rooms. Also, the price here wasn't extremely clear. The price (with taxes and fees) was listed but not displayed as large as the initial price. Finally, Travelocity automatically clicked the "yes" button next to purchasing additional flight protection for $39.95 a person on our London flight.
Our searches on the site averaged 20 seconds.
For New York to Denver, the cheapest Travelocity fare was $419 with tax, with one stop on United. The cheapest nonstop was $432 on Delta. We eventually found two nonstop flights for $403 on other sites (we'll get to that in a minute) leaving on Delta and returning on Continental.
Chicago to London didn't fare much better. The best Travelocity gave us was a $836 nonstop on American Airlines. Three other sites (Expedia, Fly.com and ITASoftware) gave us $829 nonstop, leaving on United and coming back on BMI. (Hey, it's $7.) Travelocity didn't show the cheaper one-stop connections, including a popular $811 on KLM that several other sites provided and two other options we found on other sites for $805 and $807.
Check Out Travelocity for San Francisco to Houston
All 10 sites we reviewed came in with Midwest Airlines as the cheapest airfare for the Nashville to Omaha route. Travelocity matched the cheapest fare we found, $251. (Only one site, Cheapoair, had the same ticket for higher: $279.90.)
Travelocity was the winner for the San Francisco to Houston route, giving us a $411 nonstop on a US Airways flight operated by United and $345 for an Alaska-Continental one-stop package.
Finally, for the Minneapolis to Miami itinerary, Travelocity and eight of the other sites found us the exact same deals: $266 with one stop on AirTran or $315 nonstop on Delta or Northwest (now the same airline). Again, the only outlier was Cheapoair, which was higher at $290 for the AirTran flights and $339 for the nonstops.

Expedia

The site layout here is very similar to Travelocity, and the company also doesn't charge any booking fees. Expedia was among one of the sites with the cheapest airfare for the New York to Denver route. We also found a $10 cheaper fare here for the Nashville to Omaha trip, but we wouldn't have learned the flight times or airline until the purchase was made. (Our review did not include Priceline and Hotwire, which will often sell cheaper tickets under such conditions.)
And while Expedia was cheaper than Travelocity on the Chicago to London trip, we noticed that the American Airlines flights given to us by Travelocity were $45 more on Expedia. Searches here averaged about 23 seconds.

Orbitz

Most of the flights here were competitive with the other sites. For Chicago to London, Orbitz found the $811 one-stop flight on KLM and the United/BMI nonstop, although the Orbitz price was $10 more than some other sites.
One of the nice features of this site was that it showed you both the outbound and inbound flights on one screen. Several other sites made us click through a few pages to get all the details about our journey. Searches here was just 17 seconds during our average test.

Sidestep and Kayak
These two sites have now merged and while they operate two independent URLs, the sites are identical in use. Once the destinations are entered, it automatically pops up a calendar, before we entered the dates showing various fares with the cheapest days to travel. It also asks us if we want to try to search for weekend flights or even multiple weekends. For the advanced user, it is great, as it lets you customize flight times, airlines and airports.
The two sites don't actually act as ticket agents, instead they refer users to sites like Orbitz or CheapTickets to actually buy the ticket. The prices on most searches were comparable with the average, but neither site took the prize for the cheapest ticket. Searches here averaged 14 seconds.

Cheapoair.com
This site turned out to be the biggest disappointment for us. There were way too many clicks required to find the total fee with taxes. Each fare then had a $10 "instant discount promotion" but even with that savings built in, we didn't find the prices to be any cheaper.
For instance, on the Nashville to Omaha trip, the price was $279.90, nearly $29 more than the fare found on every other site we tested.
We did find the cheapest trip from Chicago to London here but it was on a "major airline" that the site didn't name, for $805.65. Cheapoair did give us the flight number and with a quick Google search of "flight 958 Chicago London" we learned that the "major airline" was United. (The return legs were already listed as a flight on Lufthansa, stopping in Munich.)
Our one other major complaint came when we tried to search only for nonstop flights and kept getting that same Lufthansa flight stopping in Munich. We're not quite sure what Cheapoair's definition of nonstop is, but we consider landing in Munich on our way from London to Chicago a stop.
Searches averaged 23 seconds.

Fly.com
This site comes from the folks at TravelZoo and had some nice features but did not always come up with the best price. When searching, we instinctively clicked on a button that led us to another booking site, such as Travelocity, to find the exact flights and not always the cheapest flights. But by clicking the "details" button, we easily brought up more information and showed the cheapest sites to do the booking. For instance, clicking on "details" showed us that Travelocity wanted $652.10 for a ticket that would have cost only $642.80 to buy on United.com, for the same exact flights.
Fly.com also gave us another one of those blind fare options through booking site Vayama. The $785 fare from Chicago to London (the best we could find) would reveal the airlines once booked. But looking at the limited data, it appeared to be the United nonstop and the Lufthansa one-stop return.
Searches averaged 18 seconds.

ITASoftware.com
This is a simple, bare bones system that can be manipulated to show advanced users all sorts of options. You can't book a ticket here but once you find that lowest fare, you can go to the airline's site and book the flights. The software here is the back-end system used by several of the other sites listed here.
Instead of the traditional "search nearby airports" it lets you search airports within 25, 50, 75, 100, up to 300 miles away from your search, which can sometimes be more helpful. It also has weekend and month-long searches like several other sites. Searches here averaged 18 seconds.
This site won on the New York to Denver route with a $403 nonstop leaving on Delta and returning on Continental. It also tied many of the others on the other routes. It also notes on the original search screen if there are airport changes, long or short layovers, overnight flights and flights that are on props instead of jets.

FareCompare

This site also doesn't handle your booking, but searches several of the big sites and then redirects users to the best fare. It is a great site for travelers who want to get away, but don't have a specific destination in mind. Once we put in our departure city, a list of getaway deals popped up. Once we entered our destination, a calendar showed up comparing prices on various days to fly.
The one downside was that it kept trying to pop out other search sites, doing the same search, in another window. Each time, we had to manually unclick that function.
The prices here were never higher than any of the other sites. But they weren't cheaper either. FareCompare just listed the other site's prices and redirected us to Ortiz or Cheaptickets or another site, depending on the search. The average search here took just 16 seconds. (FareCompare CEO Rick Seaney writes a weekly travel column for ABCNews.com.)

CheapTickets.com

Tickets here were cheap but not necessarily the cheapest. For instance, on Chicago to London, the best fare we could find was $836 on the United and BMI nonstops. Other sites had those same flights for about $6 cheaper and some cheaper one-stop options. The New York to Denver fare was comparable with other sites but, again, not the cheapest. The site was the fastest for us, averaging just under 12 seconds for each search.

Bing Travel

Microsoft's search engine took over the former Farecast.com site and turned it into a travel search site.
The biggest difference here is that the site predicts whether an airfare is likely to go down or up in the next week. Some people love the service, others call it more of a gimmick. Bing won out on the San Francisco to Houston route, finding us cheap flights through Orbitz. It also found a flight we had not seen elsewhere for the Chicago to London trip: $807 on SAS with one-stop, returning on United. Bing found that flight through Vayama. Searches here averaged 12 seconds.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

New Consortium To Focus On Cyber Research

2009-12-02T10:51:00.000-05:00

Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday the launch of a research consortium with three universities aimed at providing new tools and methods for countering cyber threats. The defense and intelligence community contractor will be working on research projects with Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and Carnegie Mellon University's Cybersecurity Education and Research Center.
Northrop Grumman's Robert Brammer said his firm is spending "millions of dollars" on the five-year project with the three universities but would not give a specific figure on the company's investment. He said the consortium will combine "outstanding people and the flexibility and visionary style of leading research universities." The initiative, which will likely go beyond the initial five years, will involve 10 projects at the three universities along with complimentary research at Northrop Grumman, Brammer said. Purdue University's Eugene Spafford noted that the projects are aimed at looking ahead to future threats and problems instead of being reactive, which is what usually occurs today, he added.
The specific projects being tackled by the consortium play to each university's strengths. For example, MIT will have three projects including one that aims to make computers better able to identify right and wrong commands so they can identify when they are being asked to perform a malicious function. The three projects at Carnegie Mellon will focus on protection of critical infrastructure. And the four projects being tackled at Purdue will include work on building computer systems that make it easier to identify when a cyber attack has occurred. Brammer said he believes the research will provide his firm with a competitive advantage, but added that any intellectual property that each institution develops on its own will remain theirs while intellectual property developed collaboratively will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
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iPhone Apps Put Brands in Hands

2009-12-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

By Brian Morrissey
The iPhone is a cultural icon of the digital age. Apple's "There's an app for that" slogan in commercials is even repeated both as a punch line and a nod to the ubiquity of new applications on the so-called "Jesus phone" platform.
Many top brands have tested its waters. Coke has two iPhone apps, as does Nike. Procter & Gamble has several, including Tide's Stain Brain, which helps consumers find ways to remove stains. All are searching for the secret formula that will unlock the promise of mobile marketing: a utility or piece of entertainment that is with consumers at all times.
Like any new channel, efforts have been a hit-and-miss affair. The mantra, however, has remained the same: "utility." In the mobile space, brands, it's believed, must provide something of value. Lancome and its mobile shop, Publicis Groupe's Phonevalley, use the iPhone to help women in the aisle choose makeup. Last month, it rolled out an app that lets users mix and match makeup from its Aaron de Mey collection. Zippo scored one of the first iPhone hits with a dead simple application that offers utility through entertainment. The Virtual Lighter simply gave users a digital representation of a lighter, marking a new way to signal for an encore at concerts. The app is still one of the platform's most popular selections.
Brands face an uphill battle getting noticed in the iTunes App Store, which now boasts over 100,000 applications. It's similar to their challenge on Facebook, only worse because brands do not have a beachhead like they do with their Facebook pages. That's meant few non-digital brands have cracked the most popular apps (ranked by number of downloads). These include Target, Disney and Walmart, which rank in the top 50 free apps.
One mistake brands make is thinking they can, in essence, create their own media properties, said Eric Litman, CEO of Medialets, an iPhone analytics and mobile ad platform. It sees the average brand app get between one and 2.5 uses, with engagement times between 2.5 and 5 minutes. "There will be a group of apps that sit at the top, a fair number in the middle and most will be in the tail," said Litman. "It's hard to build a business in the media industry."
That's meant some brands have chosen to go to mobile app networks. MasterCard released a new app this month, but it's also running a miniature version of it as a banner ad on The New York Times' application. And REI partnered with mobile media company Zumobi to create the REI Snow and Ski Report. Unlike most brand apps, REI does not own the intellectual property for the app, which reports conditions on the slopes and now includes Tweets. Instead, it sponsors the application that Zumobi built. The payoff: Zumobi can promote it through its other popular apps for MSNBC and the Today show.
But too often, said Ken Willner, CEO of Zumobi, brands hire an outside developer to build something that's little more than a glorified ad. "There are a lot of snow globes and novelty-type ideas," he said. "They don't sustain usage."
Here is a list of the successful brands and apps we feel best fulfill the promise of utility -- as well as some prominent missed opportunities:

Restaurant/Food:
Pizza Hut
The fast-food restaurant bills its effort "a killer app for your appetite." That might be going too far, but it does point the way towards the possibilities of mobile ordering. The app uses entertainment -- users shake the phone to add sauce to wings, for instance -- to make ordering a fun experience. While not without its detractors, the app boasts hard-core fans and has generated over $1 million in sales for Pizza Hut.
Released in mid-July.
No. 17 in App Store lifestyle category.
Missed Opportunity: Burger King's Burger King Now. Back in April the fast-food giant introduced an iPhone app for ordering food in Flushing, N.Y. (which is in Queens). The problem: it still only works in Flushing, N.Y. For a national brand, BK could act faster in rolling this out widely.

Travel:
Virgin Atlantic Flying Without Fear
Virgin is testing the limits of its brand with a $4.99 app targeted to fearful fliers. The content comes from a course Virgin has taught for years. It answers common questions like, "What is that noise?" and includes relaxation exercises. Released earlier this month, Flying Without Fear is Virgin's first stab at a mobile app. It doesn't hurt sales that the app, with its high price point, got Virgin coverage in dozens of blogs and news outlets.
Released November 2009.
No. 27 in App Store travel category (paid apps).
Missed Opportunity: Lufthansa has yet to create an app to complement its nifty MySkyStatus Web tool, which the German airline released in October, and which lets a user auto-update Twitter and Facebook with his or her flight status. Considering how often people use social networks on the go at airports, an iPhone app would seem the perfect fit.
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GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes

2009-12-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A., the largest low cost and low fare airline in Latin America, hereby announces that as of January 2010, its aircraft will be equipped with sensors to enable the use of the GPS Landing System, an innovative landing and takeoff system, as well as Vertical Situation Display, a sophisticated tool for determining the aircraft's position in relation to the ground.
The GPS Landing System enables, with more accuracy and safety, the plotting of curved segments in a single procedure, thereby permitting continuous ascent or descent.
"This type of navigation reduces fuel consumption and the emission of environmentally harmful gases by up to 15% in these flight stages," declared GOL's Technical Vice-President Fernando Rockert de Magalhaes. "We are anticipating a global trend which will become the dominant technology in the near future. The GPS Landing System reduces fuel consumption and the emission of environmentally harmful gases."
GOL's aircraft will also be equipped with Vertical Situation Display, which will allow pilots to accurately identify, from the cockpit, information on ground relief and obstacles. This equipment further enhances safety, by providing an additional tool for monitoring the position of the aircraft in relation to the ground.
It also permits more efficient landing planning, reducing landing component wear and tear and, consequently, future maintenance expenses.
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Google's gift: Free WiFi in 47 airports

2009-11-10T12:16:00.001-05:00

Google is planning to foot the bill for WiFi at 47 of the nation's airports for the rest of the year, beginning Tuesday.
With some travelers spending more time on the ground in airports than on planes during the busy flying season, now seemed an especially fitting time to offer up the perk, Google said.
The list includes the international airports in Miami and Orlando, which are among the world's 30 busiest airports, as well as five others in Florida. Travelers through smaller airports, such as Montana's Billings and Bozeman, will also benefit.
"This is one of our holiday gifts to our users, and when you connect, we also hope you'll take the opportunity to try some of the latest Google products," the company said in a statement.
Upon signing in, users will be asked if they want to set Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) as their homepage or try the Google Chrome browser.
The company is also running a charity campaign to raise money for three nonprofit groups: Engineers without Borders, One Economy Corporation and Climate Savers Computing Initiative. When Google WiFi users first log on, the landing page will offer them the option of donating to the organizations. Google will match donations of up to $250,000 per airport.
Google to buy mobile ad provider
Google has inked other free WiFi deals. It already offers free wireless Internet to its hometown of Mountain View, Calif., and last month it partnered with Virgin America to give the airline's customers free access to Gogo's Inflight Internet.
Both the airport WiFi deal and the Virgin America arrangement will end Jan. 15, after the holiday rush subsides.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

American Airlines and BlackBerry Launch 'Free Your Memory' Sweepstakes

2009-11-10T12:12:00.001-05:00

American Airlines is pleased to help customers "free their memory" with a promotion aimed at introducing travelers to the new AA.com Notification Center.
Running now through Jan. 5, 2010, the "Free Your Memory" sweepstakes offers a chance to win one of 60 BlackBerry® Curve(TM) 8900 smartphones, one of which comes with 300,000 AAdvantage® miles. Anyone can register to win by simply playing the interactive memory game at www.aa.com/promo.
The AA.com Notification Center, launched in 2009, is accessible from each customer's My Account section on AA.com, where customers can simplify their travel experience with American Airlines. The center enables customers to set their flight status notification preferences just one time and then automatically receive messages for all their future flights, as long as their AAdvantage number is included in their flight reservation. When setting up a profile, customers choose how they would like American to notify them - by phone, text message or e-mail. The AA.com Notification Center also makes sharing these updates easier by allowing AAdvantage members to save up to 10 contacts in their profile. American then will automatically provide the member, and the member's selected contacts, with desired flight information.
"We all have so much to do these days - so many places to be and things to remember. With the AA.com Notification Center, we're making travel a little easier for customers by giving them one less item to think about," said Derek DeCross, American's Managing Director - Interactive Marketing. "The 'Free Your Memory' sweepstakes is a great way to demonstrate how the AA.com Notification Center can make the travel experience more convenient, and we're excited to offer everyone a chance to win some fantastic prizes."
Customers can receive one sweepstakes entry by playing the interactive memory game and registering at www.aa.com/promo. Registrants may also earn additional entries by referring a friend to the sweepstakes and by updating or creating their profile on AA.com. The total number of sweepstakes entries allowed per person is three. No purchase is necessary to enter.
For further information and sweepstakes rules, visit www.aa.com/promo. For more details or to view a demo on the AA.com Notification Center, visit www.aa.com/connect.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

GOL Pioneers New Global Communication System for Air Operations Management in Brazil

2009-11-05T10:33:00.001-05:00

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A., the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, is adopting a new communications and operational management system with global coverage based on the Iridium satellite network. The new technology, which allows the exchange of information in real time via voice and text message, is linked to the Company's ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) and can be used as an operational management tool.
The ACARS via Iridium system provides the Company with several benefits: strengthening reliability and operational safety and offering better control of aircraft performance during flight, as well as trimming costs by reducing aircraft weight and streamlining the daily management of the air network. "This type of communications system is the future in airspace management," declared Fernando Rockert de Magalhaes, GOL's Technical Vice-President. "It will become increasingly common for pilots and air traffic controllers to communicate through a mixture of voice and text messages, which will ensure greater safety and allow for more efficient cost management," he added.
The Iridium satellite network functions over 100% of the globe, ensuring reliable and accurate communications between all the different parties making up the air traffic system. The new system will bolster existing resources for integrating the Company's technical teams (in-flight and on-land) by complementing traditional radio communications. Another system, which is also part of GOL's ACARS, will enable text messages to be exchanged with air traffic control, further complementing radio communications.
In addition to boosting operational safety, GOL's Iridium-based ACARS allows the Company to transmit data during flights, thereby making daily operations faster and more flexible. "We will have real-time access to the main aircraft data, such as distance flown, flight time remaining and fuel levels," explained Adalberto Bosan, GOL's Operations Control Officer. "Thanks to this information, we will be able to effect changes or replacements in aircraft programming and route operations with more precision and speed," he added.
In addition, the new ACARS will lead reduce aircraft weight by substituting the printed manuals currently carried on all flights with new data storage technology. "Less weight means more fuel efficiency," explained Rockert. "The new system reinforces our priority commitment to operational safety, at the same time providing tools that ensure more efficient operations and, consequently, increased control over costs," he added
Instead of a set of books, pilots can now rely on the Electronic Flight Bag, which functions like a portable on-board electronic library. Easy to use and with a user-friendly interface, its cutting-edge technology allows all the teams involved to receive real-time updates every time an operating procedure is revised.
The equipment and software have been exhaustively tested in the laboratories of Avionica, the system's Miami-based American supplier. The system has also undergone extensive testing in GOL's operational areas and will be installed in the Company's fleet as of January 2010, when the aircraft undergo routine maintenance procedures at the Company's Maintenance Center in Cofins (MG). Certified in 2008 by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), the system was included in Standards and Recommended Practices, a conjunction of non-mandatory, but recommended, measures by the global aviation regulatory body.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Expedia.com Eliminates Travel Booking Fees for Phone Orders

2009-11-05T10:32:00.002-05:00

Expedia.com, the world’s leading online travel agency, today announced that it has eliminated all phone-based booking fees. Expedia.com will not charge phone booking fees for any flight, car rental, hotel or cruise reservation booked by phone (1-800-EXPEDIA). The change to Expedia.com’s service policy is immediate.
This is the latest example of the meaningful steps Expedia.com is taking to drive down the cost of travel and to put travelers first in everything the company does. Expedia.com is now the only major online travel agency to offer fee-free telephone booking for air travel. By comparison, some online travel agencies charge as much as $25 per ticket to book via phone. Many airlines also apply as much as $25 in fees, per ticket, to book by phone.
The company eliminated online air booking fees and change fees and cancel fees on all hotel and car rental reservations in May 2009. Cruise change and cancel fees were also eliminated in May 2009 and cruise booking fees were eliminated in October 2009.
"Expedia.com is proud to stand up for the rights of phone-using Americans," said Tim MacDonald, senior vice president and general manager, Expedia.com. "In recent years, travel fees -- for baggage, gas, parking and the like -- have had a tendency to rise in unexpected and unpleasant ways. Expedia.com has chosen to move in a different direction. We expect that this decision will be well received by the millions of travelers we serve."
More travelers trust Expedia.com than any other travel site. Expedia.com delivers the most travel options in the world, which allows travelers to mix and match those options to book the trip they desire for a great price. Expedia.com also provides an easy and convenient booking experience with features including the Fare Alert tool that delivers bargain fares for flights directly to a computer desktop, a Seat Guru service offering expert advice on the best airplane seats, the Deal Finder tool that delivers attractive destination deals to a Google home page, and a Traveler Opinions feature that provides the inside scoop and user ratings on hotels from people who have actually stayed there, and more.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fla. sues online travel companies over hotel taxes

2009-11-05T10:32:00.001-05:00

The state of Florida is suing online travel reservation companies over hotel taxes, the latest in a string of lawsuits nationwide claiming the sites owe local authorities millions of dollars.
Attorney General Bill McCollum sued Expedia and Orbitz on Tuesday, claiming they failed to pay Florida the full amount of taxes collected on hotel room rentals through their sites.
"The customer is paying the tax already," said McCollum, who is running for governor in 2010. "Orbitz and Expedia are not remitting to the state all the taxes they have collected."
Consumers are charged a rate when they book a room online, and the company later reimburses the hotels a lesser amount, allowing them to pocket service fees. The taxes are paid on that less expensive rate, prompting legal action by cities and states that claim they're being cheated out of millions of dollars in tax dollars.
"The decision to file a lawsuit will hurt the interest of millions of travelers and tourism workers in Florida," said Andrew Weinstein, spokesman for the Washington-based Industry Travel Services Association. "It will make it more expensive for visitors to come to the state."
Weinstein said the lawsuits amount to little more than attempts by trial attorneys to make some money.
"The fees from traditional travel agents, tour operators and other middlemen have never been taxed," he said, adding that online travel companies "only connect consumers with good deals on rooms in the same way that offline travel agents or tour operators do."
Expedia issued a statement Tuesday denying the allegations and saying the lawsuit is "meritless and does nothing but detract from our efforts to bring visitors to Florida."
The Florida lawsuit — filed in a state Circuit Court in Tallahassee — claims the companies have been keeping some of the tax as profit.
Similar complaints against online travel companies have been filed by cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Atlanta and the tourist town of Branson, Mo. Officials have alleged that online travel services charged customers for local tourism taxes but never remitted those funds.
"In these tough budget times, I hope we can ensure that these companies pay what may be owed to Florida, instead of pocketing the tax our citizens have already shelled out," Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said Tuesday.
Sink, the lone Democrat on the Florida Cabinet, had pushed for action on the issue at last week's Cabinet meeting. She and McCollum, a Republican, are seeking their respective party nominations for governor and could end up facing each other in Florida's 2010 race.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thales technologies onboard the A380

2009-11-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

Air France today took reception of its first A380 aircraft, the largest passenger jet in the world. This super-sized aircraft - capable of carrying 855 passengers, but carrying only 538 in the Air France version - is at the forefront of innovation in aviation, displaying a superior design that combines unparalleled size and might with aesthetics and grace.
The wings alone on this record-breaking super jet each measure 845m². The A380 also boasts 50 percent more floor surface than any other high capacity aircraft, giving passengers space to relax in what is the quietest cabin of any airliner currently in service.
Thales is a long-standing Airbus partner, and the main supplier of the A380’s cockpit display systems – its technology can be found throughout the aircraft’s avionics system, covering navigation, flight controls, electrical power systems and utilities such as braking systems and door management* systems. The A380’s passenger doors are for the first time ever electronically controlled instead of mechanically operated. Within the cabin, the company provides state-of-the-art lighting systems and Inflight Entertainment systems.
Thales systems comprise a significant percentage of the electronics onboard the A380 and as such the company plays a significant role in bringing the aircraft to market. An average of 350 Thales employees per year worked on developing systems onboard the A380 over a period of five years.
Thales in addition supplied the A380 with a state-of-the-art full flight simulator for crew training. Innovative Thales solutions give crews on the A380 all the onboard intelligence they need for flying the aircraft, and the company’s expertise in simulation and air traffic management provides the breadth of vision required to further develop optimum solutions for this aircraft of the future.
Innovation for the Pilot
The A380 cockpit contains completely new technology, such as the Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) suite, never before seen on an aircraft. With an eye on the future, the cockpit has been designed in a way that will reduce training costs and optimise use of airline resources. Namely, an A380 pilot will need just minimal amounts of training to be able to transfer to the new layout and functions of the next generation A350 XWB.
Innovation and IMA
The A380 is the first aircraft ever to be fitted with the Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) suite, a major technical evolution of global importance for airlines and operators. Designed by Airbus and co-developed with Thales and Diehl Aerospace, the IMA is a leap-ahead technological innovation, with all onboard computing modules networked and able to support different applications. The result is a substantial improvement in computing power, reliability, maintainability, volume, weight and scalability.
Through its IMA platform, Thales has halved the number of parts required, leading to significant gains in direct maintenance costs as communication between the different systems is optimised. The principles of standardisation and the multiple use of function units are applied by combining computing as well as input and output functions in standardised computer platforms.
The IMA solution maximises the benefits of reuse developed for the Airbus A380 and specific requirements of the A400M, the Airbus military transport aircraft currently under development. For the A400M, the IMA has been adapted to meet military requirements for resistance to higher vibration levels, higher electromagnetic compatibility and necessary lightning protection system.
Innovation and the Onboard Airport Navigation System
Thales is providing the world’s first Onboard Airport Navigation System (OANS) within the A380 cockpit, providing crewmembers with improved situational awareness on airport surface manoeuvres. OANS allows the flight crew to more efficiently navigate at airports, which have become increasingly congested.
The OANS draws on an Airport Mapping Database (AMDB) to dynamically display the aircraft position on high-resolution geo-referenced airport maps. This information is presented to pilots via a large format liquid crystal display (Navigation Display).
On ground, the function displays high-resolution airport moving maps that depict the aircraft’s position in relation to airport surface features for taxiing operations from and to the gate. The system and database are designed with commonality for Airbus aircraft, first deployed on the A380, and then on A330/A340, A320 families, as well as on the future A350XWB.
Innovation and Head-Up Display
The Head-Up Display (HUD) is making its first appearance on an A380 aircraft with the entry into service of the A380 with Air France, the first airline to select the Thales HUD (in dual configuration) for this aircraft type. The European Aviation Safety Agency certified the Thales HUD on the A380 in both single (left seat only) and dual (left and right seats) configurations. Other Thales A380 HUD customers include China Southern Airlines and Korean Air.
The HUD increases pilot situational awareness by creating the conditions for a smoother transition from head down to head up. This feature is particularly advantageous during approach and landing phases, when it displays trajectory related symbols superimposed on the pilot’s actual external view.
The new Thales HUD is based on innovative and proven technologies and is already available as a catalogue option on Airbus Single Aisle and A380 aircraft families in current production.
Innovation for the Passenger
Innovation and Inflight Entertainment
Air France is equipping all of its A380 fleet with the advanced Thales TopSeries Inflight Entertainment (IFE) system. This system provides high-speed delivery of onboard services with large, widescreen displays at every seat. Air France A380 passengers can access a broad range of entertainment that includes approximately 100 on-demand movies, 300 audio CDs, 26 games, live camera, flight information map, in-seat chat and a customised menu option for children.
Air France is the first airline to equip each seat in the Affaires and Voyageur cabins with a USB socket, enabling passengers to download content such as flight schedules, information on Air France, destinations guides, games for children, as well as relaxation videos and podcasts. Passengers select the “Forum” programme from the list, which automatically disconnects when another application is selected.
The TopSeries IFE system is the first passenger system of its type to integrate on-demand entertainment and in-seat power to accommodate personal electronic devices. With a growing market share that today exceeds 40%, this web-based system is scalable to any aircraft and has been selected by more than 50 airlines worldwide.
Innovation and Cabin Lighting
Thales and Diehl’s joint venture company Diehl Aerospace, the world leader in cabin mood lighting, supplies the general cabin lighting system onboard the A380. This solution consists of the very latest technology for cabin lighting installations on commercial airliners in service.
The system enhances passenger relaxation by means of innovative ceiling mood lighting throughout cabin, creating restful day and night ambiences. These lighting innovations contribute to diminishing the effects of jet lag.
The so-called mood lighting effect is created by the Hybrid Integrated Ballast Unit (HIBU) system, by means of which LED elements complement conventional fluorescent light tubes. The HIBU system is superior to previous cabin lighting installations on long-range aircraft, because its MELODY (Modular Enhanced Low Dimming) technology allows for more variation than ever before in lighting scenarios.
MELODY means that cabin light on the A380 can be dimmed down to 0.1 per cent, and the technology is particularly effective for simulating a gradual increase of light again. As such, day and night effects can be simulated very subtly.
Thales is very proud to be onboard the A380 and to have worked alongside Airbus to tailor the very latest technological innovations to meet the needs of this superior aircraft.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Top Five Twitter Travel Lists Out There Now

2009-11-04T13:11:00.001-05:00

Twitter has made it a billion times easier for fans to stalk their favorite celebs, for airlines and brands to track their customers, and now, with the new Twitter Lists feature, it's super simple to follow frequent travelers around the globe. For those of you not yet on Twitter, we advise you not to tune out yet, because one day you will probably have to know about it for one reason or another.
Back to Lists—introduced during these first few days of November, the function is the first big update on Twitter in a long time. It allowed members to gather those they follow into neat and tidy lists based on any identifying characteristic, like mommy bloggers, celebrities, personal friends and—yes—travelers. In the course of these first few days of List generation, we've found ourselves included in over 100 lists and counting, keeping company with some of Twitter's best travel authorities and most frequent flying.
To help you on your List discovery, we've gathered up a few of our favorite travel-centric ones. Lo and behold, our Five Favorite Twitter Travel Lists RIght Now...
· @EverywhereTrip/Travel
Compiled by Gary Arndt, otherwise known as "EverywhereTrip" on Twitter owing to the fact that he's perpetually traveling around the world, this list is also one of the top-ranked on Twitter right now. It's not a massively large list as it follows only 279, but that just means that it's well-curated and an easy jumping-off point for getting into travel lists.
· @travelpod/list
This is a 500-er, meaning that Travelpod has chosen to feature 500 of the top Twitter travelers in their sizable list, giving you a taste of everyone that's out there in the world of virtual vagabonding.
· @eurapart/travel-500
Here's yet another 500-er that we've found to have quite a good cross section of travel twitters. From MSN Travel to folks chewing the fat over Amazing Race, it's a good variety. Of course you'll find us all warm and snug in there as well.
· @jessicadebra/travel-tweets
Okay, the last 500 list, we promise. This one comes from a regular old traveler, not a travel website or other media outlet. We love lists like these because the intel comes from those on the ground, actually out there hopping on trains and grabbing the planes.
· @IngridaLM/travelers
At 388-strong, this travel list sure doubles up on some folks from the previous lists we've mentioned, but when it comes to reading updates from the road and travel tips, our theory is the more the merrier.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Atheros Offers Family of Three-Stream Chips

2009-11-03T10:42:00.001-05:00

The AR9300 XSPAN line up has a three-stream, 3x3 format for up to 450 Mbps raw (300 Mbps TCP/IP) 802.11n traffic. But speed is critical only at close distances: the chips have been designed to keep data rates high as devices move further and further from an access point.
Pen Li, senior product marketing manager at Atheros, explained that the company's goal with what it's calling SST3 technology is to "maintain signal reliability across the entire link." To that end, it's employing four features.
At short ranges, maximum likelihood demodulation (MLD) employs a massive amount of calculation to figure out the best of a matrix of potential encoding systems to use. Li said this could effectively increase antenna gain by 6 dB over the current technique. "Up to this point, the industry has been using this sub-optimal scheme called zero forcing." That was because the necessary CPU cycles weren't available in earlier generations. Atheros says this extends higher rates (up to 200 Mbps of TCP/IP throughput) 100 percent further than current tech.
At medium distances, where maximum speeds can't be maintained, higher rates can still be ensured with transmit beamforming, a well-known technique of varying signal strength to steer a beam to a receiver based on its understood location. However, Li says Atheros takes this a step further by beamforming on each subcarrier of an OFDM signal. (OFDM breaks a channel into many subchannels each of which sends data much more slowly than a monolithic channel would. This allows better signal reconstruction, and allows subchannels to be interferred with without degrading other subchannels. It's fundamental to 802.11g, 802.11n, and, in a slightly modified form, WiMax.)
This transmit beamforming boost keeps rates higher--at around the 100 Mbps TCP/IP data rate--50 percent further.
For the longest distances, Atheros will use maximal ratio combining (MRC), which uses some magic to pull signals from different paths, relying on a certain amount of redundancy, to push range by 20 percent further than current systems. MRC in a more limited form was used in Atheros's SST technology. With a 3x3 antenna matrix, it can be used to greater advantage.
Across all three methods, Atheros will use low density parity check (LDPC), a binary forward error correction with very low overhead to reduce error rates. Forward error correction encodes additional data to allow a receiver to fix errant bits without asking for a packet retransmission.
Atheros is pusing this chip line-up as its flagship brand, with suggestions for applications for home and mobile computing (better range), media (set-top boxes, gaming, multiple HD streams), and business (better performance in dense environments or less expensive deployments with fewer APs).
The chips are slated to be sampled in the first quarter of 2010. Atheros didn't offer guidance about when its OEM partners would have products available based on the designs, but it's likely by the end of 2011 at least consumer devices would appear.
While three-stream devices are already on the market, there's only one piece of client hardware for laptops, meaning that only range and reliability can be improved with a three-stream device, not throughput.
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation To Provide Premier Broadband Connectivity Solution for Business Aviation

2009-11-03T10:41:00.002-05:00

Panasonic Avionics Corporation, the world leader in state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment and communication (IFEC) systems, today announced the availability of its Global Communications Suite to business aircraft at the annual National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference in Orlando.
Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite offers enhanced connectivity and productivity for business flyers through a combination of the following services: eXConnect, eXPhone, and the Panasonic Airborne Television Network. The suite provides the bandwidth to support virtually any service business passengers require, including simultaneous voice, Internet, VPN, live television and video conferencing.
Panasonic is in discussions with multiple customers who operate aircraft including the Boeing Business Jet, Airbus Corporate Jet, Embraer 135, B747, and the B777.
Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite consists of the following solutions:
Panasonic eXConnect – This global, two-way broadband solution will provide high-speed connectivity to the aircraft supporting data rates up to 50Mbps.
Panasonic eXPhone – Together with Panasonic’s service partner, AeroMobile, eXPhone enables passengers to make and receive calls and SMS text messages with their personal mobile phones, and use GPRS-based devices such as BlackBerry®.
eXTraBandwidth – This solution provides a tiered offering of guaranteed, consistent bandwidth for high quality communications, such as dedicated voice, video conferencing and other bandwidth-critical applications.
Panasonic Airborne Television Network – This private, global network will provide real-time broadcast TV programming delivering live news, sports, business/finance, weather, and entertainment via a proprietary, encrypted satellite feed. The Panasonic Airborne Television Network will be the first aviation satellite television product to deliver a consistent viewing experience on a global basis.
“Having broadband access to the Internet, broadcast satellite TV and the use of personal mobile devices is crucial to today’s business executive,” said Paul Margis, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Avionics Corporation. “With our Global Communications Suite, Panasonic will be providing a truly global solution with major improvements in connectivity bandwidth, television capabilities, and mobile device support providing business executives with the performance and capabilities they desire.”
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ISSN 1544-3760 - Copyright © 2009 AirGuide / Pyramid Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.