PARIS - Panasonic Avionics Corp. is
continuing with its ambitious program to install satellite broadband links into
long-haul commercial jets and is specifically continuing a large contract with
EMS Technologies of the United States and Canada, and Starling Advanced
Communications of Israel, to supply the Ku-band hardware, according to the
three companies.
The effort,
which seeks to apply lessons learned from Boeing Co.'s abandoned Connexion
program, is moving more slowly than expected
because of the downturn in commercial air travel and slowdown in orders for new aircraft, according to David
Bruner, vice president of global communication services at Panasonic.
Bruner said
a half-dozen commercial airlines have permitted the program, called exConnect,
to keep moving forward out of the conviction that installing
broadband data and voice links to commercial flights is a must-have
capability. He said the airlines view the technology as being just as important
for normal airline operations and crew-to-ground communications as it is to
meet passenger demand for in-flight Internet and wireless telephone access.
Lake
Forest, Calif.-based Panasonic Avionics signed a multiyear contract with EMS Technologies
of Atlanta and Ottawa to supply exConnect antennas in
October 2008. As part of the transaction, EMS contracted with Starling, a
start-up Israeli company, to provide technology for the antennas.
The
contracts were signed just as the extent of the current economic downturn were
coming into view. In the months since, cash-strapped airlines have jettisoned
as many nonessential expenses as possible. In a Nov. 23 interview, Bruner
conceded that several airlines that appeared on the verge of committing to exConnect
withheld their orders.
But 200 long-haul commercial jets
still are being equipped, as airlines that Bruner said are not normally
considered industry heavyweights have stepped forward to modernize their
fleets. He said the airlines have declined to announce their plans publicly for
competitive reasons.
"If you had
asked me nine months ago where we hoped to be, I would have mentioned about
double the current figure," Bruner said. "Of course the global recession has
had an effect. But we have seen that our customers are still committed to it,
but some are starting with the certification of one plane to give them time to
integrate the new capability into their overall operations systems."
Bruner said
that one of the lessons Panasonic learned from Boeing's Connexion is that
aircraft broadband needs to focus on all possible connectivity requirements to
and from the jet. A major focus has been crew communications and, more broadly,
airline operations for which broadband access will have the same
efficiency-generating effect as on any other business. In addition, exConnect
includes a mobile telephone service that allows passengers to use their own telephones.
Bruner said
the exConnect project owes a debt of gratitude to Boeing for winning regulatory
support for commercial
aeronautical broadband. "People often underestimate the expense of an
effort like this," Bruner said. "It is huge, and we were able to take advantage
of the fact that Boeing was there first. They set the precedent, and because of
them, we have received regulatory approval in three-quarters of the world's
nations in less than a year."
Two principal
exConnect suppliers have confirmed the continued growth in the aeronautical
broadband sector in recent weeks.
In an April
9 report to its shareholders, EMS said it is maintaining its ambitious growth
forecast for 2009, despite the global economic downturn, in large part because
of the continued strength of its products for airline connectivity. The company
said its customers include U.S. airlines Jet Blue and Frontier, Canada's WestJet and
Australia's Virgin Blue in addition to Panasonic's exConnect.
The EMS
contract with Starling is valued at up to $60 million over seven years, with an
initial guarantee of $9 million, according to Starling's majority shareholder,
Elron Electronic Industries Ltd., also of Israel.
Jacob Keret, vice president for
sales at Starling, said his company — which had no revenue to speak of in 2008
and reported an operating loss of $8.4 million after a similar loss of $7
million in 2007 —is continuing research and development into Ku-band antenna
systems for the aeronautical broadband market.
In an April
22 interview, Keret said Starling's patented antenna technology is using the
aeronautical sector as its first and most important application but is also
moving into land-mobile applications. The company signed two contracts with
Chinese customers, for a total of around $2.7 million, to provide Starling
Ku-band antennas and related gear for emergency vehicles.
"Coming from the aero world, we have
had to learn to make our antennas small and lightweight," Keret said. "That is
our big advantage."
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