EBACE Show News - May 20, 2008 - (Page 72) EBACE 2008 ARINC Looks Abroad As the U.S. economy cools, manufacturers and service providers alike are looking beyond the border for business expansion, and ARINC Direct is no exception to the trend. Over the past 12 months the company’s client list has grown from 40 to 150 in Europe and the Middle East. European customers are coming to ARINC Direct because it offers one-stop shopping for flight support and integrated communications, according to senior director Bob Richard. The company now offers real-time data per aircraft for all satellite voice and data via user accounts accessible over the internet—a very real benefit to customers who must account for aircraft usage. ARINC Direct offers the service with direct dial over Iridium and Inmarsat Aero. Partnered with Rockwell Collins and its eXchange systems for Ku band television and high-speed data, ARINC’s SKYLink satellite network, recently acquired by Rockwell Collins, and enabling ViaSat hardware is a direct descendant of Connexion by Boeing, which terminated services to its airline customers and left the partners to pick up an already existing system and configure it to business aircraft rather than airlines. An eXchange system recently was installed on a Citation X at ARINC’s Colorado Springs, Colorado, shop. At Hamburg’s Aircraft Interiors Expo, ARINC debuted its new Onboard Internet (Oi) connection for personal laptops, enabling airline passengers to access the internet inflight on a sliding price scale. ARINC Direct says business operators are interested. Check it all out at Booth 1553. AW101 Interior on Show AgustaWestland is unveiling its AW101 VIP cabin demonstrator here at EBACE. The demonstrator, on show at Booth 7550 in Hall 7, has been built to the exact dimensions of the AW101’s cabin, enabling accurate representations of VIP and executive outfitting configurations to be presented. These include a VVIP interior with bathroom and cabin attendant station, and a business executive interior seating up to 20. At EBACE the demonstrator is fitted out for ten VIP/business class seats with mood lighting and air conditioning. With standup headroom throughout and a claimed 30% more cabin volume than its nearest competitor, AgustaWestland says that the AW101 offers unparalleled design and configurations options for the VIP and head of state roles. MJET Elisen offers converted CRJ200s. MJET Elisen Kicks Off First CRJ200 Conversion As regional airlines park their 50-seat jets and replace them with new fuel-stingy turboprops, the jets become bargain propositions for conversion to executive interiors. For the Bombardier CRJ200, that completes the circle for a basic aircraft design that started as a business aircraft. MJET, which only months ago announced its Elisen Elite Auxiliary Fuel System (AFS) 500, is in the catbird seat with a modification that adds 4,500 pounds of fuel. Now the first CRJ200 has entered the MJET shop in Montreal. Operated by Corpac Canada of Calgary, Alberta, the airplane will be completely reconfigured to a 15-seat VIP set-up with addition of a forward lav and the AFS 500. The airframe is production number 7644 and has a total time of 10,696 hours, and, in its new life, it will be used for private and charter operations. MJET is at Booth 1435. Fuel and Charter Management Teams Grow Universal’s European Presence Universal Weather and Aviation announced this week its new charter management team (CMT), a response to charter management’s rapidly growing market, its high potential and specialized needs. In a related announcement, the company confirmed that it now has a dedicated team of fuel experts to reside in Europe. “The European business aviation market continues to grow at an amazing rate,” said Greg Cox, vp of fuel division, UVair. “Our goal is to be easily accessible to our clients, and even in today’s ‘virtual’ world, there is nothing that replaces physical proximity and face-to-face connection.” Universal (Booth 347) developed the “integrated” team concept based on client feedback and rolled it out in a pilot program in February. The CMT interfaces with other centralized teams such as weather, flight planning and regulatory services to ensure a customer’s trip is seamless from start to finish. A big business jet interior at a fraction of the cost for a new jet. 72 May 20, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.