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Bombardier interested in offering in-flight Wi-Fi as option on RJs

Bombardier interested in offering in-flight Wi-Fi as option on RJs
By Mary Kirby

Bombardier is "very interested" in offering in-flight Wi-Fi as on option on its regional jets and has entered discussions to work with Delta Air Lines, a top executive with the Canadian airframer reveals.

In November Delta confirmed plans to extend its Aircell Gogo in-flight Internet service to 223 regional jets operated by Delta Connection partners. Installations are expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Asked if Bombardier foresees offering in-flight Wi-Fi in light of Delta's decision to offer Gogo on its RJs, Bombardier CRJ programmes director Jean-Guy Blondin reveals: "This is something we're very interested in. Absolutely. In fact we've already started talking to Delta about that future need. Now, for some reason, being able to access Internet from your own device, in our view, seems to be much more on demand than just watching TV or reruns.

"I think that's where the future [is at]. Because people can stay connected to the office using their computer or they can actually surf the [Internet] and do what they want. They can play games. They can watch videos. So the Internet approach, I think, offers a lot more value for the public. I personally see that Delta is going in the right direction and we'll want to follow suit."

Thales-manufactured in-flight entertainment is on offer as an optional feature for Bombardier's newest RJ, the 100-seat CRJ1000. "The only one I have been able to do [certify] so far is Thales. That's the only one we certified. It's an individually mounted seat-back TV screen with audio/video on demand (AVOD)," says Blondin.

He notes, however, that AVOD is not very popular with regional operators. "It's a fairly expensive system. It's heavy as well. So it cuts into your payload and, on a short flight anyway, you wouldn't be able to watch a movie on an hour-and-five-minutes or an hour-and-10-minutes flight. So you could have short segments and so on. So I don't know if the regional airlines really recognize the value on the shorter flights."

Denny Crane

Carl,

Basically he testified that he was losing sleep over wondering whether the company got enough concessions (essentially 50% of our contract worth comes to my mind) from the pilots in the agreed to bankruptcy contract.

Denny

acl65pilot

Like I said yesterday, Ed inferred 100 replacements of both MD-90 and two class RJ's. Lets see what happens with teh MD-90 count. I do agree though. We need more flying at the bottom of this list.

Do we take it back or sunset it? Either way, holding the line is a min.

jabwmu

Pay question:

I had CQ this month and and am on reserve. My time card shows 0:00 credit (I haven't flown yet this month) and only 63:00 for reserve guarantee. My pay for CQ shows 9:45 but the total credit shows 63:00 for the month.

Am I only going to get paid 63 hours this month? My credit applicable to Reg Greenslip pay is 72:45. I've never seen the Total Credit for the month show less than 70 hours before.

Thanks.

Roll Inverted and Pull

No, he implied...you inferred.

nwaf16dude

You'll get paid 72:45. Training is pay, no credit. Reserve guarantee is reduced because of the days you're in training. If you work more than 63 hours, you'll get more than 72:45

jabwmu

Great. Thanks for the quick reply and info.

Columbia

Sweet! We're already there......year one, that is.

finis72

Geez, I might be old but my math says 8 777ER's plus 10 777LR's equals 18. I still agree with the gist of your post just not the math.

scambo1

I fixed my post...but you might still be old.