Just a quick note to let you know that I am back online. I had to leave for a while due to some shall we say......outside influences. I have a little bit of info you may find interesting. A Canadian carrier, Westjet, has just struck a deal with Bell Globe Media, to begin offering inflight Pay Per View movies. What will happen this time..??

Beanspiller_ns

WestJet to Offer Bell ExpressVu Seatback Satellite

CALGARY, ALBERTA--WestJet, Canada's low-fare airline, LiveTV, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JetBlue Airways Corporation, and Bell ExpressVu, Canada's leading direct-to-home satellite TV company, today announced that WestJet guests will in the near future be able to enjoy 24 channels of live Bell ExpressVu satellite programming in every seatback of the airline's state-of-the-art Next-Generation Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

The agreement signed between WestJet and LiveTV is for a thirteen-year term, terminable thereafter on six months notice by either party. The agreement is for installation on 40 aircraft with the option to install the system on future aircraft deliveries as requested. LiveTV is contracted to provide and maintain its satellite receiving equipment onboard the aircraft. WestJet will purchase the seat equipment and monitors and lease the satellite receiving equipment.

WestJet has also signed a letter of intent with Bell ExpressVu to provide satellite programming for the new service for which WestJet will pay a service fee. WestJet and Bell ExpressVu will also jointly market and promote the service. The obligations of the parties under the agreements are subject to the satisfaction of specified conditions, including definitive documents to be negotiated and finalized with Bell ExpressVu within the next 45 days.

The airline currently plans to offer the entertainment service to its guests free of charge until all of its 700-series aircraft are configured. WestJet will review whether to charge a nominal fee for guests to use the system once the entire fleet is equipped.

Installation of the equipment on WestJet's fleet of 737-700 series aircraft is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2003 and will be completed by the first quarter of 2004. The airline expects to have 28 Boeing 737-700 series aircraft in its fleet at that time.

WestJet's seatback satellite programming from Bell ExpressVu will offer a selection of Bell ExpressVu's 300-plus channels including news, sports, children's and leisure programming that can be individually selected by the guest.

Clive Beddoe, WestJet's President and CEO, said today: "We're excited to be able to bring this innovative live satellite television programming to our guests through these agreements with LiveTV and Bell ExpressVu. We have been monitoring for some time the attractiveness of this product on JetBlue and have been very impressed with their results, both from a reliability perspective and from the enthusiasm in which the public has embraced this product.

"As we continue to increase the length of our flights across Canada, we recognize the importance of offering additional services for our long-haul guests, and we're pleased to be the first airline in Canada to offer live, satellite television."

"WestJet's decision to provide our satellite TV service to their guests flying across the country is another example of the flexibility and reach of Bell ExpressVu's advanced satellite technology," said Timothy E. McGee, Bell ExpressVu President. "Our wide selection of programming, crystal-clear all digital picture and superior customer service have made us the number one choice among Canadians for digital and satellite television. Bell ExpressVu is proud to be on board with WestJet."

The inflight system features a true real-time, at-home entertainment experience in the air and includes individual adjustable seat-back screens, personal headphones and a control for channel, brightness, and volume mounted on the armrests.

"We're excited to welcome WestJet to LiveTV's growing customer base of low-fare, low-cost airlines," said David Neeleman, Executive Chairman and CEO of JetBlue Airways. "With this agreement, WestJet is once again demonstrating its commitment to offering Canadian travellers innovative, high quality air travel."

WestJet serves the 26 Canadian cities of Victoria, Comox, Vancouver, Abbotsford/Fraser Valley, Prince George, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Thunder Bay, London, Ottawa, Hamilton, Toronto, Windsor, Montreal, Moncton, Halifax, Gander and St. John's. WestJet is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol WJA.

With more than 1.3 million customers, Bell ExpressVu is Canada's leader in digital home entertainment and broadcasts more than 300 digital video and audio channels. Bell ExpressVu was launched in September 1997 and since then has become the largest direct-to-home satellite company in Canada. Bell ExpressVu is part of the BCE Group of companies.

LiveTV is an innovative provider of in-flight entertainment products and services such as DIRECTV AIRBORNE(TM), XM Satellite Radio, wireless aircraft data link services, cabin surveillance systems and Internet services for commercial aircraft. LiveTV is a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue Airways Corporation.

Beanspiller, glad to see you back again! I have to agree with the Gary Stoller USA Today article that Mark just posted today where one individual suggested bringing reading material onboard a long flight and skipping the entertainment for a myriad of reasons, but all of them pertaining to safety.

The ball is in the regulators' court at this point. It is horrendous and unconscionable that any airline would endanger passengers' lives for a lousy few hours of 'entertainment' as swissair did. Rules for certification must be tightened or there may be another tragedy. I don't think we can leave it to the industry to regulate themselves.

Beanspiller we are always interested in any information you can provide. Your help in the past has been great.

CD thanks for another interesting article.

Barbara

Beanspiller just wanted to mention that I heard concern recently expressed that some of the individuals involved in the swissair 111 IFEN may be still involved in installing entertainment systems (not specifically the IFEN as that has been banned)on jets. Now that is something to think about considering the shoddy workmanship that came to light following the crash.

David McElroy,former president of SBA, Santa Barbara Aerospace who performed the certification of the IFEN, is now a part of Arrow Air's management team (Chief Operating Officer) in south Florida (Miami). Note SBA is not listed on his credits.


http://web.archive.org/web/20021021084321/www.arrowair.com/mangementteam.htm


For more information about Santa Barbara Aeropace:

https://forums.swissair111.org/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=384006716&f=322103945&m=499103945&r=699103945#699103945

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BF,

Recent update on Arrow Air, the company that David McElroy is/was an officer of following the demise of Santa Barbara Aerospace. Santa Barbara Aerospace was the company that certified the entertainment system (IFEN) that was cited by the TSB as likely being part of the cause of the crash of sr111.

McElroy was president of SBA and then a vice president at Arrow Air. Not sure if he is working there any longer but the following statement was made by him in '03.


ARROW FLIES: Arrow Air will move an 80,000-square-foot operation from Hialeah to a 43,168-square-foot building at Dallas Airmotive Operation Center, 1740 NW 69th Ave., said Vice President David McElroy. He said Arrow will no longer sell and maintain parts for other airlines. Arrow, one of the nation's largest cargo lines, will focus on its cargo services, he said. "Selling and storing parts occupied a lot of warehouse space." With two buildings at Miami International, Arrow wanted to be near its operations center in the airport's cargo area, said Ron Berger, managing director of Industrial Services with Insignia/ESG, which represented landlord Dallas Airmotive. The four-year lease will total $1.1 million.



http://www.miamitodaynews.com/news/030130/fyi.shtml

Ok now McElroy says "Selling and storing parts occupied a lot of warehouse space." Look at the following links:


http://www.airlineinvestigationunit.com/aiu/mh960404.htm


http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1998/oig1198.htm


http://www.insightmag.com/news/1999/09/27/InvestigativeReport/AirParts.Pirates.Crash.And.Burn-209077.shtml


http://www.airlineinvestigationunit.com/aiu/ost-96-1990.pdf



http://www.dot.gov/affairs/1998/oig1198.htm


http://www.insightmag.com/news/1999/09/27/InvestigativeReport/AirParts.Pirates.Crash.And.Burn-209077.shtml


http://www.airlineinvestigationunit.com/aiu/ost-96-1990.pdf



The arrangement would eventually give Batchelor access to Rich's
lucrative contracts with the U.S. Air Mobility Command to fly military
personnel from base to base. His own charter airline, Arrow Air, had not
transported
passengers since the military pulled its contract in 1987 following an
Arrow crash in Newfoundland that killed nearly 250 servicemen and women.
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/1996-08-29/feature2.html


And more recently:

Actions have also been brought against participants in the alleged
counterfeit
parts market. Arrow Air has pled guilty to falsifying records on engine
parts not
certified for airworthiness by the FAA, resulting in a $5 million fine
and a
comprehensive compliance program. Following the accident involving a
Fine Air
aircraft on takeoff from Miami in August of 1999, the airline was
charged with
obstruction of justice and false statements regarding the weighing of
cargo
pallets and payloads. The company pled guilty to two charges, unrelated
to the
crash, including making a false statement concerning maintenance matters
and
obstructing the government's investigation by destroying, disposing of
or altering
evidence.
http://www.condonlaw.com/nl_dec2001.htm

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BF,

quote:

---

Arrow Air has pled guilty to falsifying records on engine parts not certified for airworthiness by the FAA, resulting in a $5 million fine
and a comprehensive compliance program.

---

GAO Recommends Better Enforcement Data
As Congress looks at the financial picture, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been investigating whether the warnings, reprimands and fines doled out by the agency for regulatory violations have any effect on flight safety. The conclusion? It doesn't know and neither does the FAA. The GAO looked at 200,000 enforcement actions undertaken between 1993 and 2003 and found that 53 percent were handled with a warning and about 18 percent resulted in no action at all. In the relatively rare cases where a fine is recommended, the FAA's own lawyers often reduce or eliminate the financial penalty if the alleged violator can prove he or she is taking steps to prevent recurrence of the violation. But just how all this paperwork affects the ultimate goal of making the skies safer remains something of a mystery. The GAO found that the FAA "lacks explicit, measurable performance goals for its enforcement actions" and there's no evaluation of the impact on flight safety. Also, FAA field offices don't routinely share their enforcement data with other offices so there's no easy way to get a snapshot of how the system as a whole is working. The GAO is recommending the FAA develop evaluation processes for its enforcement activities and set performance goals while at the same time improving its data-management system. The FAA has agreed with the recommendations.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/268-full.html#187748

As noted McElroy didn't mention the fact that he was president of SBA in his company biography that lists his experiences through the years. SBA (Santa Barbara Aerospace) was the company out in California that certified swissair's entertainment system as air worthy. He wasn't the only one who omitted his involvement. Karl Laasner who was the head of marketing for swissair during the time that the IFEN was purchased, promoted in their news releases, and installed, started an inflight entertainment system consulting business after leaving his position at swissair. On his website that touted his experience he completely leaves any mention of this off of his site. Gee (sarcasm), isn't that strange?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BF,

More on Mr. Laasner:

http://tinyurl.com/8nsps

I've been informed that these people were all part of the certification personnel at SBA (or contractors who worked for SBA) who certified the IFEN (entertainment system) on SR 111.

Certification personnel:


Glen Mills
Mark W. Ostendorf
Timothy J. Moran
Douglas A. Anderberg
Charles 'Chuck' Cupani
David R. Orfant
Jefferson O. Barnes
Robert (Robbie) G. Thomason
Stanley R. Fisher
John P. Buckley
Duc Van Nguyen

Many if not all are still in the aviation business:

http://www.nw.faa.gov/tad/la_mido/darlist_files%5Cvny_darlist.htm

http://www.tasaircraft.com/TAS_company_management_content.htm

http://www.drake-group.com/html/associates.php

None of these people mention their employment at SBA or anything to do with the certification of the IFEN in their past experiences. Anyone surprised?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: BF,

BTW, all of these individuals are invited to tell their version of the story on this site. Please do...