Intelsat has launched Intelsat 33e, the second of 7 EpicNG satellites, which will provide some broadband capacity for aeronautical use. The Boeing-manufactured satellite was launched Aug 24, replacing Intelsat 904, which will be redeployed. Intelsat 33e will deliver high-throughput C- and Ku-band coverage for Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, for use by companies including Gogo and Panasonic Avionics. This latest satellite joins Intelsat 29e, which was launched in Jan 2016 over the Americas and North Atlantic region. “We remain on schedule to launch the remaining five Intelsat EpicNG satellites. The 2018 launch of our Horizons 3e satellite will complete our global coverage, adding the Pacific Ocean region,” Intelsat CE Stephen Spengler said. <br/>
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After announcing a production cut in July, the future of Airbus’ A380 aircraft was placed under further scrutiny with some even predicting the move could signal the death knell of the program. Taking into consideration lukewarm airline demand, the latest reduction was unsurprising. Despite the OEM’s best efforts, the A380 hasn’t proved a hit with carriers, leading to production gradually being reduced in the years since its 2007 entry-into-service with launch customer SIA. Following Airbus’ latest decrease, it will produce just 1 A380 a month come 2018, more than halving the current rate of monthly jets. At present, 13 airlines operate the aircraft. From September, Airbus will make 1 of the aircraft every 2 months, leading to speculation that production could cease for good in 2019 and new versions will be no more. <br/>
A new global deal on curbing aviation emissions will likely give states the right to opt out of its initial voluntary phases, according to sources familiar with the matter, in a concession to developing countries such as aviation powerhouses China and India. Allowing countries to join but then later opt out risks further diluting a plan that had already been criticised for not being completely mandatory by some environmentalists and European legislators, who had pushed for a more ambitious agreement. The draft resolution, which two of the sources said has broad support, will be adopted by the United Nations’ civil aviation agency’s governing council Friday and then put before all 191 member states next month. <br/>
Rockwell Collins is planning to deliver the final software load to Boeing for 737 MAX cockpit displays in mid-September, followed by initial deliveries of the final hardware components by year-end. The handover will wrap up 4 years of design, development and test work made more challenging by Boeing’s goal of maintaining maximum commonality between the 737NG and the 737 MAX, in part to retain common type ratings between the two and minimal “differences training” for pilots. Boeing is targeting 2017 for first deliveries of the re-engined and otherwise modernised 737. “One of the things that has been a challenge for us and for Boeing is that we are taking a 2015 display system and sticking it on an airplane that was designed in 1964,” Keith Stover, MAX program chief engineer for Rockwell Collins, said. <br/>
US airlines and aviation regulators are poised to break new ground by expanding voluntary safety-reporting efforts to include data from Canadian carriers, according to people familiar with the discussions. If the talks succeed incident reports from Air Canada and two other large Canadian carriers would begin to be combined with extensive voluntary safety reports already being collected from US pilots, cabin crews, air-traffic controllers, mechanics and other domestic sources. No foreign data has ever been incorporated into the signature US safety-data collection and analysis effort, which is known by the acronym Asias. The goal is to reveal new air-safety threats or operational risks by assembling a more complete picture of incipient hazards and potentially dangerous trends spanning both sides of the border. <br/>