AINalerts » June 27, 2006

Boeing might sell or shut down its Connexion in-flight Internet service after six years of failing to turn a profit on the business, The Wall Street Journal reported today. Boeing is thought to have spent as much as $1 billion on Connexion, but has had a tough time attracting airline customers, many of whom have complained about the service’s high equipment costs.

The FAA yesterday adopted a 2004 notice of proposed rulemaking amending airman medical standards so that a refusal to submit to a required drug or alcohol test carries the same penalty as failure of a test–revocation or disqualification from holding an airman medical certificate. The same penalty awaits a pilot with an alcohol test result of 0.04 or greater.

CharterX, one of the largest online charter facilitators, disclosed today that it has acquired air charter audit firm Wyvern Consulting of Palmyra, N.J. Together the companies will offer a new service called Safety Intelligence, “an information system intended for charter buyers,” to include accident/incident data and operational standards of charter providers compared with those of other operators, as well as Wyvern’s recommended standards.

Eclipse Aviation said it will not make its anticipated “late June” certification of the Eclipse 500 very light twinjet, citing supplier issues. The company disclosed Sunday that “continued supplier delays” will push back FAA certification “by another several weeks.” For the last few months the company said it has been plagued by supplier problems, blaming them for preventing a previous certification target of March 31.