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On the Record With
AUGUST W. HENNINGSEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, LUFTHANSA
TECHNIK
Lufthansa Technik, which accounts for about half of the world's
completions of very large and VVIP executive jets, is pushing new
boundaries as it evolves into a full service company for the high-end
market.
"On the one side we have completions," says August Henningsen,
chairman of the executive board of Lufthansa Technik. "On the other
we have Life Cycle Services to support our customers around the
world." Together these services can provide customers with Lufthansa
Technik support from the moment they order their green aircraft
through its operational life until they trade it in for their next
one.
On the completions side Lufthansa Technik has suffered like everyone
else through the downturn, although it has one BBJ and one head
of state Boeing 747-400 on its finishing lines. "There are a lot
of negotiations going on for new completions, but nothing yet to
announce," Henningsen told Show News.
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A new moving map cabin display from Lufthansa Technik can
show the outside world in almost the same detail as a flight
simulator, thanks to satellite and database imagery of 16
meters per pixel for most regions and as high a resolution
as one meter per pixel for approach, takeoff and landing.
AirTrack, developed with partner TEAC Aerospace of the U.S.,
generates 2-D and 3-D topographical maps as well as the satellite
imagery database. The "view" from the airplane can be preprogrammed
to show 360 degrees around, or even the simulated view from
the cockpit. Later versions will introduce "joystick" control
to enable the viewer to "fly" at will.
Launch customer for AirTrack is Air Berlin, which decided
last month to buy 37 units for its entire fleet of Boeing
737Ngs. The airline opted for AirTrack partly because of the
ability to add its own advertising, passenger information
and safety messages.
AirTrack has been designed to replace current moving map
systems by simply pulling the old box and inserting the new.
Pricing, according to Lufthansa Technik, is "competitive."
The system is the latest addition to the German aerospace
company's Ethernet-based NICE integrated electronic cabin
system. Both can be seen here at NBAA.
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Two differentiators, he hopes, will be Lufthansa Technik's brand-new
Project U "emotional engineering" concept of cabin design, and the
company's high-tech, totally digital NICE wireless LAN cabin management
system.
Project U aims to help customers design their cabins to reflect
their own personalities, as if the cabin were their house or yacht.
NICE provides all the technology and equipment to operate the cabin
environment and its information and entertainment systems at the
push of a button.
"You can work on your laptop in one of our wireless-equipped airport
lounges, carry your computer onto the plane, and continue working
on the Internet without even hooking up a wire," said Henningsen.
NICE is the first wireless LAN cabin management system certified
on a business jet, and has now been installed on two BBJ2s and a
Boeing 747-400, with another 747-400 in the works for nose-to-tail
NICE. It will now be Lufthansa Technik's standard cabin fit, Henningsen
pointed out.
NICE marks another departure for the German company—it now
designs some of its own electronic cabin equipment to more robust
aviation standards and has become an OEM in its own right. NICE
is scalable to smaller business jets, and will run on 28-volt DC
power systems as well as the 115-volt 400 Hz found on top VVIP aircraft.
"A lot of people don't believe the capabilities of the NICE system,
and Lufthansa Technik is not yet known as a designer of cabin entertainment
systems," said Henningsen. Hence a strong marketing push, and a
display here (at Booth 1822) of a "NICE cube," a cubicle in which
all the features of NICE can be operated at the push of a button
from an executive chair.
On the services side Lufthansa Technik continues to expand its
capabilities. Its U.S. subsidiary BizJet International has joined
the Platinet team of service and logistics providers, plugging a
gap in maintenance support in North America where many of the German
company's customers operate. They can now expect full service support
from the Tulsa, Okla.-based company for any size of aircraft.
Some 50 aircraft are now signed up for Lufthansa Technik's Life
Cycle Services, and this week it announced its first fleet operator,
Mid East Jets, with five executive aircraft ranging from the Boeing
777 to the BBJ.
Platinet has also added Harrods Aviation in the UK. A Lufthansa
Technik service team is now permanently based at Harrods' BBJ-sized
hangars at London-Luton to support Life Cycle customers, and Lufthansa
Technik expects the two companies to expand their partnership in
the future. FBO, charter and aircraft management services are possible
areas for cooperation.
"A lot of VIP customers go in and out of London, so it is only
natural we should be there with them," says Henningsen.
—John Morris
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