Airline equipment manufacturer Honeywell’s new Phase 3 Display Units (DUs) reportedly blanked out during a test because of interference from an onboard wi-fi network.
The DUs blanked out while they were undergoing airline electro magnetic interference (EMI) certification testing for Wireless broadband. The failure of the test has lead to Boeing suspending the installation of in-flight wi-fi connectivity systems on all of its aircraft.
Boeing confirmed that the US Federal Communication Commission guidelines make it mandatory that wi-fi radiation levels are to be set higher than in normal conditions while performing that EMI certification test. Based on testing that has been conducted, Boeing and Honeywell have concluded that actual EMI levels experienced during normal operation of typical passenger wi-fi systems would not cause any blanking of the Phase 3 DU. Meanwhile, the installation of AeroMobile’s eXPhone in-flight mobile connectivity solution on Boeing aircraft has also been halted until the Phase 3 DU issue gets resolved which affects Emirates, Turkish Airlines and V Australia.
Meanwhile the search is on for which airline cancelled an order for eight 787s in the past week or so. Boeing, rightly, remains very tight lipped about the whole thing but with no company wishing to pay reparations in this market it is likely that the cancellation was through an order for another type – Was it ILFC?