The US and French aviation authorities have now given certificates for the multi-channel Satcom telephone system to be used aboard airliners for the first time, Racal Electronics Plc announced: Racal developed the Satcom system with Honeywell Inc and the certificates allow the use of the en-route satellite service anywhere in the world by five commercial carriers operating three types of aircraft – McDonnell Douglas Corp received multi-channel Satcom Type Certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration for its MD-11 trijet operated by Swissair; Airbus Industrie won it for the A310 aircraft operated by Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates; FAA Supplemental Type Certificates were received by Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and the Taiwanese carrier EVA Air all for Boeing 747-400 aircraft, and Boeing Co is expected to receive Type Certification for the 747-400 in October and another Airbus, the A300-600, is expected to be type-certified for Emirates by next month.
