Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] will install the industry-standard Boeing Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on two 777-200ER (Extended Range) and four 737-700 airplanes to be delivered to TAAG Angola Airlines beginning in the third quarter of 2006. With this installation, TAAG will become the first carrier in Africa to fly the Class 3 EFB in commercial service, the first commercial operator to use the Class 3 EFB on a Next-Generation 737 and the first carrier to use the Class 3 on multiple fleet types.

"We are excited to have the Boeing EFB installed on our new 777s and 737s," said Capt. Machado Jorge, executive vice president, Operations, for TAAG. "We believe that these leading-edge aircraft will help us operate with much higher levels of safety and efficiency, and launching the EFB in Africa will make us that much more efficient."

EFB is a core technology to Boeing's vision of an e-Enabled air transport system, where data, information and knowledge can be shared instantly across an air transport enterprise. Using software developed by Boeing and its subsidiary Jeppesen, and hardware from Astronautics Corp. of America (ACA), the Boeing EFB digitizes vital charts and manuals that pilots need to fly an airplane, giving them the information they need instantly.

An onboard performance tool gives pilots the ideal speeds and engine setting for an aircraft instantly, in any weather, on any runway, with any payload, and can create vast gains in efficiency, range and payload. Jeppesen's award-winning Airplane Moving Map -- available only on Class 3 EFBs -- enhances runway situational awareness by integrating geo-referencing technology with Jeppesen airport taxi charts to show flight crews where they are on the tarmac. The EFB even gives flight crews a viewer for cabin surveillance systems, helping them meet enhanced security recommendations of recent months.

With 80 Gigabytes of available memory, the Boeing EFB provides plenty of room for new applications as well, such as enhanced fault reporting; e nhanced electronic checklists; real-time weather information; and real-time Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) information. In addition, the open-architecture design of the Class 3 EFB and its integration into the airplane's larger systems give it unmatched potential for Boeing, airlines and even third-party software designers to create even more valuable applications.