Tenzing Scales Back e-Mail Ambitions
As Airlines Cut Connectivity Funding

"Tenzing is alive and well despite the recent adverse changes in the commercial aviation marketplace."
That's the word from a company spokesperson, following Tenzing's October announcement saying it planned to lay off 80 people-some half of its staff-due to the cancellation of service contracts with airlines hurt by the turndown in air travel.

"Tenzing is pursuing other applications of its connectivity solutions, including the GA market," said the spokesperson. "We will be demonstrating our GA solution at NBAA, as we have done in the past. We will be making announcements at the show as well pertaining to this space."

Tenzing has already concluded several in-flight airline trials of its e-mail and Internet service, including one of more than six months with Air Canada. Cathay Pacific Airways is also rolling out the technology throughout its fleet. However, steep drops in airline profitability have hurt Tenzing.

"The events of last September and their dramatic economic impact have severely affected the investment plans of our commercial airline customers," said Tenzing CEO Edward Nicol in an announcement.

"We believe the most prudent and responsible strategy, for all stakeholders, is to focus on our existing customers and the deployment of our unique technologies." As a result, Tenzing executives say they will refocus their business model to include simple e-mail and short messaging services for passengers not carrying their own laptop computers. Until now, Tenzing had always focused on business passengers toting computers.

What won't change is Tenzing's initial emphasis on a store-and-forward service to and from the ground to transmit and send e-mails. The company plans to increase the speed of the service, but does not intend to develop the costly broadband capability that would allow real time Internet communication.