Work as a senior executive in the inflight entertainment and connectivity business can be a fragile position. As the companies in the space continue to come up short on consistent and stable profits the likelihood of a sudden shift remains very real. Reports in to PaxEx.Aero suggest that just such a shift is underway at one of the leading providers in this segment.
Main Content
PaxEx Premium: Mahata joins the IFC financing fray
Is there a secret to better financing of inflight connectivity solutions? Indonesia's Mahata Aero Technology (MAT) is the latest to take that plunge, with an arrangement to cover the costs for Garuda and Citilink. The deal relies on partnerships with suppliers Lufthansa Systems, Lufthansa Technik and Inmarsat, along with what MAT Executive Director Iwan Setiawan describes as "a unique business model" that is proving successful in its preliminary state.
La Compagnie to deliver fast, free wifi on A321 fleet
Fast, free wifi across the Atlantic Ocean? La Compagnie is set to deliver precisely that as it upgrades its fleet to the A321neo.
PaxEx Premium News
PaxEx Premium: Huge boost for Viasat’s aero play
As the installed aircraft count ticks higher for Viasat so, too, does the share of revenue the company realizes from that segment. The growth rate will slow in the coming year as the American Airlines fleet completes its conversion (more than 450 aircraft installed to date) but CEO Mark Dankberg believes there is still runway left in the market. Even if it is going to be a little later than previously expected.
PaxEx Premium: Easing the 2Ku backlog
PaxEx Premium: SmartSky’s $104mm network push
Fresh off the announcement of its first commercial airline customer, upstart inflight connectivity provider SmartSky secured additional funding to complete its nationwide network deployment. The company announced a $104mm investment, bringing the total investment for the company to nearly $350 million.
IFEC
PaxEx Premium: Executive Shuffle
Work as a senior executive in the inflight entertainment and connectivity business can be a fragile position. As the companies in the space continue to come up short on consistent and stable profits the likelihood of a sudden shift remains very real. Reports in to PaxEx.Aero suggest that just such a shift is underway at one of the leading providers in this segment.
PaxEx Premium: Mahata joins the IFC financing fray
Is there a secret to better financing of inflight connectivity solutions? Indonesia's Mahata Aero Technology (MAT) is the latest to take that plunge, with an arrangement to cover the costs for Garuda and Citilink. The deal relies on partnerships with suppliers Lufthansa Systems, Lufthansa Technik and Inmarsat, along with what MAT Executive Director Iwan Setiawan describes as "a unique business model" that is proving successful in its preliminary state.
La Compagnie to deliver fast, free wifi on A321 fleet
Fast, free wifi across the Atlantic Ocean? La Compagnie is set to deliver precisely that as it upgrades its fleet to the A321neo.
PaxEx Premium: Huge boost for Viasat’s aero play
As the installed aircraft count ticks higher for Viasat so, too, does the share of revenue the company realizes from that segment. The growth rate will slow in the coming year as the American Airlines fleet completes its conversion (more than 450 aircraft installed to date) but CEO Mark Dankberg believes there is still runway left in the market. Even if it is going to be a little later than previously expected.
Delta’s A220 launches embedded wireless IFE
Rolling out a new inflight entertainment solution is not easy. For Delta Flight Products and Gogo the unveiling of Gogo Vision Touch on Delta’s A220 fleet this week is a major milestone achievement. And it mostly works.
Airlines, Airplanes & Airports
End of the (assembly) line for the A380
It is huge. It is (generally speaking) more comfortable for passengers. It is spectacularly quiet on board. And as of 2021 no more will be built. Airbus confirmed today that it will finally halt production of its A380 super jumbo in two years, once the final 17 frames are delivered. The move comes after reaching an agreement with Emirates to slash the carrier’s order backlog.
United, Bombardier launch the CRJ550
Behold the outcome of a battle between pilot scope clause and a shrinking pool of commercial airline pilots United Airlines and Bombardier announced the launch of the CRJ550 this morning. It is a CRJ700 frame, reconfigured to a maximum of 50 seats.
Bringing Artificial Intelligence to ATC: Huge promises, challenging timelines
Urban air mobility – flying taxis – will revolutionize personal transport. But the projected volume of traffic is simply too much for humans to effectively manage. Artificial Intelligence systems aim to solve that problem.
Lounge access, booze and crew bases: Cuts galore at Norwegian
Cost-cutting at Norwegian kicked in to high gear this month. The carrier is trimming expenses in several areas as it seeks to shore up its books. The cuts affect passengers and crew alike, demonstrating just how critical and broad the efforts are. The carrier hopes that the moves will improve profitability and reduce the cost […]
Aireon can prevent lost planes anywhere on the planet, and that’s not the best part
Aireon’s space-based ADS-B tracking will know the location of every commercial aircraft. More important are the operational improvements it will bring to life.
Loyalty
Lyft Rewards Introduced: Some sort of loyalty??
Ride-hailing app Lyft intends to launch a new loyalty program in December 2018. Lyft Rewards will deliver benefits like ride upgrades or discounts. Probably. The announcement is spectacularly vague about how the scheme will work and even when customers can expect to participate.
Is Alitalia’s Milemiglia loyalty scheme next to change?
As Alitalia trudges along, seeking the right mix of investors to keep its airline operations afloat, another portion of the business may prove a more interesting attraction. The Milemiglia loyalty program operates at arm’s length from the core airline business and it could be headed for an abrupt change of course.
Sun Country cuts premium seats, loyalty in quest for higher revenue
Sun Country’s pivot to a ULCC continues unabated. More than a year after the carrier announced plans for a new approach to the market the changes continue. Up next: further cabin reconfiguration and a revamp of the loyalty and co-brand credit card strategy that seem unlikely to make many customers happy.
Press Releases
[PR] Viasat Ka goes line-fit on Gulfstream G280 Biz Jets
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today its high-speed, high-capacity Ka-band in-flight connectivity solution has been selected for the Gulfstream G280™ mid-sized business jet airframe. The Viasat in-flight connectivity system will be a line-fit option, offered directly from the Gulfstream factory for all new aircraft. It will also be available as a retrofit for in-service aircraft. The Viasat […]
[PR] Kuwait Airways breathes life into the A330-800 program with new order
Airbus has long expressed confidence that the A330-800neo would garner orders. Eventually. Today that finally happened, with Kuwait Airways selecting the type to help its fleet expansion.
[PR] Gogo DASH brings BizAv connectivity performance data down to earth
Services, services, services everywhere! Once the connection (mostly) works and signups of new customers slows the need to better support the existing installs grows. Gogo DASH helps the company continue to build out the services ecosystem that keeps customers loyal to the installed product. The more different touch points that use the installed kit, the harder it is to shift away.
[PR] Lufthansa Technick performs first 737 MAX connectivity install
Lufthansa Technik recently performed the first major connectivity modifications on Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Neither LHT nor the airline will confirm the customer involved but PaxEx.Aero research suggests it is the Global Eagle kit on flyDubai’s A6-MAX frame.
[PR] Ariane 6 secures first commercial customer
Eutelsat and Arianespace signed a five launch deal this week, including use of the Ariane 6 rocket now in development. That’s a big rocket and a big deal for the two.