British Airways‘ first 777-300ER with the Gogo 2Ku service on board is now operating. Ship G-STBE joins four of the carrier’s 747-400s delivering high-speed inflight wifi connectivity to passengers.
The aircraft was out of service from 13 November to 6 December 2017 according to flight records. Confirming the installation since that time proved challenging but recent reports from passengers on board corroborate that the service activation. It is currently in a testing mode and being delivered for free to passengers on board.
Interestingly, based on aircraft history on could expect to see ship G-STBL active soon as well; the plane made its trip to Frankfurt in mid-December. Recent photos of that aircraft do not, however, show the 2Ku hardware installed.
British Airways and the other IAG long-haul carriers are committed to deploying the 2Ku product across the vast majority their fleet. The BA rollout has not been as quick as some other airline sub-fleets, a circumstance that raises many questions.
It’s not so much as just stopping but planning it in line with the heavy “D” checks (like the others have been done) and fitting it to the aircraft set to stay in the fleet the longest
— Naz (@Planenews_777) January 23, 2018
Is it simply a matter of timing the deployment to aircraft maintenance or are there other factors in play?
A decidedly less than ideal @Gogo #2Ku experience on @British_Airways #BA176 (G-CIVS) last night. System offline the whole flight. #avgeek #paxex pic.twitter.com/uBWvoNHYoA
— Seth Miller (@WandrMe) January 12, 2018
The on-board portal contributes to a certain number of the issues based on anecdotal evidence, including one of my recent trips and conversations with flight crews. Hopefully those problems can be addressed quickly to help increase the installation pace.
Oooh I wonder if my buddy G-VIIO will get one
It should, eventually, All 46 of the 772s are slated for the kit.