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The Business of Passenger Experience

EXPO Preview: What’s on tap this week

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The annual APEX EXPO is less than 24 hours away and anticipation for this year’s event is high. Many suppliers are promising big news throughout the week. In the inflight connectivity world it remains to be seen if anything will top the Panasonic Avionics/Inmarsat announcement from last week. Of course new order announcements are anticipated and will be part of the news cycle. But what additional stories will develop during the week?

For one thing, I’m hosting a Cabin Space Live session on the AIX side of the event. Stop by on Tuesday afternoon to spend an hour talking about how comfort can improve in the economy class cabin.

Beyond that, here’s what PaxEx.Aero will be tracking throughout the week, broken down by vendor.

Global Eagle

What is the outlook for the company’s LEO plans?

  • Global Eagle is keen to trial its gimbaled antenna for LEO-based connectivity, a significant technical challenge given the frequent satellite handoffs necessary. In maritime the company is pursuing a wider variety of technologies and some of that is expected to flow over to aero eventually.

What of the promised new customers?

  • The company announced connectivity deals with multiple unnamed airlines, including one active in Europe by Q3 2018. The hardware is reportedly being delivered but when will we see it fly and when will we officially know l’airline it is operating on? Also, when will the Asian carrier be disclosed?

Gogo

Is a split imminent?

  • With many investors expecting a split of the commercial and business aviation units what is the long term future of the company? If not, what concrete steps is the company taking to cut satellite costs as it tries to right the balance sheet?

Inmarsat

Is EAN ready yet?

  • There are planes with the kit installed but none active for passengers. What’s the hold up and when will it be live?

Growing GX

  • With the new Panasonic Avionics partnership will we see additional Ka-band capacity in the GX constellation before the I-6 family of satellites take flight?

Panasonic Avionics

Whither the XTS constellation?

  • Yes, PAC is committed to Ku-band capacity for its existing customers, even as it plans to focus on selling Inmarsat’s GX Aviation solution going forward. And the company highlighted its previously announced XTS payload commitments in conversations following the partnership announcement. But will it still orbit all six payloads previously promised?

What’s NEXT?

  • Lots of talk about NEXT and the focus on data analytics since the new regime took over late last year. What of these developments will be real products versus vaporware? Or will it all be custom developed for individual airline customers?

Thales

What comes after Spirit?

Viasat

When will ViaSat-2 come online for aero?

  • The satellite, launched last June, has been online for terrestrial applications since earlier this year. Getting it online for aero is a big deal for several airlines, including one not yet publicly named.

Others

  • Separately from the “Big 6” vendors what other developments are happening in the IFEC industry? Will we seen new orders for streaming systems or other, alternate entertainment solutions?
  • And, although such announcements are less common at this show, will we see anything new from seating manufacturers during the week?

Follow along here on PaxEx.Aero or on twitter as the news unfolds throughout the week.

More from APEX EXPO 2018

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About Seth Miller

Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry.

He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers.

You can connect with Seth via email, on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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