Electric aircraft are really real and the Embraer E2 family is complete. Plus a ton of good news for Airbus and an incremental eventual win for inflight connectivity.
Panasonic Avionics confirms Eutelsat 10B as second XTS satellite partner
Panasonic Avionics (PAC) plans a significant boost to its Ku-band satellite capacity from 2022. The company confirmed a contract for multiple gigahertz of capacity on both multi-beam payloads of the Eutelsat 10B satellite slated for launch in three years.
Qantas selects A350-1000 for Project Sunrise
A slightlyy modified version of the Airbus A350-1000(ULR) is the aircraft of choice for Qantas as it inches closer to its “Project Sunrise” plans for nonstop flights between Sydney and London or New York City. But neither the business plan nor aircraft order are finalized yet. Negotiations with pilots over work rules are the sticking point now.
Wizz Air plans Abu Dhabi expansion
Abu Dhabi is suddenly a hot market for low cost carriers. Wizz Air is the latest player, announcing plans to establish a Middle East-based outpost of its operations in the UAE captial. It expects to launch service in the second half of 2020.
United Airlines boosts 787 capacity with Polaris conversions
Business class passengers get a boost with the Polaris retrofits coming to United Airlines’ 787 fleet. But down the back the passenger density increases while lavatory count drops. That’s not great news for the bulk of travelers.
JetBlue boosts Boston-LaGuardia Shuttle to 10x daily
More thant three years after launching a “Shuttle” service between Boston and LaGuardia JetBlue is finally getting serious about the operation, increasing to 10x daily flights each way starting in Spring 2020.
Putting AirAsia’s new GX WiFi to the test
Deploy quickly and work out the bugs along the way. That’s not a typical approach to anything in the aviation world, and for good reason. But for AirAsia’s GX Aviation WiFi deployment that’s the plan, even if it means some hiccups along the way, as were experienced during a recent demonstration flight.
Astronics inks deal for deeper access into China
Doing business in China means finding a local partner to help build relationships. Astronics now has just such a deal to facilitate bringing its IFE/C hardware into what will soon be the largest aviation market on the planet.
AirAsia looks beyond the pipe for inflight connectivity value
Selling inflight connectivity packages to passengers proves to be a poor business proposition. Prices are high, take rates are low and the economics rarely deliver a return to justify the investment. But AirAsia has another plan in mind, one that could deliver a profitable version of inflight connectivity on a LCC airline.
Norwegian Argentina sold to JetSMART Airlines
Citing slipping foreign exchange returns and a general lack of profitablility Norwegian is exiting the Argentinian domestic market. The carrier sold its entire operation to JetSMART, effective immediately.