Viasat added a pair of new orders from existing customers United Airlines and Aeromexico today, continuing its growth in the inflight connectivity market.
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.
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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.
Neos chooses Viasat for Dreamliner connectivity
Little deals matter, too. Italian leisure carrier Neos is the latest carrier to choose an inflight wifi connectivity solution. The carrier picked Viasat’s Ka-band system to operate on its trio of 787 Dreamliners.
Norwegian upgrades European wifi with a Freemium play
Short on the heels of announcing its long-haul fleet is getting new and better inflight wifi service Norwegian is also upgrading the legacy installs with a new, faster offering, though higher speed options carry a charge.
Air France Connect activates on single-aisle fleet
Inflight wifi connectivity is now live on the Air France A320 family of aircraft. The service is delivered by Global Eagle with Orange acting as the integrator and ISP for the connection.
More free inflight entertainment on American, United
More media is now free on flights across North America. Announcements from United Airlines and American Airlines this morning will bring complimentary live television and streaming music to millions more passengers each year.
Garuda, Inmarsat ink contract on GX inflight wifi
Indonesian national carrier Garuda is expanding its inflight wifi commitment with Inmarsat’s GX Aviation solution. The move follows the selection earlier this year by Citilink, an LCC carrier in the Garuda Group, to install the same kit. The signed contract also quashes any hopes Global Eagle still had of resuscitating its deal with the carrier.
JetSuiteX going online with SmartSky wifi
JetSuiteX sees spectacular passenger satisfaction scores, but one small gap in the offering: Inflight wifi connectivity is not available on the carrier’s Embraer 135 fleet. That will change in Q4 2019 as the company rolls out the SmartSky ATG connectivity solution across its aircraft.
Ball Aerospace successfully tests phased array antenna with Telesat LEO satellite
Score another successful test of existing antenna hardware on the new, LEO satellite technology. This time it is Ball Aerospace and its electronically steered flat panel kit linking up with Telesat’s LEO 1.