The new Mexico City airport is dead. Fulfilling a campaign promise, incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced that construction on the project would be halted once he takes office. The move came after the results of a national referendum on the project showed 70% of voters opposed to the new airport. That only one million people voted (of ~90mm registered) in the theoretically non-binding poll seems to not matter. The president intends to scrap the efforts.
Digital billboards coming soon to an airplane cabin near you
Brighter, more open aircraft boarding areas may soon see a new feature installed. Lufthansa Technik and LG Electronics are teaming up to delivery OLED digital billboards to the aero industry, increasing advertising opportunities on board.
Gogo, GOL partner on connected flight deck solutions
GOL Linhas Aereas inked a deal to install Gogo’s Aircraft Data Service, Wireless Quick Access Recorder and Automated Turbulence Reporting on board across its fleet. The Brazilian carrier, already a 2Ku customer, becomes the launch customer for these platforms. The partnership should improve the airline’s operational efficiency while also helping Gogo expand into the connected airframe market.
PaxEx Premium: Fiji Airways gets connected
Fiji Airways is just weeks away from delivery of the carrier's first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. With that delivery the airline joins the ranks of carriers delivering wifi connectivity in the sky. The aircraft carries the necessary hardware for inflight connectivity on board. Official details on the vendor remain unclear but we have a pretty good idea what's under the hump.
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A few firsts on Juneyao’s premier Dreamliner
Adding a new type to an airline’s fleet is interesting in its own right. China’s Juneyao Airlines added the 787-9 Dreamliner last week and it is more significant than most similar expansions, both for passengers and China’s aviation industry growth.
IATA ratchets up rhetoric on Brexit negotiations
IATA issued updated guidance on the potential impact of Brexit this morning and the news is not good. The lack of agreement on the future of the air travel market presents massive challenges and IATA CEO Alexandre de Juniac predicts chaos if significant progress is not realized soon.
PaxEx Premium: A LEO milestone for Global Eagle, Telesat
Global Eagle took Albatross One, its flying testbed, on a field trip to Canada last week and the results proved incredibly positive. The inflight connectivity provider partnered with satellite-operator Telesat to deliver data across the Phase 1 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and geostationary Anik F3 using a common on-board antenna from Qest and modem from Gilat. The test flight proved that transitions from the GEO satellite to LEO and back can work on the company's gimbal-mount Ka-band antenna solution. During inflight testing, the team successfully demonstrated industry-leading data upload speeds from the aircraft, engaged in uninterrupted video chatting and movie streaming, and experienced the lowest latency of any satellite connection to date.
The test flights are the latest step in Global Eagle's efforts to position itself as a technology leader in the inflight connectivity world. Company executives have talked up the new constellation since the test satellite launched at the beginning of 2018. During the recent APEX EXPO in Boston LEO connectivity was a frequent topic of conversation. For Alexis Steinman, SVP Aviation Solutions, there is no subtlety in the company's plans: "We are betting big on LEO." With this latest successful test expect that bet to continue to grow.
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Eurowings, Deutsche Telekom deliver free wifi on board
Eurowings passengers can now connect to the internet for free in flight. But can a free tease deliver the revenue boost desired? Or will passengers remain averse to paying for internet in the sky?
Pitching inflight wifi to NEOS: A look at the options
How does an airline go about comparing the inflight wifi connectivity options available on the 787 Dreamliner? Lots of contract details about pricing and delivery timeframes are certainly critical, but occasionally the data is summed up into two slides in a briefing deck. For Italian charter operator NEOS the contest settled between Viasat and Panasonic Avionics back in 2017. It appears the carrier chose neither vendor, but the summary of the positioning from the two finalists is intriguing.
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Delta to launch Minneapolis-Shanghai service in 2020
Delta Air Lines intends to serve Shanghai from its hub at Minneapolis-St. Paul, growing the connecting opportunities between the USA and China. The carrier applied for the necessary route authorities this morning, seeking to launch daily service in June 2020 on the A350-900. The new route would bring to three the number of Asia destinations served from MSP.