What keeps airlines from shifting from one inflight connectivity solution to another? Contracts are certainly part of it, but so is the significant cost to update and replace hardware on the planes. Gogo has a plan that could ease such pain while keeping airlines active on its services.
IFEC
Virgin Orbit selects Panasonic Avionics for inflight connectivity
What does it take to launch rockets into space from an airborne 747? Among other things, a reliable, high-speed internet connection is key to successful missions. And for Virgin Orbit that means adding a satellite connection to Cosmic Girl, the aircraft serving as the base for the LauncherOne system. The company selected Panasonic Avionics to provide the services for its operation.
Don’t change the channel: Live TV grounded as airlines cut costs
Survey data and inflight behavior both suggest strong demand for live television on board. But a couple airlines are cutting the service, at least temporarily. And it is not just about saving money on the subscription costs.
Optimism on the horizon: The Weekly Wrap 15 May 2020
Is it time to start getting excited about a travel rebound? It appears the market finally hit rock bottom so everything that happens is good news, though maybe not too much of it too quickly.
Past the bottom: Gogo sees demand returning and a potential to sell
January and February 2020 showed great promise for Gogo. New aircraft installations continued, particularly of the company’s 2Ku offering for commercial aircraft. And then the bottom fell out.
But the company sees a rebound on the horizon, and also possible a merger.
JetBlue delays London launch
JetBlue still intends to launch service to Europe. CEO Robin Hayes believes that “the need for us to enter that market and bring more competition” remains relevant. Just don’t expect it to happen quite so soon, and that may be a good thing.
Astronics feels the pain of production, retrofit slowdowns
As a key supplier of systems for commercial aircraft production and retrofit work it is no surprise that Astronics will see a significant hit to its revenue in 2020. The company is not providing formal guidance, but in its quarterly earnings call this week CEO Peter Gundermann spoke to some of the numbers and just how bad the situation looks.
The Weekly Wrap: FlightPlan, personal screening and more!
What topics made the cut for The Weekly Wrap this week? Maryann Simson and I recap the incredible Flight Plan event organized earlier in the week by Inmarsat and APEX, health testing at the airport and more!
American picks Viasat for wifi on newest 787s
There was little doubt of the news, but also no formal acknowledgement until now. American Airlines finally confirmed that its newest 787-8 aircraft will fly with the Viasat inflight connectivity solution.
Panasonic Avionics implements furloughs to address slowing business
The aviation industry is in turmoil. As airlines slash spending the supplier network is scrambling to survive. For many of these companies staff furloughs is the name of the game. Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) is the latest in the IFEC sector to implement such moves.