Benjamin Smith’s early days at Air France-KLM will be anything but easy. Union issues dog the company and the latest salvo from Joon flight attendants is a doozy!
IFEC
[PR] Monopoly, Hello Kitty take flight with Global Eagle
More games means more options for travelers. And the variety here is strong. Plus the company is delivering across verticals, helping on the cost side of the operation. Will Monopoly really score with travelers??
New interiors, more wifi coming to LATAM
LATAM is set to retrofit more than 200 aircraft as part of a major update to its fleet. The carrier will invest $400 million to refresh the interiors on both long-haul and short-haul planes, with new seats and more Gogo 2Ku flying.
Sky-high dreams or firmly grounded: The business of connected aircraft maintenance remains in question
“Inflight connectivity doesn’t just create revenue, it could save the airline industry US$15bn a year.”
That’s a bold claim from Inmarsat and the research it commissioned from the London School of Economics (LSE). Much of the savings comes from better weather forecasting and the associated effects: reducing delays and fuel burn. Part of the forecast savings comes from predictive maintenance opportunities, allowing the plane to track its own performance and use on-board connectivity solutions to report back to headquarters when operations are less than nominal. The so-called Internet of Things for Aviation (IoT/A) has long been held up as the financial savior of the connectivity platforms, delivering the necessary financial support to justify installations. What will it take to realize the $3-46bn in annual savings the research revealed? A lot of work, and it is unclear which connectivity vendors are truly committed to that effort.
Indian airlines could be online by October
Airlines in India could be online as soon as October. The legal wrangling is approaching its final phase, after which Jet Airways and Global Eagle are expected to be the first to activate satellite-based inflight connectivity services.
Connecting another batch of MAX: flyDubai’s radomes spotted
FlyDubai's 737 MAX aircraft feature the carrier's newest interior (including lie-flat beds in business class). Alas, as delivered from Boeing the passenger experience of these planes was incomplete as they did not carry an inflight wifi service on board. Sharp eyes will note that some of the planes are finally sporting radomes. That's good news for passengers and for the vendor delivering the connectivity service on board.
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Hawaiian Airlines bails on China
Hawaiian Airlines will drop its service to China this October after the Golden Week celebrations. The move comes amid a growing tariff battle that significantly and adversely affects US-bound travel from China.
Viasat plans challenge to EAN’s Belgian approval
Viasat continues its legal battle against Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network. The company indicated it would challenge the ruling issued by Belgian authorities earlier this month approving EAN’s ground components complimentary service on the S-Band network.
Gogo 2Ku spotted on Cathay Pacific 777
Gogo 2Ku installations continue to spread globally. Cathay Pacific is the latest airline to be spotted with the radome atop its aircraft.
Growing against flat rate contracts: Global Eagle’s plan
Growth is all but assured in the inflight connectivity market. Global Eagle is among the operators seeking the upside potential in its its revenue base and margins. But the company takes a slightly different approach to generating service revenue compared to others.
Content is part of the plan. Premium services are part of the plan. Convergence of the entire passenger experience matters greatly. And Chief Commercial Officer Per Norén is confident that the approach can save the company money on the bandwidth side, deliver a better and more profitable offering for airlines and give passengers the content they really want.
Revenue per aircraft is flat right now, but the Norén has big ideas on how to change that. Everyone wins, assuming it all works.
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