Gogo released their year-end numbers this week and with them their annual 10-K SEC filing. While I find most of the content of those filings pretty boring I also usually seem to find one or two nuggets of interesting news in there. This time around that interesting bit comes in the form of some details […]
American Airlines
Gate-to-gate wifi: Coming soon, but someone has to pay for it
Now that personal electronic device use is permitted gate-to-gate on the bulk of flights in the USA (and most of the rest should be on board soon) the question becomes what about gate-to-gate connectivity? When will travelers be able to use WiFi throughout their trip rather than only above 10,000 feet? Alas, the answer isn’t […]
Bundles of unbundling
The airlines have been quite vocal about the “value” they can provide to customers by unbundling services and making them available a la carte throughout the travel experience. It is better for the customer to pay only for what they use, right?? And then, not surprisingly, came the new bundles. Rather than the old bundles […]
Comparing the players in the “Transcon Wars”
With all the moves recently (and there have been a lot, even before JetBlue‘s mini-suite unveiling yesterday) in the transcon premium cabin market I started thinking about just where the different airlines were in terms of competing with each other on various aspects of the service. The data I have here is compiled from a […]
How competition is working in favor of the passenger experience on certain US domestic routes
There are plenty of tales lamenting the race to the bottom in amenities and service for passengers in the United States. But that is not the entire story. Indeed, there are some markets where competition amongst carriers is working to increase the options available to travellers. Not only are there more choices now in these markets, the offerings are getting better.
Elite Rewards from American Airlines: Compelling at every tier but not unique
Looking for some useful perks in an airline loyalty program above and beyond the normal elite tiers? American Airlines has a rather compelling offer out this year in the form of their 2013 Elite Rewards program (registration required!). The concept – extra perks earned at various milestones – is not a new one but the […]
American Airlines announces updates to long-haul fleet
American Airlines announced that they are moving forward with a retrofit of their long-haul fleet, updating the cabin interiors to improve the premium cabin experience. Mostly. The upgrades will expand the deployment of the new business class product, previously announced for the 777-300s which the company will begin receiving later this year. It will also mean […]
American to launch streaming media service in-flight
American Airlines announced this week that they are extending their partnership with in-flight internet provider Aircell, the company behind the gogo service. There are two main components to the announcement, one covering internet connectivity and the other addressing streaming media. On the internet front the company has committed to expanding their gogo deployment to cover more […]
More troubling numbers from Aircell
Yeah, it seems that beating up on Aircell and the adoption of their gogo in-flight internet service seems to be a recurring theme in the industry. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t possibly deserved. There are a ton of questions out there about just how bad their cash flow situation is. And the answers and […]
Free in-flight wifi on American Airlines
In a move that hasn’t garnered nearly the same publicity as Virgin America’s announcement that they’re teaming up with Google, American Airlines has announced that they are teaming up with Lexus to provide free wifi to users of the gogo system on their flights. The AA promo is much more limited – only 7 days […]