Virgin Australia and United Airlines secured a new partnership for connections between the United States and Australia. The deal, effective from April 2022, sees Delta Air Lines drop from the role it held over the past decade.
Australia
SkyFive, Pivotel plane air-to-ground connectivity trial in Australia
Air-to-ground connectivity is coming to Australia. ATG infrastructure specialist SkyFive announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Australia’s Pivotel to undertake a detailed technical evaluation and proof-of-concept trial for the solution across a large swath of the country between Dabbo and Sydney.
Rex activates WiFi on 737s
Australia’s Rex Airlines is now online in the sky. The carrier officially activated the 2Ku satellite internet offering from Intelsat on its fleet of 737-800s. And, to help acquaint passengers with the service, WiFi is free on board for the rest of November.
Virgin Australia to ditch twin-aisle fleet, focus on domestic and regional service
As part of its recapitalization plan Virgin Australia intends to retire its long-haul aircraft. The carrier’s five 777s and six A330s will be removed from service as it invests “in the core Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul international operation.”
SkyFive targets ATG network expansion on a global scale
Riding high on the launch of the European Aviation Network earlier this year, plans are afoot to expand the air-to-ground (ATG) inflight connectivity coverage footprint. Leading that charge is a company few have heard of, in large part because it did not exist until earlier this year. SkyFive, spun off from Nokia's core business, is now running projects in at least three other markets, with one network online for testing today. CEO Thorsten Robrecht spoke with PaxEx.Aero on the sidelines of the World Aviation Festival in London this week, keen to celebrate the early accomplishments with EAN, but also to highlight significant future potential for the technology on a global scale.
American Airlines, Qantas receive antitrust immunity
The US Department of Transportation issued its final approval for antitrust immunity (ATI) of the American Airlines-Qantas joint business agreement on Friday afternoon. Expect to see new routes, fares and other cooperative efforts within the next six months.
Qantas, ViaSat to Partner on In-Flight Connectivity
High speed in-flight connectivity is coming to the Qantas domestic fleet thanks to a new partnership signed with ViaSat. Great news for passengers and also for the service provider which has been making plenty of noise lately with new customers coming on board.
Qantas pulls the plug on in-flight internet; Etihad commits to fleet-wide connectivity
Nine months after activating a satellite-based internet service on their A380 fleet flying between Australia and the United States Qantas shut down the service this past weekend. Apparently usage was not sufficient to justify the costs of operating the systems. In a statement the airline indicated that the usage rate was less than 5 percent over […]
Trans-Pacific in-flight wifi coming to Qantas
Qantas announced today that they will be fitting their Airbus A380 aircraft with the OnAir SwiftBroadband connectivity suite, providing in-flight internet connectivity on trans-Pacific flights between Australia and the United States. The move brings WiFi connectivity to the fleet type but not GSM/GPRS mobile services so there will not be the option for in-flight voice […]