Fresh off the announcement of its first commercial airline customer, upstart inflight connectivity provider SmartSky secured additional funding to complete its nationwide network deployment. The company announced a $104mm investment, bringing the total investment for the company to nearly $350 million.
BizAv
PaxEx Premium: Seeking a structural shift
Gogo's operational structure is set to change. CEO Oakleigh Thorne has long hinted at adjustments he wants to make. The shifts were previously associated with discussions around potential change of ownership or debt refinancing. While those options remain on the table the moves will be made now, PaxEx.Aero has learned. Company employees were informed of the changes this week.
PaxEx Premium: Iridium sees a shift with NEXT constellation completion
After nearly three billion dollars invested and eight successful launch missions the Iridium NEXT constellation is nearly complete. In just a couple weeks the final swaps will take place and the full complement of 66 NEXT satellites will be online. For Iridium the milestone brings a dramatic shift in business plans and economics. CEO Matt Desch is clear that reducing CapEx is a key near-term goal and that the company will remain focused on its niche markets, "If we can offer that service at 22-100kbps with a very small antenna that can be installed into a small drone or an automobile or a sensor in the ocean, that will expand the market tremendously. That is not a market that anyone is talking
about. We believe Iridium NEXT and Certus is best positioned to deliver on that." But he also makes clear that neither of those plans is truly absolute. Expect to see Iridium "bleed into some things" that don't truly fit the mold. Inflight services is one vertical where Certus will likely disrupt the status quo.
Gogo’s AVANCE L5 certified across the Gulfstream family
Gogo Business Aviation reached another milestone with its AVANCE L5 platform this month. The company announced that its air to ground 4G connectivity solution secured type certifications for the full complement of Gulfstream business jets. The Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) secured include the following Gulfstream airframes: G650/650ER G600 G550/GV/SP G450/GIV/SP G280 In addition to the availability […]
Astronics seeks BizAv connectivity boost
Can Astronics deliver a breakout in its AeroSat division? The company is doubling down on the BizAv segment in hopes of delivering a huge sales win for its antenna systems, thanks to a new partnership and marketing push.
Another fleet added to the Gogo AVANCE L3 portfolio
Coming on the heels of yesterday’s strong earnings report for Gogo’s Business Aviation segment the company announced a new deal today for the Gogo AVANCE L3 platform. Fractional jet services operator Airshare will equip its fleet of Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft with the kit, bringing inflight wifi connectivity online for its customers.
Welcome to the electronically steered, phased array era
After years and years of promises it appears that electronic steered phased array antennae are (finally) ready to break into the commercial and biz jet aviation markets. Multiple vendors are now touting partnerships that will delver aero-certified hardware in the next few years. Is it really finally happening??
[PR] Viasat Ka goes line-fit on Gulfstream G280 Biz Jets
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today its high-speed, high-capacity Ka-band in-flight connectivity solution has been selected for the Gulfstream G280™ mid-sized business jet airframe. The Viasat in-flight connectivity system will be a line-fit option, offered directly from the Gulfstream factory for all new aircraft. It will also be available as a retrofit for in-service aircraft. The Viasat […]
[PR] Gogo DASH brings BizAv connectivity performance data down to earth
Services, services, services everywhere! Once the connection (mostly) works and signups of new customers slows the need to better support the existing installs grows. Gogo DASH helps the company continue to build out the services ecosystem that keeps customers loyal to the installed product. The more different touch points that use the installed kit, the harder it is to shift away.
An asterisk on Gogo’s improving revenue numbers
Gogo posted better than anticipated numbers for Q2 '18 this morning, giving the company's share price a nice boost in early morning trading, though it has since given back some of the gains. The business aviation segment continues to lead the company's fortunes but some glimmers of success in the commercial segments are showing, too. So long as American Airlines is excluded from all considerations.