The Business of Passenger Experience
Last Friday's news of a new wireless IFE offering on Delta's A330neo fleet suggested a high likelihood of the Gogo Vision Touch product expanding beyond the carrier's A220 fleet. New - and unconfirmed - details now suggest another, somewhat unexpected vendor in play.
The add-on order for ten more Delta A330-900neo aircraft is not nearly as significant as a couple of the cabin amenity changes it includes.
A pair of earnings reports last week left open questions about just how many aircraft are generating how much inflight connectivity revenue. Both Gogo and Inmarsat clarified those positions, providing better context around their numbers.
Maybe it has never truly been cheap for passengers, but airlines historically took advantage of great deals from suppliers to secure inflight wifi connectivity solutions relatively inexpensively. As those vendors now seek financial stability more than market share a shift is underway. Is the era of cheap wifi over? (And did it ever really exist?!?)
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.
Gogo revised its expectations for 2020 and beyond, announcing updated goals as the company continues its drive towards profitability. Alas, details on those revised targets will not be shared with investors. CEO Oakleigh Thorne shared that the new math takes into account "more realistic expectations" of satellite costs and the shift to the airline-directed model. Assuming the new numbers are part of the Q3 '18 numbers they should help the company significantly, though there are indications some parts of the operation could revert to higher costs. The inability for global revenue to keep pace with growth in North America is also concerning given the company's current backlog.
GOL Linhas Aereas inked a deal to install Gogo’s Aircraft Data Service, Wireless Quick Access Recorder and Automated Turbulence Reporting on board across its fleet. The Brazilian carrier, already a 2Ku customer, becomes the launch customer for these platforms. The partnership should improve the airline’s operational efficiency while also helping Gogo expand into the connected airframe market.
Global Eagle took Albatross One, its flying testbed, on a field trip to Canada last week and the results proved incredibly positive. The inflight connectivity provider partnered with satellite-operator Telesat to deliver data across the Phase 1 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and geostationary Anik F3 using a common on-board antenna from Qest and modem from Gilat. The test flight proved that transitions from the GEO satellite to LEO and back can work on the company's gimbal-mount Ka-band antenna solution. During inflight testing, the team successfully demonstrated industry-leading data upload speeds from the aircraft, engaged in uninterrupted video chatting and movie streaming, and experienced the lowest latency of any satellite connection to date.
The test flights are the latest step in Global Eagle's efforts to position itself as a technology leader in the inflight connectivity world. Company executives have talked up the new constellation since the test satellite launched at the beginning of 2018. During the recent APEX EXPO in Boston LEO connectivity was a frequent topic of conversation. For Alexis Steinman, SVP Aviation Solutions, there is no subtlety in the company's plans: "We are betting big on LEO." With this latest successful test expect that bet to continue to grow.
Eurowings passengers can now connect to the internet for free in flight. But can a free tease deliver the revenue boost desired? Or will passengers remain averse to paying for internet in the sky?
The first Delta Air Lines A220 flights are now loaded into the schedule and on sale for travelers. The carrier intends to base the fleet initially at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and serve routes focused on business travelers, with Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth the first two destinations starting 31 January 2019. Over the summer of 2019 as the fleet grows the A220 will also serve Houston, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and JFK.
