The Business of Passenger Experience
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.
Inmarsat reported its first half financial results this morning in London with one surprising bit of data: The GX commercial aviation service finally started generating airtime revenue is Q2 '18, more than a year after entering service on some commercial aircraft.
Just how many aircraft carry inflight connectivity hardware? And which kit?? A pair of announcements this week gives greater insight into which kit is where and how the market is shifting, rapidly in some cases. Not that installation number 1000 matters more than number 999, of course. Yet somehow it does. Just a little.
Earlier this month EASA issued an Airworthiness Directive affecting certain of Gogo’s 2Ku inflight connectivity installations. Air vortices created by the 2Ku radome cause excessive vibration in the ELT antenna, potentially shaking it loose or causing structural issues in the fuselage. Fortunately the issue was discovered relatively quickly, the number of aircraft affected is low and a revised installation process is expected to be in place in the near future.
Gogo plans significant cost cuts as it seeks to shore up its financial position. Facing a financing crunch the company's "Gogo 2020" business plan unveiled this week will see hundreds of millions of dollars cut from cost side of the balance sheet as jobs and programs are dropped from the company.
Nearly two years after the deal was announced the Gogo 2Ku hardware is beginning to show up on KLM aircraft. A pair of A330-300s now carry the kit. The service is not yet active for travelers, but that’s coming soon enough.
More solid performance from the Gogo BizAv segment with the new AVANCE L5 kit deploying quickly. Of significant note is that more than 60% of the AVANCE L5 installs are new installs, not just upgrades from existing kit. As competition heats up in the BizAv segment securing those aircraft now is a big win for Gogo.
Air Canada’s long-haul travelers get a new option for inflight connectivity and it is a good one. The carrier’s 19-strong fleet 777-300ER aircraft now serve up internet with the Gogo 2Ku service on board.
When senior airline executives are willing to trash their vendors in public that's usually bad news for everyone involved. Welcome to the inflight connectivity world, where airlines are almost as unhappy as the passengers struggling to stay online in the sky. Alas, only part of that frustration is grounded in reality.
AirBaltic loves its CSeries jets. The Latvian carrier is set to dramatically grow that fleet. Today’s deal with Bombardier, inked just over one year since the first CS300 arrived in Riga, adds at least 30 more of the type to its fleet.
