Flying an LCC in Europe no longer means being disconnected while in the sky. IAG’s Vueling operation soft-launched inflight wifi connectivity delivered via the European Aviation Network (EAN), powered by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom, on five of its aircraft earlier this month. Vueling is the third EAN airline and the first LCC with the service.
Iberia
PaxEx Update: 19 July 2019
United Airlines has new seating plans for its 787s, EgyptAir has a sleek looking new A220 and OneWeb has connectivity in space. Plus a big financial hit for Boeing and a soft-launch for IAG.
Oneworld’s digital backbone seeks ancillary revenue boost
Oneworld’s digital backbone middleware hopes to extend beyond the basics in the coming year, offering its members the opportunity to also sell services, not just give them away. Is this the solution to the interline ancillary revenue problem??
Iberia extends Inflight VR entertainment trials
Passengers on Iberia’s flights to New York City and Tel Aviv now have a new option for inflight entertainment. The carrier is running a trial program with Inflight VR, extending its experiment with virtual reality-based content options.
PaxEx Premium: Easing the 2Ku backlog
Some good news for Gogo and its 2Ku airline customers as it reaches closure on an outstanding maintenance issue. This should ease the backlog as additional aircraft can once again be installed for three airline customers.
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Gogo’s strong Q3 offset by global ARPA concerns
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.
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Loose ELT antenna impacts 2Ku deployments
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.
Which airline doesn’t hate its connectivity provider?
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.
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Finding détente in the airline-GDS cost battle: Air France/KLM and Amadeus make peace, progress
Peace is possible between the airlines and GDS platforms! Air France/KLM and Amedeus agreed to waive distribution fees in some cases, benefiting passengers in the near term. But it is the longer term plans around NDC content distribution that hold real potential for an improved passenger experience.
Shifting gears: Gogo’s push to connect more passengers
What good is having an inflight wifi connectivity product if no one is using it? Gogo sits flush with satellite capacity and is pushing to increase take rates (and revenue) up dramatically on its platform.
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