The Business of Passenger Experience
The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they press forward as Viasat continues its efforts to see Inmarsat's European Aviation Network (EAN) shuttered. The company won a ruling in Belgium that will see some of the open questions passed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), reaching the top legal threshold and potentially putting an end to the wrangling. Alas, no one expects the answers to come quickly.
Is there a secret to better financing of inflight connectivity solutions? Indonesia's Mahata Aero Technology (MAT) is the latest to take that plunge, with an arrangement to cover the costs for Garuda and Citilink. The deal relies on partnerships with suppliers Lufthansa Systems, Lufthansa Technik and Inmarsat, along with what MAT Executive Director Iwan Setiawan describes as "a unique business model" that is proving successful in its preliminary state.
Fast, free wifi across the Atlantic Ocean? La Compagnie is set to deliver precisely that as it upgrades its fleet to the A321neo.
As the installed aircraft count ticks higher for Viasat so, too, does the share of revenue the company realizes from that segment. The growth rate will slow in the coming year as the American Airlines fleet completes its conversion (more than 450 aircraft installed to date) but CEO Mark Dankberg believes there is still runway left in the market. Even if it is going to be a little later than previously expected.
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.
Viasat added a pair of new orders from existing customers United Airlines and Aeromexico today, continuing its growth in the inflight connectivity market.
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.
Little deals matter, too. Italian leisure carrier Neos is the latest carrier to choose an inflight wifi connectivity solution. The carrier picked Viasat’s Ka-band system to operate on its trio of 787 Dreamliners.
Short on the heels of announcing its long-haul fleet is getting new and better inflight wifi service Norwegian is also upgrading the legacy installs with a new, faster offering, though higher speed options carry a charge.
Inflight wifi connectivity is now live on the Air France A320 family of aircraft. The service is delivered by Global Eagle with Orange acting as the integrator and ISP for the connection.
