The past few weeks have been huge for premium cabin redesign news. Singapore Airlines and Emirates are not pulling any punches in their first class suite redesigns. Alas, those products are mostly irrelevant for most travelers. A first class suite doesn’t matter for the 99%+ of consumers. They’re not a factor for business travelers and […]
IFC
Putting Delta Premium Select to the test: The Inaugural Flight
The introduction of Delta Premium Select may be the most significant change the carrier has seen in a decade or more. Here’s how the product fared on its inaugural service. Plus tons of photos!
Air New Zealand gets its GX on
Air New Zealand is finally sporting an inflight connectivity radome on one of its aircraft. Ship ZK-OKS, a 777-300ER, returned to service last week after a month in Singapore where the Inmarsat Global Xpress (“GX”) kit was installed. The carrier announced last December that it will fit its entire fleet with the GX service.
Inflight connectivity coming to Interjet
Mexican LCC Interjet is set to add inflight connectivity to its fleet. The carrier will add Panasonic Avionics‘ eXConnect solution to its new A320 & A321 fleet starting later this year. The initial aircraft will be delivered from Airbus in November 2017, and this A321neo aircraft will be the first Panasonic-equipped aircraft to be line […]
AirAsia firms high-speed connectivity plans
Next up on the high-speed inflight connectivity ride is the AirAsia Group, firming a deal announced earlier this year to upgrade its on-board kit to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress solution.
Mobile messaging to be free on Delta flights
Delta and Gogo will let passengers stay connected for free on board starting on 1 October. The pair will make the Mobile Messaging service for iMessage, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger and other services available at no cost to passengers.
Saudia, SITAONAIR deliver tighter integration on inflight connectivity
There are lots of ways to improve the inflight connectivity experience. For Saudia and SITAONAIR recent efforts focused on the login portal and creating a more seamless passenger experience. And it looks pretty slick, even if still overpriced for a connection that is probably too slow to be of much use beyond texting.
Gogo gets more cash to fund 2Ku deployments
Getting the faster 2Ku inflight connectivity hardware on board commercial aircraft is not a cheap proposition. Gogo just announced an additional $100mm bond issuance to help further finances those efforts.
Gogo’s win-win-win: Everyone happier with 2Ku on board
Good news (though hardly a surprise): Gogo’s 2Ku service is driving higher revenue for the company. Passengers, airlines and the service provider all win with the new system in play.
Alaska Airlines goes Gogo 2Ku for inflight wifi upgrade
We’ve known an upgrade to the Alaska Airlines inflight internet service was coming. Now we know who will provide that service. Gogo’s 2Ku kit will be installed starting in early 2018.