The Business of Passenger Experience
It was one of the faster installations and activations for a new inflight connectivity customer. In under a year Indonesia's Citilink went from agreement to contract to installation to activation of its onboard WiFi solution, powered by Inmarsat's GX Aviation and managed by Mahata Aero Teknologi (MAT). Now that deal – and the associated installations on Garuda and Sriwijaya – appears dead.
The JetBlue A320 retrofit program is delayed. Again. But it is still expected to complete on time (a couple years later than initially planned), at the end of 2020. Blame Airbus this time around.
Good news for Global Eagle: The company announced this morning that it has extended its liquidity by $61mm over the next 18 months. But there is almost certainly a little more to the story.
Sweet new premium cabins and another step towards free wifi for passengers top the headlines for this week’s passenger experience news.
New luxury takes flight with ANA next month as the carrier brings its latest cabin interiors into service.
Portable wireless IFE vendor AirFi secured three new customers in recent weeks, extending its leading role in the market. Air Arabia, Air Seychelles and Bamboo Airways will all fly the company’s kit, bringing entertainment services to passengers on board.
The new name – it is now officially the SpaceJet M90 – does not really matter for the future of the MRJ. But a new interior and revised scope-compliant model might just be enough to win over customers for the manufacturer.
Upgraded seats, inflight entertainment and free, high-speed internet service officially took flight today for all-business class airline La Compagnie. The French airline’s first A321neo aircraft now operates scheduled flights between Paris and Newark.
Passengers on Royal Jordanian’s short haul fleet now have an inflight entertainment option available. The carrier added the “Sky Connect” streaming IFE option to ten aircraft building on the Bluebox Wow platform. The service launched this week across the carrier’s fleet of four A319 and six A320 aircraft.
Air New Zealand will acquire eight new 787-10 Dreamliners as part of its fleet upgrade program. The new aircraft will arrive beginning in 2022, continuing through 2027. The long-expected order will see the new aircraft replace the carrier’s existing 777-200 fleet.
