Flights in the Great White North will be a bit more entertaining this winter. Global Eagle announced Canadian North Airlines as the launch customer for its Airconnect Go portable streaming IFE solution. Installations will begin
IFEC
EXPO Preview: What’s on tap this week
The annual APEX EXPO is less than 24 hours away and anticipation for this year’s event is high. Many suppliers are promising big new throughout the week. In the inflight connectivity world it remains to be seen if anything will top the Panasonic Avionics/Inmarsat announcement from last week. Of course new order announcements are anticipated and will likely be big news. But what additional news will develop during the week?
Air New Zealand expanding Inmarsat GX deployment
First it was the 777s. Now it appears Air New Zealand is ready to deploy Inmarsat’s GX inflight wifi kit on the single-aisle fleet.
PaxEx Premium: Panasonic’s Pivot
Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) and Inmarsat are poised to reshape the inflight connectivity world with a landmark deal. The ten year strategic collaboration project will see PAC sell Inmarsat's Ka-band GX connectivity solution while Inmarsat bundles some of PAC's data analytics and services offerings into its sales efforts. Is this the consolidation the market so desperately craves?
This content is for subscribers only.
Register
Register
Already a member? Log in here
PaxEx Premium: Spirit’s wifi installs begin
Work on the first Spirit Airlines aircraft to receive its Thales-supplied inflight wifi connectivity hardware is underway. Installation efforts started this week at an MRO with Thales overseeing the work.
This content is for subscribers only.
Register
Register
Already a member? Log in here
PaxEx Premium: Another connectivity split fleet
Chalk up another split fleet for inflight connectivity. The latest intelligence in to PaxEx.Aero suggests another A350 operator will add a new vendor to its IFC roster.
This content is for subscribers only.
Register
Register
Already a member? Log in here
Avant, GX, Super Diamond for the new Hong Kong Airlines A350
Hong Kong Airlines celebrated the delivery of a new tranche of A350s this week, bringing new inflight products to the carrier. The airline’s early A350 deliveries were originally built for Azul; the current set were meant for HK Airlines all along. That means different seats, entertainment systems and inflight connectivity kit on board.
UON set to connect with unique business model
Taqnia Space is on the cusp of launching its UON service with Saudia. The kit will go live on a pair of A320s later this month according to Mustafa Murad, the company’s Aero Program Head. In a conversation at the Aviation Festival in London this afternoon Murad also detailed some of the unique propositions for the company’s offering, including a business model bound to look attractive to airlines.
Is it time for Gogo to split?
Is Gogo worth more split in half rather than as a single company? Since the management transition earlier this year that idea has been floated more than once. CEO Oakleigh Thorne suggested that either the Business or Commercial Aviation halves should be worth more than the current market cap. He's also suggested that splitting the company along those lines would be a relatively easy transaction to pull off, with BizAv owning the ATG network and Commercial the satellite services. With an impending deadline to refinance the company's debt it seems like such a move could solve a lot of the problems. We know that various suitors have put offers on the table for all or part of the company and that those are being evaluated by the Board of Directors. Here's how one of them could play out.
This content is for subscribers only.
Register
Register
Already a member? Log in here
Lots of free wifi flying on Labor Day thanks to Gogo and T-Mobile
This year’s Labor Day Weekend holiday period is expected to break records for the number of people traveling across the USA by air. And a whole bunch of them will get free inflight wifi thanks to Gogo and T-Mobile. Every traveler on a domestic US flight equipped with the Gogo service will receive a free 30-minute smartphone session on Monday as part of the deal.