Financial analysts have managed to convince JetBlue it needs more passengers on each plane. Look for tighter pitch on the A320 fleet starting in 2016. At least WiFi will remain free for now.
IFEC
New planning tool helps airlines budget for satellite capacity
Bandwidth planning is complicated. For a satellite operator the stakes are incredibly high thanks to hardware costs and amortization timelines. SES has a new tool to help them beat the odds.
AT&T disconnects in-flight wifi plans
AT&T’s on-again/off-again relationship with in-flight internet is, once again, on the outs. The telco is walking away from the announcement made just 6 months ago that it would compete in the market.
United’s approach to in-flight wifi is different and that might be a good thing
United Airlines has a different approach to in-flight wifi from the rest of the market. Each plane will be a “node on the network” not just have an augmented in-flight entertainment system.
Gogo, Virgin Atlantic partner for connectivity upgrade
Get ready for faster in-flight internet service on Virgin Atlantic flights. Gogo’s 2Ku system will be retrofit into the existing fleet. Still open questions on timing, however.
Vietnam Airlines signs on with Gogo, GX Aviation for in-flight connectivity
More and faster internet is coming to the skies. Vietnam Airlines, Gogo and Inmarsat have agreed to install the GX Aviation solution with global, high-speed satellite coverage on the carrier’s long-haul fleet.
The future of IFE: Ads & revenue
The future of in-flight entertainment and connectivity will be focused on ads and revenue generation for the providers. That’s the message at this year’s APEX Expo conference. Consider yourself warned.
Inside a Gogo ATG4 installation
There’s a lot of work which goes in to putting the Gogo hardware on to an airplane. Take a look inside a Delta 737-900ER as the kit is installed. Hard to believe that the first thing they do with a brand new aircraft is rip it apart like that.
Missile guidance tracking systems and in-flight connectivity have more in common than you think
What do missile guidance tracking systems and in-flight connectivity have in common? It turns out quite a bit thanks to ThinKom, one of the newest names in the commercial connectivity market.
ViaSat promises 12 mbps for cabin-wide web browsing, not streaming
It has been a long path to deployment for ViaSat’s Ka-band connectivity service, but the solution is finally ready to take flight now that partner, JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV has received a supplemental type certificate. And in a week where everyone is talking about bandwidth and how much more they can provide to customers, the claims from ViaSat are quite interesting.