The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
in-flight connectivity
AeroMobile adds Thai, UAE partners to inflight cellular roaming
Easier access to inflight connectivity is now available to cell phone subscribers on du in the UAE or TrueMobile in Thailand, thanks to preferred roaming agreements signed with AeroMobile in recent weeks.
Lufthansa Technik dives in to the Chinese inflight connectivity market
Announcements related to inflight connectivity in China are hard to process. Vendors continue to sign agreements and push out releases but forward progress in terms of getting hardware on planes remains stalled. This week Lufthansa Technik (LHT) joined the field with an announcement of an offering for airlines in China. But, like the others, it is unclear what the timeline for implementation will be or where things will go from here.
Counting Challenges: PaxEx Update 11 October 2019
How much is too much for the 737 program in a single week? And is there an end in sight for the shifting of loyalty programs away from loyalty? Plus, inflight wifi and a premium play for mid-haul travel.
Get all the details on this week’s top PaxEx stories inside.
United’s new CRJ550 seats on sale this weekend
Go big or go home! United Airlines is launching its newly configured CRJ550 type on 15(!!) routes at the end of the month, with tickets on sale this weekend.
A slow inflight wifi transition for Vietnam Airlines
Yes, Vietnam Airlines (re)activated wifi on some of its A350s last week. No, it is not the high-speed offering many are claiming, even if that might be coming eventually.
A swanky new product for Starlux that doesn’t match the market
Upstart Taiwanese carrier Starlux plans to fly early in 2020 and finally unveiled details on its first aircraft configuration. It is a swanky offering that beats the competition, but at what cost?
Ethiopian evolves on payments, connectivity
Airlines often talk about “meeting consumers where they are” to help drive sales. Digital sales channels are changing the way those interactions occur and for some carriers the pace of that change is dramatis. Ethiopian Airlines recently took a significant step on this front, opening up new digital payments options in two key markets.
On board the new JetBlue A321neo
What’s it like to fly on JetBlue’s newest A321neo? Come along on board as I put it through the paces.
Gogo sees a clear path to free WiFi on Delta
Often when someone says something is not about the money there’s little doubt that it is entirely about the money. When it comes to delivering free WiFi for all of its passengers, however, Delta Air Lines’ CEO Ed Bastian is probably telling the truth. It is not the cost of the service, but making sure the network can handle the dramatic uptick in demand. For Gogo CEO Oakleigh Thorne the reality is far more nuanced than that, and suggests that it really is just a matter of when, not if, his company can support the load.