Air France Connect, the company’s inflight wifi connectivity service, is officially online. After months of testing the Gogo 2Ku kit is now available to passengers on a Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft. Air France expects to have 22 wide-body planes installed and active by the end of 2018 and the full fleet online by the end of 2020.
in-flight entertainment
Ka-band inflight connectivity to take flight in China
Two private airlines in China will soon fly the FTS XStream-SAT inflight wifi connectivity system, delivering wifi to passengers and cabin crew. This is the first solution to operate on the Ka-band spectrum over China. The service will operate on the ChinaSat-16 satellite, launched in May 2017. The first deal involves Qingdao Airlines, a private […]
PAC picks up an IFEC a pair
Panasonic snagged a pair of IFE/C deals this week, adding 20 aircraft to the backlog. These are still Ku connectivity contracts, not yet taking advantage of the new InmarPAC partnership announced last week.
Gogo TV live on 550+ planes; more to come
An additional 550+ aircraft now have live television on board. The Gogo TV product activated across three airlines in recent weeks, quickly adding live content to the company’s offerings. And more planes are coming online soon.
New livery, free drinks, free wifi coming to Aer Lingus in 2019
Aer Lingus is poised to launch a new livery and uniforms in Q1 2019 as part of a brand update. The new look will launch on the company’s A321neo fleet and come with improvements to the economy class product – free drinks and wifi – as well. CEO Stephen Kavanagh revealed these changes at APEX EXPO this morning as part of the carrier’s goal to continue its growth across the Transatlantic as the leading “value carrier” in the market.
Alaska Airlines adds SkyLights’ VR headsets to IFE lineup
Grab a headset on your next Alaska Airlines transcon flight from Boston. A partnership with SkyLights is bringing virtual reality as an entertainment option to the US market for the first time.
Airconnect Go set to stream on Canadian North Airlines this winter
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
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?
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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.
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.
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