The Qatar Airways 787-8 fleet is getting an upgrade. The carrier will swap out the in-flight entertainment system on board its oldest Dreamliners to the Thales AVANT platform.
in flight
Another fleet comes online
Airlines are still navigating the timing challenges of how and when to return their aircraft to service. But as they do in-flight connectivity remains an important amenity to offer. And if you listen to the suppliers it is even more important now. PaxEx.Aero can now confirm that another airline fleet has wifi installed on board.
JetBlue unveils Mint 2.0, business class cabin for London
This is the new JetBlue Mint business class seat that will carry passengers to London later this year. After years of development the carrier unveiled its Mint 2.0 cabin with a unique all-aisle access, flat bed option for travelers on the A321LR fleet.
Ansat helicopters add Ku-band satellite connectivity
In-flight satellite connectivity is now available on Ansat helicopters in Russia. The Mku30 system from Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of the Rostec State Corporation, received regulatory approval for in-flight operations.
Panasonic Avionics extends, expands Sport 24 deal with IMG Media
Millions more passengers could soon see expanded access to live sporting events on their in-flight entertainment screens. Under a renewed and expanded deal announced earlier this month Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) will increase its distribution of IMG’s Sport 24 network to include aircraft outside of its direct service portfolio.
Digging deep: Talking in-flight live television with Panasonic Avionics
On the heels of a significant announcement extending and expanding its Sport 24 live television marketing deal with IMG Media, Panasonic Avionics is spectacularly optimistic about the future of live television as part of the in-flight entertainment content portfolio. Moreover, it expects to change the way that content is packaged and delivered to passengers.
WE by West adds Qloo "cultural AI" to in-flight content recommendation engine
How many data points does it take to generate a compelling artificial intelligence engine for in-flight entertainment recommendations? West Entertainment and Qloo are crunching 750 billion bits of data as part of the new WE by West content management platform.
OneWeb shrinks constellation plans, expands funding
OneWeb scaled back its next generation constellation plans while also announcing hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding that helps the company move closer to placing the initial 648 satellites into service.
Panasonic Avionics bucks consolidation trend, dumps ITC Global
What’s NEXT for Panasonic Avionics? The company sold off its ITC Global maritime connectivity group this week, redoubling its focus on in-flight connectivity. That approach is counter to what many of its competitors are pursuing, however, raising a number of questions.
Counterclaims and Arbitration: WSS and SmartSky continue legal wrangling
The legal battle between SmartSky and supplier WSS continues unabated. And some of the assertions in the counterclaim are spectacularly juicy.