United Airlines has new seating plans for its 787s, EgyptAir has a sleek looking new A220 and OneWeb has connectivity in space. Plus a big financial hit for Boeing and a soft-launch for IAG.
in flight
United Airlines wants WiFi to be free
Is the move to free inflight WiFi inevitable? United Airlines seems to think so, with plans in the works to make it a reality. Exactly when and how much remain unclear, but in today’s investor earnings call the company indicated those plans as part of a brief update on the overall product quality.
Air New Zealand’s first Dreamliner now online
Air New Zealand’s connected aircraft collection expanded to its 787 Dreamliner fleet this week. Aircraft ZK-NZF returned to commercial service after spending the month of June in the shop for the installation and certification of the kit. Like the rest of the carrier’s connected fleet the 787 is online via the GX Aviation satellite solution from Inmarsat.
PaxEx Update: 12 July 2019
Sweet new premium cabins and another step towards free wifi for passengers top the headlines for this week’s passenger experience news.
The Polar Connectivity Push
Emirates issued a press release touting inflight connectivity over the North Pole, which is interesting since none of the carrier’s aircraft can deliver that today and the service from Inmarsat’s GX Aviation network won’t exist until 2023. But perhaps there’s more involved in the story??
Delta continues to push towards free inflight wifi
“Entertainment will continue to be a differentiator for Delta moving forward.” That includes free WiFi for passengers, a product that is still on the roadmap for the company.
ANA brings new luxury to 777-300ER retrofit
New luxury takes flight with ANA next month as the carrier brings its latest cabin interiors into service.
PaxEx Update: 2019-07-05
Welcome to the PaxEx Update for 5 July 2019, bringing you biggest headlines on what’s changed for passenger experience in the past week.
Inmarsat scores high-speed polar coverage with new GX satellites
Inmarsat continues its GX network expansion plans, announcing another pair of payloads to deliver high speed service in the Arctic region.
Deutsche Telekom introduces flat-rate pricing for inflight wifi
Last Fall Deutsche Telekom promised an integrated billing solution that would give its mobile phone customers easier access to the inflight connectivity solution on more than 200 Lufthansa Group aircraft. As of this week that promise is fulfilled. Customers subscribing to the new “Inflight Europa Flat” add-on package on their cell phone plan now receive seamless access to wifi on board the Group’s A320 family of planes.