Air Canada announced plans to acquire 26 A321XLR aircraft, updating its long-haul offerings. The aircraft will be used for flights within North America, as well as some Transatlantic markets, pending approval from Transport Canada regulators.
inflight connectivity
Is Starlink finally ready for commercial flight?
“We are already on airplanes. We are testing the antenna and working towards certification.”
With that statement at the Satellite 2022 conference in Washington, DC this week, Jonathan Hofeller, VP of Starlink Commercial Sales kicked off another round of speculation about what the future of in-flight connectivity will be.
OneWeb secures launch plan with SpaceX, capacity deal with Speedcast
OneWeb secured a contract with SpaceX, allowing the company to resume its launch efforts. The deal comes several weeks after the company lost access to Soyuz rockets as part of the collateral damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gilat’s ESA shows promise with successful Ka-band test
Gilat’s newest ESA is ready to take to the skies. The company announced a breakthrough in electronically steerable antenna (ESA) technology for in-flight connectivity (IFC) with the conclusion of flight tests conducted by Airbus Defence and Space.
SmartSky signs flyExclusive to fleet connectivity deal
SmartSky snagged its first connected charter fleet customer. FlyExclusive will fit its fleet with the SmartSky air-to-ground inflight connectivity service beginning later this Spring.
Another Spirit Airlines WiFi turning point
Spirit Airlines hit another milestone in its in-flight WiFi service rollout earlier this month. And, while it may be a tad premature, it gives the carrier an opportunity to focus more on marketing the on-board internet offering to passengers.
Intelsat, Gilat sign multi-million dollar modem contract
Intelsat’s future in-flight connectivity implementations are slated for an upgrade. The company announced a multi-million dollar deal with Gilat to implement the SkyEdge IV Taurus Modem in its on-board terminals.
Breeze picks Viasat for WiFi in the sky
Chalk up another in-flight WiFi win for Viasat. Breeze selected the satellite provider to deliver internet service on its A220 fleet beginning later this year.
Gogo hits records in 2021
In-flight WiFi demand shows no sign of abating. Gogo’s latest statistics show record usage levels on its air-to-ground network, along with a rising number of aircraft installed and hardware shipping to new customers.
A line-fit shift
The in-flight connectivity industry has something of a history around getting hardware installed at the factory, but not really as a line-fit option. Later this year another aircraft manufacturer will finally transition to a more traditional installation approach, with the blessings of regulators.