Air France will add ten more A350-900 aircraft to its fleet in the coming years, supporting the retirement of its A380s and A340s. The deal will help the carrier to simplify its operations and deliver a more consistent passenger experience across its long-haul operations.
inflight entertainment
Putting AirAsia’s new GX WiFi to the test
Deploy quickly and work out the bugs along the way. That’s not a typical approach to anything in the aviation world, and for good reason. But for AirAsia’s GX Aviation WiFi deployment that’s the plan, even if it means some hiccups along the way, as were experienced during a recent demonstration flight.
Astronics inks deal for deeper access into China
Doing business in China means finding a local partner to help build relationships. Astronics now has just such a deal to facilitate bringing its IFE/C hardware into what will soon be the largest aviation market on the planet.
TSI Aviation Seats gains access to Airbus BFE catalog
Airlines purchasing the A350, A330/neo and A320/neo family aircraft now have a new option for a seating supplier. TSI Aviation Seats, a joint operation led by Turkish Technic, is now listed in the BFE catalog opening up new sales channels for the operation.
IFE out as Hong Kong Airlines continues its finances collapse
For Hong Kong Airlines the future is very, very uncertain. Cuts continue it is unlikely they will be enough to keep the carrier afloat too much longer barring a significant cash infusion and restructuring of the business. This week it is the inflight entertainment system that disappeared.
Inmarsat’s GX-5 launches successfully, kicking off the next phase of the GX story
Inmarsat’s GX-5 satellite successfully reached orbit on Tuesday, beginning its mission to dramatically increase Ka-band capacity over Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It also represents a key milestone as the GX Aviation prodcut evolves. It is not just about the increased capacity, though that bandwidth makes the future plans easier and less expensive to deliver.
AirFi moving forward with Atlantic Airways’ connected deployment
The AirFi LEO product could (finally) be online soon. Work with launch customer Atlantic Airways is back on track after an early setback.
PaxEx Update: FTE Asia edition
AirAsia is (still) making big moves in the ASEAN region and digital bag tags are evolving to a level that might be useful soon. Plus some news on IFE/C going active and getting profitable. The 2019 Future Travel Experience Asia was a great show and these are just a few of the highlights.
Azul plans inflight connectivity with Viasat deal
Brazil’s Azul will add inflight wifi connectivity to its fleet going forward. Viasat was selected as the network integrator for the Ka-band satellite service.
JetBlue boosts inflight entertainment content with new partners
Putting big, bright new HD screens in the seatback is good for passengers. Dramatically increasing the content on those screens is even better. JetBlue passengers should be very happy now based on new partnerships announced this week with Showtime, Spotify, INSCAPE, and PressReader.