Nearly three years after acquiring the Commercial Aviation business of Gogo, Intelsat is further adjusting the group’s structure to better integrate with the rest of its global communications business. As part of the moves the company eliminated the role of President, Commercial Aviation and Jeff Sare has left the organization.
inflight wifi
Viasat suffers power anomaly on I6 F2
For the second time this summer Viasat has seen a failure of efforts to grow its global satellite constellation. The I6-F2 satellite, launched in February by Inmarsat, “suffered a power subsystem anomaly during its orbit raising phase” and will not enter service as planned.
GEO keeps growing for Panasonic Avionics
Panasonic Avionics plans a 50% growth in its GEO satellite network capacity. Alas, the company won’t really share any details beyond that, which raises additional questions.
Malaysia Airlines picks Viasat for MAX inflight internet, entertainment
Malaysia Airlines’ upcoming fleet of 737 MAX 8 aircraft will offer inflight internet and wireless entertainment on board, powered by Viasat.
Viasat doubles down on interoperability to address short, mid-term capacity challenges
Despite the troubles with its first flagship ViaSat-3 satellite, Viasat continues to maintain a positive outlook. Yes, the lack of capacity from the new satellite over the Americas is a problem. But for the next couple years that should only impact its terrestrial connectivity business, not the higher-margin mobility or government business lines.
JetBlue activates Peacock content on board
JetBlue passengers now have access to content from the Peacock streaming media service on board most flights.
Gogo reports record service revenue, reduces forecast
Chalk up another record revenue quarter for Gogo. But the company expects the next couple years to be rough, with downward revisions on revenue, free cash flow, and other metrics.
Gogo launches AVANCE LX5, a more compact ATG solution
The new Gogo 5G solution is still a year-ish away for aircraft owners, but the company announced availability of AVANCE LX5, an upgrade to the L5 solution that delivers a more compact installation on board.
Gilat, Satcom Direct team for OneWeb BizAv ESA
Gilat and Satcom Direct have teamed to develop an electronically steered antenna (ESA) terminal for OneWeb connectivity as part of SD’s Plane Simple antenna line, with availability expected in 2025.
Swiss introduces free messaging, cheaper inflight connectivity packages
One of the most expensive inflight internet services is about to become massively more affordable. Swiss is dramatically revamping its inflight connectivity pricing, including introducing a free messaging tier.