The official launch of the FlytLIVE in-flight WiFi service on Spirit Airlines earlier this month, after a year of trial operations irepresents a strong return to the in-flight connectivity market for Thales. But the company is not slowing down now that the gear is live; quite the opposite, in fact.
InFlyt
Thales boosts screen, power options with AVANT Up(grade)
The next generation of in-flight entertainment systems is ready to fly from Thales. The company launched the AVANT Up line this week, with upgraded screens, in-seat power, and services options for airlines.
Gulf Air selects Thales, Inmarsat GX for 787-9, A321LR connectivity
Gulf Air’s newest aircraft will feature inflight connectivity from Thales InFlyt, powered by the Inmarsat GX Aviation platform. The companies announced the deal today covering twenty five planes that will fly on longer routes.
PaxEx Premium: Predicting a new antenna in flight
As the new Thales/Spirit Airlines Ka-band inflight wifi connectivity solution inches closer to flight testing it appears necessary to dispel one rumor about timing and opine on a very different one about the antenna technology that will be used on board.
PaxEx Premium: Does Spirit have a secret for selling wifi?
Outgoing Spirit Airlines CEO Bob Fornaro is no stranger to the inflight connectivity world, even if his current airline is a late adopter of such services. Fornaro oversaw the fleet-wide deployment of connectivity at AirTran. He saw the value it could deliver and the pains that poor performance and limited availability caused for passengers and the airline. Now he wants to bring a new model to market and lead the connected ULCC revolution, starting with the Thales kit installed on his company's fleet. Will this secret sauce work?
Gogo TV live on 550+ planes; more to come
An additional 550+ aircraft now have live television on board. The Gogo TV product activated across three airlines in recent weeks, quickly adding live content to the company’s offerings. And more planes are coming online soon.
PaxEx Premium: Spirit’s wifi installs begin
Is it time for Gogo to split?
Is Gogo worth more split in half rather than as a single company? Since the management transition earlier this year that idea has been floated more than once. CEO Oakleigh Thorne suggested that either the Business or Commercial Aviation halves should be worth more than the current market cap. He's also suggested that splitting the company along those lines would be a relatively easy transaction to pull off, with BizAv owning the ATG network and Commercial the satellite services. With an impending deadline to refinance the company's debt it seems like such a move could solve a lot of the problems. We know that various suitors have put offers on the table for all or part of the company and that those are being evaluated by the Board of Directors. Here's how one of them could play out.
Spirit commits to inflight wifi
Eutelsat goes big on Ka-band, dumps ViaSat-3
Major drama in the inflght connectivity world this afternoon as joint venture partners Eutelsat and Viasat are splitting on a major project. Eutelsat is launching KONNECT, its own massive increase in Ka-band capacity in 2021 and has new partners to work with on that deal. Oh, and it is bailing on its potential partnership for the ViaSat-3's EMEA coverage.