Supporting a potential for 150,000 more passengers online in the sky every day at the end of October is no easy feat. But suppliers say they’re ready for Southwest’s shift, and the other airlines expected in the months to follow.
Intelsat
More Starlink Flies North of the Border
More Starlink-equipped aircraft are now flying as part of a North American airline’s operations, but scant few travelers will get to take advantage of the service.
JetBlue, Kuiper Team for Next-Gen Inflight Internet
More than a decade after introducing fast, free Wi-Fi, JetBlue is refreshing the Fly-Fi experience as the first airline to sign a deal with Amazon’s Kuiper program.
Gilat Pushes Towards Boeing Line-Fit for Sidewinder
Multi-orbit ESAs got a boost this week, with Gilat announcing a $60 million order for its Stellar Blu Sidewinder terminal.
Alaska Airlines Swaps to Starlink
Alaska Airlines, in a not entirely unexpected shift, will deploy Starlink’s inflight internet fleet wide by 2027.
Astronics Walks Away from IFC Antenna Business
Astronics has been a long-time player in the inflight internet antenna business, though not without challenges. After multiple iterations and efforts, with little success to show for the investment, the company will now exit the market.
Royal Brunei Picks Intelsat for Inflight Internet
Royal Brunei Airlines will fit its A320neo fleet with broadband internet service, powered by Intelsat’s multi-orbit connectivity solution.
Air Canada’s Free Wi-Fi Goes Live, Boosts Performance
Air Canada Aeroplan members flying across North America, Mexico, and the Caribbean can now get online for free in flight. I got to test the system before the offical go-live date hit.
HBCplus Swaps, Line-fit Plans for Airbus Inflight Connectivity
The Viasat GX Aviation network has been the constellation of choice for more than 100 aircraft in the Airbus HBCplus program, which made the news of it being removed from offerability last week at AIX all the more interesting.
Intelsat Sees Progress with Boeing for Multi-orbit ESA
Intelsat sees significant progress in its Boeing certification programs, with plans to have the multi-orbit ESA flying later this year and line-fit in 2026.