Satisfied customers that want to take their inflight connectivity experience further afield appear to be driving the Ku/Ka offering from Viasat. And it should be online sooner than not, according to President & COO Rick Baldridge.
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ThinKom touts low-drag advantages in push for regional jet connectivity
Getting high-speed satellite-based internet service on to regional jets has proven an uphill battle to date. Antenna manufacturer ThinKom hopes its Ka2517 solution can help. The company released details of a study this week confirming its antenna can fly on smaller fuselages without dramatically increasing drag.
Swiss completes A340 retrofit with updated IFE/C suite
Passengers on the Swiss International Air Lines A340 fleet are now guaranteed to fly with the company’s newest product. The carrier announced this week that the fifth and final aircraft completed its retrofits and returned to service.
Gogo to increase inflight capacity with Hispasat’s Amazonus Nexus satellite
When it comes to delivering inflight connectivity capacity demand in the the Americas and North Atlantic remains massive. Gogo aims to cover that challenge through significant capacity contracts with multiple service providers. The latest deal brings multiple gigahertz of throughput on the Amazonas Nexus satellite slated for launch by Hispasat in the second half of 2022.
Gilat delivers a successful Ka-band ESA test flight with Honeywell, Telesat
Finally some good news worth celebrating in the ESA space. Gilat’s new kit went flying on Honeywell’s 757 and successfully linked with a Telesat GEO Ka-band satellite.
Panasonic Avionics confirms Eutelsat 10B as second XTS satellite partner
Panasonic Avionics (PAC) plans a significant boost to its Ku-band satellite capacity from 2022. The company confirmed a contract for multiple gigahertz of capacity on both multi-beam payloads of the Eutelsat 10B satellite slated for launch in three years.
Gogo talking Ka as growth opportunities abound
For a company that is now mostly known for its Ku-band inflight connectivity offering the idea of bringing Ka-band services online in parallel may appear somewhat incongruous. But for Gogo, the news out this morning that it is pitching Ka-band solutions to potential customers is, according to CEO Oakleigh Thorne, more about holding fast to its plans.
Eutelsat plans more Ku-band capacity; Gogo signs on for increased service
More Ku-band capacity is coming on line over Europe, the North Atlantic and Middle East in 2022. Eutelsat will launch 10B, a replacement for its existing 10A satellite, delivering a significant boost to capacity. Gogo is a committed customer for the new satellite and others are also in the wings.
Sunrise Stretch: PaxEx Update 2019-10-18
The beginnings of Project Sunrise and extra leg room for the Kiwis. Plus more wifi (maybe) coming in China and another loyalty top tier moves further away.
Get these stories and more in this week’s PaxEx Update.
Lufthansa Technik dives in to the Chinese inflight connectivity market
Announcements related to inflight connectivity in China are hard to process. Vendors continue to sign agreements and push out releases but forward progress in terms of getting hardware on planes remains stalled. This week Lufthansa Technik (LHT) joined the field with an announcement of an offering for airlines in China. But, like the others, it is unclear what the timeline for implementation will be or where things will go from here.