Airline passengers in China and across Asia will soon have access to significantly more inflight wifi connectivity bandwith. Panasonic Avionics and APSATCOM announced the first “XTS” ultra-high speed Ku-band satellte, set to launch in early 2019.
Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Seamless Air Alliance hopes to deliver frictionless inflight connectivity
What will it take to deliver a truly frictionless inflight wifi connectivity experience to passengers? The newly formed Seamelss Air Alliance, backed by big names including Delta Air Lines, OneWeb, and Airbus, hopes to develop standards and processes that make the connection and billing process flow smoothly throughout the aviation connectivity ecosystem. That could be a huge win if it works.
Iberia’s first A350 sports a new radome
This week’s edition of “What’s under that radome?” comes to us from Toulouse, where Iberia’s first A350-900 broke cover. The carrier shared a few photos on Twitter and the aircraft is sporting a line-fit radome on the fuselage.
PR: Gogo first with SES-15 inflight connectivity
Gogo is the first inflight connectivity provider to pass data on the SES-15 Ku-band satellite. That’s great news for passengers, and it should get even better soon as others join that party.
Virgin Atlantic’s newest used plane breaks connectivity streak
Virgin Atlantic’s newest used plane features the seats and entertainment system the carrier’s passengers have come to know and love. But it is missing the newest amenity – inflight wifi connectivity – and that’s unlikely to change.
Interjet is now online
Interjet is the latest airline to add inflight wifi to its fleet. The carrier took delivery of its first A321neo last week and with that adds Ku-band connectivity from Panasonic Avionics to the inflight amenities on offer.
Aeromexico brings diversity to 737 connectivity
Aeromexico's first 737 MAX rolled off the assembly line at Renton last week and all indications are that, unlike the company's 737-800s, it will not be flying with the Gogo 2Ku solution.
A mostly successful launch for SES, Yahsat, Arianespace
SES and Yahsat have more capacity in the sky thanks to an Arianespace launch last night. The launch suffered from anomalies after the second stage ignition and the satellites were not inserted where initially expected, though both companies report control of their assets.
More bandwidth, more blocking to improve the Panasonic inflight connectivity experience
Calling it a next generation network may be a slight stretch but Panasonic Avionics is making some changes to how it delivers inflight connectivity. Adding bandwidth is the (relatively) easy part. Blocking the updates no one needs on a plane is harder but also a potentially more significnat improvement to the passenger experience.
ANA brings free internet to flights
Looking for free inflight internet connectivity? Japan appears the place to be. ANA will add free internet service on the bulk of its domestic fleet in 2018, delivering more connectivity on more domestic routes than any other carrier in Japan.