Aer Lingus took delivery of its first A321LR last week and is wasting little time in pressing the aircraft into service. Flights to Hartford begin on Friday, August 2, 2019.
Panasonic Avionics
United Airlines wants WiFi to be free
Is the move to free inflight WiFi inevitable? United Airlines seems to think so, with plans in the works to make it a reality. Exactly when and how much remain unclear, but in today’s investor earnings call the company indicated those plans as part of a brief update on the overall product quality.
The Polar Connectivity Push
Emirates issued a press release touting inflight connectivity over the North Pole, which is interesting since none of the carrier’s aircraft can deliver that today and the service from Inmarsat’s GX Aviation network won’t exist until 2023. But perhaps there’s more involved in the story??
ANA brings new luxury to 777-300ER retrofit
New luxury takes flight with ANA next month as the carrier brings its latest cabin interiors into service.
PaxEx Update: 2019-07-05
Welcome to the PaxEx Update for 5 July 2019, bringing you biggest headlines on what’s changed for passenger experience in the past week.
Deutsche Telekom introduces flat-rate pricing for inflight wifi
Last Fall Deutsche Telekom promised an integrated billing solution that would give its mobile phone customers easier access to the inflight connectivity solution on more than 200 Lufthansa Group aircraft. As of this week that promise is fulfilled. Customers subscribing to the new “Inflight Europa Flat” add-on package on their cell phone plan now receive seamless access to wifi on board the Group’s A320 family of planes.
SAS picks Inmarsat GX for A350 connectivity
The new A350-900 fleet for SAS will fly with the Inmarsat GX Aviation inflight wifi product when they are delivered beginning at the end of 2019. The full A350 fleet for the carrier is expected online by 2023.
Korean Air plans interior overhaul, inflight connectivity service
The next generation of Korean Air’s inflight service will see significant changes from the current product. Inflight wifi and a refreshed cabin seating configuration will fly soon as the company seeks to better meet passenger needs.
Grand Kiwi Dream(liner)s
Air New Zealand will acquire eight new 787-10 Dreamliners as part of its fleet upgrade program. The new aircraft will arrive beginning in 2022, continuing through 2027. The long-expected order will see the new aircraft replace the carrier’s existing 777-200 fleet.
KLM kicked offline by Intelsat 29e outage
When the Intelsat 29e satellite failed last month anchor tenant Panasonic Avionics indicated that it had mitigated the loss of capacity for all customers. One airline is now suggesting the mitigation efforts were insufficient.