The annual APEX EXPO is less than 24 hours away and anticipation for this year’s event is high. Many suppliers are promising big new throughout the week. In the inflight connectivity world it remains to be seen if anything will top the Panasonic Avionics/Inmarsat announcement from last week. Of course new order announcements are anticipated and will likely be big news. But what additional news will develop during the week?
PaxEx
Air New Zealand expanding Inmarsat GX deployment
First it was the 777s. Now it appears Air New Zealand is ready to deploy Inmarsat’s GX inflight wifi kit on the single-aisle fleet.
Etihad-Emirates combo: Hyperloop to the rescue?
Reports out this week have Emirates and Etihad once again circling around a potential merger. The politics behind such a deal are interesting but the airport terminal issues are massive. And Hyperloop might be the answer, a solution just crazy enough that it could work.
Hawaiian to Boston: New longest domestic flight
Hawaiian will soon operate a new longest domestic US flight. The carrier will launch service 5x weekly between Honolulu and Boston starting on 4 April 2019. The 5,095 mile flight is the longest domestic US route, besting the Honolulu-JFK service by just over 100 miles.
Staggered seating set to soar: Molon Labe secures launch customer
Looking for a very different seat on board? Head to China, where one airline is finally set to fly with the Molon Labe Staggered Seat design that promises up to 5″ extra width for the middle seat passenger. And if could be flying in the Americas in the not too distant future, too.
Viasat secures ULA as third launch partner for ViaSat-3 constellation
Viasat now holds launch contracts for all three satellites of its upcoming ViaSat-3 constellation. The company announced today that United Launch Alliance (ULA) will carry one of the three satellites into orbit between 2020 to 2022 on an Atlas 5 rocket.
PaxEx Premium: Another connectivity split fleet
Chalk up another split fleet for inflight connectivity. The latest intelligence in to PaxEx.Aero suggests another A350 operator will add a new vendor to its IFC roster.
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Avant, GX, Super Diamond for the new Hong Kong Airlines A350
Hong Kong Airlines celebrated the delivery of a new tranche of A350s this week, bringing new inflight products to the carrier. The airline’s early A350 deliveries were originally built for Azul; the current set were meant for HK Airlines all along. That means different seats, entertainment systems and inflight connectivity kit on board.
UON set to connect with unique business model
Taqnia Space is on the cusp of launching its UON service with Saudia. The kit will go live on a pair of A320s later this month according to Mustafa Murad, the company’s Aero Program Head. In a conversation at the Aviation Festival in London this afternoon Murad also detailed some of the unique propositions for the company’s offering, including a business model bound to look attractive to airlines.
Icelandair comes up short on revenue, loses its CEO
Icelandair faces a significant revenue shortfall in 2018 owing to growing competition and mistakes in growing its route network. The parent company of the airline also needs to find a new CEO. Björgólfur Jóhannsson took full responsibility for the missed numbers and tendered his resignation to the Icelandair Group Board of Directors.