AirAsia’s inflight wifi upgrade is finally underway. The first few planes are now flying with the Inmarsat GX Aviation kit on board. Fleet-wide rollout is expected in about a year.
PaxEx
JetBlue confirms catering shift for short-haul flights
During the summer of 2019 JetBlue experimented with a new catering process that shifted the cart loads and allowed the company to restock planes less frequently. With nearly 120 test flights complete the company is declaring victory and moving forward with the plan. Before the end of the year expect to see catering trucks visit some JetBlue planes half as often. The news was confirmed by VP Inflight Ed Baklor in an internal video message shared with flight attendants this week.
AERQ wants to be more than just a Welcome Board
When it comes to screens on airplanes the industry is focused squarely on the seatback. AERQ, a joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and LG Electronics wants to shift that conversation. Taking advantage of LG’s screens technology and the inflight services prowess of Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Systems, the company has big expectations for delivering its services on board.
PaxEx Update: APEX EXPO
Trade shows usually make for great insight into the future of the industry. This week’s APEX EXPO brought some of that to the surface, with news about seats, entertainment, connectivity and more. Here are some highlights.
Cabin-wide Bluetooth audio to fly in 2021
It is a product years in the making, with mentions at multiple prior trade shows. This week, for the first time, Safran confirmed that its Bluetooth headphones pairing solution will fly cabin wide on Lufthansa and ANA starting in 2021(ish).
PaxEx Update: World Aviation Festival 2019
So much happening at the World Aviation Festival this year but a few bits stood out above the rest for direct impact on passengers. Here are a few of the highlights from Air Canada, TAP Portugal, EasyJet and more.
Qantas plans London, New York nonstops to Sydney this year
The first flights for Qantas’s Project Sunrise will depart far sooner than expected. A trio of test flights later this year will help the carrier make smart choices about service patterns, crew rest and whether the program is really viable after all.
SmartSky’s commercial installations begin
SmartSky’s push towards launching its air-to-ground inflight connectivity solution took a significant step forward earlier this month. The first commercial aircraft to carry the company’s kit is currently in the shop getting the system installed.
Spirit’s WiFi Install Woes
Fast wifi, fleet wide and flying in about a year. The original announcement between Thales Inflyt and Spirit Airlines laid out an aggressive plan to fit the low cost carrier's fleet with inflight connectivity service. More than a year later, however, only a handful of planes have the system installed and it is not active for passengers on any of them. What happened and when will it get better??
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PaxEx Update: 9 August 2019
Another business class double bed concept, more first class on regional jets and a lot about the A220 top this week’s PaxEx news. Check it out!