Southwest Airlines dropped a fee this week. The carrier long offered movies on its flights, streamed to a passenger device, for $5. That content is now free. The new pricing took effect today and is rolling out across the fleet throughout the week.
Southwest Airlines
JetBlue confirms 2019 route changes
Building on yesterday’s report that JetBlue plans “aggressive” changes to its route network details the changes are now public. One new international destination joins the route map and several routes see increased frequencies. The carrier will also close three stations and shift one to seasonal service. A handful of routes will also be shuttered. This round of changes will begin to show in JetBlue’s schedule effective in January 2019.
JetBlue goes Basic, plans fare families revamp
Is there such a thing as humanity in the Basic Economy world? JetBlue is planning a new suite of fare families to include a more basic option, while also maybe fixing the more expensive options, too.
Another tiny lavatory preps for flight on American Airlines
Sick and tired of tiny airplane toilets? The news out of Aircraft Interiors Expo this week in Boston (collocated with APEX EXPO) probably won’t improve that feeling. Diehl Aerospace showed off its 31″ lavatory for the A320 family of aircraft, soon to be retrofit on American Airlines airplanes.
Gogo TV live on 550+ planes; more to come
An additional 550+ aircraft now have live television on board. The Gogo TV product activated across three airlines in recent weeks, quickly adding live content to the company’s offerings. And more planes are coming online soon.
Growing against flat rate contracts: Global Eagle’s plan
Growth is all but assured in the inflight connectivity market. Global Eagle is among the operators seeking the upside potential in its its revenue base and margins. But the company takes a slightly different approach to generating service revenue compared to others.
Content is part of the plan. Premium services are part of the plan. Convergence of the entire passenger experience matters greatly. And Chief Commercial Officer Per Norén is confident that the approach can save the company money on the bandwidth side, deliver a better and more profitable offering for airlines and give passengers the content they really want.
Revenue per aircraft is flat right now, but the Norén has big ideas on how to change that. Everyone wins, assuming it all works.
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Counting connections and commitments
Connectivity installations slow slightly over the summer, allowing an opportunity to take a big picture look at the industry and where the various players sit in terms of connected aircraft and future commitments. Compared to a year ago some players have shifted positions, even as the total committed count increases. The latter is definitely good news for all involved while the former is better for some than others.
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Connectivity milestones aplenty
Just how many aircraft carry inflight connectivity hardware? And which kit?? A pair of announcements this week gives greater insight into which kit is where and how the market is shifting, rapidly in some cases. Not that installation number 1000 matters more than number 999, of course. Yet somehow it does. Just a little.
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Southwest teases further network growth, including Canada
Southwest Airlines’ plans to grow in to the Hawaiian islands are no secret, but they’re also not the only destinations further afield the company is considering. Among the possibilities: Canada!
Interisland service, mainland gateways announced for Southwest’s Hawaii service
Interisland service in Hawaii? You betcha! Mainland gateway details? We’ve got that, too. Southwest Airlines’ plans for island service continue to trickle out and the carrier is clearly not afraid to pick a fight.