The Business of Passenger Experience
Work as a senior executive in the inflight entertainment and connectivity business can be a fragile position. As the companies in the space continue to come up short on consistent and stable profits the likelihood of a sudden shift remains very real. Reports in to PaxEx.Aero suggest that just such a shift is underway at one of the leading providers in this segment.
Indonesian national carrier Garuda is expanding its inflight wifi commitment with Inmarsat’s GX Aviation solution. The move follows the selection earlier this year by Citilink, an LCC carrier in the Garuda Group, to install the same kit. The signed contract also quashes any hopes Global Eagle still had of resuscitating its deal with the carrier.
As the US government shutdown drags on the number of airline and airport projects at risk continues to grow. These are just a few of the major programs affected.
Southwest Airlines is inching closer to approval for service to Hawaii. But don’t start planning a trip just yet. The carrier still needs to pass a few more hurdles before it can schedule service.
It was supposed to be a massive shift of market share in the inflight connectivity world. Former Panasonic Avionics executive David Bruner claimed significant numbers of Southwest Airlines aircraft would see the Global Eagle kit uninstalled, replaced with PAC's solution, along with the ongoing line-fit deliveries. Instead Global Eagle is replacing PAC on the small number of 737s that were installed. And that might not even be the largest challenge Panasonic faces today.
In the couple months since PAC's partnership announcement with Inmarsat the company has pushed a two pronged approach to its future business. One one side sits the core competencies of its inflight entertainment business. On the other, driven by many of the new faces in the company's leadership, comes a shift towards a services operation. Both sides face challenges.
Global Eagle posted strong revenue numbers in Q3, with its content and aviation connectivity segments showing particular strength. The company also announced a couple "take away" deals that see it grabbing business from competitors. Those moves come at a cost, however, especially on the connectivity side. The increased revenue from these deals over the long term is welcome but a short term cash crunch could be bad for business.
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.
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.
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.
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.
