Nearly every conversation about in-flight connectivity at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2022 in Hamburg this week includes mention of the SpaceX Starlink offering. Company executives are wandering the show floor carrying an antenna panel that they hope will soon be certified to fly, while airlines and competitors alike debate the unique path the company has chosen for nearly every facet of the offering.
SpaceX
Revising the launch timeline
With SpaceX and ISRO contracts signed, OneWeb will soon be ready to resume launches of its low earth orbit satellites. And, while some connectivity services are already available, details on timing for completing the constellation have remained scant.
Gogo, OneWeb team for BizAv satellite service
Gogo is getting back into the satellite connectivity business in a big way. The company announced a deal to integrate the OneWeb low earth orbit (LEO) constellation into its business aviation connectivity network, providing global coverage for its customers.
Hawaiian Airlines gets online with Starlink
Hawaiian Airlines will offer fast, free in-flight WiFi on its long-haul flights from 2023. The carrier announced a deal with Starlink to deliver the internet connectivity service on its A330, A321neo, and 787 aircraft.
JSX selects Starlink for in-flight WiFi
SpaceX signed the first airline customer for its Starlink satellite service. JSX will offer in-flight WiFi powered by the low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation, with the first plane expected to be equipped later this year.
Is Starlink finally ready for commercial flight?
“We are already on airplanes. We are testing the antenna and working towards certification.”
With that statement at the Satellite 2022 conference in Washington, DC this week, Jonathan Hofeller, VP of Starlink Commercial Sales kicked off another round of speculation about what the future of in-flight connectivity will be.
OneWeb secures launch plan with SpaceX, capacity deal with Speedcast
OneWeb secured a contract with SpaceX, allowing the company to resume its launch efforts. The deal comes several weeks after the company lost access to Soyuz rockets as part of the collateral damage from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Musk teases Starship flights from Texas to Singapore in under an hour
What’s the future of ultra-long haul travel? For Elon Musk, commercial passenger flights on the Starship rocket could connect pretty much anywhere on earth in less than an hour. That presents all sorts of interesting options for connecting cultures and people across the globe.
The low-down on LEO IFC options
It should come as no surprise that a trio of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operators believe more than 90% of in-flight connectivity traffic will pass over their networks in a decade’s time. Still, hearing how SpaceX, OneWeb and Telesat believe their upcoming constellations will compete for traffic during this week’s Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit reveals slightly different takes on the market and what they believe will be necessary to secure customers going forward.
Small Sats get a launch boost from SpaceX, Ariancespace
Cutting the cost for delivering satellites into space is a key factor to increasing capacity and improving coverage in the inflight connectivity market. SpaceX and Arianespace both announced programs today that will help on this front.