How does an airline go about comparing the inflight wifi connectivity options available on the 787 Dreamliner? Lots of contract details about pricing and delivery timeframes are certainly critical, but occasionally the data is summed up into two slides in a briefing deck. For Italian charter operator NEOS the contest settled between Viasat and Panasonic Avionics back in 2017. It appears the carrier chose neither vendor, but the summary of the positioning from the two finalists is intriguing.
ViaSat-3
Aeromexico confirms Viasat connectivity on MAX fleet
Aeromexico confirmed its plans to add Viasat’s Ka-band connectivity on the 737 MAX fleet. The announcement at APEX Expo this morning confirms the long-rumored plans between the two and adds 18 planes to the Viasat fleet in North America. Aeromexico has options for an additional 60 MAX planes to be fitted with the Viasat kit.
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.
Viasat committed to global coverage, even without partners
Partners are important. But Viasat is not deterred by its lack of partners when it comes to developing the global ViaSat-3 constellation of Ka-band satellite connectivity. Indeed, the wait while searching for a partner on one of the satellites may prove beneficial when it finally launches.
Eutelsat goes big on Ka-band, dumps ViaSat-3
Major drama in the inflght connectivity world this afternoon as joint venture partners Eutelsat and Viasat are splitting on a major project. Eutelsat is launching KONNECT, its own massive increase in Ka-band capacity in 2021 and has new partners to work with on that deal. Oh, and it is bailing on its potential partnership for the ViaSat-3's EMEA coverage.