It worked, exactly as advertised. That was the main takeaway from last week’s media demo flight of the new SAS high-speed inflight internet service on the carrier’s single-aisle fleet. The part where it is free for many passengers is great news, too.
ViaSat
JetBlue’s new A320 takes flight
New seats, new screens and more live television took flight one JetBlue this week. The first of the restyled A320 planes is now in service, delivering upgraded amenities. And 12 extra seats on board.
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.
Gilat goes cuckoo for Ku-Ka
One antenna kit to handle connections to multiple satellite networks sounds like a great idea. Gilat now has one on offer but there’s just one problem: It is unclear that commercial demand is truly sufficient for such. Oopsie.
Icelandair joins the 737 MAX family; IFC missing to start
Icelandair is the latest carrier to join the 737 MAX family. The carrier took delivery of its first MAX8 today and will press it into service just a few weeks hence. That may hamstring the inflight connectivity experience for passengers, unfortunately.
Connectivity Revenue: Where does American’s shift leave Gogo?
How much revenue does the American Airlines fleet contribute to Gogo? What will things look like in 2018 as 400ish planes leave? Here's a look at what I think might happen.
Allez, EAN! Approval arrives in France for Inmarsat’s newest service
Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network just received a significant regulatory boost: it is now authorized to fly in France. That was a significant geographic gap in the coverage area that is now filled. Great new particularly for British Airways with its aircraft already being fitted to launch service later this year.
Shifting gears: Gogo’s push to connect more passengers
What good is having an inflight wifi connectivity product if no one is using it? Gogo sits flush with satellite capacity and is pushing to increase take rates (and revenue) up dramatically on its platform.
Iberia’s first A350 sports a new radome
This week’s edition of “What’s under that radome?” comes to us from Toulouse, where Iberia’s first A350-900 broke cover. The carrier shared a few photos on Twitter and the aircraft is sporting a line-fit radome on the fuselage.
United brings the 737 MAX 9 online
Looking to fly on United’s newest aircraft type? Head to Houston on June 7th to be part of the first day of 737 MAX 9 operations. Alas, nothing particularly now or exciting with the interiors.









