Fully flat beds are coming to the Asian LCC market in mid-2020. But that’s about the only thing exciting in the new ZIPAir cabin configuration unveiled last week. And some of the finer details straddle the line between disappointing and concerning.
wifi
Antenna woes derail Spirit’s WiFi installation efforts
More troubles for the Spirit Airlines inflight wifi program came to light today. Antenna issues with the Thales FlytLIVE kit will require the few existing installations to be replaced and tested anew before the full fleet deployment resumes.
An electrified experience: PaxEx Update – 13 Dec 2019
Electric aircraft are really real and the Embraer E2 family is complete. Plus a ton of good news for Airbus and an incremental eventual win for inflight connectivity.
Panasonic Avionics confirms Eutelsat 10B as second XTS satellite partner
Panasonic Avionics (PAC) plans a significant boost to its Ku-band satellite capacity from 2022. The company confirmed a contract for multiple gigahertz of capacity on both multi-beam payloads of the Eutelsat 10B satellite slated for launch in three years.
Inmarsat’s GX-5 launches successfully, kicking off the next phase of the GX story
Inmarsat’s GX-5 satellite successfully reached orbit on Tuesday, beginning its mission to dramatically increase Ka-band capacity over Europe, the Middle East and Asia. It also represents a key milestone as the GX Aviation prodcut evolves. It is not just about the increased capacity, though that bandwidth makes the future plans easier and less expensive to deliver.
A new player in the race for inflight WiFi over India
The race to bring the first aircraft online in India took an interesting turn in recent weeks. While SpiceJet has talked about its plans to add the GX Aviation system from Inmarsat to its new 737 MAX aircraft other players have been less public about their efforts. But installations are underway to deliver a fleet-wide solution, potentially within a year.
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Qatar Airways picks Gogo for connectivity upgrade
Chalk up a big win for Gogo as it adds Qatar Airways to its roster of connected airlines.
Global Eagle signs with Turkish Airlines for inflight connectivity
Adding more than 100 Turkish Airlines planes to its inflight connectivity backlog is good news for Global Eagle. Perhaps more significant, however, is the potential for additional program growth that come from the partnerships it established to secure this Turkish Airlines deal.
Azul plans inflight connectivity with Viasat deal
Brazil’s Azul will add inflight wifi connectivity to its fleet going forward. Viasat was selected as the network integrator for the Ka-band satellite service.
Gogo talking Ka as growth opportunities abound
For a company that is now mostly known for its Ku-band inflight connectivity offering the idea of bringing Ka-band services online in parallel may appear somewhat incongruous. But for Gogo, the news out this morning that it is pitching Ka-band solutions to potential customers is, according to CEO Oakleigh Thorne, more about holding fast to its plans.