Putting on a show at Satellite

From the Control Tower

Keeping up with the flow of news at a trade show is typically overwhelming. This year's Satellite was no exception. That other news was also happening added to the fun.

Connectivity

Intelsat massively boosts multi-orbit capacity with revised Eutelsat deal

Intelsat purchased significant additional bandwidth from Eutelsat, including on the OneWeb LEO constellation, to serve is airline customers for the years ahead.

Korean to bring 787s online with Viasat

Korean Air will add inflight internet service to its fleet of 787s. The carrier announced a deal with Viasat to bring an additional 40 aircraft online over the next four years.

AMI Aviation Demos King Air Starlink Satcom

Starlink continues to push into the BizAv market, with an STC and installation now live on a King Air prop

Stellar Blu Sidewinder terminal certification slips, production ramps up

Certification timing slipped a bit for the Stellar Blu terminal, leaving Intelsat waiting for installation on its test aircraft. But no one seems to be worried yet.

Viasat, Telekom extend EAN network into the Mediterranean for Aegean

Building cell towers to serve overwater markets is no easy feat, especially with hundreds of miles between Greece and Cyprus. But Deutsche Telekom and Viasat got it done, boosting the EAN network for Aegean Airlines.

Ads, points to open Wi-Fi access on American Airlines

American Airlines is updating the way passengers connect to inflight Wi-Fi services, including a limited free option.

Cabin Design

Malaysia Airlines picks Collins, Recaro for A330neo seats

Malaysia Airlines unveiled its A330neo interiors, with seats from Collins Aerospace for the business class cabin and Recaro for economy. The new planes, with 297 seats on board, are expected to join the fleet from Q3 2024.

Expliseat launches new economy class seat with Hop! E190 contract

Expliseat will launch a new version of its lightweight TiSeat, targeting the Embraer E-Jet family of aircraft. Air France's HOP! is the launch customer.

Loyalty

Alaska Access: A new subscription play by Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines continues its push into the subscription services model with the introduction of Alaska Access. The program promises early access to sale fares and a Wi-Fi discount among its benefits

Points pooling comes to United's MileagePlus program

Pooling of loyalty points is not new. But typically it is implemented by smaller airlines comes with far more restrictions than what United is launching.

Other Industry News

XB-1 takes flight, beginning path to supersonic

Boom's XB-1 can fly. The "demonstrator" aircraft got off the ground in Mojave today for a quick pass through the pattern.

Southwest expects to launch red-eye flights in about two years

Red-eye flights are coming for Southwest, and that's probably a good thing for the company and consumers, even as I desperately avoid them for domestic travel.