Issue 10

From the Control Tower

A ton of inflight connectivity news dominated the PaxEx world last week. Much of that was attributable to the NBAA conference in Las Vegas, where the business aviation market saw multiple new certifications and partnerships announced. But beyond that a GEO/MEO blend looks like it might start to change the way planes connect.

New aircraft orders and new ways of ordering airfares are also potentially changing the way consumers shop and fly. Eventually.

Connectivity

Premiums poised to skyrocket as Eutelsat investigates anomaly in new 5B satellite

Eutelsat‘s recently launched 5B satellite suffered an incident related to one of its two solar panels. The company issued a brief statement on Thursday indicating it “is working to assess the potential impact on the performance of the satellite and will communicate on it as quickly as possible.”

The bad news likely extends far beyond just this one satellite.

SES, Thales, Thinkom raise the bar on inflight connectivity performance with GEO/MEO blend

Blending GEO and MEO satellites delivers a hybrid of coverage, performance, and cost that is hard to beat. SES, Thales, HughesNet, and Thinkom are on the cusp of delivering a commercially-viable solution in this space.

Hawaiian pushes off inflight WiFi decision

Hawaiian Airlines will add inflight wifi to its fleet. Eventually. But not particularly soon. CEO Peter Ingram does not believe the technology is sufficiently mature to serve his airline's customers, but has he missed out on viable solutions already on the market?

Vueling gets online with Inmarsat’s EAN connectivity

Flying an LCC in Europe no longer means being disconnected while in the sky. IAG's Vueling operation soft-launched inflight wifi connectivity delivered via the European Aviation Network (EAN), powered by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom, on five of its aircraft earlier this month. Vueling is the third EAN airline and the first LCC with the service.

Gogo builds partnerships for 5G network development

Gogo's upcoming 5G ATG network will require partnerships for a successful buildout. Today at NBAA in Las Vegas the inflight connectivity company announced three companies that will play key roles in developing the technology used by the service. Cisco, Airspan Networks, and FIRST RF Corp. each will provide necessary elements to Gogo's 5G solution for aviation.

Cabin Design

What to expect on board as United’s new CRJ550 takes flight

Removing nearly 30% of the seats from an aircraft is guaranteed to make the remaining product a more comfortable experience. Still, until United Airlines opened up its new CRJ550 to passengers over the weekend it was not clear just how much better the on board passenger experience would be. This plane is a big win, and not just for first class passengers.

Kaelis Serves Up an Appetizing Device Holder

Forget a tablet holder in the seatback. Kaelis is pitching a model that is built in to service trays, allowing passengers to keep their device at hand during a meal. And it does not require an expensive retrofit of the seats on board.

Loyalty

Aeroplan seeks a hybrid loyalty solution with program relaunch

Aeroplan is coming home and Air Canada has a LOT of big ideas on what that will mean for the future of its loyalty program. The program won't relaunch for members until late 2020, but significant changes are already underway to lay the groundwork for the new program. Mark Nasr, AC's Vice President, Loyalty & eCommerce, recently spoke with PaxEx.Aero to review some of the changes that members can expect to see.

Other Industry News

ATPCO boosts rich data distribution with Amadeus, Sabre deals

The online flight shopping experience is about to become a far richer experience. Amadeus and Sabre, two of the largest distribution platforms, will soon have the ability to include far more details about the inflight travel experience and amenities for travelers, helping to shift away from price and schedule as the dominant comparison metrics.

Spirit picks Airbus–again–for a significant fleet boost

Spirit Airlines has big growth plans on its mind. The carrier announced a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus today to add 100 A320neo family aircraft to its order book, more than doubling the fleet by 2027.