All your EBACE are belong to us

From the Control Tower

A ton of BizAv IFC news from EBACE in Geneva last week. Future Travel Experience EMEA was also enlightening; more to come from that over the weeks ahead. Plus plenty more from around the world as the PaxEx conference season is in full swing.

Speaking of which, if you're going to be in Hamburg at AIX next week, reach out and say hi. I'll be moderating a morning session at the Passenger Experience Conference on Monday and another at the CabinSpace Live stage on Tuesday at noon. We're going to have a ton of fun with those. Hope to see you there!

Connectivity

Emirates talks take rates with free inflight messaging activation

Anyone with an Emirates Skywards frequent flyer number can now access at least messaging services in flight without additional charges. But are they??

Viasat cleared to close on Inmarsat purchase

The European Commission unconditionally approved Viasat's planned purchase of Inmarsat on Thursday, removing the last regulatory hurdle the two companies faced in their planned consolidation. With that eliminated, they now expect to close the deal before the end of May.

Collins Aerospace launches BizAv cabin connectivity on Iridium Certus

Collins Aerospace formally launched its IRT NX inflight internet solution at EBACE 2023, bringing a lightweight option powered by the Iridium NEXT LEO constellation to the business aviation market.

Honeywell secures Iridium certification for Aspire 350

Whether for smaller planes, a secondary network for redundancy and true global coverage, or just a solid, lightweight internet link in the sky, business jet owners can now choose Honeywell's Aspire 350 system, operating on the Iridium NEXT satellite constellation.

Inmarsat boosts speeds with updated Jet ConneX plans

Inmarsat's new data plans, part of the Jet ConneX Evolution program announced last year, are now live, promising up to 100 Mbps speeds to business jets.

Gogo Galileo branding launched for LEO services

Gogo's upcoming LEO satellite service has a new name. Now branded Galileo, the company also expanded the antenna options, enabling even higher speeds on larger business jets.

Inmarsat picks microGEO for L-band future

The next generation of Inmarsat satellites will be significantly smaller than today's GEO hardware. The company announced plans to launch a trio of microGEO satellites, developed by SWISSto12, by 2026 to bolster its L-band network.

Cabin Design

Breeze unveils "Ascent," a new take on premium seating

Delivering a differentiated product in a crowded and commoditized market can be challenging. Breeze Airways rebranded its premium cabin seats as Ascent, hoping to highlight how it differs from traditional first class products, both in what it does include and what it does not.

Emirates offers an exclusive vintage sparkling wine in Premium Economy

Aviation is a cyclical industry; what's old is new again. And as premium economy cabins edge into the market once filled by business class travelers, it makes some sense to see catering and other bits edge towards premium. So Emirates bringing a premium beverage option on board as it expands the PremY offering is not too much of a surprise. Or is it??

Loyalty

Frontier selling status to anyone with a co-brand credit card

For years co-branded credit cards represented status-lite options for consumers. Now Frontier Airlines is making it more of a real status option.

Airport lounges are less exclusive. Not everyone is happy about it.

Frequent fliers have complained of overcrowding and long lines in airport lounges as travel has roared back.

Other Industry News

Alaska Airlines, American Airlines to deliver integrated app check-in option

How do you keep passengers feeling at home when they're traveling with a partner airline? Alaska Airlines and American Airlines will take a significant step forward on that front in the near future. The two airlines plan to allow flight check-in on mixed carrier bookings on either app, regardless of which operates the first segment.