1 September 2020

From the Control Tower

We waited until Tuesday this week in hopes that the Gogo/Intelsat news would be finalized. We were not disappointed. That's the lead story in the inflight connectivity section this week, of course, but there are some other really interesting developments, particularly from SkyFive in China, worth looking at.

Connectivity

Intelsat to buy Gogo Commercial Aviation for $400 million

Intelsat will purchase the Commercial Aviation business from Gogo for a "headline" price of $400 million. Intelsat's attorney's announced the deal as part of a hearing at the US Bankruptcy Court this afternoon.

SkyFive makes major 5G inflight connectivity progress in China

SkyFive is betting big on inflight connectivity in China. The upstart air-to-ground (ATG) network infrastructure provider recently announced a Strategic Technology Partnership with Airbus. The partnership also includes China Mobile as the local mobile telecom provider.

Gogo tops 1,000 install milestone for AVANCE L5 biz jet wifi solution

Less than three years after the product first took flight, Gogo's business aviation division reached the 1,000 units installed milestone on its AVANCE L5 inflight wifi connectivity solution. More than 325,000 flights have operated with the system installed since Q4 2017 when the upgraded ATG wifi system became available.

Cabin Design

Recaro, WizzAir partner for massive seating order

The biggest commercial aircraft order in history begat the biggest airline seating order in history. Recaro will supply nearly 100,000 of its SL3710 seats to Indigo Partners airlines, with Wizz Air up first starting next year.

Loyalty

United drops change fees. Forever.

United Airlines is ready to change. Or, perhaps more accurately, the company is ready for passengers to change their plans more often. In a major policy shift the carrier will no longer charge travelers a fee to change their booking on most domestic tickets. And, unlike the temporary waiver of this fee in place over recent months, this change is set to last forever.

Or as long as forever can be in the airline world.

Other Industry News

Amazon Prime Air drones secure FAA exemption

Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery plans scored a boost on Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration approved an exemption allowing the company to move forward with operations while working towards formal certification of the MK27 UA aircraft and the airline operations. The approval comes with significant limits, but allows the company to continue development of the platform and supports progress towards the necessary certifications.

Swiss swaps planes for trains to Geneva

Passengers connecting from Geneva to Zurich and beyond have more options than ever with Swiss, now that the airline will use trains as part of its "flight" network.

Virgin Galactic looking beyond space for profits

Virgin Galactic is keen to bring intrepid travelers into space on its SpaceShipTwo vehicle, but the company is also looking at alternative revenue sources. Among them, renting out the WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) launch support aircraft for government or private businesses to use for science, research, and national security applications. There's just one problem: Legally it cannot do that.

AirAsia pivots away from its airline roots

"We have successfully pivoted from an airline to an all-in-one digital lifestyle company anchored on travel." This was the key message delivered by AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes as part of the company's Q2 financial results that showed a 96% drop in quarterly revenue. Airline-related revenue dropped 98% while non-airline revenue, a much smaller portion of the company's operations, dipped only 55%.

Spirit Airlines avoids pilot furloughs in October

Spirit Airlines will not involuntarily furlough any pilots in October when the CARES Act Payroll Support Program funding expires. The news comes just days after the company and the Air Line Pilots Association representing its pilots indicated that 117 positions were at risk.