Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Gogo appears to have solved its most significant short-term challenge, with a $900mm debt offering lined up to provide five years of breathing room as the company inches towards a positive free cash flow.
The post PaxEx Premium: Finding future financin…
Category: Premium
Epic Troubles: Satellite failure slashes inflight wifi capacity
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
What happens when gigabits of capacity goes offline? Passengers and inflight connectivity providers alike are about to find out. Intelsat 29e, the first of the Epic Ku-band High Throughput Satellites, suffered a fuel leak on 7 April 2019, followed b…
PaxEx Premium: India inflight internet intentions
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Where and when will inflight internet finally take flight in India. A pair of players – Inmarsat and Global Eagle – are leading the charge to deliver connected aircraft in the region. At the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg last week both vendors pro…
PaxEx Premium: A pleasant surprisESA
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
The only official announcement around electronically steered antennae (ESA) for commercial aircraft this week at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg came from Gogo. And it probably was the least significant ESA story from the show. Instead, a surpris…
PaxEx Premium: Inmarsat set to go private, change very little
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Inmarsat’s financial future appears secured. A consortium of investors is poised to invest $3.4bn in the company, taking it private. The price tag represents a 45% premium from the trading rate on the day prior to speculation about the deal becoming…
PaxEx Premium: Inmarsat’s IFC revenues continue inconsistent growth
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Another quarterly earnings report from Inmarsat and another bullish report on inflight connectivity revenue. The group reported IFC revenues more than doubled to $101.3m for the full year. As revenue and install count continues to grow Inmarsat is opt…
PaxEx Premium: Finishing the job
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
When one or two executives leave a company it doesn’t usually make the news. When it is a handful all at once eyebrows start to raise. After last week’s news of one such shake-up in the inflight entertainment and connectivity world, however, the compan…
PaxEx Premium: Viasat, Inmarsat continue the EAN legal battle
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they press forward as Viasat continues its efforts to see Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network (EAN) shuttered. The company won a ruling in Belgium that will see some of the open questions passed to the Euro…
PaxEx Premium: Executive Shuffle
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Work as a senior executive in the inflight entertainment and connectivity business can be a fragile position. As the companies in the space continue to come up short on consistent and stable profits the likelihood of a sudden shift remains very real…
PaxEx Premium: Mahata joins the IFC financing fray
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Is there a secret to better financing of inflight connectivity solutions? Indonesia’s Mahata Aero Technology (MAT) is the latest to take that plunge, with an arrangement to cover the costs for Garuda and Citilink. The deal relies on partnerships wit…
PaxEx Premium: Huge boost for Viasat’s aero play
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
As the installed aircraft count ticks higher for Viasat so, too, does the share of revenue the company realizes from that segment. The growth rate will slow in the coming year as the American Airlines fleet completes its conversion (more than 450 aircr…
PaxEx Premium: Easing the 2Ku backlog
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Some good news for Gogo and its 2Ku airline customers as it reaches closure on an outstanding maintenance issue. This should ease the backlog as additional aircraft can once again be installed for three airline customers.
The post PaxEx Premium: Easi…
PaxEx Premium: SmartSky’s $104mm network push
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Fresh off the announcement of its first commercial airline customer, upstart inflight connectivity provider SmartSky secured additional funding to complete its nationwide network deployment. The company announced a $104mm investment, bringing the total…
PaxEx Premium: Seeking a structural shift
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Gogo’s operational structure is set to change. CEO Oakleigh Thorne has long hinted at adjustments he wants to make. The shifts were previously associated with discussions around potential change of ownership or debt refinancing. While those options rem…
PaxEx Premium: Iridium sees a shift with NEXT constellation completion
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
After nearly three billion dollars invested and eight successful launch missions the Iridium NEXT constellation is nearly complete. In just a couple weeks the final swaps will take place and the full complement of 66 NEXT satellites will be online. For…
PaxEx Premium: Another ThinAir Ka2517 certification in the works
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
Antenna manufacturer ThinKom confirmed a second STC program currently active for its ThinAir Ka2517 kit. Although the company declined to provide any further details on which inflight connectivity provider or aircraft type is involved, some strong indi…
PaxEx Premium: Digging into the Thales lawsuit claims
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
With billions of dollars in contracts at stake perhaps it makes sense that Thales would seek extra help in securing new deals. That it stands accused of failing to pay its partner for that help is less good. That it now also likely faces scrutiny from …
PaxEx Premium: More ZTE headaches for ATG connectivity
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
The on again, off again drama of Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE flared up again this week. Reports from the White House suggest that Huawei and ZTE could be the target of a new Executive Order banning the sale of systems from those companies in the U…
PaxEx Premium: Gogo Vision Touch–over before it begins
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
It launched as Gogo Vision Touch. Delta Air Lines would be the initial customer but plans were in place to expand the offering to other airlines. Those plans still exist in a roundabout way, but it no longer appears that Gogo is involved in the product…
PaxEx Premium: Grounded in the rush for Indian inflight connectivity
Written by Seth Miller @ PaxEx.Aero
The paperwork is finally submitted: India is ready to get online in the sky. The Ministry of Communications issued the Flight and Maritime Connectivity Rules, 2018 in an official filing on 14 December 2018, codifying the rules around delivery of mobile…