Frontier Airlines is to equip its Embraer E-Jets fleet with Aircell's Gogo in-flight Internet system, but says it will continue to research connectivity options for its Airbus A320 family aircraft.
The subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings plans to have Gogo installed on its fleet of 32 E-170 and E-190 aircraft by the end of this year.
The aircraft were formerly operated by Midwest Airlines. Republic last year acquired Midwest and Frontier, and recently announced plans to merge the two companies under the Frontier name. The Midwest brand will cease to exist in October 2011.
"Our customers have told us how important in-flight entertainment and connectivity is in their travel experience," says Republic Airways executive vice-president and COO Wayne Heller in a statement. "We look forward to providing our customers with Internet service at 35,000 feet and are thrilled to have Aircell as a partner in this effort."
Financial terms of the agreement between Republic and Aircell have not been disclosed.
Frontier carries LiveTV's 24-channel seat-back live television systems on all of its 52 Airbus aircraft. "While the Gogo in-flight Internet service will be installed on the Embraer fleet in 2010, the carrier will continue to research in-flight connectivity options to further enhance the Frontier travel experience," says Frontier.
A subsidiary of JetBlue Airways, LiveTV has lately been advertising a 'Kiteline World' in-flight connectivity solution. Kiteline World is based on Iridium's new OpenPort service, which was originally engineered for the maritime market. LiveTV also continues to study Ka-band satellite-based connectivity.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
