California | November 1, 2016– Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: ENT) today announced the start of a commercial trial of inflight connectivity and entertainment services on an Air China Boeing 777 aircraft. The commercial trial follows a successful technical trial and will be conducted in partnership with Air China, China Unicom and China Satcom under license from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

GEE’s Airconnect Global™ system transforms the flying experience by adding high-value, high-interest connectivity services to internet access. GEE’s solution will provide Air China passengers with fast and reliable broadband internet service. The ground-breaking trial also will include an Air China-branded entertainment portal with live streaming of three Chinese-language television stations, video on demand with Hollywood and Chinese content, games and destination guides. This trial is the first in China to offer full-cabin television streaming and is an important milestone in GEE’s Chinese growth program, which includes investments in local personnel, engineering and software development resources, innovative new revenue generating services, relationships with Chinese media and advertising firms, and teleports.

“A fully connected experience is increasingly becoming a top priority among travelers in China who want to stay informed and entertained throughout their flights,” stated Zhang Yun, GM of Products and Services for Air China. “Air China believes that innovative connectivity services will be important generators of value for our passengers and our airline. The rich media content supports our long-term plan for broader connectivity deployment.”

“Air China’s choice of GEE as its partner in these important trials demonstrates our unique technical and commercial strengths in the Chinese market,” said Dave Davis, Chief Executive Officer for GEE. “Success in the B777 trial will lay the groundwork for future cooperation between Air China and GEE, and will place GEE undeniably at the forefront of deep, broad inflight internet and entertainment capabilities for the Chinese market.”

• China’s national flag carrier becomes the first customer in the nation to operate the airplane

Beijing, China | May 25, 2016– Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Air China officially unveiled the airline’s first 787-9 Dreamliner to the public at a grand ceremony in Beijing today. The national flag carrier is the first airline in the country to have a 787-9 enter into service.

“The 787-9 Dreamliner employs a multitude of cutting-edge technologies best represented by its electronic handling system and wide application of composite materials,” said Captain Wang Yingnian, chief pilot of Air China. “As such, it enjoys clear advantages such as low fuel consumption, low emission and lower noise, which are highly aligned with the green flying idea that Air China has long been an advocate of.”

This is the first of 15 Dreamliners set to join Air China’s fleet.

“We are very honored that the 787-9 has joined Air China’s national flag carrier fleet,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing Commercial Airplanes senior vice president of Northeast Asia Sales, “Carrying the long term partnership between Air China and Boeing, Air China’s 787-9 will provide comfort and convenience for passengers, exceptional fuel efficiency and environmental performance for the airline customers.”

The 787-9 complements and extends the 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet (6 meters) over the 787-8, the 787-9 will fly over 40 more passengers an additional 285 nautical miles (830 km) with the same exceptional environmental performance — 20 percent less fuel use and 20 percent fewer emissions than similarly sized airplanes.

The 787-9 leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passengers features such as large windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride.

“We believe the 787-9 will become the backbone of Air China’s international long-haul routes and will play an important role in supporting Air China’s international development strategy,” added Captain Wang.

Air China, headquartered in Beijing, is a leading provider of passenger and cargo services in China with scheduled flight routes connecting 174 cities in 40 countries and regions. Air China will use its 787-9s to ride on the wave of fast growing international passenger traffic by expanding its international network through non-stop point-to-point services.

• Order bolsters Air China’s growing widebody fleet for international expansion

Seattle, WA | January 7, 2016– Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Air China today announced an order for six additional 777-300ER (Extended Range) jetliners. The order is valued at more than $2 billion at current list prices and bolsters Air China’s long-haul widebody fleet as it looks to expand its international network.

“The 777-300ER has consistently proved its value as a long-haul flagship for our customers around the world, making it the preferred choice for Air China’s international expansion,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president, Northeast Asia Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “This order reflects the strength of our decades-long relationship with Air China and we look forward to partnering with Air China on additional opportunities in the future.”

China’s flag carrier continues to modernize its long-haul fleet to replace aging aircraft and plans to expand its growing network internationally. Air China currently operates a fleet 174 Boeing airplanes, including nearly all current Boeing production models, including the Next-Generation 737, 747-8 Intercontinental as well as 777-300ERs.

With this new order, Air China will increase its unfilled airplane orders with Boeing to 90 units, which include orders for new 787-9 Dreamliners.

The 777-300ER is one of the most fuel and cost-efficient airplanes in its class as well as the most reliable twin-aisle aircraft in the world. It also has the highest cargo capability of any passenger airplane in service. The 777-300ER will receive further improvements in 2016 designed to reduce fuel use by another two percent.

• GEE’s Ku-band Connectivity System Successfully Broadcast Live Television Inflight for the Xinhua News Agency Onboard Air China’s 777 Aircraft

Los Angeles, CA | March 10, 2015– Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq:ENT) (“GEE”), a worldwide leading provider of content, connectivity and digital media solutions to airlines, today announced that it successfully partnered with Air China using GEE’s Ku-band connectivity system for Xinhua News Agency’s ground-breaking inflight newscast.

The Xinhua News Agency broadcast live television between the National People Congress / Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conferences (NPC/CPPCC) and Air China’s inflight connectivity-equipped Boeing 777 aircraft. The satellite connection successfully managed the transmission on the ground and in the air, including a live television crew that was filming onboard the aircraft.

In addition to watching the live broadcast of the NPC/CPPCC Conferences, passengers were able to use the inflight connectivity solution to browse the internet, chat, shop and stream movies and television shows while inflight. Through this and other successful installations, GEE’s connectivity system is transforming the way passengers use in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFE&C) across the globe.

“This is an historic event for both Air China and inflight connectivity in the region,” commented Walé Adepoju, Chief Commercial Officer of GEE. “We’re thrilled to have supported China’s national carrier and China’s national news agency with our broadband connectivity system to enable the live broadcast of the NPC/CPPCC Conferences. This flight highlights the power and breadth of GEE’s connectivity system and we’re excited to continue working closely with Air China on its IFE&C solution.”

Seattle, WA | December 22, 2014– Boeing [NYSE: BA] is pleased that Air China has committed to purchase 60 737s, including Next-Generation 737 and 737 MAX airplanes. The commitment when finalized will be valued at more than $6 billion at current list prices.

“Our long-standing and productive partnership with Air China dates back to the airline’s beginning and we are proud the 737 has been part of their success,” said Ihssane Mounir, vice president of Sales and Marketing, Northeast Asia, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We are excited to see that the 737 family will play a significant role in Air China’s continued success.”

The order will be posted on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website once all contingencies are cleared.

• SITA’s FMS Wind Uplink Enables More Effective Fuel Use

Beijing | August 13, 2014– One of the world’s largest airlines, Air China, is set to save around US$8 million a year in fuel costs, thanks to payload and live weather update technology from air transport IT specialist, SITA. Following extensive trials on its international routes, Air China has deployed SITA’s FMS Wind Uplink service on all international and domestic routes to constantly update key weather information for Flight Management System (FMS) calculations while en route. This enables the crew to adjust its flight path in-flight according to changing wind and weather conditions, so the aircraft uses fuel as cost effectively as possible.

Lu Yun-Guo, Senior Manager of Operation Technology, Air China, said: “We started trialing SITA’s Wind Uplink service in early 2013 and have already significantly lowered our fuel bills. In just six months, we saved close to US$2 million, and that was with implementation across only part of our fleet. We anticipate that our annual savings across our entire fleet will be in the region of US$8 million. Crew feedback has been excellent as well. I’m proud to say that Air China is the first airline to use this technology in China as part of our continuous innovation efforts.”

With SITA’s Wind Uplink service, the aircraft’s FMS can constantly analyze weather conditions on the route ahead to determine optimum altitude, fuel burn and arrival-time predictions. This helps reduce fuel consumption.

May Zhou, Vice President and General Manager, SITA China, said: “Our work with Air China provides a perfect example of how SITA is constantly innovating to help the air transport industry operate more efficiently and effectively. SITA’s Wind Uplink service will not only reduce Air China’s fuel costs, it will also enhance the safety of the flights by giving early visibility of the potential need to use contingency fuel, or, in the event of a worsening forecast, the need to divert. ”

SITA’s AIRCOM ACARS Services provide the backbone for the automatic Wind Uplink service. SITA has also installed hardware in Air China’s offices to ensure the data provided to the crew is totally under the airline’s supervision.

Air China has around 300 aircraft flying on more than 185 routes around China, Asia and the world. In 2013, it carried 48.7 million passengers, putting it in the top ten global airlines. For the past eight years, Air China has been named the number one Chinese airline in a variety of awards programs, including first in domestic aviation service in the 2013 China’s Most Valuable Brands awards. Air China was also honored at the 2013 China International Forum on Green Development for its outstanding performance in energy saving and emission reduction and its advocacy of green operations.

Singapore | February 19, 2014–

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, welcomes another important milestone in the GX Aviation timeline as Air China and Honeywell Aerospace sign a Memorandum of Understanding to install and test GX Aviation on Air China’s A330 aircraft, expected in the second quarter of 2015.

Inmarsat GX Aviation enables the next generation of high-speed global broadband in-flight connectivity services. It will deliver consistent, reliable, high-speed and high-capacity communications for both passenger connectivity and aircraft operations, and will enable airlines to deploy new types of connectivity applications that were previously not possible.

Inmarsat will provide GX Aviation through its fleet of three wholly-owned and operated Ka-band satellites and its dedicated, fully redundant ground network. The first of three Inmarsat-5 satellites was successfully launched in December 2013 and the remaining two are set to be in place by the end of 2014.

“We are pleased that Air China has chosen to install the GX Aviation system on their aircraft. Air China has led the movement into passenger connectivity in China with their earlier installation of Inmarsat SwiftBroadband and now GX Aviation allows them to continue that leadership and take the passenger experience to a new level,” said Bill Peltola, Inmarsat Vice President, Aviation. “This agreement gives Air China the opportunity to stay at the forefront of a highly competitive market in Asia.”

Inmarsat’s fleet of three high-throughput satellites will offer a unique combination of seamless global Ka-band coverage from a single operator, consistent performance of up to 50Mbps, and the network reliability for which Inmarsat is renowned. In addition to passenger communications, GX Aviation services will be able to support real-time TV and live feeds from the internet.  It will offer airlines the next generation of connectivity with ample capacity for future growth.

The testing programme agreed between Honeywell and Air China is the latest in a series of significant steps, which confirms that GX Aviation is on track to deliver global availability for commercial airlines in the first half of 2015.

Los Angeles, CA | February 18, 2014– Air China Limited (“Air China”) and Global Eagle Entertainment (Nasdaq: ENT) have signed an agreement to launch a trial of Global Eagle’s high-speed, Ku-band satellite-based connectivity service.  This program marks Air China’s first launch of Ku-band powered services.

The trial will enable Air China’s passengers to access the Internet and stored content on approved handheld devices, in accordance with applicable Chinese regulations.  The trial will commence aboard a 777-200 aircraft in 2014.

Global Eagle will provide its complete Ku-band connectivity solution as well as support for aeronautical certifications, training, and program management.

“We are honored Air China has selected Global Eagle to support such an important program for the airline,” said John LaValle, Chief Executive Officer of Global Eagle Entertainment.  “As China’s Flag Carrier, Air China is known around the world for their superior and innovative services, and Global Eagle appreciates the wonderful opportunity to work with them on providing their newest service enhancement to benefit passengers.”

Air China and Global Eagle are in the process of completing various certification processes, and will gain all required authorizations to operate services on the 777-200 aircraft, in accordance with the relevant regulations and policies.

With the rise of mobile everything, the airlines have a pretty sweet market opportunity to capture all the mobile connectivity of their airport secured and flying passengers, and eventually, turn that four-hour-market-lockup into purchasing power. The beginning is bound to be the email, tweeting, talking, and texting that is the first sign of this ‘mobile disease’ and from what we see, it is just the beginning. Recent studies have shown some reluctance of US purchasers to get on board, but that is probably a fallout of the focused hacking and lack of chipped credit cards… but it is an inevitability. In fact, there may even be an opportunity to pay-for-no-commercials, a concept that Apple is trying to fly.

Back to our subject: we got an idea for this topic and we found an OnAir Infographic in our email that tied nicely to the subject. As you may know, we love info graphics because they tell a complete story in pictures and numbers (few words) and are a data lover’s dream come true. Be sure to download the latest OnAir infographic. There’s an infographic lesson here and we think the OnAir folks got it right.

Back to the news release: “Does your airline let you tweet, text and talk? OnAir’s customers do. We offer passengers seamlessly connected journeys, year round, wherever you’re headed. Download our new infographic, with lots of facts and figures, from here. At least 70% of passengers carry a smartphone and people check their phones on average 150 times a day. So why not on a plane? When both GSM and Wi-Fi are available, 80% prefer using Mobile OnAir for emailing, text messages and calls. People use Internet OnAir, the Wi-Fi hotspot, for tweets and Facebook updates, to check the news and for travel bookings – 94% of passengers bring at least one personal electronic device onto the plane, so OnAir Play provides inflight entertainment direct to your own phone, tablet or laptop. For more information: Follow OnAir on LinkedIn. Watch OnAir on YouTube, Look at OnAir on Flikr ”

Aside from the marketing hyperbole, the OnAir folks see the inflight connectivity market developing, and communication is the first phase of this market opportunity in the sky. Aurélie Branchereau-Giles – Director, PR & Communications told IFExpress: “OnAir sets the benchmark for global inflight connectivity services, with 50 customers on five continents. We are the only provider to offer consistent global coverage for both inflight GSM and Wi-Fi, thanks to regulatory approvals from over 90 countries, 350 roaming agreements, and by using Inmarsat’s I4 satellite networks. Our products enable passengers to use their own mobile phones, smartphones, tablets and laptops in exactly the same way as they do on the ground, either through the onboard GSM network or the onboard Wi-Fi hotspot. The products are available as line-fit or retrofit for all commercial aircraft, as well as government, VIP and business jets, and ships – check out the inforgraphic for the whole story.”

Next, we wanted to let our readers know that Lumexis has a new VP Sales, Jonathan Norris. Lumexis Corporation recently announced that Jonathan Norris, highly regarded in airline industry circles for his lengthy experience in advanced aircraft cabin systems technology and extensive understanding of IFEC trends, has accepted the position of Vice President of Sales for the company. “Many of us have long known and respected Jon in his key management roles at Airbus and more recently with the APEX magazine activity,” said Doug Cline, CEO of Lumexis. “He brings a wealth of talent and experience in IFEC that clearly validates his independent assessment of our people and products. Everyone in our company is delighted that he will be joining our tight-knit team and we look forward to working closely with him to attain line-fit offerability with major OEMs in the near future and win new business from global airlines and leasing companies.” He should be onboard in the next couple weeks, one spokesperson told IFExpress. We expect he will be making many trips to Seattle and Tolouse.

Lastly, we heard that Inmarsat has announced passenger connectivity via the Inmarsat network and is serving passengers via Wi-Fi on Air China. Internet access took place on 3rd July, on an Air China Airbus A330 flying from Beijing to Chengdu. The aircraft used Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband service provided by Inmarsat’s Chinese partner MCN. Check out the MCN website. The Inmarsat SwiftBroadband based cabin Wi-Fi connectivity allowed all passengers to access the Internet for web browsing, instant messaging and other applications. This capability is the result of the close cooperation between Air China and MCN, Inmarsat’s leading Chinese distributor. The Chinese aviation regulator, the Chinese Aviation Authority of China (CAAC), was also closely involved in the project from the start to ensure that all necessary approvals were in place for the system and Inmarsat service. What remains unknown to IFExpress is the manufacturer of the airborne Wi-Fi equipment… an MCN partner, we were told?