Wan Chai, Hong Kong | 16 April 2018– Satcom Direct (SD), the business aviation connectivity, software and hardware provider,celebrated the opening of its new Asia Pacific office on 10th April, accompanied by dancing dragons, traditional Hong Kong fare, and an elite gathering of Asian business jet operators. Situated in the heart of bustling Wan Chai, the expanded Hong Kong home of SD gives the growing customer base easier access to the business as it moves from its Hong Kong airport airside location, to the core of the city’s commercial district.
The state-of-the art premises incorporates high-tech offices, meeting rooms, and a spacious workspace to demonstrate the ever-expanding range of SD services. The contemporary space reflects the innovative nature of the SD culture, and doubles-up as a venue for holding company events and customer training.
The relocation to larger office space is a response to SD’s significant growth in the region which is being driven by the development of the Asia Pacific business aviation market, and in particular the growth of the Chinese business aviation sector. SD’s diverse customer base includes business jet management companies, operators, government, private owners, and corporate flight departments maximising the reliable, customized connectivity services SD designs and delivers.
The new location brings the SD APAC team closer to its customers, facilitating enhanced customer support. “We know clients in Asia embrace the latest technology which is why we wanted to establish an even stronger base to deliver the superior customer support for which we are recognised,” says Chris Moore, CCO, SD.
This includes support for the increasing number of customers in the region installing Jet ConneX, the ultra-high-speed data transfer service. “We were one of the first companies to prove the Ka-band technology for business aviation, and now supply the highest percentage of tails using the service worldwide. We’ve used this experience to create industry-first dedicated Service Level Agreements (SLA), to support our customers’ experience,” adds Moore. The SLAs include onsite support, proactive monitoring, outage notifications and guaranteed email and phone call response times.
The office is manned by the existing seven-strong SD team, but it is anticipated the team will more than double over the next three years as new sales, technical and support roles are filled. “We are genuinely committed to this region and deem our presence essential to maintain customer service levels, manage efficient operations and keep our competitive edge,” says Moore.
The success of SD’s existing customer support in the region was underscored when the business won Best Operational Support Award at the AsBAA Icons of Aviation Awards for 2017. “The award is testament to the team’s diligence here in the region, and our new office provides great foundations for them to continue to excel,” concludes Moore.The SD team will be meeting and greeting new, and existing customers, at ABACE 2018, 17-19 April, Booth H1214.
Cathay Pacific Becomes First Large Global Fleet in Asia to Select Gogo’s 2Ku Inflight Connectivity Solution
Chicago, IL | November 16, 2017– Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO), the leading global provider of broadband connectivity products and services for aviation, announced today that it has been selected by the Cathay Pacific Group to install Gogo’s 2Ku inflight connectivity solution on its wide-body fleet.
The carrier will install 2Ku on its Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft across Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon fleets, which are both part of the Cathay Pacific Group.
2Ku is the industry’s leading inflight connectivity solution and delivers an internet experience comparable to what passengers have on the ground.
“We are excited to partner with Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon to bring their guests a new onboard connectivity experience with 2Ku,” said Michael Small, Gogo’s president and CEO. “As a premier global airline group, and Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, Cathay passengers expect a premium experience, which 2Ku is delivering today with superior bandwidth, coverage and availability.”
With more than 2,000 aircraft awards, 2Ku is the most rapidly adopted satellite-based broadband connectivity technology in aviation. The technology has been adopted by leading airlines in North America, South America, Europe and now Asia.
“Our goal is to allow our customers to be connected anytime and anywhere – and this agreement with Gogo is a huge step in enabling us to deliver this,” said Paul Loo, Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer.”
2Ku will give Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon’s guests a seamless experience across their existing fleet of wide-body aircraft. The service is expected to go live by mid-2018.
Manila | October 26, 2017– Global Jet Capital, a global leader in financial solutions for corporate aircraft, is backing an initiative to raise the profile of business aviation in the Philippines.
The company is sponsoring the launch event of the new Philippine chapter of the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) in Manila this week. The event will be attended by a variety of stakeholders, including government, businesses and the media, and is designed to increase understanding of the benefits of business aviation.
The Philippines has around 250 airports across the country, putting it in the top 25 in the world.1 In addition, the Philippines’ business aircraft fleet is the sixth largest in the Asia Pacific region, with a third of the fleet either mid-sized or heavy jets.2
Global Jet Capital believes that together, these factors provide a strong base for business aviation to play a key role in supporting the country’s economic growth. However, in order to maximise the opportunity, it is important that the infrastructure for business aviation is developed across the country.
David Settergren, Sales Director SE Asia for Global Jet Capital, said: “The Philippines hold terrific growth potential for business aviation. When you combine a growing economy and population with a geographically diverse country, the case for business aviation is strong.
“Today there are around 23 medium and 14 long range business aircraft in the Philippine market. We expect that number to grow substantially between now and 2025. Global Jet Capital is committed to helping Filipino businesses and entrepreneurs finance and lease these important business tools.”
Global Jet Capital is capitalized by three global investment firms – GSO Capital Partners, a Blackstone company in partnership with Franklin Square Capital Partners*; The Carlyle Group; and AE Industrial Partners. In January 2016, Global Jet Capital completed the purchase of GE’s corporate aircraft lease and loan book in the Americas.
Global Jet Capital currently has approximately $2.5 billion in assets under management.
East Aurora, NY | June 23, 2016– Astronics Corporation (NASDAQ: ATRO), a leading supplier of products to the global aerospace, defense, and semiconductor industries, today announced the newest EMPOWER® in-seat power system from wholly-owned subsidiary Astronics Advanced Electronic Systems (AES) has been selected by three major airlines in Asia for installations scheduled through the 2017 to 2021 timeframe. These recent awards will place in-seat power in more than 230 additional aircraft serving the Asia Pacific region. The installations, valued at more than $16 million, will be in Boeing 737, 737-800 & 737 MAX, Airbus A320 and Bombardier CS300 aircraft.
This system includes various EMPOWER® configurations, including 110V 60Hz as well as high-power (2.1A) USB for use with laptops and other Personal Electronic Devices (PEDs), such as iPad® and
Smartphones.
Mike Hettich, Vice President of Astronics AES Cabin Electronics, said, “Statistics show that 97% of global passengers travel with their own mobile devices. Airline carriers worldwide are responding to their passengers’ requests for power at the seat to keep their devices operational during the flight and fully charged for when they arrive at their destination.”
For nearly 20 years, Astronics has developed patented, intelligent power management systems. The patented EMPOWER® System is currently in service with over 190 Airline/OEM customers at more than 900,000 seat locations.
Singapore | February 17, 2016– At the Singapore Airshow, Thales announces a string of successes for its avionics business in 2015. The group will equip a staggering total of over 700 Airbus single-aisle aircraft in Asia.
Thales cements its position as the most successful aerospace systems supplier in Asia with contracts signed with 16 airlines, including China’s Air China and Shenzhen Airlines, India’s GoAir and Singapore’s BOC Aviation.
Singapore is Thales’s primary regional hub for avionics, and handles both production of key systems as well as Repair and Overhaul.
Locally, the Group manufactures flight control computer displays and electrical systems for Airbus A320’s and A350’s and for Boeing B787’s.
Key contracts signed in 2015 include, in addition to a number of undisclosed airlines, Air China and Shenzhen Airlines choosing Thales TopFlight, Flight Management System (FMS) on a total of 91 Airbus single aisle aircraft. TopFlight FMS was also chosen by Mumbai-based GoAir, one of the fastest growing low cost carriers in India, for their brand new fleet of 72 Airbus A320NEOs.
Singapore-based BOC Aviation, one of Asia’s largest and most successful aircraft leasing groups with aircraft across more than 60 airlines, also chose the Thales FMS for their baseline avionics configuration.
Most of the contracts signed across 2015 also include the Thales Low Range Radio Altimeter (LRRA) and the Thales/ACSS T3CAS surveillance platform, the leader avionics surveillance.
Singapore boasts one of the three global repair hubs for avionics and In- Flight Entertainment systems. It is responsible for a third of Thales’s Avionics repair and overhaul activities worldwide covering the entire Australasian territory.
The headset is the most critical part of any IFE system. It defines the quality of audio delivery and its look and feel defines the quality of the Airline. The headset is probably responsible for more passenger complaints, and IFE reliability issues than any other IFE component - so why do most airlines leave its procurement to the catering department?”