American goes all in on faster WiFi

American Airlines plans to install faster WiFi on 500 more aircraft in its domestic fleet, bolstering an earlier order for ViaSat while dealing a blow to current service provider Gogo. American has more than 1,100 aircraft with Wi-Fi service, a number the airline said gives it one of the largest Wi-Fi-equipped fleets in the world. ViaSat’s largest North American customer to date is JetBlue Airways Corp., which provides the service to passengers for free through a marketing partnership with Amazon.com. In June, the world’s largest airline split an order between the two WiFi providers, with ViaSat contracted for service on 100 new Boeing 737 Max planes and Gogo tapped to install its new 2Ku satellite service on more than 130 Airbus A319s and A320s. The ViaSat installations begin in the summer of 2017, while the Gogo additions will begin late next year, American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Thomas said Wednesday. In early June, Gogo told investors that about 550 American planes with its equipment “are subject to deinstallation at any time at American’s option.” Gogo also said it expected that American would exercise that right for many, or perhaps all, of those aircraft “from time to time over the next several years.” ViaSat disclosed a large new order with its quarterly earnings report Nov. 8 but declined to reveal which airline, per the customer’s request. “Gogo will still be outfitting other aircraft in our domestic fleet with its 2ku satellite Wi-Fi and Panasonic continues to provide satellite Wi-Fi for our international widebody fleet,” Thomas said, adding: “Gogo remains a valued partner.” <br/>