Panasonic said it plans to take over where Boeing's in-flight Connexion satellite service left off, but it isn't buying the assets. Rather, it is using a similar approach to Connexion enabling airlines that have already launched Connexion to make an easy transition. Boeing has been trying to figure out what to do with the Connexion service after failing to reach profitability during the last six years. Panasonic says it is determined to avoid some of the key pitfalls of the Connexion service--primarily the lack of an initial fleet large enough to drive pricing down. Therefore, Panasonic won't launch without securing agreements covering a minimum of 500 aircraft in the next 60 days.
For more about Panasonic's in-flight plans:
- check out this article from Inflight Online