GEE Scores Live Sports Rights & ICAO Airline Emissions Accord: APEX Daily Experience Week in Review
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Here are the most-read stories from this week’s APEX Daily Experience newsletters. To receive breaking passenger experience industry news in your inbox on a daily basis, subscribe here.
GEE Secures In-Flight Rights for Over 10,000 Hours of Live and Produced Sports Coverage
INFLIGHT ONLINE | OCTOBER 5, 2016
Global Eagle Entertainment (GEE) has entered into a three-year agreement with Lagardère Sports and Entertainment. The deal gives GEE in-flight entertainment distribution rights for more than 10,000 hours of live and produced sports content including soccer, athletics, tennis, swimming, golf, rugby and basketball. “Watching sports is a long-standing and popular pastime across the globe, and with this agreement, GEE expands the range of compelling media programming that we offer our customers,” said Jim Griffiths, GEE’s SVP of Content Distribution and Purchasing.
Carlisle Acquires IFC Specialist Star Aviation
GET CONNECTED | OCTOBER 4, 2016
Carlisle Companies Incorporated has announced the acquisition of Star Aviation, a supplier and manufacturer of products and services used by in-flight Wi-Fi and connectivity companies across the world. The business’s 150 employees – located at manufacturing facilities in Mobile, Alabama, and at a technical services facility in Lynnwood, Washington – will now operate as part of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies. “[Star Aviation] will add significant engineering resources and technology to support our current initiatives in the very attractive in-flight connectivity sector,” says D. Christian Koch, Carlisle’s president and CEO.
Air New Zealand Close to Finalizing Inmarsat GX Partnership for In-Flight Wi-Fi
INFLIGHT ONLINE | OCTOBER 6, 2016
Air New Zealand says it plans to introduce in-flight Wi-Fi to its fleet next year. According to Air NZ CEO Christopher Luxon, the airline is in the final stages of negotiations with Inmarsat and Panasonic Avionics over an in-flight connectivity deal using the Global Xpress (GX) satellite constellation. He also confirmed flights between New Zealand and Australia would be the first to receive connectivity, followed by long-haul routes at the end of 2017. “Air New Zealand operates some of the longest flights in the world – and in oceanic areas where there has historically been poor quality satellite service,” says Luxon. “Proving flights on a partner company test aircraft have now given us the confidence to introduce what we believe will be the world’s most reliable in-flight connectivity.”
Sounds Delicious: Wearing Headphones Can Make In-Flight Meals Taste Better
MAIL ONLINE | OCTOBER 3, 2016
Wearing noise-canceling headphones during a flight can improve the taste of food, according to a study conducted by the Centre for the Study of the Senses at the University of London. Professor Barry Smith carried out the experiment – both with and without noise-canceling headphones – on British Airways flights to Istanbul. Smith found that without the constant noise of the aircraft’s engines, he could better enjoy the food on offer. “Apart from the dry air and the fact that you are at high altitude in a low-pressure environment, white noise in your ear makes the tongue less able to discriminate between sweet and sour by about 15 percent,” he says. “At the same time, droning sounds accentuate bitterness.”
On Point: Qantas and Airbnb Enter Frequent-Flyer Partnership
TNOOZ | OCTOBER 4, 2016
Qantas has entered into a marketing partnership with Airbnb, allowing customers to earn frequent-flyer points for each Australian dollar spent on short-term rental bookings. The booking process begins on the Qantas website, before customers are redirected to the Australian Airbnb site to complete their reservation. It’s not the first time that Airbnb has collaborated with an airline – Lufthansa recently listed seats in its premium economy cabin on the website, while KLM and Airbnb created a sleepover aircraft.
ICAO Seals Landmark Global Airline Emissions Accord
THE GUARDIAN | OCTOBER 7, 2016
The world’s first deal to limit global airline carbon emissions was overwhelmingly agreed upon by representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) 191 member states on Thursday. Around 2,000 delegates at ICAO’s headquarters in Montreal settled on an emissions reduction scheme that will apply to passenger and cargo flights emitting more than 10,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually. The accord – which commits countries to capping airline CO2 emissions at the level they are at in 2020 by 2035 – was described by ICAO’s president, Olumuyiwa Bernard Aliu, as a, “bold decision and a historic moment.” However, environmental groups argue the deal will do little to reduce aviation emissions, which account for 1.3 percent of global greenhouse gases.
