2Ku is the industry's leading
inflight connectivity solution
and delivers an internet
experience comparable to
what guests have on the ground,
including the ability to stream
video from the most popular
streaming video services. 2Ku
also has global coverage, which
means guests onboard
Alaska aircraft
will have service from
gate-to-gate nearly everywhere
these aircraft fly, including
while traveling over the ocean
to popular destinations like
Hawaii,
Mexico, and
Costa Rica.
"We are excited to partner
with
Alaska to bring
their guests a new onboard
connectivity experience with
2Ku," said
Michael
Small, Gogo's
president and CEO. "2Ku is the
leading inflight internet
solution on the market today in
terms of bandwidth delivered to
each guest's device, coverage
and reliability. We have market
leading satellite capacity with
the ability to continually add
more to meet growing demand. We
continue to innovate and improve
the technology to make sure 2Ku
will keep
Alaska ahead of
the technology curve."
"We conducted an extensive
review to find a satellite Wi-Fi
solution that has a proven track
record with commercial airlines
and will meet our guest's
expectations for what they want
to do in the air today, but will
also continue to meet their
needs in the future," said
Andrew
Harrison, chief
commercial officer at Alaska
Airlines. "Our guests will soon
be able to connect in the air,
just as they do out and about on
the ground helping make their
travel time more relaxing and
productive – whether that's
scrolling through Facebook,
checking email, or watching
what's trending on YouTube."
2Ku will give
Alaska's guests a
seamless experience across their
Boeing and Airbus fleet.
Alaska will be
disclosing pricing closer to
service launch. Gogo's 2Ku
service will be installed on
Alaska's Boeing
737 aircraft beginning in the
first half of 2018, with 40 to
50 planes expected to be
completed by the end of the
year. The remainder of
Alaska and Virgin
America's mainline fleet will be
fully satellite-equipped by
early 2020.
In addition to installing
2Ku,
Alaska also
announced today that it will now
offer free chat with Gogo
Messaging Pass on flights
operated by Virgin America – a
benefit already available to
guests flying on
Alaska.
With Free Chat, guests flying
with Virgin America can now use
iMessage, WhatsApp, and Facebook
Messenger on their smartphones
to send greetings from 35,000
feet - for free.
Alaska was the
first U.S. airline to offer a
dedicated Free Chat service and,
since its introduction, more
than 1 million guests have used
it to stayed connected on their
Alaska flights.
