Aero-News Network CEO and Editor-in-Chief Jim Campbell spoke with Dave Mellin, Director of Communications for Gogo Business Aviation at the NBAA-BACE 2024 and asked about an update regarding all things Gogo.
Dave said the company announced the acquisition of SatCom Direct and that has been probably the most impactful news out of Gogo in quite some time. It brings together the two leaders in business aviation in flight connectivity. He’s confident that what each company has done so well will merge together into a very complementary union across the board. Satcom direct has an international sales force that will help Gogo accelerate its growth and expansion of Gogo Galileo when the merger is completed.
Gogo also announced an agreement with Textron that makes Gogo connectivity a factory option on three of Textron’s aircraft. That deal exemplifies the strength of the relationship between the companies and Textron’s faith in Gogo’s ability to deliver and is a very meaningful development for Gogo.
Another impactful agreement just announced at BACE is with Wheels Up that they will be outfitting new aircraft coming into its fleet with Gogo that will involve about 80 installations of Gogo’s HDX system.
So some very positive news out of Gogo at BACE so far.
With Jim asking about what 2025 looks like, Dave said Gogo will start installing systems after the first of the year. The larger FDX antenna will likely be installed in the second quarter followed by flight testing and then beginning to go through the certification process.
What makes the HDX antenna so unique and useful is that it fits on any size business aircraft – turboprops, light jets, and up to largest cabin aircraft. For customers outside of North America with mid-size aircraft and smaller, they have not had any meaningful connectivity solution available. So this is going to change everything for them. For the first time, they will be able to get fast broadband WiFi, low latency, and they’ll be able to use it anywhere in the world they fly.
When asked about Gogo’s comparison to other companies trying to work into the space, Dave replied that the one advantage Gogo brings to the table beyond anything else, is their industry experience and expertise in business aviation. Gog’s products are designed by business aviation professionals, supported by business aviation professionals, and they’re built to be on aircraft. They are aviation-grade, the network is aviation-grade, and Gogo has the team to support it if something does happen to go wrong.
Dave said the company will be coming out with more aviation-grade type things, different than anything the competition has out there right now.
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