Aircell installs Gogo on 1,000th aircraft

Aircell announced Tuesday it has installed its Gogo Inflight Internet service on the 1,000th aircraft to be equipped, a Delta Air Lines DC-9. Delta currently has 527 out of a planned 549 Gogo installations complete, Aircell said. "This is a big milestone for our company and for consumers who want to stay connected at 30,000 feet," Aircell President and CEO Michael Small stated. "A few years ago Internet on a commercial flight was unheard of, and today it is commonplace."

This month Aircell equipped a total of 32 aircraft for Delta (A320s, 757s, DC-9s), American Airlines (737-800s) and Alaska Airlines (737-700s). The service is currently available on approximately "one-third of all mainline domestic aircraft," it said, roughly translating to 3,800 daily flights, up from 2,100 last year.

"We have a couple hundred aircraft in the pipeline, about half of which we will install by end of year," an Aircell spokesperson told ATW. "We continue to look for additional opportunities with our existing airlines partners and new airline partners." The inflight connectivity provider said it expects to begin installations on Frontier Airlines' aircraft "very soon."