Deutsche Lufthansa AG / Lufthansa German Airlines, commonly shortened to Lufthansa, serves as the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it stands as the second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried, after the ultra low-cost carrier Ryanair, largest in Europe and fourth largest in the world by revenue. Lufthansa is also one of the five founding members of Star Alliance, which is the world's largest airline alliance, formed in 1997.
Malaysia Airlines Berhad, formerly known as Malaysian Airline System, and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. The company headquarters are at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In August 2014, the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional—which then owned 69.37% of the airline—announced its intention to purchase the remaining ownership from minority shareholders and delist the airline from Malaysia's stock exchange, thereby renationalising the airline. It operates primarily from its main hub Kuala Lumpur International Airport to destinations throughout Asia, Oceania and Europe, as well as its secondary hub Kota Kinabalu International Airport to Taipei and Tokyo (Narita).
Singapore Airlines is the flag carrier of Singapore with its hub located at Changi Airport, and a member of the Star Alliance. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in the corporate branding segment. Widely renowned as one of the best carriers, the airline is ranked as a 5-star airline by Skytrax, and it has also been ranked as the world's best airline five times. The airline operates a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, namely the A350, A380, Boeing 737, Boeing 747 Freighter, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787.
Connexion by Boeing (CBB) was an in-flight online internet connectivity service from Boeing. This service allowed travellers to access a high-speed internet connection while on board a plane in flight through a wired Ethernet or a wireless 802.11 Wi-Fi connection. Connexion by Boeing was formed as a separate business unit of The Boeing Company. Major development on the service commenced with a partnership agreement between United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines on June 13, 2001. Lufthansa joined the partnership as the International launch customer on June 17, 2001. United, Delta, and American subsequently withdrew from the partnership after the 9/11 terrorist attacks due to the severe drop in airline travel that occurred after the attacks.
Virgin Australia, the trading name of Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd, is an airline based in Australia. It is one of two active airlines to use the Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet size. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as Virgin Blue, with two aircraft on a single route. It suddenly found itself as a major airline in Australia's domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. The airline has since grown to directly serve 32 cities in Australia, from hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Aeronautical Radio, Incorporated (ARINC), established in 1929, was a major provider of transport communications and systems engineering solutions for eight industries: aviation, airports, defense, government, healthcare, networks, security, and transportation. ARINC had installed computer data networks in police cars and railroad cars and also maintains the standards for line-replaceable units.
In the U.S., Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations prohibit the use of mobile phones aboard aircraft in flight. Contrary to popular misconception, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not actually prohibit the use of personal electronic devices on aircraft. Paragraph (b)(5) of 14 CFR 91.21 permits airlines to determine if devices can be used in flight, allowing use of "any other portable electronic device that the operator of the aircraft has determined will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system of the aircraft on which it is to be used."
Oman Air is the flag carrier of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi and charter flights.
Air Japan, legally Air Japan Co., Ltd., is a Japanese low-cost airline headquartered on the grounds of Narita International Airport in Narita, Chiba. Initially founded in 1990 as a charter airline, it was relaunched in 2022 as the low-cost long-haul arm of the ANA Group.
LiveTV was a major provider of airline in-flight entertainment systems. Originally a joint venture of Harris Corporation and BE Aerospace, it was a wholly owned subsidiary of JetBlue Airways Corporation from its acquisition in 2002 until its sale to Thales in 2014. It had its headquarters in Melbourne, Florida.
Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian or AUA, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its hub. As of July 2016, the airline flew to six domestic and more than 120 international year-round and seasonal destinations in 55 countries and is a member of the Star Alliance.
In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the 2+1⁄2-day flight between Europe and America. After World War II, food and drink services were offered, and movies were projected onto big screens viewable by all passengers on long flights. In 1985 the first personal audio player became available for purchase, and noise cancelling headphones were introduced in 1989. During the 1990s, the demand for better IFE was a major factor in the design of aircraft cabins. Before then, entertainment came via audio headphone sockets and airline-provided headphones providing music of various genres and the soundtrack of projected movies. Now, in most aircraft, personal IFE display screens are available at most seats, offering entertainment and flight information such as a moving map, speed, and altitude. The advent of small entertainment and communication devices also allows passengers to also use their own devices, subject to regulations to prevent them interfering with aircraft equipment.
Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) designs, engineers, manufactures, sells and installs customized in-flight entertainment and communications devices to airlines worldwide. It is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, and operates under the umbrella of the Panasonic Connect group. Panasonic Avionics Corporation was founded in 1979 as Matsushita Avionics Systems Corporation and changed its name in 2005. It is headquartered in Irvine, California and has major business functions in Bothell, WA.
Inmarsat is a British satellite telecommunications company, offering global mobile services. It provides telephone and data services to users worldwide, via portable or mobile terminals which communicate with ground stations through fifteen geostationary telecommunications satellites.
SITAONAIR is a company that enables airline passengers to use their smart devices including mobile phones and laptops for calls, text messaging, emails and Internet browsing.
Gogo Business Aviation is a division of Gogo Inflight Internet is a provider of in-flight broadband Internet service and other connectivity services for business aircraft. It is headquartered in Broomfield, CO.
The HTC Touch Pro is a smart phone from the Touch series of Internet-enabled Windows Mobile Pocket PC smartphones designed and marketed by HTC Corporation of Taiwan. It is an enhanced version of the HTC Touch Diamond with the addition of a left-side slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a microSD card slot, and a camera flash. The Touch Pro smartphone's functions include those of a camera phone and a portable media player in addition to text messaging and multimedia messaging. It also offers Internet services including e-mail, instant messaging, web browsing, and local Wi-Fi connectivity. Depending on its market, it is a quad-band GSM or quad-band UMTS phone with GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, and HSUPA or a tri-band CDMA phone with 1xEV-DO Rev A. All versions feature TouchFLO 3D — a new enhanced version of the TouchFLO interface, unique only to the latest Touch series. In March 2009, HTC announced a new version, the Touch Pro2 which has a larger screen (3.6") and a redesigned slide out QWERTY keyboard with spaces between the keys.
Gogo Inc. is an American provider of in-flight broadband Internet service and other connectivity services for business aircraft, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. Through its Gogo LLC subsidiary, Gogo previously provided in-flight WiFi to 17 airlines until the Commercial Air business was sold to Intelsat for $400 million in December 2020. According to Gogo, over 2,500 commercial aircraft and 6,600 business aircraft have been equipped with its onboard Wi-Fi services. The company is the developer of 2Ku, new in-flight satellite-based Wi-Fi technology rolled out in 2015.
AeroMobile Communications Limited is a registered mobile network operator for the aviation industry and is based in the UK. It provides technology and services that allow the safe use of passengers' own mobile phones while inflight. A subsidiary of Panasonic Avionics Corporation its services are often installed alongside Panasonic's Wi-Fi network and can be installed either at the point of aircraft manufacture or retro-fitted across both Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Panasonic Avionic's Wi-Fi network and AeroMobile's mobile phone network are complimentary services and provide passengers with a choice of inflight connectivity options.
SES-17, is a high throughput all electric geostationary communications satellite owned and operated by SES S.A., and designed and manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. Launched on 24 October 2021 from Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG), in Kourou, French Guiana by an Ariane 5ECA launch vehicle, SES-17 was positioned at 67.1° west in May 2022 and, after testing, became fully operational in June 2022.
