PaxEx.Aero
• Seth Miller
Austrian Airlines has begun operating its first aircraft equipped with Starlink connectivity, while SAS completed a substantial portion of its own deployment earlier this month. The updates mark further progress in bringing high-speed satellite internet to European airline fleets and passengers.
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Austrian Airlines has begun operating its first aircraft equipped with Starlink connectivity, while SAS completed a substantial portion of its own deployment earlier this month. The updates mark further progress in bringing high-speed satellite internet to European airline fleets and passengers.
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Finnair says Chinese airlines’ continued use of Russian airspace gives them a routing advantage over Western carriers barred from flying through Russia. The Finnish airline says the disparity has weighed on its competitiveness since Moscow closed its airspace to Western airlines.
French launch provider MaiaSpace has secured its first long-term Asian customer agreement with Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS), which plans to use the company to launch a range of synthetic-aperture radar satellites. The deal gives MaiaSpace an anchor customer as it builds its commercial launch business.
Eutelsat has placed major satellite orders with Airbus and Aerospacelab to support service continuity for its OneWeb constellation and Europe’s IRIS² secure-connectivity network. The commitments link commercial broadband operations with Europe’s emerging sovereign space communications infrastructure.
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European partners will move forward without NASA on a Venus mission after the agency withdrew its planned radar instrument, highlighting the potential impact of shifting U.S. space partnerships. The decision could push Europe toward greater independence in planetary science while increasing the significance of alternative international partners, including China.
Flexjet has opened a new facility at Farnborough Airport in Europe combining private-terminal, training and operations capabilities. The site is intended to support the company’s expanding fractional-ownership network and improve the infrastructure behind its international business aviation operations.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU is updating competition policy to favor strategic consolidations, citing the proposed Thales-Airbus-Leonardo space merger as an example. The policy shift could ease regulatory scrutiny of larger European aerospace combinations intended to strengthen the region’s industrial position.
Airlines are supporting a $9.5 billion expansion plan for Paris airports, signaling industry backing for substantial investment in the French capital’s airport infrastructure. The plan’s scale underscores the importance of capacity and facilities at one of Europe’s major aviation hubs.
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