Gogo has revealed that modifications to its 2Ku installations on North American aircraft, to protect against de-icing fluid contamination, have achieved positive results.
The company has provided an update on the performance of its 2Ku systems in order to respond to investor inquiries stemming from recent significant winter storm activity.
As of 10 December, Gogo’s de-icing modifications have been installed on more than 600 aircraft, representing almost 95% of the company’s North American fleet.
Also as of 10 December, Gogo said it had not experienced any incidents of 2Ku system degradation on aircraft installed with the de-icing modifications. Based on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data, Gogo estimated that its modified aircraft have undergone de-icing before 2,601 flights so far this winter.
“Developing and deploying a de-icing solution has been the top priority of our operational and engineering teams since last winter,” said John Wade, president of Gogo’s commercial aviation division. “Our analysis demonstrates that our deployed modifications have enabled us to avoid de-icing issues and drive high 2Ku system availability during this initial cold weather period.”
While Gogo says the majority of global de-icing activities occur in North America, the company will modify existing 2Ku installations on international aircraft as part of each airline’s maintenance programme and all newly equipped 2Ku aircraft globally will also include the de-icing modifications at the time of installation.
As of 10 December, 2Ku availability across the Gogo 2Ku fleet was approximately 98% month to date, as compared to 92% for the same period last winter.
In its update, Gogo also acknowledged: “The company cautions it may not have experienced all potential weather and de-icing conditions to date, so future results may differ from what it has announced today.”
