JetBlue Airways is weighing “strategic options” for its...
JetBlue Airways is weighing “strategic options” for its LiveTV in-flight entertainment subsidiary as it seeks to increase deployments of the service, Chief Financial Officer Mark Powers said Wednesday on an earnings call. Powers didn’t disclose the options being considered, but…
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analysts have speculated that they could include a spin-off of LiveTV. In addition to providing satellite TV, radio and movies, LiveTV is deploying ViaSat’s Ka-band broadband service with JetBlue, which sells it under the Fly-Fi brand and has installed it on 10 Airbus A320-232 airplanes since December, JetBlue CEO David Barger said. JetBlue will retrofit about 15 A-320 planes per month this year with the service, he said. JetBlue will add Fly-Fi to its Embraer E-190 jets in 2015, Barger said. Fly-Fi’s basic Simply Surf service is free through June, with a Fly-Fi Plus high-bandwidth plan for streaming movies and large downloads available for $9 per hour, JetBlue said. “Connectivity is such an important product for us,” Powers said. “In-flight entertainment and broadband are core to the JetBlue brand, but you don’t need to actually own the company to retain that core asset. So we will continue to look at strategic options that are in the best interests for, amongst others, our shareholders.” LiveTV was purchased by JetBlue in 2002 and has its headquarters in Melbourne, Fla. JetBlue last weighed options for LiveTV in 2012, but postponed a decision amid a debate over Ku- and Ka-band satellite services, an issue that was resolved with the launching of ViaSat’s Ka-band offering. In addition to JetBlue, LiveTV’s other customers include Azul Brazilian Airlines, Frontier Airlines, WestJet, United Airlines and Virgin Australia. LiveTV also is outfitting United Airlines planes with the ViaSat service. DirecTV provides the satellite television service for LiveTV in the U.S., while Bell TV is the supplier in Canada. In addition to LiveTV, other in-flight entertainment suppliers include Panasonic Avionics Corp., Rockwell Collins and Thales Group.