Gogo Inc. announced that as of December 31st, 2018, modifications to protect against de-icing fluid contamination on its 2Ku North American aircraft have achieved positive results.
As a result of the success of the de-icing modifications, Gogo did not incur certain forecasted costs associated with further de-icing efforts in Q4 2018, and is raising its Adjusted EBITDA guidance to the high end of its previously announced range of $45 million to $60 million for the year 2018.
As of December 31, 2018, Gogo said it had experienced no incidents of 2Ku system degradation on aircraft with Gogo’s recent de-icing modifications. Based on FAA data listing airports that have experienced de-icing activity, Gogo estimated that in 2018, aircraft with Gogo de-icing modifications flew more than 5,000 flights that had been de-iced.
As of December 31, 2018, Gogo’s de-icing modifications had been installed on more than 675 aircraft, representing almost 97 percent of the installed North American fleet. While the vast majority of global de-icing activities occur in North America, Gogo will modify existing 2Ku installations on international aircraft as part of each airline’s maintenance program. All newly equipped 2Ku aircraft globally will include the de-icing modifications at the time of installation if requested by the airline.
Availability across the entire Gogo 2Ku fleet was approximately 98 percent for the month of December, which compares to approximately 90 percent for the same period last winter.
“On December 11, 2018, we announced zero incidents of 2Ku degradation on aircraft installed with Gogo’s recent de-icing modifications and we are pleased to announce that this success extended through the end of 2018,” said John Wade, president of Gogo’s Commercial Aviation division.
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.