Back to Air Transport IT Review - Issue 1, May 2010
WiFi + mobile now on air
OnAir is upbeat about the future of its services, as the company makes new connections.
OnAir and Oman Air recently marked the world's first flight using the full spectrum of mobile and WiFi Internet connectivity services. The service, based on Inmarsat SwiftBroadband, is in operation on one of Oman Air's new Airbus A330 aircraft flying from Muscat International to London Heathrow. Extensions are planned to other Oman Air aircraft.
Earlier this year, OnAir celebrated its 100,000th commercial flight with in-flight connectivity services. The milestone crowned a successful 2009 with five service launches and nine new agreements with airlines, governmental and VIP operators.
They included British Airways' premium business-class service linking London City and New York, which was the first and remains the only connectivity service from and to the USA. OnAir has signed up six of the eight airlines outside of the domestic US market, which have announced in-flight connectivity programmes.
Now shipping
New services have also been introduced, including a new SMS service enabling airlines to communicate with individual passengers during the flight. OnAir has also expanded into the shipping sector, providing Hapag Lloyd Cruises' flagship MS Europa with OnAir mobile technology, using an existing C-band satellite link.
Finally, OnAir has been selected by Airbus as the first connectivity solutions provider to be line-fit offerable on A350 XWB. The company is the only service provider to comply with Airbus' A350 stringent in-flight communications architecture (based on the ALNA V2 platform). OnAir is already line-fit and retrofit offerable on the other Airbus families, and has been certified by EASA on 9 Airbus aircraft types.
Operational benefits
Benoit Debains, CEO of OnAir, sees 2010 as the year in which the service will become commonplace across the industry: "Our 100,000th flight was a milestone - and our services are now available to passengers on over 10,000 flights each month. The start of the Oman Air service was also a milestone, as was the decision by Airbus for the A350 XWB.
It demonstrates that airlines are becoming more receptive to the benefits of the service - a differentiated offering to passengers and very real operational gains both in efficiency and cost control.
"We are the only service provider capable of offering the full suite of connectivity solutions for cabin-GSM/GPRS and WiFi Internet with global coverage. This is a key foundation in the evolution of the connected aircraft."
Share or bookmark with:
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Delicious
Technorati
