Norwegian to Launch Inmarsat GX Inflight Connectivity

Norwegian passengers will soon experience free and premium Wi-Fi onboard the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and 737 MAX long-haul flights with Rockwell Collins CabinConnect and Inmarsat’s GX high-speed, broadband connectivity solution.

The new service, which will debut on the majority of Norwegian’s transatlantic flights, enables passengers to stream video and music content, browse the web, access social media, voice and messaging services over the Inmarsat Global Xpress satellite network.

Boris Bubresko, Vice President, Business Development for Norwegian, said: “We’re an innovative airline that’s introducing brand new long-haul aircraft to our fleet as well as enhancing our global network to meet customer demand.

“Providing our passengers with the most reliable and robust in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity is very important to us.

“We’re delighted to work with Collins which will support our long-haul connectivity needs as we continue to enhance the Norwegian passenger experience globally.”

The airline says this joint project is a critical part of Norwegian’s vision to move to a fully-connected aircraft fleet in the future.

It says beyond enhancing certain safety functions, using broadband connectivity for the flight deck will provide opportunities to deliver new cockpit services like electronic flight bag and real-time high definition weather to operators.

Many of these services will require significant amounts of data to be exchanged between the aircraft and operations.

“Our ability to address both Norwegian’s cabin and flight deck requirements with a combination of industry-leading services and hardware provides the airline with a seamless solution,” said LeAnn Ridgeway, Vice President and General Manager, Information Management Services for Collins Aerospace.

“We are collaborating with Norwegian to achieve their vision of optimising its aircraft and enterprise operations as well as integrating new capabilities going forward.”

Philip Balaam, President for Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Inmarsat’s GX satellite constellation allows airlines to offer inflight connectivity that is fast, reliable and consistent with coverage across the world.

“Norwegian’s passengers will have access to the highest quality of global, resilient and flexible broadband available in the skies.

“In the future, we are excited to provide even more value to Norwegian through the continued development of our global satellite network and related hardware.”

The satellite connection is made using a Honeywell Aerospace JetWave fuselage-mounted antenna.

More than 50 percent of Norwegian’s 787-9 Dreamliner fleet is expected to offer in-flight connectivity by 2020. Wi-Fi offering on the 737 MAX fleet will begin in mid-January.

Connected Aircraft China Congress 2019 (CAC) is a series of activities in the same period of the CAIF, which is a top management-gathering platform that officially hosted by Civil Aircraft Operation Support Technology Sub-committee of CSAA. Supported by China Eastern Airlines Co., Ltd., COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute and Taikoo (Shandong) Aircraft Engineering Co., Ltd. Organized by COMAC Shanghai Aircraft Customer Service Co., Ltd. and Galleon (Shanghai) Consulting Co., Ltd.

With the theme of “The Power of Data, The Power of Connected”, CAC 2019 will be held to improve passenger experience, improve airline and passenger safety, grow ancillary revenues and improve operational efficiency. More than 30+ airlines and around 150~180 professional attendees are expected to participate in this year’s congress

Register your interest or get in touch with marketing@galleon.cc for more details.