Inmarsat’s said it has named Honeywell and Satcom Direct as global distribution partners for its SwiftJet inflight connectivity service. The announcement comes less than five months after SwiftJet was launched as what Inmarsat claims is “the world’s fastest business aviation inflight connectivity service over L-band”. It will enter service in the first half of 2023 and customers are now able to engage with their preferred distribution partners, as well as aircraft manufacturers and installation providers, to commence discussions on price plans, service contracts, upgrade feasibility and more.
As one of the first new services to be introduced on Inmarsat’s ELERA satellite network, SwiftJet offers seamless global coverage and maximum speeds of 2.6Mbps, up to six times faster than Inmarsat’s existing L-band business aviation connectivity service, SwiftBroadband (SBB). This allows passengers to create a secure ‘office in the sky’ with enhanced capabilities for video calls, web browsing, email, texting, cloud-syncing and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams. Social media and video apps such as YouTube, which were previously challenging over L-band, will also be enabled.
SwiftJet uses advanced hardware from Inmarsat’s partner Honeywell, which can be equipped on a broad range of aircraft and also supports cockpit and safety services. Existing customers of Inmarsat’s SBB service will benefit from a natural upgrade path through minimal changes to the installed equipment, while new customers will experience the same ease of installation as with any Inmarsat L-band terminal. The service also creates new opportunities in the smaller jet market, which have previously been restricted to basic voice or text connectivity that fails to meet the needs of modern-day business travellers.
As the latest addition to Inmarsat’s portfolio of business aviation inflight connectivity services, SwiftJet will be available alongside SBB and Jet ConneX (JX), the most popular and widely-adopted premium, high-speed solution available today, powered by a global Ka-band satellite constellation.
New service plans for Jet ConneX
Inmarsat said it is transforming the service plans for its Jet ConneX (JX) inflight broadband solution to provide customers with even greater performance, speeds and value for money. The updates are being introduced as part of Inmarsat’s ground-breaking JX Evolution programme, which was first unveiled earlier this year and follows an extensive assessment of passenger usage trends. As part of the programme, a number of existing service plans have been upgraded to deliver valuable customer benefits such as increased upload rates at no additional cost. This meets growing demand for high-definition video conferencing on collaborative platforms, including Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
The programme has also resulted in the launch of JX Edge, the first in a new series of advanced, high-end service plans that is now available through Inmarsat’s global network of business aviation distribution partners. JX Edge went live with several customers around the world this month after receiving a highly positive market response and will be followed by additional new service plans in 2023.
Jet ConneX entered commercial service in November 2016 and has been activated on more than 1,250 business jets, offering the same level of reliable, consistent and high-speed broadband that was previously only available on the ground. It has achieved record usage since the pandemic, testament to the fast-growing expectations of passengers when it comes to staying connected and enjoying a digital onboard experience that supports video streaming, live TV, business activities and more.
The service plan updates being introduced as part of JX Evolution will raise the bar even further, allowing passengers to connect more devices and enjoy unchallenged access to the most data-hungry applications simultaneously, without compromising on JX’s proven characteristics of consistency, reliability, resilience and seamless global availability.
For Editorial Inquiries Contact:
Editor Matt Driskill at matt.driskill@asianaviation.com
For Advertising Inquiries Contact:
Head of Sales Kay Rolland at kay.rolland@asianaviation.com
