American Airlines has selected ViaSat to provide high-speed Ka-band in-flight connectivity onboard its new Boeing 737 MAX fleet. American has 100 737 MAX aircraft on order and the carrier follows the likes of JetBlue and Virgin America in selecting ViaSat as a connectivity partner.
“Our satellite bandwidth enables an “at home” internet experience that can serve everyone on the plane – and empowers innovative business models for airlines and their passengers,” said Mark Dankberg, ViaSat chairman and CEO. “
“We are delighted and honoured to have the opportunity to work with American Airlines and help fulfil their goal of delivering the best in-flight Wi-Fi experience throughout their fleet. We believe we are now approaching the end of an era where passengers have paid very high prices for very slow connections. Our agreement highlights a significant initial step for American to deliver an onboard Wi-Fi experience every passenger will want to use.”
This “at home” experience that Dankberg referred to includes the ability to stream movies, videos, television and music, as well as surf the web, upload pictures to social media and email large files, at 30,000 feet.
Up until now, American Airlines had partnered with Gogo and Panasonic Avionics for its in-flight connectivity services.
