Inmarsat’s SwiftJet inflight connectivity service for the business aviation market will be distributed by Satcom Direct and Honeywell.
The distribution announcement comes five months after SwiftJet was launched as the world’s fastest business aviation inflight connectivity service over L-band.
The service is expected to enter service before July next year 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 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).
The service 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 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).
Kai Tang, Inmarsat’s head of business aviation said, “SwiftJet is testament to how Inmarsat continues to develop its popular inflight connectivity solutions in direct response to feedback from customers and partners.
“The business aviation market has entered an exciting new period of growth, with flight volumes now higher than pre-pandemic levels. However, expectations around the digital onboard experience have also evolved considerably and the market has challenged us to amplify L-band capabilities. This ensures business travellers can enjoy faster connections across more devices whenever and wherever they fly without compromising on key characteristics of resilience, reliability and availability.
“We have worked hard to make the service available at the earliest opportunity. Customers can now talk to Satcom Direct and Honeywell – two of our longest-standing partners in business aviation – about enabling SwiftJet’s ground-breaking capabilities as soon as it enters service next year.”
