Marisa Garcia Air New Zealand has signed a contract for Inmarsat’s GX Aviation service which will deliver high speed Wi-Fi internet access to passengers on its long and short-haul flights, with seamless global coverage.
“We’re very excited about working with Air New Zealand. They’re an innovative organisation and have taken a fresh approach to finding the right connectivity partner,” says Inmarsat Aviation president Leo Mondale.
“GX for Aviation is the only in-flight broadband solution that is fast, reliable and truly consistent, with seamless coverage across the world provided by a single operator. Our focus is on ensuring customers enjoy a frictionless inflight broadband experience,” continued Leo Mondale.
Air New Zealand’s Chief Digital Officer, Avi Golan, said “We wanted a world-class solution that would meet the high expectations of our customers, offering both a consistent and reliable service. We then spent time testing the GX live experience on Honeywell’s B757 test aircraft, as part of Inmarsat Aviation’s global test tour.We‘ve been monitoring the developments in inflight connectivity for some time and with GX, we believe we will be able to offer broadband on-board in innovative ways that will further set Air New Zealand apart as one of the world’s leading airlines.”
At the airline’s reuquest, GX for Aviation connectivity will be integrated with Air New Zealand’s Inflight Entertainment (IFE) system provided by Panasonic.
The global reach of the GX network extends to Air New Zealand’s ultra-long-haul routes, across the Pacific and on to the United Kingdom, with additional capacity which can be layered over Air New Zealand’s key regional destination hubs, such as the East Coast of Australia.
The first GX-equipped aircraft are expected to enter service in the second half of 2017, available progressively on Tasman, Pacific and long-haul fleets from the end of next year. The airline and supplier anticipate domestic routes will be added to the connected fleet starting in 2018.
Air New Zealand is joins other global carriers which have selected GX connections for their customers, including Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
