Norwegian gets connected by Collins Aerospace and Inmarsat
Inmarsat partner Collins Aerospace is helping Norwegian airline passengers experience free and premium Wi-Fi onboard Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and 737 MAX long-haul flights with its CabinConnect high-speed broadband connectivity solution, powered by GX Aviation.
Courtesy Collins Aerospace
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 (GX) satellite network, the world’s first and only globally available high-speed broadband network. Voted Skytrax 2018 World’s Best Low-Cost Long-Haul Airline, Norwegian received its first connected Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring American author Mark Twain on the tailfin, on 18 December 2018. The new aircraft has entered service and this milestone marks the first time Norwegian passengers can experience free inflight Wi-Fi for the full duration of long-haul flights.
“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,” said Boris Bubresko, vice president, Business Development for Norwegian. “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.”
This joint project is a critical part of Norwegian’s vision to move to a fully connected aircraft fleet in the future. 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 optimizing its aircraft and enterprise operations as well as integrating new capabilities going forward.”
“Inmarsat’s GX satellite constellation allows airlines to offer inflight connectivity that is fast, reliable and consistent with coverage across the world,” said Philip Balaam, president for Inmarsat Aviation. “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.”
Norwegian economy and Premium customers on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and 737 MAX will have the choice of two inflight Wi-Fi packages:
Basic option: A free service that allows customers to browse the web, stay-up-to-date on social media, send and receive emails and instant messages with friends, family and colleagues by using their personal mobile phones, tablets and laptops on board for the full length of the flight.
Premium option: Fast enough to stream music, movies and television shows on Netflix, YouTube and Hulu among others, Norwegian will offer passengers a Premium high-speed Wi-Fi option. Premium high-speed Wi-Fi will be available at an introductory price for a three-hour package and customers may select their preferred currency.
More than 50% 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.