Viasat's In-Flight Connectivity System Selected to Power JetBlue's Fly-Fi® Internet Service Across the Airline's New Airbus A220-300 Fleet
Viasat Inc, a global communications company has confirmed it has been selected by the US budget carrier JetBlue to provide in-flight connectivity (IFC) system for the airline's new fleet of 70 Airbus A220-300 aircraft – for delivery beginning in 2020, with the option for 50 additional aircraft.
JetBlue and Viasat have maintained a long-lasting partnership, first launching the Viasat-powered Fly-Fi in-flight Wi-Fi service in December 2013. Since the initial introduction, the two companies have received numerous accolades for bringing free, high-speed, high-quality in-flight Wi-Fi to every seat onboard, with JetBlue being further recognized as the only airline to offer free, fast and full in-flight Wi-Fi capabilities—from streaming, web browsing and more—across the airline's entire fleet.
"Since launching Fly-Fi, JetBlue has set the pace for how airlines should offer in-flight entertainment and internet services to customers," said Mariya Stoyanova, director, product development, JetBlue. "We're creating powerful, engaging onboard experiences with our Viasat-powered Fly-Fi service. Our new agreement with Viasat is a strong endorsement to their ongoing commitment to technology advancement, which we believe will help us continue to deliver great experiences to our customers—no matter where they fly with us."
JetBlue's new Airbus A220-300 aircraft will be outfitted with Viasat's latest Ka-band IFC kit, and is compatible with Viasat's complete fleet of satellites, including Viasat's first-generation spacecraft – ViaSat-1, WildBlue-1 and Anik F2, its jointly-owned European satellite, KA-SAT; its second-generation spacecraft ViaSat-2, and the forthcoming ViaSat-3 class of satellites, which is expected to offer near global coverage and nearly eight times more capacity than Viasat's current fleet—which means even more enhanced connectivity and streaming services across JetBlue's flight routes.
"We're incredibly proud to equip JetBlue's entire new Airbus fleet with our ViaSat-3 capable IFC solution—which we expect will deliver even higher quality entertainment and connectivity services," said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Aviation at Viasat. "What's exciting about our partnership, is that throughout the years we have maintained a shared goal: to keep the end-customer front and center by delivering a state-of-the-art connectivity system that would offer a home-like internet experience in the air. With our current and future satellite fleet, we are ready to serve JetBlue as they broaden their plans within the Americas and across to Europe."
JetBlue was recently named the number one U.S. domestic airline in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2019. As part of this acknowledgment, JetBlue was recognized for its continued investment and coverage expansion of the free Fly-Fi connectivity service.
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