EASA grants STC for Aircell Aviator 200 on Falcon 2000LX aircraft

GENEVA, 21 May 2012. Jet Aviation AG Basel, , a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE:GD), won a new Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Aviator 200 system from Aircell, a provider of in-flight connectivity for business aviation, aboard the Falcon 2000LX.

The Aviator 200 enables near-global e-mail, light Internet, and voice capabilities via Inmarsat's satellite-basedSwiftBroadband service. Passengers and crew can send and receive e-mail with attachments, surf the Web, and access a corporate virtual private network (VPN) using their own Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, tablets, electronic flight bags, and smartphones. They can also place and receive voice calls using integrated cabin handsets. Customers can use the system's voice and data functions simultaneously. Aircell's SwiftBroadband solutions are powered by Thrane & Thrane.

A complete Aviator 200 equipment package costs approximately $60,000, plus installation. Of particular note, the system uses a small, low-gain antenna, which serves to ease overall certification requirements and reduces installation complexity.

Jet Aviation is making the new STC available to other service facilities for a nominal fee, enabling more affordable follow-on installations for other Falcon 2000 operators seeking connectivity services for their aircraft. The STC was specifically designed for maximum applicability to other Falcon 2000 models and the most common avionics configurations in the field.

"We had noted strong customer demand for affordable communications and connectivity services, particularly for e-mail, and recognized the cost-saving benefits to our customers in not having to wait for EASA certification. With our new STC, passengers and crews are able to use their own Wi-Fi devices to stay productive as they travel," Tobias Franke, Jet Aviation's director of sales and revenue management, says.

"With light Internet, e-mail, and voice capabilities in a single, affordable equipment package, we believe the Aviator 200 is an extraordinary value," explains John Wade, Aircell's executive vice president and general manager. "We believe the system's simplified installation requirements further increase market appeal and make it an economical connectivity solution for operation in multiple world regions."