CARLSBAD, Calif., - Virgin Atlantic in Crawley, U.K. needed internet connectivity solution for its new Airbus A330-900 fleet. They found their solution from Viasat, Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.
The Viasat in-flight connectivity (IFC) equipment will be factory-installed on the 16 new Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-900s at the Airbus' production site in Toulouse, France. Virgin Atlantic's fleet of Airbus A330-900s is scheduled to enter service with intercontinental flights between the Americas and the United Kingdom in the second half of this year.
In-flight internet connections are made possible by connecting passenger devices directly to Viasat's network of owned and partner Ka-band satellites. Viasat's onboard equipment on Virgin Atlantic's new aircraft is designed to be forward-compatible with the company's next-generation satellite constellation, ViaSat-3, offering Virgin Atlantic additional capacity and expanded global coverage.
Viasat's ability to deliver internet on Virgin Atlantic's new fleet will be enabled, in part, by two factors: capacity across Viasat's planned global satellite network and the company's ability to leverage that capacity efficiently. The challenge to connectivity in aviation is that passenger demand is exponentially higher in the most heavily concentrated geographical areas, such as large airport hub cities, like London and New York, and busy flight corridors. The adaptability of Viasat's satellite network is designed to meet this demand density challenge with capacity, which is needed to address the continually rising data requirements of the most bandwidth intensive applications of the internet.
Don Buchman, Viasat's vice president and general manager, Commercial Aviation, says, "We're thrilled that Virgin Atlantic – an airline with innovation and customer service at its core -- has chosen Viasat as its IFC partner on its new Airbus aircraft. We have a strong history of delivering quality IFC on long-haul flights and look forward to bringing our technology and service capabilities to Virgin Atlantic and its customers."
