Air Canada has fitted its first Boeing 737-8 MAX with Intelsat’s 2Ku inflight connectivity system, as part of the carrier’s wider follow-on order for IFC with the satellite operator and aero ISP.
“If you’re at one of our boarding gates and you happen to notice that your Air Canada 737-8 looks a little bit different, your eyes aren’t deceiving you! Last week we welcomed Fin 540 back into service with working, fast Wi-Fi provided by Intelsat,” said Air Canada managing director onboard product John Moody in a LinkedIn post yesterday.
“Be on the lookout for a new slim profile radome on your next flight,” he continued. “It comes with it the promise of fast Internet and free texting for Aeroplan members sponsored by Bell. We will be progressively rolling out this upgrade to our 737-8 fleet over the coming months. Fast, ubiquitous internet is our goal for all of our customers, and we’re excited to finally put this piece of the puzzle in place.”
Air Canada’s entire MAX fleet will be equipped with Intelsat 2Ku.
News that the first Air Canada MAX is live with broadband Internet is being welcomed by passengers. The carrier’s MAX twinjets fly some key routes, including to tech-heavy city San Francisco.
Air Canada previously installed a Thales IFC system on board some of its MAXs, though the service wasn’t activated and the carrier opted not to pursue full subfleet equipage.
Multiple sources tell RGN that the core antenna on that earlier Thales system differs from what is now found on Thales’ FlytLIVE-branded Ka-band IFC solution, which features ThinKom Solutions’ popular Ka2517 VICTS antenna, and is installed on Spirit Airlines’ Airbus A320 family aircraft.
“As you know, with SES-17, FlytLIVE connectivity solution has shown unmatched speed and system performance. Passenger satisfaction is at an all-time high,” Thales Inflyt Experience CEO TK Kallenbach recently told RGN. Yours truly certainly appreciated the SES-17-powered service when flying Spirit last year.
Kallenbach said Thales fully intends to continue offering the FlytLIVE solution for MAX twinjets as well as other narrowbody and regional jets. “Regarding the 737 MAX, we’ve had no technical issues. In fact, the Boeing 737 MAX is a consistent and high performing installation with Boeing’s factory provisioning of cables for a retrofit environment,” he said in reference to FlytLIVE.
Related Articles:
- Software-defined aero modem in the spotlight as Intelsat mulls MEO
- Air Canada taps Intelsat for 2Ku connectivity on MAXs, ESA on RJs
- Spirit’s transition to SES-17 satellite capacity continues apace
- Passenger experience on Air Canada 737 MAX is head scratcher
Featured image credited to Air Canada
