LATAM touts GEO/LEO as it turns to Viasat Wi-Fi for widebodiesRunway Girl

Latin American airline holding company LATAM Group has for years offered Intelsat 2Ku-powered broadband inflight connectivity on Airbus narrowbodies flying short- and medium-haul. Now the Group has contracted Viasat to bring multi-orbit capable Ka-band satellite-supported IFC to 60-plus widebody aircraft operating flights to Australia, Europe, North America and more. The deal is valued at $60 million.

The technology behind this arrangement is Viasat Amara, a network that will combine Viasat’s geostationary (GEO) satellites with Telesat’s forthcoming Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to ensure LATAM Group and its passengers enjoy the best of both worlds. Viasat’s GM-40 gimbaled antenna terminal is forward compatible with Lightspeed.

GEO is “ideal for providing stable and powerful coverage over large cities and busy routes — such as São Paulo, Lima or New York,” Paulo Miranda, vice president of customers at LATAM Airlines Group, says in a post on LinkedIn.

LEO, meanwhile, will “allow faster connections (low latency) and cover remote areas — such as the South Pacific or the Antarctic region. This combination ensures fast, stable, and global Wi-Fi,” he says.

Under the arrangement, Viasat hardware installs on LATAM Group widebody aircraft are slated to start next year. The fleet currently comprises Boeing 767, 777 and 787 twinjets, with subsidiaries LATAM Airlines Chile and LATAM Airlines Brasil operating the lion’s share of these twin-aisle aircraft. It’s not immediately clear which exact tails have been earmarked for equipage, though it feels likely that the 787-9 will be among the first in line given that a rendering of CC-BGK — a -9 Dreamliner sporting Viasat’s terminal hardware — has been shared with media.

“The new service will involve a total investment of $60 million and will begin implementation on more than 60 aircraft in 2026, complementing the connectivity already available on nearly 90% of short- and medium-haul flights,” LATAM Group says in a published statement.

Some 250-plus of its aircraft are already flying with Intelsat 2Ku-powered inflight Wi-Fi. And its LATAM Play portal offers a variety of Wi-Fi packages including free messaging, free Internet for high value frequent flyers, and paid plans.

Amara, as previously explained by Viasat to RGN, will initially support Viasat’s GEO-based IFC service and pivot to multi-orbit IFC when Telesat’s Lightspeed LEO network is operational in a few years. The satellite operator and aero ISP this spring contracted Telesat for Lightspeed LEO services.

The new multi-orbit IFC service is also expected to optimize operations for LATAM Group, facilitating real-time communication between crew and ground teams, and bolstering predictive maintenance capabilities with aircraft data transmissions. And the connection will assist with route optimization, LATAM Group says.

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Featured image credited to LATAM/Viasat