All Nippon Airways has selected Viasat’s Amara Ka-band satellite-powered high-speed inflight connectivity system for six Boeing 767-300ERs in its existing fleet. It has also ordered Amara for 37 new on-order widebodies: 19 Boeing 787-9s and 18 Boeing 777-9s, which will arrive from fiscal year 2026 onwards.
Notably, the inflight Wi-Fi service will be offered for free to passengers on international routes in all cabin classes on the 202-seat 767s, and aboard the new Boeing widebodies. And ANA assures it intends to offer free Wi-Fi on more than 80% of its international fleet by the end of 2030.
“We look forward to providing ANA’s in-flight connectivity on these aircraft for years to come,” a Viasat spokesperson tells RGN. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Viasat already has some history with ANA. In 2023, the satellite operator and aero ISP acquired Inmarsat, whose L-band “SwiftBroadband” service and later Ka-band Global Xpress (GX) service powered connectivity on some of the carrier’s twinjets, as managed by SITA.
However, in 2023 — with Viasat in line to acquire Inmarsat — SITA revealed it would exit the cabin connectivity business. The six 767s, which carried SITA’s SwiftBroadband-based solution, dubbed OnAir, have been flying dark since the offering was suspended last year.
Now the 767s are first in line to be fitted with Viasat Amara, and as such, free Wi-Fi is coming to ANA’s 767 passengers first. Three of the twinjets will be fitted by 31 March 2026, which is the end of the carrier’s 2025 fiscal year. And all six of the twinjets will carry the Amara solution by FY2026.
Tomoji Ishii, who serves as executive vice president, customer experience at ANA, says passengers can expect to experience a “ground-level performance” whilst in flight.
The new 777-9s and 787-9s, meanwhile, will likely be linefit with Amara at Boeing’s factory, as Viasat’s GM-40 gimbaled antenna solution is offerable at the airframer.
Amara is a multi-orbit capable system; it is powered by Ka-band geostationary (GEO) satellites, but will also support Telesat’s Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) service when it’s available in a few years.
ANA’s decision to offer free Wi-Fi represents a change of tune from the carrier’s prior guidance: last year it said it would offer free Wi-Fi for business class passengers and in time free texting for premium economy and economy passengers on select international flights.
Now it’s touting “free, all-class service” for its 767s and forthcoming new twin-aisle aircraft, and ultimately more than 80% of its international fleet. Viasat chairman and CEO Mark Dankberg notes that ANA’s passengers “increasingly value staying connected in-flight with high-speed Wi-Fi, especially on international routes.”
Panasonic Avionics also provides IFC to ANA, with its legacy Ku-band solution fitted to some widebodies flying internationally. However, ANA is in the midst of renewing its fleet, with the new 787-9s and 777-9s serving as a key part of that renewal. Panasonic’s ultimate IFC footprint at ANA is not immediately clear.
Related Articles:
- ANA offers sofa-like experience with THE Room FX for 787-9
- Viasat details Amara nextgen inflight connectivity strategy
- ANA says cluster of Wi-Fi installs impacted as SITA exits the business
- ANA wows with 9min boarding, generous legroom on domestic 777
Featured image credited to istock.com/Boarding1Now
