Mexican ultra-low-cost carrier Viva has selected SES’s multi-orbit, electronically steerable antenna (ESA)-based inflight connectivity solution for 100 Airbus narrowbodies.
The IFC hardware is powered by SES’s geostationary (GEO) satellite network and Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite service, for which SES is a distribution partner. It will be installed on 60 Airbus A320s and 40 A321s in Viva’s fleet.
A total of 11 Viva aircraft are already flying with the solution, an SES spokesperson tells Runway Girl Network.
Images shared by Viva show a fitted A320, registered XA-VAQ.
While financial terms have not been disclosed, the deal underscores how SES continues to expand its IFC footprint in the Americas. It recently won business with fast-growing Abra Group, the Latin American holding company for Avianca, GOL and Wamos Air, and it counts Air Canada, American Airlines, and LATAM among its client roster in the region.
Viva will be the first Mexico-based airline to offer onboard Internet service using the SES ESA-based, multi-orbit offering.
SES management previously told RGN that the firm has identified a target market of thousands of additional tails that would benefit from its partnership approach, which sees the satellite operator and aero ISP draw on its decades of experience to provide “almost consultant-type services” including to small, mid-sized and low-cost carriers.
“Connectivity today is not a luxury – it’s part of how people live, work, and travel. Our goal is to make flying fit seamlessly into our passengers’ digital lives, instead of forcing them to disconnect. With this service, being in the air no longer means being offline,” says Viva chief digital officer Pablo Gómez Gallardo in a statement.
Mike DeMarco, who heads up SES’s mobility segment as president, says Viva’s passengers can expect “the same fast and dependable internet access they enjoy at home no matter where or when they fly.”
He adds: “SES’s partnerships with growing airlines like Viva highlight how carriers throughout the Americas are leading the way when it comes to the most advanced connectivity. SES is the engine that powers inflight connectivity, a trusted partner that makes airline operations easier.”
Meanwhile, SES’s multi-orbit IFC solution, including the ESA hardware supplied by Gilat Satellite Networks, is presently moving through the process of securing full linefit offerability as buyer-furnished equipment at both Airbus and Boeing.
Related Articles:
- SES advances work on multi-band ESA for meoSphere + LEO IFC
- Avianca rolls out SES multi-orbit IFC on A320 Family twinjets
- SES targets thousands of additional tails for IFC partnership model
- SES eyes cross-unit content bundles between media and aero
- Press Release: SES, Google to streamline Android login for IFC
All images credited to Viva
