Mobile satellite communications provide Inmarsat PLC said on Wednesday it has signed a contract with Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia Group to provide its GX Aviation inflight broadband for 120 aircraft.
The contract will cover all Airbus A320, Airbus A330 and AirAsia X aircraft operated within AirAsia itself, including additional aircraft types to be delivered in the future, including the Airbus A350.
The first installations of GX Aviation, as well as the launch of commercial service is expected to start in the first half of 2018. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
"AirAsia Group is one of the aviation industry's leading innovators and we are delighted that GX Aviation will play a key role in their future service offering. The fact that we have signed this contract within months of announcing a Memorandum of Understanding is testament to AirAsia's confidence in GX Aviation and builds on its successful track record as a leading customer of our SwiftBroadband service," said Inmarsat Aviation President Philip Balaam.
"The scale of this contract, covering more than 120 existing aircraft and one of the industry's largest orderbooks for additional aircraft, showcases our status as a global market leader in advanced inflight broadband," Balaam added.