Leading Greek airline Aegean announced that its onboard experience will accelerate further with the introduction of high-speed inflight broadband, powered by the European Aviation Network (EAN).
The award-winning connectivity solution, provided by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom, will be installed on all existing and new Aegean Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft by 2025, with the first seven entering service as of Thursday.
As of this week Aegean passengers will have access to three different Wi-Fi packages, including a free 10-minute “try before you buy” service to browse the internet, send and receive emails, and access messaging and social media applications. This can be extended by selecting either the “text and surf” package or upgrading to the “streaming” option, which adds the capability to watch videos or listen to audio online.
As Europe’s fastest inflight broadband solution, EAN offers incomparable speeds, uninterrupted coverage across Europe and significantly lower latency than any other aviation connectivity service on the market.
Under this agreement, Aegean has also partnered with Display Interactive to create a customized digital portal, allowing passengers to access Wi Fi packages and a rich entertainment platform using their personal devices. This enables the passengers to explore multiple entertainment options (music, series, documentaries, cartoons, games, daily news, etc.), receive real time travel information and sign up to Aegean’s Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program.
Display Interactive, which is also a partner for Inmarsat’s OneFi passenger experience platform, has developed the portal for Aegean to enhance its passenger experience and enable its inflight connectivity offering.
Dimitris Gerogiannis, Chief Executive Officer at Aegean, said: “We are very happy to offer Europe’s most advanced inflight broadband to our passengers. This exciting milestone is part of our continued efforts to develop the Aegean service offering for passengers and strengthen our competitive position, which is particularly important as the aviation industry continues to recover from the global pandemic’s impact. We enjoy working with Inmarsat, Deutsche Telekom and Display Interactive to roll out the European Aviation Network on all our A320 and A32 fleet.”
Philippe Carette, President of Inmarsat Aviation, added that “our European Aviation Network inflight broadband solution experienced record demand from passengers last year, with take-up rates substantially higher than before the pandemic. We are delighted that it will be available on Aegean flights, as part of the airline’s impressive efforts to offer a truly world-class passenger experience. Inmarsat has worked closely with our partner Deutsche Telekom and the Aegean team to expedite the rollout and ensure the airline’s passengers can start enjoying Europe’s fastest inflight broadband very soon.
“This agreement strengthens our market leadership in Europe’s inflight connectivity market and also represents an important milestone in our long-held relationship with Greece, home to some of our most critical ground infrastructure, including EAN’s Satellite Access Station.”
Rolf Nafziger, Senior Vice President of Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier, commented: “EAN is perfectly adapted to Europe’s unique telco infrastructure and a true game-changer for inflight connectivity. For Aegean’s passengers, it offers an unparalleled connectivity experience while flying above the European continent. And for the carrier, it provides a highly compelling business case due to its lightweight, small and low maintenance equipment. Thanks to its scalability, EAN will not only provide unbeatable connectivity to Aegean passengers today, but for many years to come.”
EAN has been designed specifically to meet the needs of European aviation, delivering consistent inflight broadband across Europe, one of the world’s most congested airspaces. Developed by Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom, in partnership with leading European companies such as Thales, Nokia, Airbus, Cobham and Eclipse Technics, it also offers the fastest ever installation time for a connectivity solution, requiring only seven hours per aircraft, meaning significantly less downtime. Combined with the system’s low weight, low drag and low maintenance, this results in lower overall operation costs.
Aegean’s selection of EAN comes to support its ongoing efforts to enhance customer experience and is aligned with demand for inflight connectivity, which has continued to soar since the global pandemic.