No matter the destination, length of the journey, or purpose of the excursion, airline passengers today expect to have the same fast and high-quality connectivity in the air as they do in their homes and offices on the ground. Business travelers want to be productive in the air while leisure passengers expect to be able to remain connected and have access to entertainment at 35,000 feet. Commercial airlines that fail to meet this expectation face threats to their reputation that could ultimately impact business performance and profitability.
To meet these demands and fast-evolving expectations, airlines have turned to satellite networks for superior inflight connectivity and entertainment offerings, moving away from the limitations of legacy air-to-ground solutions.
Early satellite connectivity systems typically relied on a single satellite band, limiting coverage, speed, or reliability depending on location or network congestion. If a satellite network powering the airline’s chosen service lacked complete coverage in a certain part of the world, was susceptible to speed slowdowns or interruptions in crowded airspace, or encountered any technical or operational issues, the quality of inflight connectivity would be diminished, leading to frustrated passengers.
That’s why multi-orbit solutions have become a game-changer for inflight connectivity. These systems combine the inherent strengths of geostationary (GEO) and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites into a single solution. The result for airlines and their passengers is greater coverage over the oceans and poles, faster connectivity speeds that remain consistent from take-off to touch-down, increased capacity to support usage by all passengers in all classes, and lower latency for more sensitive applications where lag is intolerable.
Intelsat, a long-time leader in satellite communications, is at the forefront of delivering these multi-orbit capabilities and is currently offering this level of global, multi-band inflight connectivity at scale. “Many airlines around the world are gravitating towards multi-orbit inflight connectivity solutions,” said Mike DeMarco, Chief Commercial Officer for Intelsat. “Passengers are already enjoying reliably fast service, based on our airline partners’ satisfaction scores, and we are excited to play a role in their success.”
Access to both GEO and LEO satellites ensures constant, robust connectivity to support any number of connected applications and passenger activities including messaging, web browsing, gaming, social media engagement, and streaming of movies and TV shows.
In addition to addressing passenger needs, multi-orbit connectivity also allows airlines to unlock new value and pursue incremental revenue opportunities. With always-available, reliable, high-quality multi-orbit connectivity, airlines can confidently introduce and monetize new digital products for current passengers, develop creative marketing partnerships and sponsorships with third-party companies to appeal to potential new customers, and deepen loyalty with frequent fliers and repeat customers by offering personalized promotions and offers.
Today, any airline can adopt and deploy a multi-orbit solution and begin exceeding the connectivity expectations of discerning passengers while also setting itself apart in the fiercely competitive commercial aviation industry. More than 100 commercial aircraft have already installed the hardware, antennas, and systems to access both GEO and LEO satellite constellations. With thousands of additional aircraft expected to do the same over the next year, multi-orbit connectivity is poised to finally fulfill the promise of high-quality connectivity in the skies.
