Lufthansa Technik has started installing Ka-band satellite technology as standard equipment on the Lufthansa Group’s entire A320 aircraft family. Around 300 aircraft will be fitted with the necessary antennae and routers in parallel in up to 10 production lines by spring 2018 at various Lufthansa Technik locations.
The company says its engineers have optimized the system installation procedure and minimized the required intervention in the aircraft structure, generally enabling integration in four days per layover. It says subsequent modifications and even complete dismantling of the installation to cater for any future as yet unknown technological developments are feasible without the costly replacement of large structural elements.
Lufthansa Technik currently holds STCs to install the system on the A320 family and the A340. It plans to widen its capabilities to the Boeing 737 family and the A330.
The solution relies on Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network. Passengers can use their own mobile devices to access the internet via WLAN. In addition to simple email services, more demanding applications and even streaming will be possible. At a later point in time passengers should be able to transfer data using their mobile phones based on their own mobile phone contract, assuming this feature is approved by the respective airline.
September 28, 2016
