Alaska Airlines will offer streaming-fast satellite Wi-Fi on its regional jet Embraer 175 fleet, provided by Intelsat. The new, faster service will utilize an electronically steered array (ESA), which is a small, lighter weight antenna with no moving parts. In an industry first, Intelsat's new system will communicate with both traditional geostationary (GEO) satellites and new low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. With an additional $25 million investment, Alaska Airlines said this upgrade represents a “major step forward in the travel experience for our guests, enabling higher speeds and more coverage in the air, particularly across areas in the state of Alaska.”

The new system will debut on Horizon Air in early 2024 and roll out across Alaska’s regional jet fleet, including partner SkyWest, over a two-year period. With nearly all Alaska’s mainline fleet set to feature satellite Wi-Fi by this April—also installed by Intelsat—Alaska is on track to provide consistent streaming-fast Wi-Fi across its entire fleet by 2026.
 

West Entertainment (West) announced today that it has been selected by Canadian regional Porter Airlines (Porter) as its inflight entertainment (IFE) Content Service Provider. 

The partnership will cover the provision of IFE on Porter’s Embraer 195-E2 fleet equipped with Viasat’s Wireless Streaming system, starting Feb.1, 2023. As a result, Porter said its guests will now enjoy not only connectivity, but access to the latest Hollywood and Canadian content. 
 

Latvian airline airBaltic will equip its entire Airbus A220-300 fleet with SpaceX’s Starlink internet connectivity system. Every passenger will benefit from complimentary, in-flight high-speed internet access during all airBaltic flights without hassles or login pages. 

Developed by SpaceX, Starlink provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet in over 40 countries and counting around the world and began serving commercial aircraft last year with in-flight high-speed internet. With satellites positioned in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 550 km, over 65 times closer than conventional geostationary satellites, Starlink achieves significantly lower latency and higher transmission speeds for its end users. Starlink can deliver up to 350 Mbps to aircraft, and with latency as low as 20 ms, passengers can engage in activities previously not functional in flight, including online gaming, virtual private networks, and other high data rate activities.
 

Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways has selected Images In Motion its contract for providing IFE content services. Images In Motion will be providing a broad range of content across Bamboo Airways’ fleet. The content catalog features the latest Hollywood releases, Classic movies, Asian movies, and hours of TV programs, as well as an extensive array of local Vietnamese and Western music.
 

Emirates has chosen Inmarsat’s GX Aviation as its inflight broadband system for the airline’s incoming fleet of Airbus A350s. The airline said Jan 12 that the system would provide passengers with greater connectivity and coverage, even over Arctic regions.

The Dubai-based carrier has ordered 50 A350-900s for delivery from 2024. The A350s will be the first Emirates aircraft to use Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, which powers what the satellite services company describes as the world’s first globally available broadband network.  
 

Delta will offer fast, free Wi-Fi in partnership with T-Mobile to all customers on board most domestic mainline flights beginning Feb. 1—the first major US airline to offer free Wi-Fi as a core element of its customer experience. The Atlanta-based airline will offer the service on more than 700 Viasat-equipped aircraft by the end of 2023. Delta also announced plans to bring free Wi-Fi on international and regional aircraft by the end of 2024.
 

China’s Sichuan Airlines has partnered with AeroSat Link Technology Co. and Viasat for inflight connectivity (IFC) technology and equipment on its Airbus A320 family of aircraft. When in service, the Viasat terminal installed on the aircraft will connect to China Satcom’s Ka-band satellite network and AeroSat Link’s digital IFC service to provide IFC service to passengers and crew.