This article is published in Business Aviation & AAM Report part of Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), and is complimentary through Nov 07, 2026. For information on becoming an AWIN Member to access more content like this, click here.
Artist rendering of a new ViaSat-3 ultra-high-capacity GEO satellite.
LAS VEGAS—Viasat announced Oct. 20 that its JetXP inflight connectivity service now delivers five times more capacity in the U.S. for business aviation customers using Honeywell JetWave satellite communications (satcom) terminals.
The capacity boost, initially implemented over the eastern U.S., has been expanded nationwide as part of Viasat's efforts to continuously improve JetXP service.
“For the vast majority of our JetXP customers, we can bring five times the capacity over the continental United States with a simple software upgrade,” says Claudio D'Amico, Viasat vice president for business aviation. “This gives customers the ability to enhance their experience—more video calls, more streaming, more downloads simultaneously inside the cabin.”
JetXP combines the legacy Inmarsat Jet ConneX and Viasat geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) Ka-band networks under one brand. The capacity increase is available from service providers Collins, Honeywell and Gogo, which offer JetXP connectivity via Honeywell JetWave terminals. Viasat says it has 2,100 business aircraft on its JetXP network.
“You do need a software upgrade, which mostly happens over the air, but there's some configuration that needs to take place,” says D'Amico. “What we're talking to people about is to make sure that they engage with their service provider—Honeywell, Collins [or] Gogo so that they can update software and have access to that capacity.”
Honeywell announced Oct. 19 at NBAA-BACE here that its next-generation JetWave X satcom terminal has entered service. JetWave X connects to Viasat's Ka-band network, including new ViaSat-3 ultra-high-capacity GEO satellites.
“We're super excited about JetWave X,” says D'Amico. “We saw some really good results in terms of the performance. That product has access to both the legacy Inmarsat network as well as the Viasat network with the Via-Sat 3 satellites that are entering service this year for business aviation. We don't like to talk about peak speeds because that's not really a good representation of the overall experience, but we see 300 Mbps on the terminal.”
Countering competition from Starlink and Gogo, which offer inflight connectivity services using low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, Viasat plans to integrate Telesat Lightspeed LEO capacity by late 2027 as part of a multi-orbit strategy for JetXP.
Viasat is developing a new flat-panel electronically steered antenna (ESA) terminal called Aera, which will enable commercial airliners to access LEO satellite capacity. The company has not announced its plans for business aviation.
“The conversations we're having right now are around what's happening with ViaSat-3,” D'Amico says. “But that is not the end game for us. The end game for us is a multi-orbit approach.
“For a large number of our customers, we're bringing polar capacity through our HEO [highly elliptical orbit] satellites. We're bringing that to JetWave terminals in Q1 of next year. We've had some really successful flight tests alongside Honeywell. That's coming to customers and we're going to be officially multi-orbit in Q1 of next year,” he says.
Related Content
