American Airlines will upgrade the inflight internet on its regional jet fleet over the next two years. The carrier selected Intelsat to provide high-speed satellite-based service to just under 500 of the smaller jets.
The service will leverage Intelsat’s electronically steered array (ESA) antenna, provided by Stellar Blu. The antenna supports both geostationary satellites from Intelsat’s constellation as well as Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites from the OneWeb constellation, now part of Eutelsat.
American will install the hardware on its two-cabin regionals. This includes approximately 250 Embraer E170-family and just approximately 220 CRJ-700/900 jets.
Intelsat has now secured three of the five largest regional jet upgrades with its multi-orbit ESA solution. Alaska Airlines committed in the early part of the year while Air Canada followed in the fall (though it was unofficially confirmed over the summer). Delta Air Lines committed to a competing offering from Hughes just last month. Intelsat also signed Aerolineas Argentinas for the ESA offering last month, proving it is not just for regional jets.
United Airlines must also choose an upgrade path for its regional fleet, with a similar delivery timeline as the others. While that decision has long been expected, PaxEx.aero now understands it will not be finalized until 2024.
A favor to ask while you're here...
Did you enjoy the content? Or learn something useful? Or generally just think this is the type of story you'd like to see more of? Consider supporting the site through a donation (any amount helps). It helps keep me independent and avoiding the credit card schlock.
Leave a Reply