Saudia has reinforced its in-flight connectivity partnership with Inmarsat, with a celebration and gift exchange at the recent APEX EXPO 2021 in Long Beach, California.
Philippe Carette, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Saudia has ambitious plans to enhance its passenger experience and reinforce its status as one of the Middle East’s leading carriers, with digitalisation playing a fundamental role. We are delighted to be selected as the airline’s inflight connectivity provider as part of this exciting journey, with an initial focus on its upcoming fleet of 20 Airbus A321neo and 15 Airbus A321XLR aircraft. We are committed to meeting Saudia’s needs and it was a pleasure to reinforce that once again with Captain Ibrahim S. Koshy at APEX EXPO this week.”
Under the Middle East’s first major airline connectivity agreement since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Saudia will be GX Aviation’s launch customer in Saudi Arabia, with the service allowing passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media, shop online and more during flights using their own personal devices. In addition, the OneFi platform will serve as a catalyst for Saudia to monetise its in-flight connectivity by bringing a host of real-time onboard services together within a single portal interface, such as ordering food, beverages and duty free items, enjoying e-books, newspapers and magazines, receiving flight updates, and signing into Saudia’s AlFursan frequent flyer programme.
The aircraft will connect to GX Aviation using an ultra-high performance terminal by GDC Advanced Technology, with the first installation expected in late 2022.
