The delivery transaction is one of the first since Intelsat re-branded the recently acquired Gogo Commercial Aviation and continued its business under the Intelsat name.
Intelsat has announced that the first factory-installed Intelsat 2Ku system has been delivered on an A321neo aircraft. The 2Ku system was installed by Airbus at its factory in Hamburg, Germany as part of its High Bandwidth Connectivity Service (HBCS) and delivered to Cathay Pacific.
The Intelsat 2Ku antenna enables airlines to access the global Intelsat network and, in turn, a high-performance inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) experience for their passengers and crew. The ability to offer the factory-installed option to airlines means Intelsats services are available immediately at the time an airline receives its new aircraft.
Commenting on the development, Dave Bijur, Senior Vice President, Commercial for Intelsats Commercial Aviation business division, said: Were honoured to work with Airbus and Cathay Pacific to create this substantial catalogue offering. Being part of the worlds largest satellite company creates a great opportunity to expand the services we offer and the fleets we serve. We have been working with Airbus to deliver linefit aircraft, and are pleased to now make that a reality.
Vivian Lo, Cathay Pacifics General Manager Customer Experience and Design, added: We are delighted to extend our partnership with Intelsat to the A321neo fleet, adding to the fully connected long-haul fleet and regional wide-body aircraft already flying with Wi-Fi. Having these new short-haul aircraft connected is essential in the modern world for business and leisure travel alike. As a premium service carrier, Cathay Pacific is determined to innovate and elevate the short-haul flying experience by offering connectivity, seatback 4K inflight entertainment and Bluetooth headphone pairing on our new state-of-the-art A321neo fleet.
Cathay Pacifics A321neo aircraft will fly regional routes from the airlines base in Hong Kong.
Intelsat is currently leveraging its global orbital and spectrum rights, scale and partnerships to build the worlds first global 5G satellite-based, software-defined network of networks.
