Insight | Aviation highlights from the industry’s most challenging year
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The aviation industry faced its biggest ever crisis last year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the unprecedented challenges, the ability of airlines, airports and the wider ecosystem to quickly adapt and respond was truly admirable. Here are some of Inmarsat Aviation’s key achievements…
Here’s a short video that runs through 2020’s highlights for Inmarsat Aviation and you can read more below:
Inmarsat started the year on a positive note, with its award-winning European Aviation Network (EAN) inflight broadband solution being available to more than 7.5 million passengers on over 55,000 flights since it launched.
To mark the occasion, prominent aviation analyst Alex Macheras took part in a fun challenge to test whether EAN could deliver high-speed connectivity on flights that matched Wi-Fi services on the ground. During a two-hour flight to Barcelona, Alex was tasked with booking his hotel and all activities for the getaway online, using EAN.
Within minutes of take-off, he logged onto Vueling’s inflight portal and purchased a connectivity package. He was then able to book accommodation in a five-star hotel, a luxurious massage, a restaurant reservation for dinner and a Segway tour. He even ordered a book from Amazon minutes before the flight landed, which was delivered to his hotel room the following day. You can see the full video here:
Also in January, Fiji Airways commenced its first Airbus A350 XWBs flights to Sydney, Australia and Los Angeles, US. The aircraft were fully equipped with Inmarsat’s GX Aviation inflight broadband, with glowing reports of the service from passengers and media alike.
GX Aviation was also available onboard flights operated by Starlux. The brand-new airline, dubbed Taiwan’s first luxury boutique carrier, operated its inaugural flight from Taipei to Macau using an Airbus A321neo aircraft, with Inmarsat’s inflight broadband playing a key role in the onboard experience.
In February, Air New Zealand announced that its passengers had enjoyed more than one million sessions of Inmarsat’s GX Aviation inflight broadband, within only one year of the airline switching to a free-of-charge model. It added that GX Aviation was available on almost 25 aircraft within the Air New Zealand fleet, operating on Trans-Tasman, Pacific Island, US and London routes.
Later in the month, Air Côte d’Ivoire selected GX Aviation for its new fleet of Airbus A320neo aircraft. The deal was agreed with Inmarsat’s partner SITA FOR THE AIRCRAFT (formerly SITAONAIR), with GX Aviation powering its Mobile ONAIR and Internet ONAIR Wi-Fi services for the Ivory Coast national carrier.
As the global aviation industry grappled with the impact of COVID-19, Inmarsat Aviation created a unique live broadcast titled FlightPlan: Charting a Course into the Future, in collaboration with the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX). The event enabled the industry to reconnect and provided hope at the most challenging of times. Attracting an audience of more than 6,000 people from almost 100 countries worldwide, the highly successful event featured over 50 leading voices, who exchanged views on the present and future of aviation through a series of live debates, interviews and news analysis.
Participants included representatives from Airbus, Air Transport Action Group, Avianca, Collins Aerospace, DT, European Space Agency, Honeywell, IATA, Japan Airlines, Panasonic Avionics and Rolls-Royce.
“As we look towards recovery and ensuring long-term resilience, there will be no one-size-fits all approach. However, it will remain important that airlines can differentiate for customers,” commented Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation. “It’s clear that the safety of consumers will continue to be at the forefront in this new world, and that digitisation and innovation will be crucial to driving much-needed efficiencies, reducing environmental impact and improving passenger experience.”
June saw CGI confirm a contract to support the second phase of Inmarsat’s ground-breaking Iris air traffic modernisation programme with the European Space Agency (ESA). This phase included important flight trials across Europe to assess the ground-breaking service in a real operational environment. Pushing forward with this phase helped to drive forward the development of Iris, which will deliver powerful benefits to European aviation by enabling high bandwidth, cost-effective satellite-based datalink communications.
The month also saw the announcement of a collaboration with Altitude Angel, the leading Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) technology provider to develop and deliver advanced flight tracking and management capability for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. The plans included a jointly developed ‘Pop-Up UTM’ capability to initially address the unmanned traffic management needs of blue light emergency services and first responders who need aerial surveillance rapidly with little notice, with a commercial, industry-focused product to follow soon after.
Honeywell also launched its smallest, lightest satellite communications system yet, specifically designed for UAVs, with Inmarsat connectivity powering the new innovation.
Positive news was also announced by Satcom Direct, which was selected as the preferred connectivity supplier for Avcon Jet’s fleet of over 70 aircraft, with its solutions powered by Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX and SwiftBroadband.
And last but not least in this busy month, Inmarsat launched its innovative new ‘smart pipe’ technology, which enables the new Boeing 777X aircraft to connect to multiple applications using GX Aviation and SB-S solutions.
In the summer, Satcom Direct was awarded the contract to supply a custom-made connectivity solution using Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX service for the world’s first VVIP Airbus ACJ320neo, which was particular important due to the aircraft’s high demands for data.
The month was also significant as it marked the 25th anniversary of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS), the groundbreaking technology that Inmarsat helped to bring about, creating aviation history through extraordinary innovation in air traffic management.
Inmarsat unveiled the results of a major industry poll, voicing the opinions of over 500 professionals from across the global aviation industry, gathered between April and June 2020 as part of the FlightPlan event. The results shared some optimistic news, showing that more than half of respondents (60%) expect a recovery period of between 18 months to three years.
In September, Qatar Airways’ rollout of GX Aviation hit an important milestone, with 100 aircraft from its fleet fully equipped with the award-winning inflight broadband solution. “Where other airlines are reducing their Wi-Fi offering, Qatar Airways is expanding it,” stated His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive. “With connection to our loved ones and friends now more important than ever during these challenging times, we are delighted to work with Inmarsat and its GX Aviation technology to bring high-speed Super Wi-Fi broadband to passengers on board our fleet as part of Qatar Airways’ exceptional five star service.”
Inmarsat joined Cranfield University’s Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre (DARTeC), which has formed a consortium of global aviation leaders to address future challenges and opportunities in the aviation industry. Other members of the consortium include industry leaders such as Thales, Boeing, Saab and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
October also marked 35 years since Inmarsat affirmed that its maritime satellite system would also be “open for aeronautical communications for the benefit of aircraft of all nations”, heralding the birth of Inmarsat aviation services. This was a significant moment to celebrate, as not only did it mark a new direction in Inmarsat’s history but it also had a significant impact on the aviation industry as a whole.
Another exciting event in October was the announcement of Inmarsat’s partnership with Hughes Network Systems and plans to turbocharge GX capabilities in North America. Using the Hughes JUPITER satellite fleet, which has the largest Ka-band satellite capacity over the US, alongside Inmarsat’s Global Xpress resilient global network, resulted in a significantly faster and more reliable inflight Wi-Fi service in North America. It’s called GX+ North America and offers passengers the new level of service that they have been demanding.
The final announcement this month was the development of an advanced new inflight broadband terminal with GDC Technics for GX Aviation. The ultra-high performance terminal delivers fast, reliable bandwidth that will meet the connectivity needs of data hungry passengers well into the future.
“The global inflight connectivity market is fast evolving and we have enjoyed working with Inmarsat to develop this next-generation terminal for GX Aviation, which is not only lightweight and low drag, but also boasts one of the lowest engineering failure rates in the market,” said Brad Foreman, Chief Executive Officer of GDC Technics. “We are hugely excited about the partnership and look forward to working with Inmarsat and its partners to bring this new terminal to airlines across the world.”
As the industry continued to battle the impact of COVID-19, Inmarsat Aviation collaborated with APEX yet again, to create a second live broadcast event for the industry, this time focused on strategies for recovery.
FlightPlan: Strategies for Recovery attracted record audience figures and once again saw aviation leaders, analysts and expert commentators drawn from around the globe to provide analysis and debate, enabling the industry to focus on a brighter horizon.
“FlightPlan is a unique platform that brings together the aviation industry during this difficult time to share views, exchange best practice and strategise for the future,” explained Philip Balaam. “This edition attracted record audience numbers in comparison to our inaugural FlightPlan broadcast in April and we are delighted that so many leading voices participated. Together, we reflected on the challenges faced in 2020, the progress made to date, and of crucial importance, the trends that will guide the next phase of recovery.”
The event also saw the release of the results of Inmarsat Aviation’s Passenger Confidence Tracker, the biggest passenger survey conducted since the pandemic began. Gathering opinions from almost 10,000 airline passengers across 12 countries around the world, the survey provided valuable insights into how aviation might help rebuild passenger confidence.
It showed that over eight in ten passengers (83%) surveyed claim their travel habits are likely change in the long-term. The survey also indicated that 79% of all passengers say their confidence would be increased while in the air, if they were provided with destination status alerts, real time information and news about the place they were flying to. And 83% want more contactless payments inflight.
A similar figure also want staggered queues for airport security, with a further 78% wanting to clear immigration before landing and 43% desiring real-time luggage tracking.
The year ended with Inmarsat’s most powerful satellite, GX5, entering commercial service, bringing unprecedented capacity to Europe and the Middle East as part of the Global Xpress (GX) network. Delivering approximately twice the capacity of the entire existing GX satellite fleet (GX1-GX4) combined, GX5 will transform Inmarsat’s offering to aviation customers via the GX Aviation and Jet ConneX inflight Wi-Fi services.
A final piece of positive news for the year was the announcement of an important milestone achieved with Altitude Angel for the Pop-Up Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) platform developed to deliver advanced Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight tracking and management capability for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A series of test flights were successfully concluded and demonstrated how a jointly developed Pop-Up UTM platform can enable drones to be safely integrated into controlled airspace and, importantly, ensure they are visible to – and can be kept distant from – other air traffic. More to come for UAVs – watch this space.
And what better way to wrap-up the year? The World Travel Awards took place in December and Inmarsat was crowned the ‘World’s Leading Inflight Internet Service Provider’ for the fourth year in a row. The prestigious accolade was announced following a year-long search for the world’s top travel, tourism and hospitality brands, with the latest edition of the World Travel Awards attracting a record number of votes from across the world by industry professionals and members of the public.
“Last year was particularly challenging for the aviation industry, which faced its biggest crisis to date as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In response, we have been working closer than ever with our airline customers, both old and new, to support their evolving needs as they navigate through the storm and head towards a future recovery,” said Philip Balaam. “It is uplifting, therefore, to receive an award where the industry itself helped to determine the winner. This accolade reinforces our position as the global market leader and is dedicated to our talented employees and partners for their continued hard work and dedication over the past year, even in the toughest of circumstances.”
