Honeywell And Thales To Offer Next-Generation High-Speed GX Ka-band In-Flight Connectivity To Airbus A350XWB

Sept. 16, 2014

Honeywell Aerospace and Thales will work together to integrate Honeywell JetWave hardware with Thales cabin network solutions for Airbus A350XWB and other commercial aircraft. The combined offering will give commercial airline operators and their passengers the same connectivity experience in-flight as they would have at home or work — enabling real-time TV channel viewing, live chatting, video streaming and more.

"Passengers want the freedom to stay connected in the air while traveling over land or sea," said Jack Jacobs, vice president, Marketing and Product Management, Honeywell Aerospace. "Honeywell JetWave hardware enables aircraft to connect to GX Aviation, which will truly enhance their in-flight service offerings."

"GX Aviation provides consistent, global and high data rate bandwidth. Combined with Thales in-flight entertainment and connectivity offerings, airlines will be able to offer to their passengers an unmatched in-flight experience onboard Airbus A350XWB and other commercial aircraft with quality and reliability," said Dominique Giannoni, CEO, Thales In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity.

The global high-speed connectivity offering, targeting both passenger aircraft and business jets, will provide data rates to the aircraft of up to 50Mbps and will be available with Thales cabin network solutions in 2015. In addition, Thales will offer Honeywell's JetWave hardware for new and existing Airbus aircraft as a selectable option.

Honeywell and Thales are building on their collective 20-year history as leaders in the airborne satellite communications market to address the new challenges that have been set by the demanding connectivity market: coverage, consistent high-bandwidth connection and commercially viable pricing. Over this period, Honeywell and Thales have combined to successfully develop, integrate and distribute commercial aviation satellite communications equipment and services to the world's leading airlines.

Honeywell and Inmarsat signed an agreement in 2012 to provide global in-flight connectivity services to business, commercial and government aviation customers around the world. Under the terms of the terminal agreement, Honeywell exclusively will develop, produce and distribute the onboard hardware that will enable users to connect to Inmarsat's GX Aviation network.