TEL AVIV, Israel - ViaSat Inc., a global broadband services and technology company, announced long-time airline partner, EL AL Israel Airlines, has selected the ViaSat in-flight internet system to power the Airline's high-speed onboard Wi-Fi experience across all of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
EL AL Israel Airlines recently announced the purchase of 16 new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft as part of its focus on customer service and innovation. The Airline is committed to provide its passengers with a high quality of service experience and a 'Home Away from Home' feeling.
Powering this experience is ViaSat's in-flight internet equipment, which will:
- Connect to ViaSat-2, the highest capacity communications satellite in the world, giving EL AL passengers a high-speed, high-quality internet connection from across North America and the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. ViaSat-2 will offer the most Ka-band capacity across the TransAtlantic bridge, allowing EL AL passengers to stream more internet content – faster, as well as keep flight crews connected for enhanced passenger service.
- Connect to the ViaSat/Eutelsat jointly-owned KA-SAT satellite, which offers more capacity over Europe than any other communications satellite.
- ViaSat's in-flight internet equipment is optimized to take full advantage of both satellite systems and is the only equipment today that can offer passengers the highest-speed Ka-band connections when flying on EL AL's TransAtlantic routes.
"EL AL is dedicated to ensuring passenger comfort – and having the most advanced aircraft in our fleet with the most advanced internet service onboard fulfills this commitment," said Nimrod Borovitz, Head of Strategy and Business development, EL AL Israel Airlines. "We made a promise to our passengers as well as our flight and ground crew to deliver the future of the connected aircraft, where we could provide on-the-ground internet experiences – with the industry's fastest speeds and highest quality – at 35,000 feet. By partnering with ViaSat, we feel confident we can achieve this goal."
"We built ViaSat-2 with an airline like EL AL in mind, giving complete access to fast and reliable internet across their flight routes from North America to Tel Aviv," said Don Buchman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Mobility, ViaSat. "EL AL was our launch customer in Europe, and we have built a strong, collaborative partnership – one that is founded on innovation and service excellence. We are proud to be their in-flight internet partner-of-choice, and will continue to bring new innovations, from ViaSat-2 coupled with our in-flight internet equipment, to help EL AL meet their pledge to passenger service, quality and commitment."
ViaSat offers the highest speed satellite-based internet service, and has been recognized by leading third parties as the best in-flight internet service on the global market. Today, ViaSat offers EL AL an end-to-end in-flight connectivity service that leverages a next-generation satellite network that covers the European continent through ViaSat's joint venture with Eutelsat. This service is deployed on EL AL Boeing 737s flying routes from Tel Aviv into several European cities.
First installations of ViaSat's in-flight internet equipment on the new EL AL Dreamliner aircraft are expected to be completed directly out of the Boeing factory in early 2018.
First installations of ViaSat's in-flight internet equipment on the new EL AL Dreamliner aircraft are expected to be completed directly out of the Boeing factory in early 2018.
