OnAir, a SITA and Airbus joint venture, announced last week at the National Business Aviation Association’s (NBAA) annual event that Eclipse has been appointed as a reseller of OnAir’s new airborne connectivity system, which provides passengers with inflight mobile phone connectivity, as well as mobile data facilitating “office-in-the-sky” applications, via laptops and smart phones.
OnAir provides global coverage, based on a network of regulatory authorisations and roaming agreements, combined with consistent global satellite coverage via Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband. The onboard hardware includes two line replaceable units (LRU). Eclipse will add the OnAir system to its current portfolio of solutions for these markets.
“We are proud to be working with OnAir to offer our customers the most up to date airborne connectivity options available today. Heads of State and VVIP passengers cannot afford to be out of contact during flights and the OnAir services allow the customer to maintain the level of connectivity they require using their mobile phone and data devices,” said Marc Pinault, Eclipse general manager.
In addition to providing equipment and airtime, OnAir and Eclipse said they are working with industry partners to develop and deliver additional Supplemental Type Certificates (STC) packages for a wide range of aircraft, covering hardware installations and electromagnetic transmission.