JetBlue is on track to launch ViaSat’s Ka-band satellite in-flight connectivity service this fall, after securing FAA type certification to begin installing the service on its fleet of Airbus A320s.
The New York-based airline has an agreement with Aviation Technical Services (ATS) to begin the installations on its 130 A320s. Both ATS and JetBlue subsidiary LiveTV will install the service onto entire JetBlue fleet through 2015.
"The ATS relationship will allow JetBlue to speed Fly-Fi introduction throughout our fleet," said Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial strategy at JetBlue.
Several of the A320s will have the service by the end of the year, with the entire fleet scheduled to come online next year. The service will then be implemented on JetBlue’s smaller Embraer 190 fleet, which are currently used on regional routes.
JetBlue expects Fly-Fi, its satellite-powered in-flight Wi-Fi service developed by ViaSat, to be capable of connection speeds of 12 megabits per second, which the airline is confident will be "several times faster than others out there," according to a spokesperson for the airline.