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| Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 767. Photo: Wikipedia |
[Avionics Today 09-18-2014] Hawaiian Airlines will become the first commercial airline to install Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband for flight deck applications, including Safety Services, on its Boeing 767-300s. The airline will use the system for Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) data messages, live Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) updates, and Airline Operational Communication (AOC) voice and data.
Inmarsat and the FAA will collect data on the performance of the Future Air Navigation System (FANS) 1/A service at Hawaiian Airlines, for which approvals over SwiftBroadband are expected by early 2016.
ACARS over SwiftBroadband is already flying on an Airbus A319 Corporate Jet and provides airlines with global cockpit communication, both for operations and air traffic control.
“We fly from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland, Asia, Australia and the South Pacific,” said Ken Rewick, vice president of flight operations at Hawaiian Airlines. “We fly mostly oceanic routes so [Very High Frequency] VHF is of limited use and satellite communications will help us achieve real-time data far more effectively than before.”