Airbus' ACJ To Soon Launch New Onboard Connectivity System

Chadi Saade, ACJ acting president, and Jason Sperry, Eutelstat OneWeb’s head of business aviation, sign a memorandum of understanding on Oct. 16.

Credit: Brett Schauf/ShowNews

LAS VEGAS—Airbus Corporate Jets is developing a new onboard system for its ACJ TwoTwenty that is says will “create another revolution in connectivity,” says Chadi Saade, acting president.

To speed up the development, Airbus Corporate Jets signed a memorandum of understanding with Eutelsat OneWeb on Oct. 16 to bring this system to market, so that “no matter where you are flying, it will be seamless, uninterrupted and multiply by 10 the speed of internet onboard,” says Saade.

“For far too long, terrestrial connectivity has outpaced what’s available in the air.  That is until today,” says Jason Sperry, Eutelstat OneWeb’s head of business aviation. He says the new system will enable passengers throughout the ACJ's spacious cabin to be more productive, entertained or both, “consistently, reliably and across the globe, wherever they fly,” he says.

acj cabin
The interior of launch customer FIVE’s Airbus ACJ TwoTwenty. Credit: Brett Schauf/ShowNews

Saade says the system will be available “in the next months, and not years.”

The intent is “to cut down the cost dramatically compared with current solutions. It’s not going to be 10% or 20%, it’s going to be way more than that,” he adds.

Once available, Airbus’ MRO network will be able to install the system.

Saade says the antenna will be smaller.

Lee Ann Shay

As executive editor of MRO and business aviation, Lee Ann Shay directs Aviation Week's coverage of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), including Inside MRO, and business aviation, including BCA.