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Virgin Atlantic A330
Passengers on selected Virgin Atlantic flights between the UK and the US/Caribbean are making great use of the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband connectivity fitted to three of the airline’s Airbus A330 aircraft.
The aircraft have been equipped with ARINC’s Cabin Connect system in a 12-month trial. The trial has now been running for four months on routes between London’s Heathrow/Gatwick and New York, Washington DC, Boston and the Barbados.
Alan Penlington, Virgin Atlantic’s Customer Experience Manager, said: “We’ve been pleased with the response from passengers, with the system working well technically, usage numbers strong and increasing and great ad-hoc feedback being received.”
The system uses the aircraft’s existing Cobham HGA 7001 satellite antenna, Honeywell MCS7200 terminal and single-channel Inmarsat SwiftBroadband connection.
Cabin Connect provides a wireless hotspot in the sky, with four access points per aircraft. Passengers are able to connect via WiFi with their own personal devices, including smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Lee Costin, ARINC’s Director, Satellite Solutions, said: “The majority of passengers are using smart devices, like tablets, but a large percentage are using laptops.”
Costin added that Virgin Atlantic is experimenting with different pricing plans during the trial, including cost-per-flight and cost-per-hour, to see what works best.
After the trial the airline will consider adding Internet connectivity to more of its A330s and possibly its other long-haul aircraft.
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