OnAir (telecommunications)

OnAir

Type	Private
Industry	Telecommunication, Technology, Aviation
Founded	2005
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Website	www.onair.aero

Incorporated in February 2005, OnAir is a joint venture with SITA and Airbus. OnAir is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has operations in Seattle and Montreal and sales offices in London, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

OnAir enables airline and cruise ship passengers to use their mobile phones and laptops for calls, text messaging, emails and Internet browsing.

By February 2011, OnAir’s services were available on over 20 customers, including 11 airlines flying over five continents.

Services

OnAir services enable passengers to use their own portable electronic devices, including laptop computers, mobile phones and smartphones, as well as the airline’s in-seat equipment, to communicate inflight, just as they do on the ground. Passengers can make and receive calls on their mobile phones, send and receive text messages and emails and use the Internet.

OnAir was the first company to provide integrated GSM and inflight wifi services, with Oman Air as the launch airline in March 2010.

OnAir’s technology has been certified for use on many types of aircraft – both private and commercial jets including Boeing and Airbus – for short and long haul. In most cases, it is available for linefit or retrofit.

Technology

This service currently uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband system. 90% of the on board equipment can be used with any radio link, for example other satellite networks or an air-to-ground link. There is also a clear upgrade path from SwiftBroadband to Inmarsat’s Ka-band, which will come on stream in 2013.

Customers

OnAir's customers which have been publicly announced are:

Airlines:

• Air France - Trial in an A318 - 2007-2008
• TAP Portugal - Trial in an A319 - 2008
• Qantas - A380 (late 2008)
• British Midland Airways - Trial in an A320 - 2009
• Ryanair - Boeing 737 - Service started Feb-2009, ended March 2010^[1]
• Shenzhen Airlines - Boeing 737 and A320 - Mid-2009
• Wataniya Airways - A320 - Service started Jan. 2009
• Air Blue - A320 - Mid-2009
• Kingfisher Airlines - A330 and A340 - Mid-2009
• Royal Jordanian - A320 (2008) and A340 (2009)
• Jazeera Airways - A320 - 2009
• Oman Air - A330 - 2009 -Oman Air was the first to take OnAir’s integrated GSM and inflight wifi service
• TAM Airlines - A320 (2008) First aircraft launched in October 2010. Expansion to another 26 aircraft announced in February 2011, all to be operational by the end of 2011.
• British Airways - A318 (only from City Airport to JFK) - Mid 2009
• Air Asia - A320 - Mid 2009
• Hong Kong Airlines - A330 - Mid 2009
• Qatar Airways - A320 (End 2009) - Boeing 787 (May 2010)
• Saudi Arabian Airlines - A330 - Mid 2010
• Emirates (airline) - plans to use OnAir across a fleet of 90 A380 airliners, with service beginning in June 2012. Announced at 2010 Farnborough airshow.^[2]
• Egypt Air - A330 (2010)
• Libyan Airlines - A320 & A330 (2010)
• Afriqiyah Airways - A319, A320 & A330 (2010)
• Singapore Airlines - A320 & A330 (2010) - plans to use OnAir across its fleet of A380, B777, A340-500 – starting first half of 2011. Announced in Oct. 2010
• Aeroflot – A320, A330 (2010)
• Air New Zealand – A320 (2011)

Cruise ship operators:

• Hapag-Lloyd - MS EUROPA (2010)

Private jet operators:

• Comlux the Aviation Group - A320 Prestige (2010) & A319 CJ (2011)
• Dasnair - Falcon 7X (2011)

See also

• Aircell
• Row 44
• Swift Broadband by Inmarsat
• Connexion by Boeing
• AeroMobile

References

1. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "FARNBOROUGH: Emirates to fit 90 A380s with OnAir connectivity". http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/07/21/344882/farnborough-emirates-to-fit-90-a380s-with-onair-connectivity.html. Retrieved 2010-07-21. 

Bibliography

• Inmarsat Press release on final I4 Launch plans for 2008
• OnAir Confirms Appointment Of Dawkins As CEO Jun. 2010
• European 25 Most Creative Companies July 2010
• Emirates to Equip 90 A380s For WiFi, Phone Calls, Web-Surfing Jul. 2010
• Interiors: OnAir Seeks New Ties For Qatar 787 Deal Sep. 2010
• Singapore To Equip A380s, 777s With Internet Access Oct. 2010
• Aircraft Bomb Finds May Spell End For Inflight WiFi Nov. 2010
• Upwardly Mobile Nov. 2010
• OnAir Wins Aviation Business Award At Middle East Ceremony Dec. 2010
• Is it really dangerous to use a cell phone on a plane? Jan. 2011
• OnAir Increases Connectivity with TAM Feb 2011
• TAM Expands Deal To Fit OnAir Connectivity To Airbus Feb 2011
• Comlux business jet gets connected with OnAir May 2011
• Dasnair's Falcon 7X passengers fully connected by OnAir in world first May 2011
• Lightweight inflight connectivity solution launched May 2011

External links

• www.onair.aero
• Follow OnAir on LinkedIn
• www.sita.aero
• www.airbus.com
• www.inmarsat.com