Inmarsat and Honeywell launch SwiftJet
SwiftJet uses advanced hardware from Inmarsat’s partner Honeywell, which can be equipped on a broad range of aircraft
Inmarsat and Honeywell are setting a new standard in satellite communications with the launch of SwiftJet, their latest inflight connectivity service for the business aviation industry. It will enter commercial service in the first half of 2023 and deliver fast speeds over L-band.
As one of the first new services to be introduced on Inmarsat’s ELERA satellite network, SwiftJet will offer global coverage across flight routes with maximum speeds of 2.6Mbps, up to six times faster than Inmarsat’s existing business aviation connectivity solution over L-band, according to a May 23 press release. "This will allow passengers to create a secure ‘office in the sky’ with enhanced capabilities for video calls, web browsing, email, texting, cloud-syncing and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams. Social media and video applications such as TikTok and YouTube, which were previously challenging over L-band, will also be enabled.
“Inmarsat prides itself on delivering services that meet the unique and fast-evolving requirements of our customers. As the market leader in business aviation connectivity, Inmarsat developed SwiftJet in response to customer and partner feedback for a faster, more advanced L-band offering. They essentially asked us to amplify L-band capabilities without losing its trademark characteristics of resilience, reliability and availability," said Kai Tang, Inmarsat’s Head of Business Aviation, in the release.
SwiftJet will be available alongside Jet ConneX (JX) and SwiftBroadband (SBB), which have been activated on thousands of jets worldwide. JX is powered by a global constellation of Ka-band satellites. Additionally, SBB offers speeds of 432Kbps over L-band using smaller antennas that are suitable as a secondary system to JX or as primary connectivity for smaller or older aircraft.
SwiftJet uses advanced hardware from Inmarsat’s partner Honeywell, which can be equipped on a broad range of aircraft and also supports cockpit and safety services. Existing customers of Inmarsat’s SBB service will benefit from a natural upgrade path without needing to replace any externally-mounted aircraft equipment, while new customers will experience the same ease of installation as with any Inmarsat L-band terminal.
Following a period of turbulence over the past two years due to the global pandemic, a recent survey by Inmarsat and Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) found that almost 80 percent of respondents around the world believe more frequent business aviation flights will be taken in the next year. Furthermore, a staggering 90 percent feel that online activities will dominate the principals’ time in the air, split between business and leisure.
