For the past decade, corporate aircraft operators have been barraged with false promises from some in-flight connectivity providers. Like the commercial sector, the business aviation community has learnt, sometimes the hard way, that on-board systems can look compelling in PowerPoint presentations, but may fall short of expectations when bolted onto aircraft.
Service provider Aircell has faced challenges in persuading business aircraft operators not to be shy about in-flight connectivity and educating them about the viability of today's technology, but has carved out a dominant position in the USA with its Gogo high-speed internet system.
"Some people have promised big but not delivered, and that left quite a bitter taste in the mouth of the industry - that you could install systems that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars but fail to deliver," says Aircell executive vice-president and general manager John Wade. "But the market is becoming increasingly aware that affordable internet is finally a reality for business aviation."
 |
|---|
© AircellDemand for in-flight high-speed internet connectivity is booming |
Whereas most cabin communication systems operate via satellite, Gogo is an air-to-ground (ATG)-based broadband system that runs over Aircell's dedicated network of cell towers in the USA. It is considered a regional connectivity solution, albeit one that is quickly gaining popularity on the mainland.
A commercial version of Gogo has already been fitted to more than 1,000 aircraft operated by US airlines. But Aircell's less-visible Gogo Biz in-flight internet offering for business aircraft - which is offered standalone or with Aircell's Iridium-based Axxes voice and narrowband data service - is "starting to approach the 1,000-aircraft mark - a combination of backlog and already installed aircraft", says Wade. That tally is expected to increase.
"There are hundreds of Gogo-equipped business aircraft flying around," Wade adds. "If you look at the market size, Aircell anticipates that the number of aircraft installed will be bigger in business aviation than in commercial aviation, and that the business side will accelerate beyond the airline side. We are seeing all market sizes - aircraft as small as Cessna 421s and [Beechcraft] King Airs are being fitted with Gogo. We are on almost every airframe you can think of."
Nextant Aerospace's modernised Hawker 400A/XP programme includes Gogo Biz and "is a fun example of a light jet programme that has a full internet connection - completely unheard of until Gogo Biz", says Wade.
But OEMs are also embracing Gogo Biz, which is linefit offerable on Cessna, Dassault Falcon and Hawker Beechcraft aircraft.
The latest airframer to agree to make Gogo Biz linefit offerable is Bombardier. Yannick Dansereau-Daoust, Bombardier Business Aircraft's cabin systems lead - product planning at strategy, says the manufacturer is offering Gogo Biz as an option on Challengers and is considering offering it on its Learjets.
"We see more and more booming demand for high-speed connectivity", he says.
Other airframers are expected to follow suit, says Wade. "With OEMs, when you get to the point where you've got three or four of them offering Gogo Biz linefit, the others tend to follow. They don't want to be in a situation where it becomes a limiting factor to them for not having a hot product. Over time, I expect each of the OEMs to adopt the ATG product."
Dansereau-Daoust says fractional owners, in particular, view high-speed connectivity as providing "a big competitive edge".
NetJets is in the process of equipping more than 250 of its midsize and large-cabin aircraft with Gogo Biz. US business aircraft operator XOJet is also fitting its fleet of Bombardier Challenger 300 and Cessna Citation X jets with Aircell's system, and Flexjet has announced it is installing the service on its fractional fleet's 25 Bombardier Challenger 300s and seven Challenger 604/605s. All new aircraft introduced into the fractional fleet will automatically be outfitted with the broadband equipment, says Flexjet.
"With Gogo Biz, our aircraft transform into high-functioning mobile offices," says Flexjet president Fred Reid. "It gives our passengers a full-speed internet experience."
For XOJet, adopting Gogo Biz is not just about creating an on-demand "flying boardroom". The company also expects to use Aircell's connectivity for operational purposes.
Flightcrews will remain connected to XOJet's centralised dispatch system via handheld mobile devices, and electronic flight bag (EFB) applications will be linked directly to each aircraft, allowing automatic updates and real-time access to safety and service data. The aircraft will also download real-time data en route.
Aircell's Wade adds: "We're in the early phase of [exploring] operational services, but that is something we believe will become more widespread." He says updating Jeppesen charts to EFBs in real time over the Aircell network is just the beginning. "We also see it moving into more integration with flightdeck systems, where there is increasingly a desire to do updates or maintenance reports from flightdeck equipment. There is no reason why we can't do that the same way [L-band satellite operator] Inmarsat can communicate to the aircraft down to the ground systems."
Aircell does not envisage providing safety services through its ATG pipe, something that would require rigorous certification, but "there is a whole data network that doesn't require safety, so it's really non-safety operational data we're talking about", says Wade.
Bombardier's Dansereau-Daoust says that because Aircell offers a monthly fee, "you can use the pipe as much as you want". As well as operational services, he says, some customers are thinking about IP-type entertainment such as live televised sporting events.
But although Gogo Biz is attracting big business in the USA, it cannot support connectivity on international flights. For that, Inmarsat SwiftBroadband (SBB)-based connectivity systems have become popular choices for business aircraft operators. SBB offers bandwidth of up to 432Kbps per channel.
Aircell's own SBB system provides data connectivity for email and light internet service, and is available on the Challenger 300 and Challenger 605, as well as on the Learjet 60 XR with integrated voice service.
"SBB is going really pretty well for us," says Wade. "It is ahead of plan. One issue SBB suffers from is antenna certification, but we are ahead of plans and we're seeing a number of operators adopting ATG for US operations and SBB for international operations."
The switchover from ATG to Aircell's SBB is seamless and "as a passenger, you don't need to migrate between networks", he adds.
For the Global family of long-range jets, Bombardier offers SBB through the Rockwell Collins suite, says Dansereau-Daoust. "This is coming baseline on the Global Vision flightdeck. So for SBB, we're offering one channel SwiftBroadband and an optional second, and then classical services to the cockpit."
THE 'K' FACTOR
Bombardier is also studying Ku and Ka-band satellite systems for its Global line, says Dansereau-Daoust. "We'd like to offer high-speed connectivity for our Global line, so we're always looking for worldwide high-speed connectivity equal to the Aircell [ATG] connectivity, but for our international customers. It's a challenge to offer worldwide coverage with this type of bandwidth. We are monitoring what's happening out there on the Ku and Ka front for international customers."
ViaSat is among the firms already bringing Ku-band connectivity to business jets worldwide. But the Carlsbad, California-headquartered company is working on a far faster Ka-band solution that will initially cover the US mainland. JetBlue Airways already plans to adopt ViaSat's Ka-band offering, signing a memorandum of understanding expected to be finalised before the end of the year.
Bill Sullivan, ViaSat strategy director, says the firm envisages exploiting the "existing, near-global Ku network" with this "overlay of islands of Ka-band", and the natural extension of that would be a dual-band antenna that could switch between high-capacity Ka regions and over-the-ocean Ku regions.
Source: Flight International
