Lufthansa has equipped the first aircraft of its Airbus A320-family fleet with broadband internet access.
The Star Alliance carrier revealed during the ITB travel fair in March that it will equip the narrowbody fleet of its mainline and that of budget subsidiary Eurowings with wi-fi technology by first quarter 2018.
Now, the airline notes that maintenance division Lufthansa Technik has been granted a supplemental type certificate by EASA to install a Honeywell-designed satellite antennae on the aircraft's upper fuselage area for the system, which is based on Inmarsat’s Ka-band satellite technology.
Lufthansa adds that the first aircraft was completed earlier this month and that the service is scheduled to become available for passengers in October. "In addition to basic surfing and email, other more sophisticated applications will be possible, including video streaming," the airline states.
Installation of the technology can be completed in up to four days and included in regular maintenance events.
In the past, Lufthansa had equipped its A321 with a wi-fi technology. But that system only provided selected on-board content by the airline, not satellite-based internet access.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
