Middle Eastern carrier Oman Air plans to debut a full connectivity suite supplied by OnAir across its new Airbus A330 fleet in mid-February.
Oman Air in 2008 announced that it selected OnAir - a joint venture between Sita and Airbus - to supply mobile telephony for its Airbus A330s scheduled for initial deliveries in 2009.
The carrier is now offering mobile services and internet through the SwiftBroadband (SBB) aeronautical service on its new A330s, and in December 2009 ATI reported that Oman Air plans to retrofit three of its existing A330s with in-flight connectivity to allow passengers to use email and the internet. Those aircraft will also use the OnAir system to allow passengers to use mobile phones in-flight.
"We are delighted to be leading the field by bringing the digital age to in-flight passenger communications. From mid-February we will be unrolling full connectivity across our Airbus A330 fleet, completing the task in the summer," says Oman Air chief executive officer Peter Hill.
ATI in December 2009 reported Oman Air was open to possibly offering in-flight connectivity on its Next Generation Boeing 737 narrowbodies, and would base its decision to equip its smaller aircraft on the SBB uptake rate on the A330s.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
