- Milestone highlights the accelerated rollout of Europe’s leading airline connectivity solution with launch customer International Airlines Group (IAG)
Berlin. 19 January 2021. The European Aviation Network (EAN), Europe’s fastest inflight Wi-Fi service, can now be accessed by passengers on more than 250 aircraft across the continent, highlighting its accelerated rollout since entering commercial service.
The award-winning connectivity solution has been available to over 20 million passengers to date, travelling on more than 200,000 flights throughout Europe, covering key destinations such as London, Madrid, Barcelona, Geneva and Rome. It is currently available with British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, which are all part of International Airlines Group (IAG).
EAN has been developed by Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, and Deutsche Telekom, in partnership with leading European companies such as Thales, Nokia, Airbus, Cobham and Eclipse Technics. It marks a paradigm shift in the airline passenger experience, with incomparable speeds, uninterrupted coverage and significantly lower latency than any other inflight Wi-Fi network in the continent.
Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “EAN has transformed the inflight broadband market in Europe, offering unprecedented performance that has been truly embraced by airlines and their passengers. Usage has consistently increased since it entered commercial service and EAN experienced record data traffic in the summer and autumn months last year, reflecting an even stronger desire to stay connected amongst passengers flying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“An important factor in crossing more than 250 aircraft activations, including British Airways’ entire short-haul fleet, has been the record-breaking installation time we have achieved with EAN – less than nine hours per aircraft. This will ensure a smooth rollout on remaining IAG aircraft and we’re excited that even more passengers will soon have access to the industry’s best-in-class inflight connectivity, providing the same quality of broadband that people expect on the ground, from the comfort of their cabin.”
Rolf Nafziger, Senior Vice President at Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier and Global Business, said: “EAN is perfectly adapted to Europe’s unique telco infrastructure and a true game-changer in inflight connectivity. For passengers, it offers an unparalleled connectivity experience while in the air above the European continent. For carriers, it provides a highly compelling business case due to its lightweight, small and low maintenance equipment.”
EAN has been designed from scratch specifically for the needs of European aviation, delivering consistent inflight broadband across Europe, one of the world’s most congested airspaces. EAN is highly advanced and its fully integrated system delivers consistent high-speed broadband on flights, enabling passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media, enjoy real-time interactive applications such as gaming, and more.
