Air France has become the latest airline to launch commercial service with Inmarsat’s GX Aviation, following the delivery of its first Airbus A350, ‘Toulouse’, in October.
The aircraft will eventually operate to six destinations on four continents from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.
Catherine Villar, Air France senior vice president of Customer Experience, said: “Wi-Fi is a service that is in high demand by our customers to stay in touch with their loved ones or work during their flight. Our Air France Connect pass offer, which includes a free messaging service, will be available throughout our fleet by 2020, perfectly meets their expectations by delivering much-anticipated seamless, reliable and high-speed broadband in the sky.”
GX Aviation is a key part of Air France’s Airbus A350 onboard experience in all three cabins – economy, premium economy and business class. The airline offers three different Wi-Fi packages: a free ‘Message’ pass to send and receive messages throughout the flight; a ‘Surf’ pass costing to surf the internet, read and send emails; and a ‘Stream’ pass to enjoy high-speed internet, streaming and downloads, with the ‘Message’ and ‘Surf’ passes included.
Philip Balaam, president of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Air France is one of the world’s most established and respected airlines and we are delighted to be playing a key role in enhancing their passenger experience with high-speed in-flight broadband. This contract is testament to how well the ongoing successful development of GX has been received and strengthens our leading role in the European airline connectivity market.”
