HAMBURG — As RGN readers are aware, Airbus is disrupting inflight connectivity with its new linefit supplier-furnished IFC program called HBCplus, which uncouples the hardware from the service and enables airlines to switch bandwidth suppliers without changing the hardware. Initial deliveries will facilitate broadband Ka-band satellite-based onboard Internet for passengers, and are planned for this year. (Emirates is the HBCplus launch customer with its new A350s.)
But even in advance of the HBCplus rollout on Emirates, an undisclosed airline has secured a one-time agreement with Airbus to have the nextgen Safran Passenger Innovations (SPI)) terminal — which supports HBCplus using ThinKom Solutions’ Ka2517 VICTS antenna hardware — linefitted to its aircraft as buyer furnished equipment (BFE).
“Technically they’re a BFE customer. Their timeline didn’t quite make it in time [for HBCplus], but they still wanted to get the latest technology,” SPI vice president of products and strategy Ben Asmar revealed to Runway Girl Network at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg. “So between us, Airbus and the customer we got together and made this one-time agreement to get them the technology.
“Otherwise, they would have been left with the previous technology which obviously is not going to be something they’re that thrilled about. They wanted the latest and greatest and the aircraft was coming down the line just a little bit too early so we all got together to try and create a solution to make it happen.”
Safran Passenger Innovations worked with Airbus and an undisclosed airline to accommodate a one-time arrangement that will see the nextgen Ka-band terminal (being used for HBCplus) installed first as BFE. The terminal was on display at SPI’s booth at AIX. Image: Mary Kirby
This special dispensation speaks to the excitement surrounding the HBCplus program, which now features both Ka-band and Ku-band MSPs, including a new Ka MSP in the form of a MOU with Hughes Network Systems. Viasat and SES are also on the Ka-band side of the program. Thus far, Airbus has selected two MSPs for the Ku-band side: Intelsat (which is being acquired by SES) and Panasonic Avionics.
Indeed, noted Airbus vice president cabin marketing Ingo Wuggetzer of HBCplus at AIX, “the success story continues and I’m happy and proud to announce more customers for HBCplus. Actually, we’ve got two more customers and connect more airlines. The first one is Philippine Airlines with nine A350-1000s and the second one, unfortunately we cannot disclose today, but it was important for us to announce [this is the] first single-aisle customer for HBCplus and the first customer for SES as an MSP. So a great choice in showing the variety and the power of our offer concerning HBCplus.”
Noting that SES is buying Intelsat, SPI’s Asmar reckons that the Luxembourg-based satellite operator, which is offering a multi-orbit MEO/GEO IFC solution as MSP on HBCplus, are “now going to give Viasat a run for their money”. SPI stands to benefit regardless of whether an airline chooses Ka or Ku IFC under HBCplus, as SPI is providing the terminals in both bands (the former, as mentioned, based on ThinKom VICTS and the latter based on Thales-formerly-Get SAT’s dual-beam electronically steered antenna (ESA), which was also on display at the SPI stand at AIX, and on stand at Airbus.
The Get SAT Lesa Ku solution is now a Thales solution, following Thales’ recent acquisition of the Israeli firm. Image: Mary Kirby
Outside of the aforementioned one-time BFE arrangement for the Ka-band VICTS terminal, and future HBCplus deliveries, Airbus’ long-standing model of offering same-vendor IFE + C on the A350, specifically — under the so-called Airbus Contracted Supplier (ACS) catalog approach — is, however, currently still in play. And so, when Lufthansa recently revealed to Runway Girl Network in Munich that it has tapped SPI IFE for every A350 in line to be fitted with its new Allegris cabins, we felt fairly confident that Inmarsat-now-Viasat Global Xpress-capable hardware had also been linefit installed on the first Allegris-fitted bird, a newly-delivered A350-900.
That’s because SPI (formerly Zii) — while not a service provider — does provide a Viasat GX terminal under ACS for the A350 based on Honeywell’s classic JetWave antenna hardware as part of its IFE + C offering for the aircraft type.
“The current Allegris aircraft are fitted with the classic GX JetWave system,” Lufthansa confirmed to RGN in Munich. And Asmar seconded that confirmation at AIX in Hamburg, telling RGN that the Lufthansa A350 IFC terminal is in fact SPI’s legacy terminal based on JetWave.
Lufthansa management is basing Allegris-focused retrofits of its A350s on the Service Bulletins provided by Airbus post-linefit. The airline, noted SPI’s Asmar, is “a very important partner for us”. The deal could be quite significant given Lufthansa’s wider Allegris rollout plans.
As to whether SPI’s nextgen HBCplus terminal with VICTS hardware will be adopted on future new Lufthansa aircraft deliveries or indeed future retrofits — as airlines increasingly gravitate towards HBCplus and Airbus facilitates the cutover), Lufthansa said via email: “We are continuously monitoring the developments on the new satellite networks as well as on the terminals. We will decide in due time on the possibility of installing new terminals.”
For now, both the new undisclosed BFE customer for SPI’s VICTS Ka-band terminal and the Lufthansa A350 JetWave business spells good news for SPI and indeed Viasat, which operates the GX network, and is a blow to Panasonic Avionics, which has traditionally provided IFE and Ku-band inflight connectivity to the A350s in Lufthansa’s fleet. At the same time, however, Lufthansa has taken a multi-source approach to both IFE and C for its fleet, and continues to do so.
On the connectivity front, Lufthansa Group carriers are about to start flying European Aviation Network-fitted narrowbodies in the fourth quarter, bringing to three the number of IFC suppliers delivering service for Lufthansa’s FlyNet solution, as managed by Deutsche Telekom.
The decision to go EAN, a hybrid S-band/ATG solution, for these 150 aircraft was based on the fact that: “EAN is a simpler system. Less weight. Lot of good bandwidth and cheap bandwidth, so it has a lot of advantages, especially over Europe, you don’t have that much water. Works perfectly,” Lufthansa Group senior director Paul Estoppey explained.
The ability to compare all three IFC solutions — Panasonic Ku, Viasat GX and Viasat/Deutsche Telecom EAN — is also “the big advantage”, he said. “You can try it out. You know what works, what doesn’t work. Oh, I mean they all work, but what probably has an advantage over the others.”
When asked if Lufthansa is eyeing SpaceX’s Starlink or any other IFC solution, Estoppey demurred: “We’ll be watching the market. We talked to almost everybody. The decisions we have made there are out there. And the rest we will see for the future. I mean we cannot talk about the future in this perspective; what we’re going to take or what we don’t take. Yeah, we have a close look at the market.”
“Individualization”, i.e. personalization, is “a big issue as well” and something that Lufthansa wants to advance on board. But it remains cognizant of GDPR guidelines. “I mean they have to give us the right to approach them directly,” he said of passengers. “They need to opt in physically, that’s for sure.”
Moreover, he said, “You need a portal…”
I could not see the world in the future without the portal on an aircraft.
They expect that they have it everywhere: they have it in the tram, they have it in the bus. Most of the time it’s free. So, why shouldn’t we do that in the aircraft as well?
Qatar Airways senior vice president of product development and design Xia Cai said much the same thing to APEX/IFSA CEO Joe Leader at the APEX TECH conference in February, even though the carrier is bringing Starlink to its fleet, starting with three Boeing 777-300s, as Qatar Airways later revealed at AIX.
On the IFEC front, Lufthansa has clearly favored SPI for recent wins, including on the forthcoming 777-9 program (which will also feature Viasat GX). But Estoppey said Panasonic’s Astrova IFE will be installed on its Boeing 747-8s in line for Allegris, and the carrier will retain core Panasonic components on its A380s, whilst updating the screens (Allegris is not coming to the A380s). The -8s and A380s carry PAC Ku.
When asked about the future-proof, longevity story around Astrova, Estoppey said the carrier is eager to see if in fact everything will be as easy as suggested by the IFE giant. “We will see that in the future… I mean that’s what you try to do on all the IFE systems.”
AERQ, the JV between Lufthansa Technik and LG, is also in Lufthansa’s sights for potential equipage. “Yeah, yeah, sure. It’s on the list as well. So, we will see.”
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Featured image of front row, biz-plus Allegris for Lufthansa credited to Mary Kirby