Inmarsat has appointed Raytheon Technologies' Collins Aerospace as the latest global distribution partner for its SwiftJet inflight connectivity service. SwiftJet, which enters commercial service this year, will offer the fastest-ever speeds over L-band for the global business aviation market.

The agreement marks an expansion of the companies' long-standing partnership. Customers can now talk to Collins Aerospace, along with their preferred installation providers and aircraft manufacturers, about SwiftJet price plans, service contracts, upgrade feasibility and more. All this means the service's advanced capabilities can be added to its fleet as soon as it becomes available.

Powered by Inmarsat's ELERA satellite network, SwiftJet offers seamless global coverage across flight routes and maximum speeds of 2.6Mbps, up to six times faster than Inmarsat's existing L-band business aviation connectivity service, SwiftBroadband (SBB). This provides operators with certainty that their passengers will enjoy consistent, reliable connectivity for business and leisure purposes, wherever and whenever they fly.

SwiftJet will allow passengers to create a secure 'office in the sky', with enhanced capabilities for video calls, web browsing, email, texting, cloud-syncing and collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams. It is also fast enough to enable social media and video streaming like YouTube, which was previously challenging over L-band.

The service will use advanced hardware that can be equipped on a broad range of aircraft, including smaller jets, and also supports cockpit and safety services. For thousands of existing business aviation customers using Inmarsat's SBB service, there will be a seamless, natural upgrade path through minimal changes to the installed equipment. New customers will also experience the same installation ease as any Inmarsat L-band terminal.

SwiftJet is the latest addition to Inmarsat's growing portfolio of business aviation connectivity services and will be available alongside SBB and Jet ConneX (JX), the most popular premium, high-speed broadband solution on the market, powered by a global Ka-band satellite constellation and installed on more than 1,350 aircraft worldwide. Collins Aerospace is also a JX distribution partner.

Kai Tang, Inmarsat's head of business aviation, says: “We know that our business aviation customers crave the certainty that quality inflight connectivity can provide, whether their passengers are working, streaming or video-calling from 30,000 feet. We are thrilled customers can now talk to one of our most trusted partners, Collins Aerospace, about bringing SwiftJet's ground-breaking capabilities onto their jets later this year.”

Nazeif Habboub, programmes director of business aviation services, Collins Aerospace, adds: “We're excited to be bringing Inmarsat's innovative SwiftJet service to our business aviation customers, who we know crave reliable high-speed connectivity every time they fly. SwiftJet speeds are set to far exceed what L-band can currently deliver and will give our passengers more opportunities to run their businesses, be entertained and stay connected to loved ones from the skies.

“Inmarsat's global coverage and advanced capabilities offer a level of connectivity that can be achieved anytime, anywhere. We look forward to speaking to many of our business aviation customers about bringing SwiftJet's innovation to their aircraft and to seeing it take to the skies very soon.”

Inmarsat's ELERA global satellite network delivers the world's most reliable and flexible global connectivity, with full redundancy and unique resilience in all conditions. ELERA capabilities are being further enhanced with the addition of two Inmarsat-6 satellites, both of which have already been launched and will support SwiftJet through the 2030s, reinforcing the services' long-term value. The L-band capacity on each I-6 satellite will be substantially greater than Inmarsat's fourth generation spacecraft, delivering 50% more capacity per beam in addition to unlimited beam routing flexibility.