Aegean Airlines is the next customer for Inmarsat‘s European Aviation Network. The Greek airline installed the hybrid satellite/terrestrial in-flight connectivity solution on at least four aircraft so far, with one known to be active.
Not only does the carrier have the system active, but everyone on board the equipped planes gets a tiny bit of connectivity for free. Based on the initial pricing reviewed, everyone gets 10 minutes of free connectivity. Which is probably not even enough to decide if it is worth buying, but maybe it’ll help boost the take rate numbers.
For just 4 euro passengers can purchase the “Test & Surf” package, offering the connection for the full flight, with speeds capped at 1.5Mbps. The high-speed “Stream” plan offers speeds of 15Mbps for 9 euro.
Gold elite status members in the Aegean frequent flyer program get the regular access for free, while business class passengers can choose between Text & Surf or Stream.
It is not clear if the Text & Surf package also blocks various streaming sites, or if the companies are depending on the branding and speed caps to control that access. On a prior EAN flight I tested both the paid tiers and found that the slower version streamed video just fine, but that was also nearly two years ago and on a different airline.
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Timing for rollout to the rest of the fleet remains unclear.
An Inmarsat spokesperson declined to confirm the service activation, noting the company “will continue to provide updates about new airline customers and partners for our complete portfolio of connectivity services, including EAN, when in position to do so.”
Aegean has not responded to requests for comment regarding status of the offering.
More Inmarsat EAN news:
- Inmarsat’s European Aviation Network wins big in ECJ ruling
- British Airways completes EAN in-flight connectivity rollout for short-haul fleet
- Vueling gets online with Inmarsat’s EAN connectivity
- Inmarsat, British Airways launch EAN connectivity in Europe
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