The first connected AJet aircraft now has inflight internet hardware installed. Integrator TCI Aircraft Interiors announced it completed the work last week. It is also the first inflight internet installation for TCI, marking a double milestone in the IFC world.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered TC-LAJ, has not returned to service per flight tracking data.
Plans to fit the fleet were first announced by AJet and TCI at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2024, with several partners involved in the implementation. This includes Hughes Networks for supplying “equipment and advanced inflight connectivity management capabilities.”
The solution also uses ThinKom‘s ThinAir Ka2517 antenna and Kontron hardware. Service is expected to be delivered on the TurkSat satellite constellation, with capacity augmented by Eutelsat KONNECT VHTS.
TCI’s push into IFE/C expanded significantly in recent years, augmenting the company’s prior experience in seating. This includes the Crystal Suite business class cabin now flying on Turkish Airlines. Earlier this year TCI also announced plans to develop an in-seat entertainment platform, Cornea, further growing into the IFE/C space.
As with the IFC solution the new IFE offering focuses on its “family” airlines of Turkish and AJet (TCI is a subsidiary of the THY parent company). The company ultimately wants to expand more broadly into the market, but General Manager Mujdat Uludag acknowledges “maybe we need to wait a little bit” to ensure maturity before approaching other carriers with the products. At the same time, the company sees itself as a viable alternative to the challenged supply chain timelines of other suppliers.
AJet previously operated as AndoluJet, serving as the domestic and regional arm of Turkish Airlines based at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, on the Asian side of Istanbul. It remans a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, but now operates on its own AOC. The contract covers 122 planes; the carrier operates a fleet of 84 single-aisle planes today, split between Boeing and Airbus.
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