NOTE: Since the initial publication of this story another angle emerged. Inmarsat is not the only vendor claiming the Garuda business and one other believes an RFP process is still pending.
— Original story below —
Garuda Indonesia selected the Inmarsat Global Xpress (GX) inflight wifi solution for its fleet. Mahata Aero Teknologi (MAT), an Indonesian wireless technology provider, announced the deal today, in partnership with Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Systems. The move follows the selection earlier this year by Citilink, an LCC carrier in the Garuda Group, to install the same kit.
This is not the first inflight connectivity vendor to claim an agreement with Garuda to provide connectivity service on board. It is, however, the first to have that selection confirmed in public by the airline.
MAT will manage the overall service offering and provide the integration and billing services. Lufthansa Technik will manage hardware, engineering, installation design and certification for the project. Lufthansa Systems is responsible for software platform and integration, based on its BoardConnect´s open architecture.
“Our inflight broadband offering with Inmarsat, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Systems is fast becoming the primary service amongst airlines in Asia Pacific. We are delighted to welcome the national airline Garuda Indonesia as a customer and look forward to working with them on the rollout. This further confirms the confidence in our partnership’s ability to bring state-of-the-art connectivity to passengers in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.” – Iwan Setiawan, Executive Director of PT Mahata Aero Teknologi
Garuda’s A330 fleet will be the first to take the GX kit. Other types will follow once those 24 aircraft are deployed. The carrier has 74 737s and 10 777s in its fleet today. It also holds orders for 49 737 MAX and 14 A330-900neo aircraft, though those deliveries are deferred until at least 2020. The regional jets and prop aircraft in the fleet are not expected to take the wifi kit.
Ben Griffin, Inmarsat Aviation Regional Vice President, said: “Inmarsat has been working very successfully with Mahata, Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Systems on the rollout of GX Aviation inflight broadband with Citilink. The fact that Garuda Indonesia has also selected the service for its domestic and international fleet is further testament to this partnership and our market-leading service capabilities.”
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No need for Panasonic
Keep it classy, Carl. 🙂
….just saying, what is the value for Panasonic, when GX can be managed and sold without Panasonic? Lets see if airlines end up realizing if there is any value to select Panasonic to get GX.
Look at the big picture. Another sales channel is good to have for GX and your employer. Also, cost of sales matters. Just securing a deal isn’t the end game. The deals have to be profitable to be smart.
Hardware guys like us sell hardware at fixed agreed contract- regardless of how profitable the deal might or might not be. Not all deals are profitable, but some still are smart for strategic reasons. There is going to be a knife in a phone booth with Panasonic, GX VARs and Insmarsat. At the end, hardware is sold to whoever comes alive out that booth!