[Satellite TODAY 12-20-11] Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) will launch its new Panasonic Avionics-powered SASWiFi service by the end of the week after the first plane is equipped and in the air, the airline announced Dec. 19.

   The service aims to enable passengers to surf the Internet and use their GSM phones onboard SAS flights. In 2010, SAS decided to offer Internet onboard their flights with mobile telephony. The airline signed a contract with Panasonic in the summer of 2011 a to offer Wi-Fi and GSM using Panasonic’s eXconnect and eXphone systems.

   Scandinavian Airlines’s Boeing 737-800 fleet will be the first to be equipped with Wi-Fi onboard. The serviced flights include a domestic route within Norway, as well as flights to and from Oslo, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Paris and other European cities. An additional 10 B737-800s will be equipped this summer for short-haul and intercontinental routes as well.

   “SASWiFi Internet services offer a shared connection of 12 Mbps, which includes full Internet connection and online shopping,” SAS said in a company statement. “From 2012 Scandinavian Airlines will also offer GSM and GPRS telephony, which will allow passengers to send and receive SMS texts, use GPRS and also make and receive calls.”