A Skymark Airlines Boing 737-800. Photo: Wikipedia

[Via Satellite 07-25-2014] Japanese airline Skymark Airlines is providing In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) free of charge to fliers via Panasonic Avionics’s eXConnect global connectivity service. The airline intends to equip Airbus A330s with Panasonic IFC for domestic flights, and said it expects to offer the same free service internationally on the Airbus A380. The first international flights included will fly to North America.

“We continue to see rising demand for connectivity from airlines across the globe because today’s travellers expect to be perpetually connected — even when they fly,” said Paul Margis, president and CEO of Panasonic.

In June Panasonic signed with Eutelsat to anchor a high throughput Ku-band payload on the upcoming Eutelsat 172B satellite. The company expects to provide up to 200 megabytes per spot beam after the satellite is launched in 2017.