Photo: Air Canada

Intelsat has signed a new deal with Air Canada which will see it equip up to 45 Airbus A321s with its satellite connectivity solutions. Intelsat announced the deal June 14 – a day after it launched a new IFC solution and antenna.

The deal will see Intelsat provide its line-fit 2Ku satellite connectivity solution on Air Canada’s upcoming Airbus A321XLR fleet to be installed on the Airbus production line in Hamburg, Germany. In addition, Air Canada has chosen Intelsat to upgrade all 15 of its existing mainline Airbus A321ceos with Intelsat’s 2Ku satellite connectivity solution. All 15 retrofit installations are scheduled to occur in Canada beginning in early 2023.

These installations will include Intelsat’s next-generation modem, supporting advanced video streaming and aiming to provide Air Canada with a strong performance as it looks to the next stage of its connectivity plans.

“Millions of Intelsat inflight Internet sessions have been delivered to Air Canada’s passengers throughout our nine-plus year relationship. We are delighted to grow our satellite connectivity service with Intelsat to provide our passengers with expanded inflight connectivity,” Mark Nasr, Senior Vice President of Products, Marketing and e-commerce at Air Canada, said in a statement.