Japan Airlines selected Intelsat to provide in-flight connectivity on more than 20 upcoming Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Photo: JAL

Japan Airlines selected Intelsat to provide in-flight connectivity on more than 20 upcoming Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The aircraft will have multi-orbit service using Intelsat’s new electronically steered array (ESA) antenna.

The service will operate on Intelsat’s family of Geostationary (GEO) satellites and partner Eutelsat OneWeb’s constellation of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. In March, Intelsat signed a deal for $250 million of Eutelsat OneWeb capacity over six years.

Intelsat announced the deal on Tuesday and said that Boeing will linefit the aircraft with Intelsat’s IFC solution in the factory. Japan Airlines will be one of the first airlines to have a Boeing aircraft delivered with ESA in-flight service ready for immediate passenger use. The first linefit aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2026.

Intelsat is a longtime partner of Japan Airlines. Last year, Intelsat signed a deal to equip JAL’s Boeing 737s and 767s flying with 2Ku service. In addition, JAL’s subsidiary airline, J-AIR Co., Ltd. is currently installing Intelsat’s 2Ku system on the carrier’s fleet of Embraer E190 aircraft. 

“Intelsat has been a trusted partner of JAL since 2013,” said Junko Sakihara, deputy SVP, Customer Experience Division at Japan Airlines. “We are proud to have been among the first airlines in the world to offer free service for all passengers flying on our domestic routes starting in 2017 and look forward to the greater speed and reliability benefits the new multi-orbit service will bring to our customers.”