Air China A330 aircraft. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

[Via Satellite 02-19-2014] Honeywell Aerospace and Air China have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin Global Xpress (GX) Aviation on the airline’s A330 aircraft. Air China is the first airline to collaborate with Honeywell and Inmarsat to test the GX Ka-band connectivity solution, which will begin in the second quarter of 2015.

GX Aviation will provide aircraft with high speed bandwidth, giving Air China passengers home- and office-like wireless connectivity while in the air. According to Honeywell, passengers can expect a 60 percent improvement in download speed with GX Aviation compared to current solutions in the market.

“The first satellite in the Global Xpress constellation is in place following a successful launch in December 2013,” said Bill Peltola, Inmarsat’s vice president of aviation. “The second and third satellites are scheduled to be launched by the end of 2014. This testing program with Air China is further confirmation that everything is on track for GX Aviation to be available globally for all types of aircraft from the get-go.”