SITAONAIR is a company that enables
airline passengers to use their smart devices including
mobile phones
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
and
laptops for calls, text messaging, emails and Internet browsing.
The company is a fully owned subsidiary of
SITA, originally incorporated as OnAir as a
joint venture with
Airbus in February 2005. In February 2013, Airbus sold its 33% final stake to SITA.
The company is headquartered in
Geneva,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and sales offices in
London,
Singapore and
Dubai.
Services
SITAONAIR offers services which aircraft operators can use together or separately:
* Flight Operations or
Flight planning is the process of producing a
flight plan
Flight plans are documents filed by a pilot or flight dispatcher with the local Air Navigation Service Provider (e.g. the FAA in the United States) prior to departure which indicate the plane's planned route or flight path. Flight plan format is ...
to describe a proposed aircraft flight.
*Internet OnAir is a Wi-Fi network which offers Internet access at broadband speed to passengers.
*Mobile OnAir is a cellphone service which offers mobile telephony, SMS and narrowband Internet access (56 kbit/s) and so allows passengers to make and receive calls on their mobile phones, send and receive text messages and emails and use the
Internet. Airlines can restrict usage of these services at discretion enabling them to ban voice calls and allow only SMS and Internet access instead.
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...
is one airline following this restrictive approach due to passengers' alleged desire for quietness during flights.
*Link OnAir is a managed network service that allows airlines to use the IP-based satellite connection used by the aforementioned services for other applications, such as supplying
in-flight entertainment systems with news content or Internet access and providing mission-critical information and communication services to air crews.
*OnAir Play' combines inflight connectivity with films, TV, live news, music, games, magazines and newspapers. Passengers have access to a full range of content including live news and sport, updated throughout the flight and can buy destination-based goods and services to ease their arrival.
All three services share the same satellite connection to the ground. SITAONAIR (then OnAir) was the first company to provide integrated
GSM and inflight wifi services, with
Oman Air as the launch airline in March 2010. SITAONAIR’s technology has been certified for use on many types of aircraft – both private and commercial jets including
Boeing and
Airbus – for short and long haul. In most cases, it is available for linefit or retrofit.
Inmarsat SwiftBroadband (L band)
A satellite data unit (SDU) manufactured by
Thales and branded ''TopConnect'' establishes a
backhaul link to the ground through Inmarsat's
SwiftBroadband geostationary
A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitude ...
satellite constellation operating in the
L band around 1500 MHz which allows the use of electronically steerable antennas mounted atop the aircraft fuselage and encased within a fiberglass, RF-transparent radome
that have a low profile compared to systems operating in the
Ku band or
Ka band which today still require mechanically steerable antennas with a significantly higher profile. Thus drag and fuel costs are reduced allowing economical operation even on smaller aircraft like business or regional jets.
Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband system covers much of the planet except for the polar regions above −82 and below +82 degrees latitude and currently provides symmetric data rates of up to 432 kbit/s per channel dependent on signal quality and overall load on the satellite's spotbeam serving the corresponding geographical area. Currently the Thales SDU can bond two channels resulting in a maximum bandwidth of 864 kbit/s.
Inmarsat GlobalXpress (Ka band)
SITAONAIR was appointed as distribution partner for Inmarsat's Global Xpress service in November 2011.
See also
*
Gogo Inflight Internet
Gogo Inc. is an American provider of in-flight broadband Internet service and other connectivity services for business aircraft, headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. Through its Gogo LLC subsidiary, Gogo previously provided in-flight WiFi to ...
*
Aircell
*Swift Broadband by
Inmarsat
*
Connexion by Boeing
*
AeroMobile
References
Bibliography
OnAir Confirms Appointment Of Dawkins As CEO Jun. 2010European 25 Most Creative Companies July 2010*
ttp://www.flightglobal.com/channels/finance/articles/2010/09/16/347400/interiors-onair-seeks-new-ties-for-qatar-787-deal.html Interiors: OnAir Seeks New Ties For Qatar 787 Deal Sep. 2010Singapore To Equip A380s, 777s With Internet Access Oct. 2010*
ttps://www.forbes.com/2010/11/24/forbes-india-airlines-presurred-allow-mobile-phone-use.html Upwardly Mobile Nov. 2010OnAir Wins Aviation Business Award At Middle East Ceremony Dec. 2010*
ttp://www.hmgaerospace.com/news/show/1698 OnAir Increases Connectivity with TAM Feb 2011TAM Expands Deal To Fit OnAir Connectivity To Airbus Feb 2011*
ttp://www.fly-corporate.com/content_news.php?mynews=3088 Lightweight inflight connectivity solution launched May 2011Singapore Airlines Economy-class innovation: Improved in-seat entertainment, Aug. 2011* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/6244598/British-Airways-all-business-class-service-to-NY-to-be-profitable-within-a-year.html British Airways' all-business class service to NY 'to be profitable within a year', Sep 2011]
British Airways' Business-Only Flights to New York Make Their Mark After two Years, Oct 2011Aviation Week, Airbus To Line-Fit OnAir On Emirates A380 Dec 2011Inmarsat set to further tap potentials of ME segments, Jan 2012
ttp://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/mobile-phone/3335357/voice-video-calls-via-wi-fi-from-30000-feet/ Voice and video calls via Wi-Fi from 30,000 feet?, Feb 2012
THAI Airways selects OnAir in-flight connectivity on new fleet, March 2012OnAir targets first Global Xpress commitments, March 2012
* ttp://www.airtransportnews.aero/article.pl?categ=&id=35780 First deployment of OnAir/TriaGnoSys inflight connectivity solution through Scandinavian Avionics, March 2012br>Why airlines have been slow to add Wi-Fi to intercontinental flights, March 2012Hands-on review: Qantas' A380 in-flight wifi Internet trials, March 2012TAM e Oi reduzem em 50% as tarifas para celular a bordo March 2012Thai Airways to launch inflight Internet on new Airbus A380s, March 2012
* ttp://www.aerolatinnews.com/index.php?sector=noticias_sec¬icia=28345 TAM Airlines se ratifica como la compañía con la mayor flota de aviones de Brasil Jan 2012br>Singapore Airlines Airbus A380s get inflight Internet April 2012Teddies to trinkets, airlines eye sales in the sky June 2012
Garuda Indonesia plans inflight Wi-Fi for Australia flights
OnAir backs FCC proposal to end US ban on inflight cell phone use
Qatar DOES want broadband after all
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onair
Companies based in Geneva
Companies established in 2005
Travel technology
Satellite Internet access