Inmarsat signs GX Aviation contract with Indonesia's Garuda

The agreement marks the extension of Mahata's existing 10-year contract with low-cost carrier Citilink, also part of the Garuda Indonesia Group, for the inflight broadband solution. The service went live on the first Citilink aircraft earlier this month and is due to launch with Garuda later this year.

More than 175 Garuda aircraft will now be equipped with GX Aviation, including Airbus A320s, Airbus A330s, Boeing 737s and Boeing 777s. Lufthansa Technik will manage hardware, engineering, installation design and certification for the project, while Lufthansa Systems is responsible for software platform and integration.

GX Aviation is the world's first and only global, high-speed inflight connectivity service delivered through a wholly-owned and operated network of high-throughput satellites. It allows passengers to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media and more during flights.

Philip Balaam, president of Inmarsat Aviation, said: "Asia Pacific has become one of our biggest markets for GX Aviation. The fact that Indonesia's national airline and low-cost carrier have both selected the service within months of each other is testament to GX Aviation's status as the global benchmark for inflight broadband.

"This project has been moving ahead at impressive speed, from meeting Garuda and Citilink for the first time to signing our memorandum of understandings and final contracts. We look forward to continuing our rollout with them, alongside Mahata, Lufthansa Systems and Lufthansa Technik, so their passengers can experience the full capabilities of GX Aviation first-hand later this year."