Airbus has been selected by Delta Air Lines to equip its 20 A350-1000s on order, leveraging Airbus’ HBCplus offering. With this selection, Delta became Airbus’ first North American customer for its linefit connectivity solution.
Airbus will work with Delta and Hughes to equip Delta’s A350-1000s with the multi-orbit inflight connectivity (IFC) solution co-developed by Delta and Hughes, using Airbus’ HBCplus as the foundation for aircraft integration. This solution utilizes HBCplus equipment and Hughes’ “Fusion” IFC product. For the low Earth orbit (LEO) portion of Fusion, Airbus will support Delta in post-delivery modifications to complement the linefit installation with an electronically steered array (ESA) antenna.
Joseph Eddy, Delta Air Lines Director of Cabin Programmes, stated: “Leveraging Airbus’ industry-leading systems integration and engineering capabilities to integrate our Hughes multi-orbit IFC solution is a natural partnership that is already bringing real value to our delivery streams.”
Reza Rasoulian, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Aviation Business Unit at Hughes, added: “Hughes is pleased to be included in this project. As a member of the Airbus HBCplus programme, Hughes delivers a multi-orbit in-flight connectivity solution. We look forward to our Hughes Fusion IFC technology elevating the passenger experience aboard Delta’s A350-1000 fleet, ensuring seamless and reliable connectivity from gate to gate.” Tim Sommer, Airbus Vice President and Head of Connected Aircraft Programme, commented: “Connectivity is at the heart of passenger expectations today, as well as a key enabler to improving aircraft operations. This project is the epitome of our long-time relationship with Delta Air Lines, and a great example of industrial collaboration.”
Further building on this relationship and looking to the future, Airbus and Delta have agreed to explore the new HBCplus “modular” approach and integration with the Delta Sync platform to enable best-in-class passenger experience and enhance airline operational performance. HBCplus is Airbus’ flexible high-bandwidth satellite connectivity solution offered as a linefit catalogue option and also for retrofit on all Airbus aircraft programmes. HBCplus enables airlines to connect to a choice of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) via a certified terminal and radome built as part of the aircraft. HBCplus “modular” is the next generation version that can accommodate up to two antennas and connect to multiple satellite systems, giving airlines the flexibility to choose and update their vendor with an overnight retrofit.
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