Saudia Expands OnAir Inflight Connectivity

Saudia is expanding its inflight connectivity programme on routes between the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and most of its worldwide destinations.

The airline has been providing OnAir’s GSM and Wi-Fi on its A330s for nearly three years.

Saudia’s new A330s, which will be delivered throughout this year and next, will be equipped with Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir. They will join the A330s already flying with OnAir connectivity, bringing the total to 12.

The airline’s existing and planned fleet of 20 B777-300ERs will also have OnAir’s GSM and Wi-Fi services fitted, enabled by the Thales TopConnect solution.

Both fleets will use Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband.

“Our experience has shown very clearly that passengers want to be able to use their phones, tablets and laptops to stay in touch during flights. That alone is a good enough reason to provide connectivity more widely because we value customer satisfaction very highly,” said Mr. Tarik Sindi, VP Marketing & Product Management of Saudia.