As aviation starts to rebound in India, the country is witnessing entry of companies that provide inflight connectivity with IndJets India becoming the latest entrant to get permission to fetch approval from the Department of Telecommunications.
“IndJets India Pvt Limited (IndJets) is a strategic partner of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Inmarsat – global mobile satellite provider – has received approval certificate for in-flight Connectivity (IFMC) from the Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunications,” the company said in a statement.
Indjet joins companies like Vodafone, Airtel, Jio and Nelco that have already received approvals to offer internet services on-board. Among the Indian carriers, full-service carriers like Vistara and Air India (now owned by Tatas) would like to offer in-flight connectivity to its flying passengers. Low-cost carriers could also look at providing such service, as this could bring a new head under ancillary revenues.
“The availability of Global Xpress (GX) Aviation services (provides faster internet on flights) in India promises to be a game changer as it brings new connectivity opportunities to Indian carriers that was never available before. Inmarsat’s recently released in-flight portal OneFi will enable these seamless & value-added services. Not only passengers will be delighted by seamless connectivity, but also the airlines which will be able to realise new ancillary revenue opportunities and achieve operational excellence,” Anoop Sehan, IndJets CEO was quoted in the release.
GX Aviation services, operating in the Ka-band, is the first and only high-speed broadband network designed for customers to seamlessly span the world. The service delivers the high bandwidth, reliability and security that commercial and government grade mobility customer’s demand, the statement by the company read.
Real-time, seamless internet access would allow airlines to refine their on-board services as passengers enjoy their email and browsing, the company said. “A faster internet availability on-board also provides airlines the option of bringing in efficiencies in flight operation, thus, saving a lot of fuel, which constitutes a large part of airline’s operational cost,” said an airline executive with a foreign airline.
