Thrane & Thrane said the upgrade to the Aviator systems includes support for several simultaneous voice calls via SwiftBroadband and compatibility with its Aviator wireless handset. The upgrade also allows passengers and crew to use their own Wi-Fi enabled smartphones to access SwiftBroadband voice calling on the Aviator platform.

   Thrane & Thrane Aeronautics Business Vice President Kim Gram said that having Inmarsat multi-voice allows each handset to benefit from having its own number.

“Although we have been able to offer multiple voice lines on Aviator 700 for some time, we had to use the legacy H-Plus system along with a single SwiftBroadband line,” Gram said in a statement. “With the introduction of Multi-voice, we can now use multiple dedicated SwiftBroadband lines, enabling the flexibility of several voice lines on board but with enhanced call quality and lower calling costs.”

   Thrane & Thrane said the Multi-voice capability would be available on all new system installations starting in the third quarter of 2012.