Rendering of Etihad Airways Airbus aircraft. Photo: Etihad

Viasat announced two updates for its in-flight connectivity (IFC) business this week — that customer Etihad Airways plans to deploy the upgraded Viasat Amara service across its fleet, as well as plans for Viasat to add Telesat Lightspeed to its business aviation service. 

The expanded agreement with Etihad includes both widebody and narrowbody aircraft, including Etihad’s recently introduced A321LR fleet. All of these aircraft will be equipped with the Viasat Amara solution. 

Viasat Amara is the company’s new IFC solution that provides connectivity via Viasat‘s global Ka-band satellites, partner satellites, as well as the upcoming Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) partner satellites.

“This partnership also ensures Etihad has access to Viasat’s latest technology as it evolves, keeping us at the forefront of in-flight connectivity. It’s about giving our guests the freedom to enjoy their flight time exactly as they choose,” Arik De, chief revenue and commercial officer for Etihad said in a release.

Separately, Viasat plans to integrate Telesat Lightspeed LEO satellite capacity into its JetXP in-flight broadband service for business jets. JetXP is the unified brand bringing together legacy Jet ConneX business from Inmarsat and Viasat Ka services. 

Viasat signed a multi-year capacity agreement for Telesat Lightspeed LEO services earlier this year. Viasat said customers will have to have to install an additional flat panel antenna for the LEO addition. 

“We understand that certain requirements are better served with multi-orbit capabilities and have designed our network architecture to intelligently orchestrate this,” Viasat Aviation President Don Buchman commented. “The integration of Telesat Lightspeed LEO is another breakthrough and has been scheduled to enter commercial service in late 2027.”