Neo Space Group has selected ThinKom’s ThinAir Ka2517 multi-orbit, phased array antenna for installation across narrow-body fleets on multiple airlines.
ThinKom announced the adoption on Tuesday and said it will be deployed for Saudia Airlines and Riyadh Air as well. Saudia’s A320 deployments are ongoing, while the Riyadh Air A321neo fleet will be delivered from Airbus with the solution installed.
This is a pairing between Neo Space Group, SES’s Open Orbits in-flight connectivity (IFC) platform, and the ThinKom antenna. NSG orchestrates the service through its Skywaves traffic management platform, which the company acquired last year. In addition, Rave Aerospace will provide a turnkey installation kit.
The ThinAir Ka2517 was certified for SES Open Orbits last month for communications services on SES’s Geostationary satellites as well both O3b and O3b mPOWER constellations.
“Our flight-proven ThinAir antennas bring unmatched throughput, spectral efficiency and reliability to the skies,” added Jeff Sare, chief commercial officer at ThinKom. “We are proud to partner with NSG to enable the next generation of inflight connectivity for Saudia, Riyadh Air, and others, seamlessly harnessing the power of SES’s Open Orbits multi-orbit and multi-constellation services.”
ThinKom noted that the ThinAir product line has been installed on more than 2,000 aircraft. NSG also has contracts with Thai Airways, Uzbekistan Airways, and Turkish Airlines, which also all use the Ka2517.
