Finnair and Air Astana opt for multi-orbit satellite wi-fi from SES
Both carriers have chosen to install the low-Earth orbit and geostationary satellite-based system on some of their aircraft.
Finnair will install SES’s multi-orbit satellite in-flight internet on 18 new Embraer 195-E2 regional jets, while Air Astana is equipping its Airbus A321LR aircraft with the system.
The service uses an electronically steered antenna (ESA) that switches between SES’s geostationary (GEO) and Eutelsat’s OneWeb low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed, low-latency in-flight wi-fi.
Finnair will install the system on 18 E195-E2s, which are due to start joining its fleet in the third quarter of 2027.
‘Home-like’ broadband experience
“We are excited to partner with SES to bring a home-like broadband experience to our customers,” says Finnair chief customer officer Simon Large, adding that passengers “will be able to stay in touch, stream content, work online and access digital services with the same ease and confidence they increasingly expect on the ground”.
Air Astana, meanwhile, put its first SES-equipped A321LR into commercial service on 29 October and is in the process of installing the system across the remainder of its A321LR fleet. Air Astana chief executive Ibrahim Canliel says the service, which is supported by Kazakhstan’s QMobile, is being installed in-house “by our own technical specialists”.
“SES’s multi-orbit solution will enable Air Astana to offer a consistent, high-quality online experience across its network and bring a new era of in-flight connectivity to passengers throughout Central Asia and beyond,” says SES senior vice-president aviation Blane Boynton.
Air Astana says the rollout across its A321LR fleet will continue “in phases” throughout 2027. It will offer the service for free to all passengers until 31 January 2027, after which complimentary wi-fi will be available only to business-class passengers and Nomad Club loyalty members with gold and diamond status.
Regulatory changes
“Over the past year, significant work has been undertaken to establish the regulatory framework for introducing satellite internet connectivity on aircraft,” says Kazakhstan’s deputy prime minister and minister of artificial intelligence and digital development, Zhaslan Madiyev.
“Together with international partners, satellite operators and relevant organisations, we have addressed the requirements for using non-geostationary satellite systems in aviation. This has paved the way for the practical implementation of the technology.”
SES and other incumbent satellite-based connectivity providers including Viasat have been emphasising the benefits of multi-orbit in-flight wi-fi, in response to fierce new competition from LEO-only providers such as SpaceX with its Starlink service and Amazon with its Amazon Leo offering.
Multi-orbit connectivity, they argue, offers the best of both worlds by tapping into LEO and GEO satellites to give the best coverage at any given moment.
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