AirAsia inflight broadband – stay connected

Looks like AirAsia inflight broadband will be available fleet-wide in the near future as Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) completes its first installation of Inmarsat’s GX Aviation inflight broadband solution.

AirAsia inflight broadband

The installation, completed onboard an AirAsia Airbus A320 aircraft, marks an important milestone in ADE’s ambitions to become the preferred GX Aviation installation partner for all airlines in Southeast Asia. This seems to be the next step up AirAsia’s ‘staying connected’ journey, which began in September 2019, with their WiFi service offering. According to the company’s description, “Passengers receive the gold standard of inflight Wi-Fi, satisfying even the most data-hungry flyers and allowing them to seamlessly browse the internet, stream videos, check social media, shop online and more during flights.”

Starting with AirAsia Group airlines, ADE aims to establish a one-stop shop for airlines wishing to operate a fully connected fleet. In this, ADE combines its vast expertise in end-to-end engineering and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) with Inmarsat’s market-leading connectivity solutions.

Asia Digital Engineering is a wholly-owned AirAsia Group subsidiary and leading provider of engineering services in Southeast Asia. Established in September 2020, ADE is the result of consolidation of AirAsia Group’s engineering and MRO assets to provide a centralised support service for its own aircraft fleet and other commercial airlines in the region.

With a unique focus on data and technology, ADE has successfully leveraged, and continues to build on, AirAsia Group’s 19 years of combined experience in operating and maintaining a large fleet of more than 250 Airbus A320 and A330 family aircraft. 

…. AirAsia Group is the largest customer for our GX Aviation inflight broadband solution in the Asia Pacific region, and one of the largest in the world. Chris Rogerson, Vice President of Global Sales, Inmarsat Aviation

Mahesh Kumar, CEO of Asia Digital Engineering added that ADE has made significant progress since launching their services in the midst of the pandemic last year.

…. We are delighted about the success of our first GX Aviation installation and look forward to continuing the rollout across AirAsia Group’s fleet, as well as bringing our world-class engineering and MRO expertise to other airlines.

ADE, which is based in AirAsia Group’s RedQ global headquarters in Malaysia, has received base maintenance approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) and Indonesia’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Approval from five additional authorities is expected before the end of 2021 as it continues to expand the breadth of services ADE can offer for airlines across the region.