FlyExclusive has successfully installed SmartSky's new broadband Wi-Fi service on one of its Cessna Citation Excel business jets, the company announced this week. This marks the second installation of SmartSky’s broadband connectivity system on one of FlyExclusive’s jets.
FlyExclusive, a North Carolina-based charter and fractional provider with its own MRO operation, previously installed the inflight Wi-Fi service on a Citation X. In May, the FAA granted FlyExclusive Part 145 certification, giving the company permission to install third-party systems on its own fleet as well as other operators' jets. The FAA issued SmartSky a supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Citation Excel on June 8.
“FlyExclusive’s MRO team did an incredible job with the STC installation on the [Excel], completing it in just 210 labor hours,” said SmartSky president Ryan Stone. “We are ecstatic for even more FlyExclusive customers to get to experience SmartSky’s unprecedented Wi-Fi performance in the sky.”
SmartSky’s air-to-ground (ATG) network utilizes 60 MHz of spectrum, which is significantly more than the 4 MHz used by legacy ATG networks. According to SmartSky, this ensures consistent, responsive, and secure data flow to and from the aircraft. So far, SmartSky has acquired at least 12 STCs covering Cessna Citation Excel and Citation X models, Gulfstream IVs through G550s, Bombardier Challenger 601s through 650s, Embraer EMB-135s and -145s, Dassault’s Falcon 900 series, and King Airs.