Private aircraft lift provider Volato has selected SmartSky in-flight connectivity for 20 new-production HondaJets that Volato will induct into its fractional fleet. The agreement between the two companies includes the installation of SmartSky Lite systems on these new HondaJets and an option to upgrade existing aircraft.
“Outstanding customer experience is a critical point of differentiation for Volato, and in-flight Wi-Fi with streaming-level performance is a very important part of that overall experience," said Volato COO Mike Prachar. “After evaluating the available options for Wi-Fi for our fleet, SmartSky demonstrated the capability to deliver the high-quality connected experience our customers expect. We were also attracted to the fact that its software-defined features will allow us to keep up with new technology developments without requiring new hardware so we can keep our customers flying with no disruptions to service or the latest in-flight Wi-Fi speeds.”
SmartSky’s air-to-ground (ATG) network uses 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 more than a dozen FAA supplemental type certificate approvals covering Cessna Citation Excels and Xs; Gulfstream IVs through G550s; Bombardier Challenger 601s through 650s; Embraer EMB-135s and -145s; Dassault Falcon 900 series; and Beechcraft King Airs.