Inmarsat has once again taken top honours at the Aviation Achievement Awards, after being crowned winner in the ‘Satellite Operator Excellence’ category for the second consecutive year. The prestigious accolade was presented during an awards ceremony in Dubai, with special praise from the judging panel for Inmarsat’s ‘exceptional leadership, innovation and resilience’ over the past year.

As the aviation industry continues to recover from the unprecedented global impact of Covid-19 on air travel, Inmarsat was hailed for providing outstanding support to customers of its market-leading cockpit and cabin connectivity solutions in both the airline and business aviation markets. It also achieved a number of contract wins, installations and activations, with the latest milestones including:

• GX Aviation selected by more than 35 airlines (including SAUDIA as a new customer) and activated on over 550 aircraft, with approximately 1,000 additional aircraft in the order book.
• European Aviation Network (EAN) becoming available on more than 265 aircraft, with Greek national carrier AEGEAN joining British Airways, Iberia and Vueling as a new airline customer.
• More than 215 aircraft flying with SB-S, with new customers including Cebu Pacific and Tunisair.
• Thousands of business jets equipped with Jet ConneX and SwiftBroadband.
• Launch of OneFi airline passenger experience platform to monetise inflight connectivity.

Judges for the awards, which are primarily focused on the Middle East, described Inmarsat as a ‘pioneer of satellite innovation, achieving an impressive number of industry firsts during the last 12 months’. They added that ‘Inmarsat enjoyed another strong year of milestones, from launching I-6 F1, the largest and most sophisticated commercial communications satellite, to unveiling its transformative ORCHESTRAnetwork, which draws together the benefits of multiple technologies to create one cohesive solution’.

Neale Faulkner, Inmarsat Aviation’s Regional Vice President Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEASA), said “Inmarsat prides itself on being a customer-centric organisation and we are delighted that the Aviation Achievement Awards have once again acknowledged the outstanding service we provide, alongside our world-class partner ecosystem, to both airline and business aviation customers. Although Covid-19 has continued to impact air travel during the last 12 months, conditions are improving thanks to the re-opening of borders and easing of travel restrictions, which is helping to boost passenger numbers.

“Inmarsat is excited about the fundamental role that connectivity will play in this exciting new era for aviation, from providing an enhanced onboard experience that boosts passenger confidence and unlocks new revenue opportunities for airlines, to transforming operations and safety by powering concepts such as ‘4D’ trajectories and electronic flight bags. Our latest innovations, such as the ELERA and ORCHESTRA networks that were also praised by the award judges, will further enhance our capabilities and unlock even more innovations for decades to come.”

Kenneth Mitchen, Executive Director at Creative Middle East Media, organiser of the Aviation Achievement Awards, said “Satellite connectivity has played a vital role in aviation for many years now and its importance has only grown since the global pandemic. For airline and business aviation passengers, connectivity is keeping them connected with friends, family and colleagues, allowing them to catch up on work or keep entertained with streaming, social media and more, while also supporting a touchless journey onboard the aircraft. It’s also vital for enhancing operations and safety to become more efficient and cost effective. However, to achieve all of this, you need to work with a forward-thinking and innovative satellite operator. Inmarsat has a successful track record of delivering for its customers and we congratulate them on once again winning our Satellite Operator Excellence Award for 2022.”

Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, recently unveiled plans for ORCHESTRA, the communications network of the future, which will bring existing geosynchronous (GEO) satellites together with low earth orbit satellites (LEO) and terrestrial 5G to form an integrated, high-performance solution, unmatched by any existing or planned competitor offering. ORCHESTRA allows capacity to be boosted in high-density areas such as at airports, eliminating congested network ‘hot spots’ and ensuring the connectivity needs of aviation customers continue to be met well into the future, with capacity scaled directly to match their requirements.