SÃO PAULO and CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Azul, the largest airline in
Brazil by number of departures and
cities served, and Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global leader
in satellite communications, today announced that seven aircraft in
Azul's new Airbus A330-900neo fleet will be equipped with Viasat's
trusted Ka-band in-flight connectivity solution, with the first
aircraft scheduled to enter service next year.
Consistent with the in-flight Wi-Fi offering on Azul's other
aircraft types equipped with Viasat's solution, Azul passengers
traveling on the new, linefit Airbus A330-900neos will be able to
enjoy onboard internet from gate to gate. Customers will be able to
acquire packages for streaming audio and video, web browsing, and
messaging.
"Part of what differentiates Azul in the Brazilian market is the
best-in-class connectivity experience we offer on select aircraft,"
said Jason Ward, Azul's Chief People
and Customer Officer. "From Brazilians' thirst for real time sports
scores to their desire to stay connected to loved ones on the
ground while flying, our hypothesis that this feature would be
critical to customer satisfaction is playing out in the market. We
look forward to continuing to work closely with Viasat as we
continue to build on our current in-flight Wi-Fi experience in the
future."
"After several successful years of serving Azul passengers in
Brazil, we are excited to work
with Azul to expand our connectivity onboard even more aircraft,"
said Don Buchman, VP and GM,
Commercial Aviation at Viasat. "It remains Viasat's mission to
continue delivering high quality and consistent in-flight
Wi-Fi, so that passengers can enjoy online activities while in the
air as they do on the ground, even as the demand for data grows and
passenger expectations accelerate rapidly."
In addition to expanding their Wi-Fi enabled fleet, Azul is
working with Viasat to enhance their passenger Wi-Fi experience by
adding ad-supported streaming sessions using the Viasat Advertising
platform. Azul is the latest airline to adopt the Viasat
Advertising platform.
Viasat is focused on serving the aviation market by combining
high throughout satellite capacity with the ability to flex that
capacity, so that it can continuously and reliably meet demand
where and when it is most concentrated, including over the busiest
airport hubs in Brazil and
everywhere else these Airbus A330neos will fly.
Azul and Viasat are expanding upon a collaboration that began
providing in-flight connectivity in Brazil in 2021. Azul was the first South
American airline to select Viasat's in-flight internet service
and the first airline to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi service to
passengers in South America,
leveraging the capacity on Viasat's Ka-band network, including its
partner satellite, SGDC-1 (Geostationary Satellite for Defense
and Strategic Communications), owned by Telebras.
For more information about Viasat's inflight connectivity
solutions, please visit the Company's Commercial Aviation page at
vsat.co/commercial-aviation
About Azul
Azul S.A. (B3: AZUL4, NYSE: AZUL), the
largest airline in Brazil in terms
of departures and cities served, offers 1,000 daily flights to more
than 160 destinations. With an operating fleet of more than 180
aircraft and more than 16,000 crewmembers, the company has a
network of 300 direct routes. Azul was chosen by Cirium (a leading
aviation data analysis company) as the 2nd most punctual airline in
the world in 2023. In 2020, Azul was awarded as the best airline in
the world by TripAdvisor, being the first time that a Brazilian
airline won first place in the Traveller's Choice Awards. For more
information visit www.voeazul.com.br/imprensa
About Viasat
Viasat is a global communications company
that believes everyone and everything in the world can be
connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our
mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and
militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is
developing the ultimate global communications network to power
high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to
positively impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground,
in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space.
In May 2023, Viasat completed its
acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and
resources of the two companies to create a new global
communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com,
the Viasat News Room or follow us
on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X or YouTube.
Copyright © 2024 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat,
the Viasat logo and the Viasat Signal are registered trademarks in
the U.S. and in other countries of Viasat, Inc. All other product
or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes
only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains
forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors
created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include among
others, statements related to Viasat and Azul's relationship; the
introduction of Viasat's IFC services on Azul's existing Airbus
A330neo aircraft; the enhanced internet experience passengers and
crew can expect; the availability, capabilities and performance of
the Viasat in-flight internet equipment, and the ability to direct
capacity to demand. Readers are cautioned that actual results could
differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results
to differ include: our ability to successfully implement our
business plan for our broadband services on our anticipated
timeline or at all; risks associated with the construction, launch
and operation of the satellite(s) used to supply these services,
including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or
degradation in satellite performance; contractual problems; product
defects; manufacturing issues or delays; regulatory issues; changes
in relationships with, or the financial condition of, key
suppliers; technologies not being developed according to
anticipated schedules, or that do not perform according to
expectations; and other factors affecting the aviation sector
generally. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained
in Viasat's SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including
Viasat's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of
the date on which they are made. Viasat undertakes no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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SOURCE Viasat, Inc.