At this month’s Singapore Air Show, Panasonic Avionics signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese firm Spacesail to add its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation to its in-flight connectivity network.

The MoU lets the parties immediately begin developing the plan to provide LEO connectivity to airlines and passengers.

The companies will continue to work towards leveraging Spacesail’s future high-bandwidth, low-latency constellation, which is designed to support a wide range of industries with global broadband coverage.

Capitalising on Spacesail’s position as a global LEO connectivity constellation operating over China, adding the company’s service into Panasonic’s worldwide in-flight connectivity service will enable seamless LEO in-flight connectivity everywhere airlines fly.

It represents the latest milestone in Panasonic’s ability to deliver high-performance, multi-orbit, resilient connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region and worldwide. The addition of Spacesail will complement Panasonic’s existing partnerships with Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO network.

“Airlines are demanding higher speeds, lower latency and more resilient connectivity than ever before, at every phase of flight,” said John Wade, vice president at Panasonic Avionics. “Adding Spacesail’s LEO constellation to Panasonic Avionics’ portfolio will enable us to provide passengers with connectivity over every country, strengthening our network and reinforcing our strategy of providing airlines with the performance, flexibility and future-proofed capability they require.”

A Spacesail (www.linkedin.com/company/spacesail/) spokesperson added: “We are pleased to collaborate with Panasonic Avionics to extend our LEO capabilities into the aviation market. Our joint efforts will ensure a seamless digital experience for passengers, reinforcing our commitment to reliable global broadband in the skies.”

The integration of Spacesail aligns with Panasonic’s strategy to build an antenna and terminal ecosystem, and onboard compute platform that are capable of combining multiple networks using channel bonding. This architecture is designed to deliver flexible, high-capacity and highly resilient in-flight connectivity across different orbits, frequency bands and satellite operators.

Panasonic has worked in the Asia-Pacific in-flight connectivity market region for more than a decade, led by GEO coverage over China and the wider region via the Apstar-6D satellite, and long-standing partnerships with regional and international airlines. The addition of Spacesail’s LEO constellation strengthens the company’s ability to deliver multi-orbit connectivity services, both directly to the world’s airlines, and through its position as a managed service provider in Airbus’ HBC Plus offering.

Panasonic Avionics (www.panasonic.aero) pioneered the industry in 1979 and has consistently introduced innovations that enable customer experiences and enhance airline loyalty, ancillary revenue and operational efficiency. More than 200 airlines have installed Panasonic in-flight engagement, satellite wifi connectivity and digital technology on their aircraft.