Air China has become the first airline to partner with Honeywell Aerospace and Inmarsat for the testing of GX Aviation on its aircraft.
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As part of the move, Honeywell has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the airline to test the GX Ka-band connectivity on the A330 aircraft.
Joint testing is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2015.
GX Aviation is the latest technology in cabin connectivity for commercial aircraft, and will provide Air China passengers with home and office-like wireless connectivity service.
With the new service, passengers are expected to experience a 60% improvement in download speed for their in-flight connectivity, compared with current solutions in the market.
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By GlobalDataHoneywell Aerospace Airlines Asia Pacific vice-president Brian Davis said: "GX Aviation will undoubtedly establish new global benchmarks for passenger standards for the next two decades. True worldwide coverage and highest speeds are just some of the benefits that Air China can look forward to enjoying once the service comes into play in 2015."
Honeywell and Inmarsat signed an agreement in 2012 to deliver global in-flight connectivity services to business, commercial and government aviation customers across the world.
Under the agreement, Honeywell will develop, produce and distribute the on-board hardware that will allow users to connect to Inmarsat’s Global Xpress constellation network.
Inmarsat Aviation vice-president Bill Peltola said: "This testing programme with Air China is further confirmation that everything is on track for GX Aviation to be available globally for all types of aircraft from the get-go."
