Lufthansa Technik starts installing latest Ka-band satellite technology as standard equipment

Lufthansa Technik AG has started installing the latest Ka-band satellite technology as standard equipment for the Lufthansa Group’s entire Airbus A320 aircraft family. A total of around 300 aircraft will be fitted with the necessary antennae and routers in parallel in up to ten production lines by spring 2018 at various Lufthansa Technik locations. The engineers at Lufthansa Technik have optimized the system installation procedure and minimized the required intervention in the aircraft structure. This allows the fastest possible integration even in large fleets – generally in four days per layover. Subsequent modifications and even complete dismantling of the installation to cater for any future as yet unknown technology developments are feasible without costly replacement of large structural elements. Lufthansa Technik currently holds Supplemental Type Certificates (STC) for the Airbus A320 family and the Airbus A340 for installing the system. It is planned to include the Boeing 737 family and the Airbus A330 in the short term in order to provide full support for customers in particular in the Asian market for equipping their fleets with broadband communication technology.