MoU with Air Esurfing for installing fleet connectivity solutions in China

First connectivity agreement with a Chinese provider

Lufthansa Technik AG has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chinese company Air Esurfing (ARE) for providing connectivity services to Chinese airlines. The country’s largest communication company, Air Esurfing is a fully-owned subsidiary of Air Media Group and is dedicated to providing in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) services to airlines in China.

The MoU signed at the Aircraft Interiors Expo, Long Beach 2017, provides for Lufthansa Technik and Air Esurfing to enter a long-term partnership with the goal of offering turnkey connectivity solutions for commercial airline fleets in China. Once the contract has been signed, Lufthansa Technik and Air Esurfing will install high-speed and state-of-the-art Ku-band/Ka-band antenna and on-board distribution systems in 200 Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft.

“Together with Lufthansa Technik, we are about to transform the domestic in-flight connectivity market in China,” said Mr. Grant Zhou, CEO of Air Esurfing. “The partners intend to use China’s Ka and Ku-band high-throughput satellite capacity for domestic in-flight connectivity services over mainland China.

“We feel very privileged signing the first agreement ever with a Chinese provider. I am convinced that our experience with integrating state-of-the-art connectivity solutions will contribute significantly to Air Esurfing’s goal of providing market-leading, in-flight entertainment and connectivity services for fleets in China,” said Lukas Bucher, Head of Connectivity at Lufthansa Technik.

Under the product name Lconnect, Lufthansa Technik has bundled its extensive expertise, technologies and processes for the installation of satellite communication systems, including the entire logistics for installation, in one hand. Lufthansa Technik is able to manage the certification and installation in the largest fleets while customizing the whole process to customer’s individual requirements within short time frame. This challenging task would not be possible without a connectivity center of excellence based in Hamburg and supported by a reliable worldwide facility network.