KUALA LUMPUR (April 5): AirAsia Bhd says it is upgrading its inflight broadband service to Inmarsat's GX Aviation.

The low-cost carrier said GX Aviation is the world's first inflight broadband solution with reliable, seamless high-speed global coverage provided through a single operator.

In a statement today, AirAsia said its subsidiary ROKKI Sdn Bhd has signed a memorandum of understanding with Inmarsat in Hamburg, Germany.

"The agreement covers AirAsia Group's Airbus A320 and A330 fleets, subject to final contracts. Installation is expected to commence this year, with the service to go live in 2018," it said.

AirAsia is currently one of the leading airline customers for Inmarsat's SwiftBroadband service.

"Travellers today expect fast, reliable broadband wherever they are, whether it's on the ground or 30,000 feet in the air," said AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

"GX Aviation's market-leading capabilities represent a step-change in inflight connectivity that allows us to close the gap between the on-ground and onboard experience," he added.

Fernandes said AirAsia guests would be able to enjoy extra fast Internet connectivity as well as free movies, music, articles and games on the airline's ROKKI IFEC platform.

"Not only that, they can shop for meals, merchandise and duty-free (products) from the comfort of their own seats, which also allows us to better understand what our guests want so we can continue to improve on our inflight offering," he added.

AirAsia's share price was down six sen or 1.9% at RM3.09 at the end of the morning session, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM10.33 billion.