Acropolis Aviation Secures EASA Approval to Offer Upgraded Wi-Fi Broadband Aboard its Flagship ACJ319 G-NOAH

United Kingdom | November 5, 2015– Acropolis Aviation, the Farnborough Airport, UK based VVIP charter operator, has received EASA approval for its upgraded internet and IFE system on board its flagship Airbus ACJ319 aircraft, G-NOAH.

The system, which delivers download speeds of 432 kilobytes per second, is provided by Rockwell Collins’ Skybox™ cabin solution. With one terabyte of onboard storage capacity (equivalent to approximately 400 feature films) Skybox securely streams digital rights management (DRM) Hollywood-protected films to any iOS device brought on board – tablet, smart phone, etc. Alternatively, DRM approved films can be accessed from the Aspinal white leather encased iPad Airs, now offered to passengers flying G-NOAH.

Acropolis has complemented Skybox with the introduction of Satcom Direct’s user friendly SkyTicket billing system. This allows Acropolis to easily marry the charter booking up with its unique flight number so that it can identify which charterer has used the internet, enabling recharging to be made accordingly.

Satcom Direct’s SkyTicket enables passengers to log-on securely to browse the internet, use WhatsApp, update FaceBook or manage emails.

The Wifi upgrade was completed recently coinciding with G-NOAH’s five year check by ATC Lasham in collaboration with Avionic Care. Both Rockwell Collins and Satcom Direct will provide ongoing technical support to Acropolis.

“We have enjoyed a good working relationship with both Rockwell Collins on various avionics systems and with Satcom Direct on flight deck services so it was good to extend the portfolio of activities with both companies,” commented Acropolis Technical Director, Aidan Murphy. “Satcom Direct is also right on our doorstep at Farnborough so we can call on them personally if we encounter a problem with the system.”

Acropolis Aviation announced at EBACE in May this year it will be launch customer for the first Airbus ACJ320neo, but with the aircraft entering service in early 2020 a decision on the cabin IFE and internet system will be taken much nearer to the delivery time.

“The industry is moving really quickly. We are seeing prices dropping and speeds increasing, which is all good,” says Jonathan Bousfield, Acropolis CEO. He and Charter Sales Executive, Andy West, will be at the Dubai Air Show next week, opening 8th November, and they will be out a few days ahead of the show to meet with the region’s charter brokers. Acropolis enjoys good relations with a variety of established brokers including Air Charter Service, Chapman Freeborn and UAS in the region.