Airlines of Asia Pacific Triple Their Use of High Frequency Data Link in Three Years

December 16, 2009

Singapore—Cost-conscious airlines seeking affordable and reliable data link service are increasingly turning to the GLOBALink^SM HFDL high frequency data link service available exclusively from ARINC Incorporated. Use of HFDL has been growing worldwide, but the trend is most apparent in the fast-growing Asia Pacific aviation region.

“Our annual HFDL volume in kilobits doubled between 2006 and 2008, and it is on track to triple this year,” states Randy Pizzi, ARINC Vice President and Managing Director for Asia/Pacific. “More than 300 aircraft from 24 airlines are now regular users of our HFDL service in the Asia/Pacific region, and many more are just getting started.”

ARINC’s HFDL is a seamless global communications service that allows pilots to remain in touch with airline ground operations from virtually every corner of the world.

The service takes advantage of the unique long-distance propagation characteristics of high-frequency radio waves, making it today’s most cost-effective data communications service for long oceanic and remote polar routes, where VHF data link cannot reach, and satellite messaging is typically expensive.

 The equipment for HFDL service costs very little because HFDL leverages the standard HF avionics already installed on all commercial aircraft for HF Voice Radio service. This low cost is making HFDL avionics virtually standard equipment on most new aircraft deliveries today.

Worldwide, the use of ARINC’s HFDL service is increasing more than 20% a year, and the company expects this trend to continue.

“The Asia Pacific region is among the fastest growing aviation markets. A strong demand here for HFDL service proves the reliability and suitability of HFDL for meeting growing data demands of today’s carriers,” continued Pizzi. “HFDL’s performance is comparable to that of VHF and Satcom services.”

High Frequency Data Link (HFDL) is an ACARS^® communications medium for the exchange of messages and data between aircraft and ground stations. It is widely used for Airline Operational Control (AOC), Controller-Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDLC), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS).

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified.

Release: 09-136

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