SatAuth installs innovative communications infrastructure on SAA’s live aircraft, facilitating the in-flight testing of the solution in real-time.
Following the successful installation of the SatAuth system on SAA’s Cabin trainer, Satellite Authorisation Systems (SatAuth) with the assistance of SAA has successfully installed its unique communication solution on board the first commercial aeroplane, ZS-SLF.
According to SAA Technical representative Helmut Kolar, who has been with SAA for over 30 years,
“SatAuth is unique in that it is the first locally designed South African product with an EASA approved Supplementary Technical Certificate (STC), which has successfully been installed on an SAA aircraft”
This installation now paves the way for the in-flight verification of the communications infrastructure, which is the pre-cursor for the solution to be made commercially available to the aviation industry.
The success of the technical implementation of the SatAuth infrastructure has been confirmed following the return flight of ZS-SLF between O.R. Tambo International Airport and London (UK).
Paul Roux (SatAuth) confirmed that the SatAuth project is ”a true ground breaker as new procedures and testing criteria, post the formal certification, are being drafted and executed. Without any precedents, we are finding solutions to ensuring that any identified processes are complied with, while exploring new boundaries in order to complete the validation of the solution within the SAA corporate framework.”
The installation onto a commercial airliner facilitates the completion of the proof-of-concept testing as identified by SatAuth in both the local and the international environments. The testing will prove the efficacy of the communications solution, and facilitate the launch of the SatAuth product onto the global aviation market. This process makes an innovative South African product available to the international Duty-Free Retail space, which has been desperately seeking a real-time solution that would remove the financial risk of doing business in the air.
– Johannesburg, South Africa, June 10, 2014