Viasat Inc. and KLMRoyal Dutch Airlines, will bring connectivity to 18 of the airlines' Boeing 737-800 fleet and 21 of its Embraer E195 aircraft. The 737-800's are expected to be outfitted with Viasat's latest in-flight connectivity (IFC) equipment by the end of 2021, and in service by early 2022, and specifics around the Embraer E195 fleet will be announced at a later time. Both fleets will operate European flight routes only.

Viasat's IFC equipment is currently installed on two KLM narrow-body Boeing aircraft. During the first week of service, which began on April 22, 2021, KLM will encourage passengers to trial the service free-of-charge and provide insights to further optimize the onboard Wi-Fi experience. In-flight connectivity service tiers: KLM will initially offer three in-flight connectivity packages—Messaging, Surf, and Stream—on all Viasat-equipped aircraft.

The Messaging option will give all passengers 30-minutes of free text messaging via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, among other messaging apps. The Surf and Stream options, which can be purchased in-flight, will give passengers the ability to do more on board, with options to surf the internet/email as well as enjoy full video and audio streaming. How connectivity works onboard: Internet connections are made possible by connecting passenger devices directly to Viasat's expansive high-capacity Ka-band satellite network, including KA-SAT, ViaSat-2 and other owned and partner satellite systems. During the flight, passengers can opt for the free messaging service, or upgrade to one of the fee-based connectivity services, which can be purchased during the flight through the KLM Wi-Fi portal.

Viasat's onboard equipment is designed to be forward-compatible with Viasat's next-generation satellite constellation, ViaSat-3—which will give KLM additional future satellite capacity and expanded coverage, once ViaSat-3 is in service.