Gogo Inc said on Monday it had agreed to provide Japan Airlines Co Ltd with in-flight Internet service on the airline's domestic fleet of 77 aircraft, marking Gogo's first significant international contract, according to the company's chief executive.
Shares of Gogo were up 10.6 percent at $17.94 in afternoon trade in New York on Monday.
The in-flight Internet provider, based in Itasca, Illinois, said the JAL service would use Gogo's satellite technology and begin operating by mid-2014.
The deal is another step in a global race to provide better Internet connections on more planes, especially over oceans, using satellites and aircraft-mounted antennas that swivel as a plane flies to keep tracking the satellite beam.
Gogo's current system is largely ground-based and operates mainly in the United States, where it is the largest in-flight connectivity provider, with about 80 percent market share of WiFi-equipped aircraft.
JAL will be among the first airlines to employ Gogo's satellite system operating in the so-called Ku-band frequencies, Gogo Chief Executive Michael Small said in an interview.
