British Airways wi-fi in the sky finally takes off

TEN years ago it was assumed that in-flight wi-fi would soon be commonplace. It hasn’t happened, but airlines are finally showing a keenness to wire up the skies with fast links.

This month British Airways rolls out the latest generation wi-fi across its long-haul network. Short-haul wi-fi will arrive later in the year when BA becomes the first airline to offer connectivity using Europe’s first-ever 4G in-flight network.

Passengers will be able to use their own devices to browse the internet, access email, check social media and stream video content from sites such as Netflix and YouTube.

Technology has also been introduced to simplify and speed up journeys through the airport, with the opening of the airline’s first three automated selfboarding gates for UK domestic flights at Heathrow Terminal 5.

The gates will use facial recognition to allow customers to scan their boarding pass, before walking straight on to the aircraft. The airline is also investing £400million in Club World (long-haul business class). From June, new catering will be introduced at Heathrow business lounges to improve food quality and extend breakfast service to 11am.

In the air from July, new linen, bigger pillows, a soft mattress topper and duvet will be supplied.

From September a new restaurant-style premium dining service will begin in Club World, with display trolleys allowing customers to select dishes from a choice of starters and desserts.

These changes will launch on flights between Heathrow and New York’s John F. Kennedy, before being rolled out across the rest of the long-haul network during 2018.