Take Offs & Landings
Satellites and technology are available than ever
Connections Aloft – Technology makes inflight WiFi more available than ever. Plus new route news.
Inflight entertainment as a concept goes back to the earliest days of commercial aviation; the very first inflight movie was called Howdy Chicago and it was screened on an Aeromarine Airways flight in 1921. However it would be decades and many more or less unsuccessful attempts to bring inflight entertainment and connectivity to its present technological state of the art.
Today for the business traveler, the most critical development is connectivity – which means the ability to surf the web, take phone calls, send e-mails, and have an online experience similar to one they would expect on the ground. So increasingly inflight systems have turned to satellite technology – both to provide the kind of speed and reliability users expect, and to provide coverage over those long transoceanic routes where ground-based systems are simply not feasible.
In the world of satellites, there are two different wavelength spectrums that deliver broadband to the aircraft from orbit: Ka and Ku. There’s a debate about which is best, and pros and cons for both. However for travelers, the choice is largely academic – both power the WiFi onboard, and there is unlikely to be differences in price as the market will determine this.
The dominant players in the inflight connectivity market (both satellite and air-to-ground) are Gogo, Panasonic, SITA, Global Eagle Entertainment and ViaSat Inc. Market researchers Provisions Networks says these top five players own about 65 percent of the market. Pioneer Gogo – heretofore known for its air-to-ground technology – has recently ventured into the satellite market with the launch of its next generation 2Ku satellite technology, which it says will deliver speeds of up to 100 Mbps to the aircraft – compared with Gogo’s current offering which limps along at speeds reportedly as slow as 3 Mbps.
However the move hasn’t kept Gogo customers such as American and United from drifting toward a multi-provider strategy using one system on part of the fleet and a different one on other aircraft. Of course, the driver in all this is market demand; the providers’customers, the airlines, are feeling the squeeze from their customers, the passengers, to provide faster and more reliable inflight connectivity.
Here’s a roundup of what the world’s airlines are working on to keep you online while you’re on board.
British Airways
BA has launched its new long-haul WiFi service, with the technology initially being offered on one 747 aircraft, and a Access is available across two connection speeds – Simply Connect for basic web browsing, and Connect Plus which can handle video streaming. Prices range from £4.99 ($6.50) to £23.99 ($31) depending on type and duration of connection.
ba.com
Air France KLM
its newest 787-9 aircraft, two of which have been delivered since the start of this year. Air France’s sister carrier KLM Dreamliner aircraft.
The group also plans to roll out the technology to 124 A330 and 777 aircraft, starting from the end of 2017.
airfrance.co.uk, klm.com
Lufthansa
The German carrier is gradually expanding its FlyNet WiFi offering
subsidiaries Austrian and Eurowings), with the technology being rolled out to Africa and the Middle East” through to the middle of 2018.
Lufthansa also offers WiFi on many of its long-haul aircraft, including the latest A350-900s, three of which have been delivered since the start of this year.
lufthansa.com, austrian.com
WiFi offering on its new A350 aircraft last year, with 14 of the widebody aircraft now in service on routes including Hong Kong-Gatwick.
Price range from $9.95 for one hour’s access, to $12.95 for connectivity hours or less) and $19.95 on routes over six hours.
Qantas
The Australian carrier has begun free 737-800 aircraft, with Qantas stating the service offers speeds “up to 10 times faster than conventional on-board completed by the middle of the year, the end of 2018.
qantas.com.au
Finnair
new A350s, as well as “most of our A330s,” according to the carrier.
Access can be purchased for €7.95 ($9) for one hour, €11.95 ($14) for three hours or €19.95 ($23.50) for the full passengers and Finnair Plus Gold members get one hour’s complimentary Internet access, while Finnair Plus Platinum enjoy free access throughout
Swiss
of Airbus A330-300s, as well as the which eight have so far been delivered.
Prices range from nine to 39 Swiss Francs depending on data usage, with the carrier stating that “the speed is similar to all public WiFi connections on the ground.”
swiss.com
Air New Zealand
The Kiwi carrier is expected to start beginning in the second half of this year. Flights between Australia and Island and long-haul services from the end of 2017, and domestic services starting in 2018.
The technology will be supplied by Inmarsat’s new global GX satellite constellation, and integrated with ANZ’s Panasonic Avionics system.
airnewzealand.co.uk
Air Canada
WiFi offering to the airline’s wide-body Gogo’s 2Ku satellite technology.
Air Canada already offers WiFi on all of
North America, including Embraer Em jets A321 aircraft.
aircanada.com
Virgin Australia
The carrier began a three-month trial in April operating on domestic routes. During the trial period passengers were able to connect for free.
Virgin Australia said that it plans to Airbus A330s and 777s operating domestic and international services following the completion of the trials. The carrier says following the test period and listening to customer feedback, it the service.
virginaustralia.com
Emirates
offering, doubling the amount of free data for economy passengers and nonSkywards members to 20MB. The 20MB two hours of logging on and additional usage will cost.
Skywards Platinum and Gold members now get unlimited data usage throughout while all Skywards members traveling complimentary service.
emirates.com
ANA
functions such as web browsing and e-mail functions. Video streaming is not supported, and image loading is likely to burn through your data quite quickly.
300ER and 767-300ER, the service transoceanic airspace and countries that permit the use of satellite activity, while available in all airspaces.
ana.co.jp
China Airlines
data limit and while the overall speed does provide reassurance for those who tend to quickly eat through data that they won’t be prematurely cut off from the service.
Purchasing WiFi can be done on the website. The service costs NT$350 ($11.60) for one hour, NT$500 ($16.50) for three hours, or NT$650 ($21.50) for 24 hours.
china-airlines.com
Eva Air
It is worth noting that Taiwan-based Eva Air’s service provider is currently applying for an operating permit with the Chinese government, however until then Internet connectivity, unfortunately, gets over mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau with the carrier.
On the plus side, however, for longer journeys across multiple segments, travelers can conveniently reconnect to Eva Air’s WiFi network using the same account information, provided the ensuing leg is also operated by an Eva WiFi-enabled aircraft.
evaair.com
Japan Airlines
on overall duration used, with its 24-hour for 24 hours from the initial log-in. Data caps are also not present regardless of payment category.
Check the JAL website for a full list of the routes on which WiFi is offered; many are only available until/from is also not fully equipped with WiFi, so connectivity is not guaranteed, though travelers on these aircraft can check
jal.co.jp
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines has a somewhat complicated pricing structure regarding partnership with two different providers, Onair and Panasonic. As such, price plans come in two variations, depending on provider and the type of aircraft – volume based or time based.
What’s also worth noting is that volume-based plans are only valid for the leg on which they are purchased. An onward journey, even if it is on requires another purchase. Time-based purchases, however, can be transferred
singaporeair.com BT