Aussie carriers eye off in-flight wi-fi as demand grows

Worktime ... the days of air travel allowing business people time out are over. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Limited

FLYING at 30,000 feet above the earth is increasingly no impediment to phone and internet use, and Qantas and Virgin Australia are both working to make that a reality for their passengers.

Already more than 20 airlines worldwide have adopted technologies to allow flyers to stay connected throughout their journey.

Service provider Mobile OnAir revealed demand had never been higher with 80 per cent of passengers carrying smartphones, with 37 per cent of them making use of in-flight networks.

Text messaging accounted for 31 per cent of usage and phone calls made up 21 per cent.

“These usage numbers show very clearly that people don’t want to switch off at the aircraft door,” said Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Francois Rodriguez.

He said despite scepticism about the compatibility of mobile phones and air travel, in-flight usage was “not causing the disruption naysayers had predicted”.

“Millions of people connected in-flight on planes last year without a single complaint about noisy phone calls,” Mr Rodriguez said.

Skysurfing ... checking the web at 30,000 feet on board a Boeing 737. Picture: AP Source: AP

In an update issued today, Etihad Airways revealed 2.6 million passengers took advantage of their on-board mobile network in 2014, up 60 per cent on the previous year.

Further to that, wi-fi connectivity was up 80 per cent with packages to access the internet starting from $AUD6.50.

Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner said people wanted to stay in touch with work, friends and family when flying and to be able to access live television.

“This is now possible for the entire journey on an Etihad Airways flight,” Mr Baumgartner said.

Other airlines offering the services include Emirates, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Egyptair and SriLankan Airlines.

Qantas trialled in-flight wi-fi several years ago but decided not to proceed due to low take up rates.

Coming soon ... Qantas is introducing Virtual Reality headsets for first class passengers but as yet no in-flight wi-fi or mobile phone service. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

But head of Domestic Customer Strategy Philip Capps said they were currently looking at options that new satellite technology would create particularly on domestic flights.

“We’re talking with emerging technology providers to explore new alternative technologies,” said Mr Capps.

“We haven’t set a firm timeline but in-flight wi-fi is something we’re very keen to implement as soon as it becomes commercial practical which has been the barrier before now.”

He said business customers in particular had told Qantas they viewed aircraft as “a bit of a sanctuary”.

“We’ll have to be mindful of this in terms of how we implement it.”

A Virgin Australia spokesman said the airline was “continuing to work with leading technology providers to develop a solution that best suits the needs of our passengers”.

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