In flight WiFi for a lot of people is something that is starting to become the norm (well… not for me… I just love the time being disconnected from the world). However, airlines have been either charging the earth or not making services available.
Well, it seems Emirates is going to innovate again internationally by offering 10mb of WiFi free on its flights.
Emirates Airbus A380 at London Heathrow Terminal 3 – Image, Economy Class and Beyond.
Emirates will be investing a bootload of cash – US$20 million or so to fit it entire fleet with WiFi connectivity. The big thing will be the cost, as the airline seek to reduce or subsidise it.
- Firstly, everyone (no matter what class you’re in) will get 10Mb free of charge.
- After that, a token US$1 charge is imposed for the next 600MB
Emirates is working towards even removing that cost according to CEO Tim Clarke, who states:
“It is a fact that our customers want onboard connectivity, and this demand is only going to increase as more people embrace an ‘always-on’ digital lifestyle, and carry smart mobile devices when they travel. We’ve always viewed Wi-Fi as a service and a value-added part of Emirates’ overall product, rather than a revenue stream”
However, before you start firing up those devices, it won’t happen straight away, with Tim adding:
“If we can offer good quality Wi-Fi connections for everyone onboard at no charge tomorrow, we will do it. But we face a slew of technical limitations – from speed and bandwidth availability and cost, to the supporting hardware and software – all of which we are working hard to address with the industry right now. Ultimately, we believe that onboard Wi-Fi will become a free service, and a standard that customers will expect on a full service airline, just like onboard refreshments and personal inflight entertainment. Emirates is leading the way on this, and we are working closely with our suppliers and various stakeholders towards this vision.”
Currently, WiFi connectivity is available aboard the fleet of 53 A380s and on 28 Boeing 777s, with some of those aircraft unable to offer the free 10mb.
This is a big bit of news. Currently, one of the few providers who offer WiFi for nothing in the air is JetBlue who offer their Fi-Fly programme (at the basic level). Even then, this is restricted in terms of range and JetBlue’s network (which is lacking when it comes to flying over long distances of water). By making it a utility and part of the package, it’s another way Emirates is improving the passenger experience aboard a plane.
Which in some classes of the plane could be important – lets not forget Emirates planes can be rather packed.
Will other airlines follow is the big question? A tough one to say the least – the cost of the equipment and satellite connections isn’t exactly cheap. Least of all, the cost of the equipment needs to be recovered.
But Emirates have been known to innovate and scare airlines into doing things.
For other passengers, lets hope they can scare older legacy airlines to step up and install WiFi – and give it away cheaply.
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This is huge. I fly EY or EK to Asia primarily because I can be online and do some work. I think on my last EY flight AUH-IAD, wifi was $15 for the whole flight. Makes such a big difference since I can catch up on tasks, email, fb, and makes me feel I am not disconnected from the world. Perhaps not as good as sleeping, but much better than spending time infront of the small idiot box infront of me. Sometimes I can be online and finish “work” stuff, reducing the need to take a full day PTO on the day of flight.
I also think it’s great – not sure I’d use it every time (I do think disconnecting helps turn on “vacation mode”) but the option is a real gamechanger.