For those of us who want to be connected at all times in the air, IcelandAir have become the first airline in Europe to allow Gate-to-Gate WiFi on its fleet.
IcelandAir Boeing 757-200 – Image, Icelandair
Gate-to-Gate in this case means you can hook onto the WiFi when you get on the plane at your origin, and disconnect from the Wifi when you walk off the plane – without any restrictions.
According to IcelandAir, the WiFi connection is suitable for:
- Emailing
- Doing some light browsing
- Communicating on social media
So, streaming is a no-no as well as heavy data transfers.
As usual, Personal Electronic Device rules apply – so you should be able to get your smartphone or tablet working whilst on the ground, but will have to wait till 10,000ft to get your laptop onto the WiFi network.
Coverage looks reasonable – here’s IcelandAir’s coverage map:
WiFi is provided by Row44 (GEE), operating in the Ku-band. All bar one of Icelandair’s fleet have been fitted with WiFi capability. Some flights will be out of coverage range – so check before you fly
In terms of costs, it gets interesting.
- Sage Plus passengers (Business Class) get it free for two devices
- Saga Gold (IcelandAir’s frequent flyer programme
- Everyone else has to pay to access the service starting at €6 upwards depending on route and length.
With some European airlines barely even thinking about rolling out inflight Wireless Internet access – or making access prohibitively expensive, its interesting to see IcelandAir advancing to offer Gate-to-Gate WiFi, and keeping the cost barrier at a minimum – even free for Business Class and Frequent Flyers.
It’s one heck of an improvement passenger experience on the plane.
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