Another announcement from the British Airways event was that the airline plans to introduce free inflight messaging across the fleet.
To message, To serve – Image, British Airways
The free messaging tier will be open to British Airways Executive Club members of any level (blue upwards).
It will start rolling out across the British Airways fleet from 3rd April.
Members will start to be able to send messages free of charge on a single device using the airline’s WiFi – whatever cabin they’re travelling in.
The service will be available on every WiFi-enabled aircraft within two weeks of the rollout date.
Like other airlines that offer a free messaging tier, the free messaging product will allow British Airways Executive Club members to use messaging-type applications, such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Facebook Messenger and Teams Chat.
Note, that the service will work with text only. Images, videos or attachments will not be delivered through this solution and you’ll need to purchase a data plan. This is akin to the Finnair messaging tier as we’ve discussed.
In terms of access, free messaging will be available on all BA-connected aircraft for the full duration of the flight on a single device. Executive Club Members will access by logging into their account. Non-members can sign up on board or before they travel, to use the free Messaging service.
According to the airline, WiFi is available on all of the airline’s Gatwick fleet and more than 80 per cent of British Airways’ Heathrow fleet, rolling out to 100 per cent by the end of 2025.
Service in the sky
As part of the rollout, the airline will offer a WiFi-enabled inflight customer care solution to solve issues in the moment – even at 35,000ft. Created especially for British Airways by Microsoft, customer care teams on the ground are now able to connect with cabin crew colleagues across more than 300 flights a day. The functionality allows the crew to help solve any unexpected issues before a flight lands at one of the airline’s more than 200 destinations.
Current Connectivity
Currently, British Airways operates the Europan Aviation Network (Viasat/Inmarsat) on its short-haul network based out of Heathrow and Gatwick, whilst using Intelsat 2KUconnectivityy on its widebody fleet. There are no plans to install connectivity on the Cityflyer fleet or its franchised partners.
A cheap, yet enticing option
When flying, the sense of disconnection from the world is “freeing” to some, whilst to others that disconnection can be disturbing, and need some contact with loved ones on the ground – or with a business.
The British Airways option requires you to join their Club, so you can access the WiFi. It’ll provide a hook for those on the edge or wanting to connect when travelling and be useful to frequent flyers who need to fire off a message or twenty. Interestingly, the airline has chosen to deploy this fleet-wide, rather than just on its European network – indicating the airline has confidence in its product, as well as it not costing the earth to operate.
Remember, this won’t cost the earth for the airline too – as it will be sending text content only – no images, gifs or videos to bog down the connection. If you want to send those, you’ll need to pay out for connectivity.
Just don’t try to send pictures messages, or try to use services outside the prescribed messaging services. Spinning waiting wheels will be on for a long time…
And yes. That’s the last post from that event. Others have covered other details – I’ve just covered the bits that piqued my interest.
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