KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is making a move with its free in-flight connectivity plans, with the first aircraft flying with it from today (22nd January).
KLM Airbus A321neo – now with “free” in-flight connectivity – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
KLM is rolling out free WiFi in phases across most of the aircraft used for its European routes.
Half of the European fleet will be equipped with free internet service as of Thursday. In the coming years, WiFi will be available on all A321neo, Embraer 195-E2, and a portion of the B737-800 aircraft.
As noted, this will be present aboard the A321neo fleet. KLM has taken delivery of 12 of them since August last year, with its updated comfort products as well as in-flight connectivity.
KLM is one of the first European airlines to offer free internet to passengers travelling within Europe, marking an important step in enhancing the travel experience. Throughout their flight, passengers can email, browse the internet, listen to music, play games, or stream movies and TV series.
With passengers frequently requesting connectivity at no upfront cost, KLM is meeting the request.
This service will be delivered via the Viasat connectivity solution, connecting over its Ka-based satellite network.
To access the free connectivity, you need to log in using your Flying Blue credentials (either by logging into the portal or creating an account). Once signed in, passengers can access unlimited internet access during their flight.
In Quotes
Stephanie Putzeist, responsible for customer experience at KLM, commented:
“We listen carefully to what our passengers value and free internet has been on their wish list for some time. Through this step, we are making travel within Europe more personal and comfortable: everyone can plan their flight in their own way and stay connected. We are delighted to realize this now for our passengers.’’
Shifting the In-Flight Connectivity model
During the past couple of years, we have started to see airlines shift Wi-Fi connectivity from a paid model to one that is supported by advertising or linked to loyalty data as a driver to understand their customer, whilst some airline models have offered it after clicking accept on a landing page.
There is still a cost – terminals and connectivity have a price to be paid (and companies aren’t giving out free connectivity for the social good or out of the goodness of their hearts). How airlines can justify that cost (be it retention, customer data mining, subsidy) is a question for them to answer.
For passengers, it’s a simple choice – hand over your Flying Blue membership number, and you get access to the internet at no cost.
All for a little information.
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