Virgin Australia is set to commence its full rollout inflight wireless internet to the majority of its domestic and international aircraft, making it the first Australian airline to offer wi-fi internationally.
Select Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 aircraft are already fully equipped with inflight Wi-Fi, with the airline having recently completed a three month trial on select aircraft. As the roll out across domestic 737s continues, the first of their international Boeing 777 aircraft will see the service added from October.
All Boeing 777 aircraft and the majority of Boeing 737 aircraft are expected to have wi-fi by the end of 2018, while their Airbus A330 aircraft will have to wait a little longer; these services, popular on the East Coast – Perth route, are due for completion by the second half of 2019.
“Virgin Australia will offer a base level of free wi-fi to all of our guests on domestic flights and become the only Australian airline to offer wi-fi on international flights,” Virgin Australia Group CEO John Borghetti said:
“We’ve chosen to partner with leading inflight connectivity provider Gogo, who deliver inflight wi-fi to airlines around the world including Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, and British Airways.
Through our partnership with Gogo and Optus Satellite, we will have access to the largest fleet of satellites servicing Australia and New Zealand, providing our guests with a fast and reliable wi-fi experience on board,” Mr Borghetti said.
“We are delighted to work with Virgin Australia to bring the leading global in-flight connectivity solution to their passenger,” Gogo President and CEO Michael Small said. “Gogo’s 2Ku technology allows passengers to stay connected anywhere these aircraft fly – gate-to-gate – with an internet experience they’re used to experiencing on the ground, including the ability to stream videos.”
Passengers travelling on a wi-fi-enabled Virgin Australia aircraft will score three months’ access to Netflix and Stan until the end of 2017. Don’t worry if you don’t have an account, you will be given the opportunity to sign up to enjoy three months of access. And yes, you can stream the service while on board. According the numbers released by Virgin today, 19% of those who took part in the three month trial of the Virgin Wi-Fi service streamed Netflix while on board, while 49% checked e-mail and 27% sent text messages.
For more details on the airline, head to virginaustralia.com.
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