SriLankan Airlines’ first fully connected A330-300 has entered service, equipped with both Internet OnAir and Mobile OnAir.
Passengers on board the delivery flight from Toulouse to Colombo tested the combination of wifi and mobile phone connectivity by tweeting from 35,000 feet and telling their Facebook friends that they were chatting live from an aircraft. Then they started on their emails or browsed the web.
G. T. Jeyaseelan, SriLankan Airlines’ cmo:
“We are gearing-up SriLankan to meet the challenges and ever-growing demands of the global travel industry. Our new fleet is giving us the opportunity to introduce innovative products and services to enhance the passenger experience. Providing mobile phone and Internet connectivity is a very important element of our superior offering in a highly competitive market.”
The aircraft will be deployed on different routes as part of a three-month performance evaluation programme. Then the airline will decide on a particular route for it, based on passenger volumes, route yields, demand for Business Class, etc. SriLankan (UL) is looking to deploy its new A330-300s primarily on Far Eastern routes including Bangkok, Tokyo, and the Chinese cities of Canton and Beijing.
Ian Dawkins, ceo of OnAir:
“We provide inflight connectivity across the whole of Asia. Our unique network of roaming agreements and authorisations from national regulators means OnAir is the leading supplier in the region. We are delighted to be supporting SriLankan Airlines’ drive to break new ground in Sri Lankan aviation.”
N.B. Image credit: srilankan.com
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