Air New Zealand is trialing inflight Wi-Fi on one of its long-haul Boeing 777-300 aircraft.
The airline is planning to roll out the service across the rest of its Boeing 777-300 fleet by June 2018, followed by its Boeing 777-200 aircraft from April 2018.
Air New Zealand has been working closely with its partners to prepare for the launch of Inflight Wi-Fi, which will allow passengers to access email, social media, web pages and online shopping.
Internet connectivity will be supplied by communications firm Inmarsat’s global GX satellite constellation, while Panasonic Avionics will provide the in-cabin technology.
The trial is testing the technology as well as allowing Air New Zealand to find out how passengers feel about the service.
Passengers will be able to use the service for different timeframes and be able to pay in a variety of ways.
Air New Zealand first announced its plans for inflight Wi-Fi in October 2016.
A number of airlines already offer inflight Wi-Fi on at least some flights or aircraft types, including:
- Aer Lingus
- American Airlines
- Delta
- JetBlue
- Emirates
- Finnair
- Nok Air
- Norwegian
- Philippine Airlines
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Most airlines charge for inflight Wi-Fi but some, including Norwegian and JetBlue, provide it for free.
Image credit: wikipedia.org
