Alternative content

Qantas to trial inflight connectivity on A380s

December 17, 2011
As of February next year, Qantas will deploy inflight connectivity on designated A380 flights between Sydney and Los Angeles and Melbourne and Los Angeles.

The trial will initially be available to passengers travelling in the First and Business cabins and will form part of the airline’s ongoing strategic evaluation of connectivity options, including the review of next generation technology platforms.

“From February next year our customers travelling between Australia and Los Angeles will have the opportunity to participate in our inflight connectivity trial and communicate online from the 35,000 feet,” commented CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce. “Our customers will be able to access the Internet via their Wi-Fi enabled personal electronic devices, such as iPhones, iPads and BlackBerrys, on Qantas for the first time.”

The service, provided by inflight connectivity supplier OnAir, uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband and global satellite based connections to transfer data between the passengers in the aircraft to the ground. Passengers will have access to the Internet in exactly the same way as a terrestrial Wi-Fi hotspot and can make payment with their own credit card.

Earlier this year, Qantas also announced it would commence a trial in mid-January 2012 to deliver over 200 hours of inflight entertainment options to passengers via iPads provided in each seat of a dedicated B767-300 aircraft.

Back to News