Free on-board Wi-Fi envisaged, says Emirates president

Today, Emirates invests over $20 million annually on installing and operating in-flight connectivity systems that enable on-board Wi-Fi services. On-board Wi-Fi is available on all of Emirates' 53 A380s and on 28 Boeing 777s, which serve routes across six continents. The airline also has an aggressive retrofit programme that will eventually have its entire fleet Wi-Fi enabled. Importantly, Emirates is subsidising or waiving the high cost of buying data for passenger use.

"It is a fact that our customers want on-board connectivity, and this demand is only going to increase as more people embrace an 'always on' digital lifestyle, and carry smart mobile devices when they travel. We've always viewed Wi-Fi as a service and a value-added part of Emirates' overall product, rather than a revenue stream," said Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline.

He added: "If we can offer good quality Wi-Fi connections for everyone on board at no charge tomorrow, we will do it. But we face a slew of technical limitations - from speed and bandwidth availability and cost, to the supporting hardware and software - all of which we are working hard to address with the industry right now. Ultimately, we believe that on-board Wi-Fi will become a free service, and a standard that customers will expect on a full-service airline, just like on-board refreshments and personal in-flight entertainment. Emirates is leading the way on this, and we are working closely with our suppliers and various stakeholders towards this vision."

Token charge

On most Emirates flights equipped with Wi-Fi, passengers enjoy the first 10MBs of data for free, which is sufficient for most travellers to check in on their social media accounts.

Subsequently, a token $1 charge is imposed for the next 600MB. Emirates is updating its software programming to enable passengers eventually to have unlimited free access to Wi-Fi. On a few of its A380s and 777s, it is not currently possible to offer the first 10MB free for technical reasons, but the airline is working hard to resolve the issue in the coming months.

In October, Emirates had a daily average of 3500 passengers using on-board Wi-Fi, at an average of 28MB per user. The highest number of Wi-Fi users on a single Emirates flight was recorded on an A380 with 153 passengers connecting, and the highest internet volume recorded on a single flight was nearly 8000MB from 26 users on board a Boeing 777 flight. The airline had a 200% spike in Wi-Fi usage in the month of October, due to a free Wi-Fi promotion to mark the Eid holidays. The promotion heightened travellers' awareness of the facility on board, resulting in a lot of first-time users connecting and positive customer feedback.

According to the airline's data, the sites its passengers most frequently access on board include Google, Facebook, and chat services Skype, WhatsApp and BBM, reflecting travellers' strong desire to stay connected and their use of social media channels to do so.

Passengers on board Emirates also have other ways to stay connected with in-seat SMS and email, as well as cellphone services. All of Emirates' 36 dedicated airport lounges around its global network offer complimentary Wi-Fi connectivity.