Traffic of approximately 9 000 e-mails, 1 678 tweets and 652 Facebook posts were logged with a total of 27 000 sessions during the beta phase, expected to end by November. Mango and G-Connect are celebrating the completion of the fleet roll-out by offering on-board connectivity at R1 for a day pass and R2 for a week's access pass during October on all flights.
Over the past six years Mango has embraced technology and innovation to deliver direct business advantage says CEO Nico Bezuidenhout. "Since our launch, we have set ourselves a target of a ground-breaking innovation every year. Mango is forging ahead at pace and it has delivered substantially to the growth of the business." He estimates that as many as 30% of guests elect to fly Mango as a direct result of its various innovations. "Mango invests in assets that make it easier to do business with us," says Bezuidenhout.
CEO of G-Connect, Carel van der Merwe, says that even while travelling at 855km/h through the sky, broadband at altitude delivers speed which compares favourably to the same broadband connectivity on land. "The service has seen a 98% up-time throughout with usage, we anticipate, growing to a 12% uptake following the completion of fleet roll-out.
"Interestingly we have seen the majority of use focused on sending and receiving e-mail, showing that the potential for upping productivity during a two hour flight has become an important business tool. We expect e-mail traffic to increase by 60% over the next couple of months with social media posts likely growing in tandem with general usage increases. Effective connectivity is essential and Wi-Fi in the sky will soon become another standard amenity - travellers will change airlines just to have it," says Van der Merwe.
Mango is currently the only airline on the African continent to offer the service. "It has delivered a significant competitive edge to Mango," says Bezuidenhout, who believes that during current challenging economic conditions product differentiation has become critical in attracting customers from a declining base.
