7th September 2017
Written on 7th September 2017
Virgin Atlantic becomes the first airline in Europe to be fully WiFi connected
Virgin Atlantic has become the first airline in Europe to offer WiFi across its entire fleet – ensuring customers can remain connected across flights to and from the US, Caribbean, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Millions of customers travelling with Virgin Atlantic will be able to email, browse and socialise at 35,000ft from as little as £2.99 as the airline completes its ambitious WiFi programme – at least a year ahead of other European long haul carriers.
Using a combination of Panasonic and Gogo technology, WiFi is now available across the fleet of 39 aircraft and connectivity is available above 10,000ft so customers will be able to connect shortly after take-off, and remain online until shortly before landing.
Results so far have shown that 42% of customers opt for the WiFi max package which lasts the entire flight, and the most popular routes for WiFi use are London Heathrow to New York (JFK), San Francisco and Atlanta.
Whilst WiFi has been commonplace on domestic carriers there’s been a challenge for the industry to find reliable connections over vast expanses of ocean – such as the Atlantic. Unlike flying over Europe or the US the signal cannot come from the ground, and instead has to be transmitted to aircraft from satellites.
The airline is using a combination of two WiFi providers across the network; customers travelling on the 787 will use WiFi from Panasonic, while the A330s, 747s, A340-600s are powered by Gogo technology.
Virgin Atlantic and partner Delta Air Lines are the only fully connected transatlantic joint venture – keeping business customers and holidaymakers connected on up to 39 transatlantic flights per day.
Source: Virgin Atlantic
