Virgin Australia has today commenced a three-month testing period of inflight wireless internet access on one of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Guests flying on the wi-fi enabled aircraft will be able to use the service free of charge during the testing period and can enjoy access to popular streaming services Netflix, Stan and Pandora on their devices while in the air.
Virgin Australia has partnered with leading inflight connectivity provider Gogo and Australia’s leading satellite provider Optus to provide customers with inflight wi-fi.
John Thomas, Group Executive Virgin Australia Airlines, said: “We are thrilled to commence customer testing of our inflight wi-fi today. We want to ensure that guests can stay reliably connected in the air while also enjoying the fantastic entertainment and customer service for which Virgin Australia is well known.
“We’re looking forward to receiving guest feedback about our inflight connectivity over the next three months to ensure we are able to offer the best possible service in the sky,” Mr Thomas said.
Guests who travel on the wi-fi-enabled aircraft during the customer testing period will be notified that wi-fi is available on their flight and provided with instructions on how to access the wi-fi.
Virgin Australia will finalise its business model after considering customer feedback and the results of the testing period.
· Gogo’s 2Ku technology uses a streamlined dual-antenna (one for forward link, one for return link) to deliver simultaneous transmissions. Gogo already successfully provides inflight connectivity for a number of airlines including Virgin Australia’s alliance partner Delta Air Lines, which provides inflight wi-fi on services between Australia and the United States.
· Optus Satellite has the largest fleet of satellites servicing Australia and New Zealand, with five satellites currently in geostationary orbit.
· Inflight wi-fi will be available on domestic flights operated by the wi-fi-enabled Boeing 737-800.
· Virgin Australia’s inflight wi-fi service will be available alongside and integrated with Virgin Australia’s existing popular wireless entertainment system. Guests travelling on the wi-fi-enabled aircraft will also be able to access the full catalogues of television shows and films from Stan and Netflix, as well as ad-free music streaming with Pandora Plus.
· Virgin Australia will offer guests who travel on the wi-fi-enabled aircraft during the customer testing period three months’ access to Pandora Plus and Netflix on us. Guests with existing accounts for those services will be given the opportunity to apply the offer to their Netflix and Pandora accounts. Guests who do not have existing accounts for Netflix or Pandora will have the opportunity to sign up to enjoy three months of access. Guests without an existing subscription to Stan will also have the opportunity to subscribe and enjoy three months’ access included. Terms and conditions apply.
