How to get free WiFi on Cathay Pacific

One of the best features of Cathay Pacific's new Airbus A350 is that the advanced jet boasts inflight Internet so that travellers can – if they choose – stay connected above the clouds.

The service is reasonably fast, and priced at US$10 for one hour or the more appealing rate of US$20 for the entire flight.

But there’s a third option: to redeem a voucher and enjoy an hour of free sky-high WiFi.

That’s more than enough for dealing with your email, catching up with online news or even dipping into social media.

So how do you get a voucher for one free hour of inflight Internet on Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A350?

Asian insurance group FWD is a Cathay Pacific partner and offers electronic vouchers on every flight, during the flight itself. Each voucher is good for one hour online.

Note that FWD has only a limited number of vouchers, and they get snapped up fairly quickly, so it’s a good idea to claim yours at the very start of the flight – you don’t have to redeem it until later on.

1. Open your Web browser, connect to the inflight Cathay Pacific WiFi hotspot and this home page will appear:

2. The FWD free Internet deal isn't visible at first glance – you'll need to scroll down the page to see it.

3. Click on the FWD box and, on the following screen, enter your flight number to get things underway.

4. Now choose one of the two FWD insurance plans – don't worry, you don't need to enter any credit card details or buy anything!

5. Fill out this 'customer enquiry' form on the next page.

6. Having clicked the Submit button on the previous screen, your promo code for one free hour of inflight Internet is revealed – assuming there are still codes to be issued on your flight.

7. Back on the home page, click the Redeem button...

8... and enter your voucher number.

9. You'll be asked to create a new account or, if you've used the service before, to enter your username and password.

10. That's it – you're now set up for 60 minutes of gratis surfing, streaming, emailing and/or just about anything else online.

Just keep an eye on the countdown timer...

... and consider setting an alarm on your phone so that you can make the most of your time online and not get caught short when the clock runs out.

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.