Qantas steams towards half of its Boeing 737 fleet having WiFi
Qantas is marching towards a mid-year milestone for installing WiFi across its domestic Boeing 737 fleet, with around half of the workhorse jets expected to boast the fast and free Internet service by the end of June.
With some 22 of around 80 Boeing 737s already sporting that tell-tale satellite hump, the airline says the remainder of the fleet is being upgraded "at a rate of approximately one aircraft per week".
Doing the maths shows that as we enter the second half of the year, there'll be a 50:50 chance that your Qantas flight – at least on routes running the single-aisle Boeing 737s – will let you stay connected not only above the clouds but on a gate-to-gate basis.
AusBT review: Qantas WiFi delivers 10-15Mbps above the clouds
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the WiFi rollout is being underwritten by continued bumper results which saw the Flying Kangaroo tuck away a pre-tax profit of $976 million across the first six months of the 2018 financial year.
(We're awaiting word on when the Qantas WiFi system will be extended to Airbus A330s, as this will certainly be useful on those five-hour transcontinental journeys which can eat up the better part of your working day).
However, once inflight Internet crosses that 50% threshold, something interesting happens from the passenger's perspective: the presence of WiFi moves away from 'surprise and delight' and edges into the realm of a service you expect will be there.
From the passenger's perspective, it goes from an exciting novelty to expected norm – and ironically, the closer Qantas gets to a "100% WiFi" fleet, the more disappointing it will be for frequent flyers who've come to rely on WiFi but find themselves on a humpless Boeing 737.
(That said, we could be wrong: some travellers may well rejoice to set foot on a flight where they've got a bulletproof reason not to be online.)
It's a bit like the later days of Qantas' Airbus A330 business class upgrade, when most of the A330s sported the new Business Suite but some stragglers were still flying the old 2-2-2 recliners.
However, Qantas is playing a stronger hand than Virgin Australia, which will charge passengers an as-yet-undisclosed fee for a high-speed WiFi connection, although the slower service will remain free.
Read more: Virgin Australia delays launch of paid WiFi until February 2018
Virgin will counter Qantas' zero-dollar domestic WiFi deal by offering inflight Internet – also at still-unknown costs – on flights to New Zealand, Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
What's your experience to date with Qantas WiFi? As more Boeing 737s come kitted out with the tech, are you using it increasingly often – or are you determined to stay among the 'digital detox' brigade?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 88
Excellent news, but long overdue. The US carriers, despite lagging behind Australian carriers (QF in any case) on almost every other measure have had this for years. Anyway, I for one welcome it.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Think it's a matter of availability. The NBN SkyMuster satellite have enabled this service, most of the historic US systems used ground based systems though are mostly moving to satellite.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 209
Except WiFi on US domestics is generally so slow it’s next to useless. I travel a lot in the US and nowadays plan not to have connectivity.
28 Aug 2016
Total posts 20
I wholeheartedly agree. I was using AA Wi-Fi, IAD to LAX a few weeks ago and spent most of my time trying to stay online. Last week I was on a CBR bound Qantas flight and it was perfectly from beginning to end. It really is next generation. Hope I get a WiFi WF tonight on my way home.
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 87
It's an extremely impressive roll-out pace by Mr. Joyce and the team over at QF. The QF engineering division is world-class.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1217
I don't quite understand your comment. Both VA and QF will have effectively their entire 737 fleets fitted with wifi by Christmas.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
Have only had the in-flight Wi-Fi on one flight but it was fantastic. They waited till closing the door before turning it on which was disappointing.
28 Aug 2016
Total posts 20
You can still use the cell network until the door is closed.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Mar 2012
Total posts 211
I still love being 'disconnected' in the air.
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 87
You can be disconnected at any time you choose by turning off your phone.
21 Jul 2011
Total posts 89
I’m in one as I write this, it’s my second trip on one. It’s slower than I expected but it’s fine
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 87
Now that's meta!
21 Apr 2017
Total posts 14
Does the wifi hump effect fuel efficiency? In this day & age when the bean counters at airlines are looking for cost savings , that hump surely must have some effect.
24 Oct 2010
Total posts 2562
You'd expect that such a bump would unavoidably have some effect, albeit a relatively small one, and one imagines the companies behind the tech – in this case, the boffins at Viasat – have made it as streamlined as can be, and I'd suggest the result would be minimal and even so, simply accepted as part of the bigger picture.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Jan 2018
Total posts 88
Looks like I was correct in my prediction about some people being a tad negative about it. The solution though is simply to turn off your device and disconnect when you want to be left alone.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2013
Total posts 699
I just flew back from Ayers Rock on Virgin and agree that the wifi is becoming an expected type of service...
14 Nov 2017
Total posts 2
Would love to have WiFi on one of the most expensive flight paths in Australia - Mount Isa -Brisbane return.....however all the 737's have been removed from service and replaced with F100's. Unfortunately we no longer have business class, let alone on-board entertainment - so I guess WiFi would be out of the question as well.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Qantas steams towards half of its Boeing 737 fleet having WiFi