Qantas international passengers will soon be able to stay connected in the sky with free Wi-Fi.
The Australian airline has promised to begin extending its ‘fast and free’ Wi-Fi to its international services by the end of this year.
Wi-Fi services were launched on major domestic routes in 2016, but Qantas has taken almost 10 years to introduce the popular feature on its long-haul flights – something many of its competitors have already done.
Travellers heading to Asia will be the first to be connected, followed by trans-Tasman and Pacific flights and finally Europe routes in the latter half of 2026.
Qantas executive manager for product and service Phil Capps said the feature’s introduction was delayed while the airline looked for a quality global broadband service, which it has now found in Viasat.
Qantas will soon offer free Wi-Fi on international routes – something many of its competitors have already done
New Wi-Fi technology (pictured) will begin operating on Qantas international flights by the end of this year
The partnership means fast and free Wi-Fi will be possible on all Qantas routes, even those that fly towards Antarctica to reach South Africa.
‘We’ve set a really strong benchmark with our domestic Wi-Fi offering,’ Mr Capps told The Australian.
‘We didn’t want to go out strong with international Wi-Fi until we were comfortable that we could meet a comparable benchmark.’
Viasat had a $11.34billion merger with British satellite company Inmarsat last year that enabled the service to offer Qantas uninterrupted broadband on all routes.
Qantas’ A380 planes were also more difficult to fit with the new Wi-Fi technology than its newer Boeing 787 Dreamliners, further delaying its international plans.
Mr Capps explained engineers ‘essentially put a hole in the roof of the aircraft to install’ the Wi-Fi equipment – a task made harder by the A380’s limited infrastructure.
The new A350 and B787 fleets will be Wi-Fi capable as soon as they are delivered to Qantas.
Travellers heading to Asia will be the first to be connected, followed by trans-Tasman and Pacific flights and finally Europe routes in the latter half of 2026
Qantas executive manager for product and service, Phil Capps, said new planes to be delivered to Qantas will come with the Wi-Fi technology
‘We’ve seen Wi-Fi for our customers on domestic flights just being part of the everyday, so it’s a fundamental expectation that it will be there and that they will use it in all sorts of diverse ways.’
The airlines data found 38 per cent of customers use in-flight Wi-Fi for web browsing, at least a quarter stream video and between 15 to 20 per cent stream audio.
‘The basic expectation of travellers in Australia is they want to be connected all throughout the day, and we can see that in our usage,’ Mr Capps said.
Viasat vice president of commercial aviation Don Buchman said his company is ‘excited to partner with Qantas’.
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