Let’s face it, long distance air travel is not the most fun thing to do – between the check-in queues and cramped leg space and the often somewhat underwhelming on-flight entertainment, you’d be forgiven for not always looking forward to it.
Fortunately, 2018 is the year that inflight Internet takes off, with Qantas and Virgin Australia both ramping up their rollout of WiFi on domestic and even international flights.
Qantas already has almost a quarter of its 80-strong domestic Boeing 737 fleet fitted with wifi, and has been upgrading its domestic Airbus A330s which dominate east-west routes as well as some Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane runs on their roster.
This week, Virgin Australia officially switched on International WiFi on their flights. That’s right, on your next international flight on Virgin Australia, you can take a selfie and upload it midair.
Research reveals that 70% of Australians feel frustrated that they couldn’t access the internet during a flight. So Virgin Australia is bringing relief to the millions of Australians suffering from this (ahem) “condition” referred to as ‘net-lag’ (it apparently refers to the inability to stay connected on flights, leading to feelings of stress. Because, you know, FOMO). It’s true, catching up on emails, messages and other unread notifications once you land after a 12 hour flight, can feel exhausting and overwhelming. But no more!
According to the research conducted by Pure Profile in 2018, Aussies indicated the ways they would use inflight WiFi (if available) on international flights, which included:- Social Media to check Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (23.8 per cent)
– Stream movies or TV shows (21.3 per cent)
– Personal email and web browsing (16.5 per cent)
– Read the news (15.6 per cent)
– Instant message friends and family (14.6 per cent)
– Business/work email and web browsing (8.3 per cent)
We concur! Staying connected + staying productive = a more enjoyable flight.
Inflight WiFi is now available on all five Virgin Australia Boeing 777 aircraft, on 10 Virgin Australia Boeing 737 aircraft with 75% of the fleet to be complete by the end of the year, and will be available on Virgin Australia A330-200 aircraft in early 2019.
By mid-year, most domestic Qantas flights will have fast free Internet and all of Qantas’ local Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 jets will have WiFi by year’s end.
