Finnair has teamed up with Viasat to offer high-speed wireless internet on its entire shorthaul Airbus fleet, which includes Airbus A319, Airbus A320 and Airbus A321 aircrafts. The service will be offered gate-to-gate and will offer some of the industry’s fastest connection speeds in the air.
By today, mid-July, 6 aircrafts have been fitted with the new Wi-Fi system with another 15 expected to get the new Wi-Fi system installed by the end of the summer. The entire Finnair Airbus narrowbody fleet is expected to have the new service onboard by summer 2019.
The gate-to-gate service means the internet services can be accessed also on the ground. Typically the service is automatically activated when the aircraft doors are closed.
Naturally the internet service can be used on all internet-enabled devices, including mobile phones and tablets.
Pricing
Regarding the pricing the new service is free of charge for two months, to allow all passengers to test the new service. This will also allow Finnair to collect information on functionality and reliability.
Afterwards it is expected the service will be free in business class as well as to Finnair Gold, Platinum and Lumo members, similar to what is offered on longhaul flights.
Coverage
The new service should cover most of the European territory with some exceptions such as Bay of Biscay and parts of the North Sea. There will also be some restrictions over Latvia, Lithuania, parts of Belarus and Russia.
Nordic Sky Portal
The new system also comes with the Nordic Sky Portal which not only offers the internet connection but also other services such as flight status, inflight map, some reading material and information about the Finnair products and services as well as onboard shopping.
These services are free of charge to all passengers and do not require payment.
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