At last, in-flight Wi-Fi speed has caught up to what you get at home – well, on Qantas at least.
*Please note, information validated at time of publishing – Feb 2017 – and may be subject to change.
On Wi-Fi enabled domestic flights, you’re now able to watch your favourite shows, avoid missing out on live sport and stream your favourite music with Foxtel, Netflix and Spotify.
With speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional inflight Wi-Fi, Qantas offered customers video and audio streaming on the first aircraft in late February 2017. The rest of the airline’s fleet of domestic Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 aircraft followed from mid-2017 onwards.
The faster connection speeds – which enable streaming – are made possible through the nbn Sky Muster™ satellite service and represents a significant upgrade over older satellite technology accessed by most airlines around the world.
The service uses ‘idle data capacity’, with the signal reaching the aircraft as it flies through the satellite’s 101 spot beams across Australia.
While Foxtel, Netflix and Spotify are all paid subscription services, they offer free access to Qantas customers on and off the aircraft for between three days and one month after their Qantas flight.
Specifically:
- Foxtel offers three days free access to its Foxtel app every time a customer flies, allowing customers to stream live sports, news and TV shows as well as its full range of on-demand content. No sign-up to a subscription is required.
- Netflix offers new customers access to the entire Netflix service as part of a 30-day free trial. Existing Netflix members only need to log in to continue watching at no extra charge.
- Spotify offers a 30 day free trial of its Premium music service, which has no ads, shuffle play and unlimited skips.
(Note – both Netflix and Spotify require customers to sign-up to a subscription to access the free trial.)
Customers log on to the Qantas inflight Wi-Fi via their own devices, and are greeted by a landing page (as pictured above) with a range of options.
As well as links to access Netflix, Spotify and Foxtel, this page features real-time flight data; hotel, restaurant and transport options at your destination; the latest weather; and personalised information linked to your itinerary and Frequent Flyer account. Streaming of Sky News Australia is also available.
