Qatar Airways will offer free full-flight WiFi for the next 100 days to celebrate equipping 100 aircraft with an upgraded ‘super’ WiFi service. The unlimited WiFi offer will be available on select aircraft between September 25 and January 2, 2021 – ordinarily, Qatar airways offers customers up to one hour of free internet access with the ability to purchase full-flight access.
Qatar Airways now claims to have the largest fleet equipped with high-speed internet in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa using GX Aviation technology from global mobile satellite communications provider Inmarsat. Work to equip Qatar Airways aircraft with high-speed broadband access has been ongoing since the service was launched in 2018.
“During these challenging times, Qatar Airways continues to lead and innovate, providing our passengers with the five-star experience they have come to expect from the World’s Best Airline. We are delighted to bring high-speed broadband connectivity to all our loyal passengers for the duration of their flights, from departure to arrival,” the airline’s chief executive, Akbar Al Baker commented.
“Not only does this showcase the exceptional Qatar Airways service at a time when other airlines are using the current market challenges as a reason to reduce their Wi-Fi offering… it also proves that our mission to connect people around the world does not start and end with just travel.”
Al Baker was likely referring to regional competitor Emirates which scrapped free WiFi access several months ago at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Emirates previously offered a meagre 20MB of complimentary data per device, data plans now start at $2.99 for unlimited chat using select apps like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.
Full flight access costs between $9.99 and $19.99 depending on the length of flight, while only First Class and higher tier frequent flyer Skywards members get complimentary internet access.
In a bid to trim costs while hemoraging money, Emirates has also quietly scrapped Live TV on the majority of its flights.
Qatar Airways now claims to be flying to over 100 destinations worldwide, while Emirates will soon be operating to 92 destinations after announcing the resumption of service to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Harare, and Mauritius from early October.
While Emirates may not offer free WiFi (for the time being at least), the Dubai-based airline is one of just a handful of carriers that offers passengers complimentary global COVID-19 insurance bundled with their airfare. The insurance covers medical and quarantine costs should a passenger test positive for COVID-19 within 31 days of starting their journey.
