German flag carrier Lufthansa will introduce free inflight messaging across its European network early next year and will slash the price of other internet packages by nearly 50% as part of a €2 billion investment to improve the onboard passenger experience, the airline announced on Wednesday.
The free messaging service will apply to Lufthansa’s short and medium-haul flights, which are operated by Airbus A320 series aircraft and will allow passengers to use popular internet-based messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat.
Unlike some other airlines that have recently opened up messaging services for passengers to use free of charge, Lufthansa will also allow its passengers to send and receive photos.
The free messaging service will be made available from mid-January 2024 which is also when Lufthansa will slash the price to connect to streaming quality onboard Wi-Fi (more commonly referred to as WLAN in Germany) by nearly 50%.
At present, Lufthansa charges €10 for streaming quality Wi-Fi on flights of 90 minutes or less and €12 for flights over 90 minutes or more than 4,000 miles, across its short and medium-haul network.
To access Lufthansa’s onboard Wi-Fi, passengers need a Miles & More account or an e-mail address registered with the Lufthansa Group Travel ID, although passengers can sign up inflight.
Pricing is slightly different on long-haul flights, and Lufthansa will continue to charge passengers to access messaging services on these flights.
However, until 31 December 2023, Lufthansa is also offering 30 minutes of free inflight messaging across all Wi-Fi-enabled aircraft.
