Life
by Ruman Baig
3 hours ago
According to a recently made announcement, Emirates passengers in every class of travel can now enjoy free connectivity once they sign up to Emirates Skywards.
Always at the forefront of development, this has resulted in an additional 30,000 Economy Class passengers connecting to complimentary onboard Wi-Fi every week.
Till date, the high-end luxury airline has invested more than US$ 300 million dollars into onboard connectivity. This is a great news for all Emirates Skywards members in every class of travel, as everyone can now enjoy some form of free connectivity.
Skywards members, whether Blue, Silver, Gold, or Platinum tier, travelling in any class, whether Economy, Premium Economy, Business or First Class will enjoy free app messaging. In addition to that, First Class Skywards members along with Silver, Gold and Platinum Skywards members travelling in Business Class will have unlimited access to free internet. This will allow them to not just spend some leisure time on the internet but also shop or work online while inflight. Platinum Skywards members have complimentary internet access in all classes.
This new welcoming change has been very well recieved by the Emirates passangers. Today, the airline sees an average of 450,000 users per month. This represents a 30% increase of passenger use in 2023 versus the same period last year. Currently, almost 10% of all passengers are utilising the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. On routes through the Americas, almost 20% of passengers connect to Wi-Fi onboard, and on European and Africa routes the usage is over 11% of all passengers.
“Emirates has persistently worked with our service providers to optimise and improve the connectivity experience. In March we delivered about 55% more data per customer session compared to early 2022 despite the number of sessions increasing by 68% in the same period. We will continue to work to invest in upgrades and enhancements, and our A350 aircraft will arrive with the next generation of satellite connectivity already equipped,” shared Patrick Brannelly, SVP Retail, IFE & Connectivity.
Emirates also announced that it will offer new high-speed, inflight broadband powered by Inmarsat’s GX Aviation, onboard 50 new Airbus A350 aircraft – scheduled to enter service in 2024.
This new agreement will make passenger experience better with enhanced connectivity and greater global coverage, even on flights over the Arctic. The Airbus A350s will be the first Emirates aircraft to take advantage of Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) satellite network, which powers the world’s first and only globally available broadband network, ensuring passengers can enjoy uninterrupted global connectivity, no matter their destination, including the North Pole.
The advanced high-speed capabilities of the broadband will enable Emirates passengers to stay connected with family and friends, browse the internet, and enjoy social media, all from the comfort of their seat.
Emirates also confirmed an investment of over US$ 350 million to equip a 50-strong fleet of A350s coming in 2024 with enhanced passenger connectivity via Thales’ AVANT Up system and Optiq – the first smart display in the industry to offer two Bluetooth connections, built-in Wi-Fi for passengers to pair multiple devices including phones, tablets, headphones or even game controllers, while supporting up to 60 watts USB-C to fast-charge personal devices.
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Images: @emirates More