Singapore Airlines says it will soon start offering the most comprehensive free inflight WiFi offering of any airline in the world when it rolls out free and unlimited WiFi across all classes of travel starting July 1.
The carrier already offered free complimentary WiFi to passengers sitting in its ultra-luxe Suites class, as well as First Class and Business Class customers and its top tier PPS Club members no matter what cabin they were sat in.
Earlier this year, the airline also started to offer members of its KrisFlyer loyalty programme travelling in Premium Economy up to three hours of free WiFi and up to two hours of free WiFi for KrisFlyer members travelling in Economy.
From July 1, however, those time caps will be removed, and free, unlimited WiFi will be rolled out across almost the entire Singapore Airlines fleet, regardless of class of travel.
“In today’s increasingly hyper-connected world, high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi connectivity is one of the most important requirements for our customers,” commented Singapore Air’s SVP of customer experience, Yeoh Phee Teik.
“Giving them access to free unlimited Wi-Fi is yet another milestone in SIA’s continuous effort to offer an exceptional end-to-end travel experience. With this enhanced offering, our customers will be empowered to stay connected, entertained, and productive, even at 36,000 feet in the sky,” Teik continued.
Passengers sitting in Premium Economy and Economy will need to be members of the KrisFlyer program in order to access free WiFi, although Teik points out that if passengers aren’t members by the time they are onboard, they’ll still be able to sign up via a free online portal to gain access to complimentary WiFi.
At many other airlines, inflight internet costs have at least started to drop quite significantly, although most airlines still consider WiFi, if not a full-on revenue base, at least a costly expense that should be subsidised by passengers paying to access onboard WiFi services.
Earlier this month, Emirates brought back an element of free onboard WiFi connectivity for all passengers, although, for the majority of passengers sitting in Economy and Premium Economy, connectivity is limited to free chat services like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
Emirates previously offered a small data allowance free of charge to Economy passengers, but this service was discontinued at the start of the pandemic. Like Singapore Airlines, passengers flying with Emirates must join the airline’s loyalty programme to take advantage of its free WiFi service.
The same condition has also been applied by Delta Air Lines which recently rolled out free inflight WiFi on its domestic fleet – but only for Skymiles members.
