I was so excited and just couldn’t wait to fly with AirAsia once I found out about this, and you will be too! What is it you ask? Well, back in December 2013, Garuda Indonesia extended their in-flight services to its domestic and international Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 flights.
For six consecutive years, the world’s best low cost airline, AirAsia is constantly improving. They have just activated its on-board Wi-Fi testing in preparation of the product launch scheduled by end of 2014.
The range of Wi-Fi product includes Instant Messaging, emails and content streaming will be made available step by step on all AirAsia flights with the AK flight code. The progress will then deliberately made further into and throughout AirAsia Group.
Also read: Thai Airways passengers can now enjoy wi-fi during flights
The Testing
The very first user acceptance testing (UAT) was conducted with a group comprising of 120 AirAsia Allstar volunteers on the test flight. Popular instant messaging services such as LINE, Whatsapp and WeChat were tested and the results came out positive.
Live updates on the test flight were posted on AirAsia’s official Twitter and Instagram accounts.
What Does The Boss Say
A name that is no longer anonymous to us, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia Group commented with excitement:
“I am very proud and happy that our staff continue to push the boundaries of being innovative. The Wi-Fi equipment that was introduced to us much earlier was just too expensive and we have decided to develop our own. It has taken us five years to come to this stage, but in true AirAsia style, we have to get it right and provide our guests with the best value at the most affordable rates.”
“It will be the first on-board Wi-Fi product in the world at affordable pricing system, and I am excited with the success of our first user acceptance test today. Finally, the masses will be able to enjoy Wi-Fi on board at a low-cost price. As I promised to the market, this is one of many initiatives that we are rolling out to boost our ancillary income per passenger spent target of RM60 (US$18.87) in the near term.”
Bonus For Guests
60 lucky guests on each AirAsia flight for the next two months will be given the chance to participate in the Free User Test.
Updates will then be shared on AirAsia’s website and official social media platforms.
How Does The Inflight Internet Work
We take Gogo in the United States for example. The concept was essentially develop by consider using a mobile phone in the car, as you move, your phone switches cell tower to maintain the best possible signal.
Gogo took the concept by inverting it and using mobile broadband cell towers on the ground. An uninterrupted network was then built in the sky. The equipment on the plane is continually selecting the best signal from the towers below. Thus, providing the best connection.
Here is a short one minute video that illustrates it all.
Now passengers on board with AirAsia flights will be able to have Wi-Fi access and no longer have to leave their technology gadgets! And there would be more happy white fluffy clouds on social media! Thanks to AirAsia, now everyone can fly, with Internet.
Also read: Here’s The Top 15 List of the World’s Cheapest Airlines
