Scandinavian Airline SAS has introduced access to Wi-Fi for passengers on board some flights, joining a growing number of rivals in Europe to offer the facility as it seeks to boost passenger revenues.
More and more airlines now provide in-flight Wi-Fi as satellite technology has matured, triggering what industry players have termed a 'gold rush' among suppliers as they race to sign up airlines.
SAS is teaming up with California based communications company Viasat which will be providing a satellite-based Wi-Fi service for the airline, although it will not be fully rolled out across the fleet until 2020.
Wi-Fi is now accessible on 43% of all available seat miles worldwide, up 10% from early 2017, according to a 2018 report by Routehappy, which provides information on flight amenities.
Premium customers in SAS travelling on business class will be able to use Wi-Fi for free on any flight, while economy passengers will have to pay €4.90 per flight.
While the price has come down, installing a Wi-Fi system on a single plane still costs between $250,000-$300,000, said a representative from Viasat.
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