Will we see wifi on Air India soon?
In today's world of seamless connectivity, it is wonderful to be able to access the internet on board aircraft. Many non-Indian carriers have begun, or are already, providing wifi access; some charge by usage (such as ~$4.50 for 3MB, by Thai), some by time (~$11.50 per hour by Singapore Airlines), and some even provide free wifi access (JetBlue comes to mind). In fact, you can get a full list (updated through March 2014) here.
Now with Air India joining Star Alliance, the pressure to step up their game is quite high. And one of the things they're doing is with in-flight wifi access. AI is in talks with Geneva-based On Air, to provide wifi systems on some of its aircraft.
"It's just a matter of time until we will have access of satellite broadband on board our international flights. We are in discussions with various agencies and have met officials of OnAir. We will make a decision on it in the coming few months," said Anil Sondhi, executive director of materials management and information technology at Air India.
"As headphones started as a paid service on airlines, a few decades ago, but soon became free, so will Wifi access in the coming years," he added.
I'm not entirely sure about paid headphones, since I've never been in that situation. But this shouts out loud, three things:
1. that they will have onboard wifi sooner than later;
2. it will be a paid service (at least initially); and
3. it won't be available on domestic flights.
The last is because of a local regulator (DGCA) ruling that airlines cannot have or permit the use of transmitting devices over Indian airspace. That also means, that even if a non-Indian carrier that offers wifi is flying between 2 non-Indian airports, the airline has to turn off wifi facility when flying over Indian airspace. See image below for a sample of such routes.
Given that the use of wi-fi and GSM-based services in-flight have been proven to be safe, this rule seems quite archaic; however, until that particular rule is amended, nothing can be done about it.
I'm no AI sympathiser, but the good news is that Air India is looking to shed its past image and look at new beginnings, with Star Alliance.
As far as domestic flights go, I'd love to see the prohibitive rule disappear, so that airlines can offer in-flight wifi. Is this an amenity (paid or free) that you'd like to see on domestic flights in India?
Now with Air India joining Star Alliance, the pressure to step up their game is quite high. And one of the things they're doing is with in-flight wifi access. AI is in talks with Geneva-based On Air, to provide wifi systems on some of its aircraft.
"It's just a matter of time until we will have access of satellite broadband on board our international flights. We are in discussions with various agencies and have met officials of OnAir. We will make a decision on it in the coming few months," said Anil Sondhi, executive director of materials management and information technology at Air India.
"As headphones started as a paid service on airlines, a few decades ago, but soon became free, so will Wifi access in the coming years," he added.
I'm not entirely sure about paid headphones, since I've never been in that situation. But this shouts out loud, three things:
1. that they will have onboard wifi sooner than later;
2. it will be a paid service (at least initially); and
3. it won't be available on domestic flights.
The last is because of a local regulator (DGCA) ruling that airlines cannot have or permit the use of transmitting devices over Indian airspace. That also means, that even if a non-Indian carrier that offers wifi is flying between 2 non-Indian airports, the airline has to turn off wifi facility when flying over Indian airspace. See image below for a sample of such routes.
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| Image: Gcmap.com, and is only a small sample of routes overflying Indian airspace |
Given that the use of wi-fi and GSM-based services in-flight have been proven to be safe, this rule seems quite archaic; however, until that particular rule is amended, nothing can be done about it.
I'm no AI sympathiser, but the good news is that Air India is looking to shed its past image and look at new beginnings, with Star Alliance.
As far as domestic flights go, I'd love to see the prohibitive rule disappear, so that airlines can offer in-flight wifi. Is this an amenity (paid or free) that you'd like to see on domestic flights in India?
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