Dubai’s Emirates is now offering free Wi-Fi to all passengers on its flights. A recent enhancement to Emirates’ inflight connectivity means that all Emirates passengers in every class of travel can enjoy some form of free connectivity once they sign up for Emirates Skywards. The development has resulted in an additional 30,000 Economy Class passengers connecting to complimentary onboard Wi-Fi every week.
Emirates has been at the forefront of inflight Wi-Fi developments and has to date invested more than $300 million into onboard connectivity. All Emirates Skywards members in every class of travel 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.
Additionally, First Class passengers will have unlimited free internet if they are Skywards members, enabling them to shop or work online while in flight, as well as Silver, Gold and Platinum Skywards members travelling in Business Class. Platinum Skywards members have complimentary internet access in all classes.
The increase in free connectivity has been well received by Emirates’ passengers following changes in January 2023 and the airline today sees an average of 450,000 users per month. This represents a 30 per cent increase in passenger use in 2023 versus the same period last year.
Currently, almost 10 per cent of all passengers are utilising the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. On routes through the Americas, almost 20 per cent of passengers connect to Wi-Fi onboard, and on European and African routes the usage is over 11 per cent of all passengers.
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. The new agreement will significantly improve the passenger experience 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 airline also confirmed an investment of more than $350m 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.
Passengers simply need to join Skywards in order to access free Wi-Fi. Those interested can sign up via emirates.com, flydubai.com, through the official Emirates app, or the flydubai app and directly from the Wi-Fi portal onboard.
