Saudia’s latest inflight Wi-Fi service is (nearly) ready to go live. The carrier announced it “operated its first flight fully equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi as part of a pilot launch, marking an important step in the airline’s efforts to elevate the travel experience and providing guests with seamless, high-performance digital connectivity.”
Inflight internet is no longer a luxury, but an essential service and a strategic enabler within the Kingdom’s aviation and air transport transformation program. – His Excellency Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation
Commercial rollout is expected imminently. With the Dubai Air Show just a couple weeks away that seems a likely venue for announcement of the service going live.
The test flight saw His Excellency Engr. Saleh Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services and Chairman of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corporation, and His Excellency Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia, on board. The executives watched a live broadcast of a Roshn Saudi League match, participated in a television interview with AlArabiya, and conducted a video call with participants on the ground.
Once activated Saudia intends the service to be free of charge on board. The service promises “stable speeds of up to 300 Mbps, with future upgrades planned to exceed 800 Mbps” to the aircraft. This is sufficient to support streaming video and business applications, with passengers allowed to connect multiple devices “and switch between them seamlessly for a smooth, uninterrupted online experience throughout the flight.”
Twenty aircraft currently fly with the system installed; a significant portion of passengers will have access when Saudia finally activates the service. The carrier plans to extend the solution to the remainder of its fleet.
Saudia has not been shy about its IFC desires. But the carrier has also never quite pulled it off, despite a few high-profile prior false starts.
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