Deutsche Telekom’s first in-flight Wi-Fi service has racked up GB-levels of usage despite costing almost €11 per hour to access.
The operator claims 2.35 GB of data is downloaded on each flight offering the FlyNet service, and that usage hasn’t dipped since a free trial period ended at the start of February.
German airline Lufthansa, which has offered the service on select transatlantic routes since December, has seen typical uploads of 250 MB per flight and reports high levels of customer satisfaction with the access available.
The figures back up research from enterprise network operator iPass, which found that almost two-thirds of 2,400 customers quizzed would access Wi-Fi while flying.
Olivier Baujard, chief technology officer at Deutsche Telekom, says FlyNet proves the value of Wi-Fi in providing a broader 4G service experience “that delivers high speed independently of which technology is available.“
FlyNet connects to the Web via a Panasonic Avionics satellite link that Lufthansa plans to fit to all its long-haul aircraft. The bulk of the fleet will be covered by the year-end.