In-flight Wi-Fi set to loom large for airlines this year

Routehappy has released its annual Wi-Fi Report outlining which international carriers are expected to increase their Wi-Fi capabilities for 2017.

While 2016 marked the year when airlines that were early adopters of in-flight Wi-Fi substantially completed their rollouts, this year, more major airlines are expected to commit to a similar agenda, with a strong focus on European and Asia-Pacific region airlines coming online with in-flight Wi-Fi.

Indeed, 2017 will be the year that Wi-Fi becomes a reality beyond US airlines, with major European and Asia-Pacific carriers committing to rollouts in 2017, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK and Singapore.

Highlights of the Routehappy Wi-Fi Report 2017 include:

70 plus airlines worldwide now offer Wi-Fi in most regions of the globe, with several large global airlines preparing for full or near full rollouts. That is, 11 more than last year!
U.S. airlines offer at least a chance of Wi-Fi on 83% of their Available Seat Miles (ASM)
Non-U.S. airlines offer at least a chance of Wi-Fi on 28% of their ASM’s
The top three airlines that offer the most ASMs with Wi-Fi are Delta, United and Emirates respectively
Of all airlines worldwide, Emirates, United and Lufthansa lead the pack offering Wi-Fi on long haul routes, by total number of ASMs
Last year, best Wi-Fi was available on 6% of flights. That number has since grown to 7.2% of in-flight Wi-Fi offered worldwide today, a number expected to increase significantly in 2017

“In-flight Wi-Fi continues to grow in both airline adoption and capability, and this trend is only going to continue in 2017,” said Robert Albert, CEO of Routehappy.

“2016 was the year that airlines outside the U.S. committed to high quality in-flight Wi-Fi at a rate only previously seen by U.S. carriers, and 2017 will see those commitments come to life,” Albert continued.

While Wi-Fi has become commonplace on U.S. airline flights, the same could previously not be said for flights operated by European and Asia-Pacific airlines. In 2016, however, multiple major global airlines signed large scale commitments to offer Wi-Fi on their aircraft. From British Airways to Eurowings to Qantas and Air New Zealand, this year, Wi-Fi is going to be a reality in every corner of the globe!

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