Lufthansa Airlines Adding Internet to Short-Haul Flights

Passengers of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines will soon be able to go online, in-air, for shorter duration flights. The amenity is launched in addition to the long-haul flights' in-air Wi-Fi system, which has already been available to passengers since its initial launch in 2003.

In the first quarter of 2017, the number of Lufthansa aircraft outfitted for Internet access will increase to approximately 20. Over time, the entire Lufthansa A320 fleet will become equipped with the latest Internet technology. The project, set for completion in 2018, comes in addition to the re-fitting of all 31 Austrian Airlines aircrafts, which is planned for completion in April 2017. Eurowings has also announced the addition of Internet to some of its fleet; a total of 69 planes will receive the upgrades by the summer of 2017.

The project began when last summer, Lufthansa received the Supplemental Type Certificate for the Airbus A320 fleet from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Since then, the testing stage of the Lufthansa and Austrian routes can soon begin, which will initially involve five aircraft for each case. Passengers on these flights will be offered free Internet use during the test phase, and the analysis of use behavior will provide necessary data to further enhance the service prior to its market launch.

Passengers can gain Wi-Fi access via their personal mobile devices for services including the Internet, email, video streaming and other applications. Several different service packages will be made available for passengers to choose from: FlyNet Message for three Euros, FlyNet Surf for seven, and FlyNet Stream for 12 euros per flight. Though FlyNet Message only allows the use of messaging services such as email, WhatsApp or iMessage, FlyNet Surf also enables passengers to surf the Internet. With the FlyNet Stream service package, streaming becomes possible. The packages can be paid for by credit card or via payment services like PayPal.

Lufthansa Airlines and its technology partner, Inmarsat, will use the latest broadband satellite technologies for its internet services, including Ka-band, to provide reliable coverage for both short haul and mid-range flights via the Inmarsat network Global Xpress (GX). Deutsche Telekom will be the Internet Service Provider for Lufthansa passengers.