Virgin Australia tests in-flight Wi-Fi

Virgin Australia has commenced a three-month test of inflight Wi-Fi on one of its aircraft.

The airline announced today that passengers on one of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft would have free access to Wi-Fi during the trial.

Passengers will be able to access streaming services Netflix, Stan and Pandora via a satellite-based connection.

Internet access is courtesy of Optus satellites, with the inflight connection via Gogo’s 2Ku dual-antenna setup. Gogo also provides inflight Wi-Fi for Delta Air Lines, a partner airline of Virgin Australia.

“We are thrilled to commence customer testing of our inflight Wi-Fi today,” John Thomas, group executive Virgin Australia Airlines, said in a statement.

“We want to ensure that guests can stay reliably connected in the air while also enjoying the fantastic entertainment and customer service for which Virgin Australia is well known.

“We’re looking forward to receiving guest feedback about our inflight connectivity over the next three months to ensure we are able to offer the best possible service in the sky.”

Qantas this month launched public Wi-Fi access one on of its Boeing 737 in what the airline describes as a ‘beta’ while it continues to finetune the system.

The Qantas inflight Wi-Fi relies on NBN’s Sky Muster satellites for connectivity.