Philippine Airlines Partners OnAir to Offer Inflight GSM and Wi-Fi

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has partnered OnAir to offer its passengers both GSM and Wi-Fi internet.

PAL customers will soon be able to call, text, tweet, email and surf the internet as they fly across Philippine Airlines’ extensive network in Asia Pacific, Australasia and the US.

“As a leading airline, it is clear we must enable our passengers to remain in touch during flights. It is an absolute requirement for today’s travellers in providing the very best service,” said Ramon Ang, President of Philippine Airlines. “The two most important criteria to us and for our passengers are to have a service that is global and of high quality wherever we fly, and a flexibility to suit the needs of all passengers.”

Mobile OnAir and Internet OnAir will be retrofitted on Philippine Airlines’ Airbus A330-343 and Boeing 777-300ERs, starting next month, and the global GSM and Wi-Fi service is expected to be launched from mid-year.

“Passengers use of the inflight GSM and Wi-Fi networks mirrors behaviour on the ground, which is why having both is so important,” said Ian Dawkins, OnAir CEO. “When both GSM and Wi-Fi are available, over 80% of passengers use GSM. Simply turn on your phone or tablet and use it for calls, text messages, emails, updating Facebook and Twitter, as well as the Internet. No need to enter your credit card details because the costs are included in your mobile phone bill, as with international roaming. People typically use the Wi-Fi for business. It is more suitable for heavier email and Internet usage. We give passengers the choice.”

Philippine Airlines can provide consistent connectivity on all its flights because of OnAir’s coverage. It has regulatory approvals from over 90 countries, as well as roaming agreements with more than 350 mobile network operators. OnAir uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband network.