QANTAS Airways (Sydney) yesterday (March 7) officially commenced its in-flight A380 connectivity trial, offering passengers traveling between the United States and Australia access to the Internet and emails in the sky.

The trial will commence aboard the six QANTAS A380s equipped with Internet technology for flights between Los Angeles and Sydney and Los Angeles and Melbourne.

Customers will be able to access the Internet via their Wi-Fi enabled laptops and personal electronic devices, such as iPhones, iPads and BlackBerrys on QF for the first time.

The eight-week trial will give customers the opportunity to access the Internet in exactly the same way as a terrestrial Wi-Fi hotspot in which customers can pay with their credit card and surf the Internet, including the use of email.

The connectivity service, provided by OnAir uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband and global satellite based connections to transfer data between the passengers in the aircraft to the ground.

The trial will initially be available to customers traveling in the First and Business cabins and will form part of QANTAS’ ongoing strategic evaluation of connectivity options, including the review of next generation technology platforms.

Following the trial period, QANTAS will assess opportunities for the long-term application of Internet capabilities across its A380 fleet.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best.

QANTAS Slide Show: CLICK HERE