[mkcol74]

Sounds great!
Let’s hope CIVG will be operating my YVR-LHR next Wednesday then 😀

[LuganoPirate]

I flew FRA – JFK on Lufthansa’s A340 two weeks ago and was happily snoozing when my son ran in and told me wifi was working. Despite it saying on sign-in “No VOIP calls” so as not to disturb your fellow passengers, you can guess what everyone was doing?

Because it was free I think everyone on board was online which made the connection a bit slow, but I did manage to Skype Mrs. LP and convince her we’d made an emergency stop in Gander!!! Amusing at the time but perhaps not now thinking of MH370.

What was strange, was logging into FlightRadar24 and watching my flight whilst on it and then comparing speed, height and position to the on board flight display! I also saw all the other planes above, below and next to us but could not spot any of them from the window.

[handbag]

A tip when logging in on BA onboard WIFI. Password says you need 2 out of 3 – upper case , lower case, number. You need all 3 for it to accept the password.

[MartynSinclair]

When I first started going to BKK on LH, nearly 10 years ago, LH had a very good system that enabled perfectly clear Skype calls. VS has had a system that has worked moderately well for a few years now (no Skype).

I wonder why BA only has 1 aircraft with wifi – the technology isn’t exactly new….

[Cheeryguy]

I wish BA would steer clear of wifi. I actually enjoy being out of touch. It forces me to do other things. Instead of contantly reaching for my iPad etc. it is also wonderful being out of reach of others and their pesky emails for a few hours.
Typing this on my iPad whilst soaking in the bath…………!!

[MartynSinclair]

Cheeryguy – those that want/need to keep in touch can, those that don’t, simply don’t enable wifi – simple really…

Now, hope you are not plugged into the mains whilst in the bath……… 🙂

[Cheeryguy]

If only it were that simple. ;-))

[SergeantMajor]

I do hope you iPad survived its bath, Cheeryguy!

Has anyone tried the new wifi-enabled aircraft? Any news on the wider rollout?

[IanFromHKG]

I have noticed that the new AA 777-300ERs have a large “box” on top of the fuselage, which I take to be the wifi equipment. I’m no aerodynamic engineer, but I would have thought it played merry hell with the drag coefficient

To Martyn’s point – yes, you can switch off (or not switch on) but that doesn’t stop you being disturbed by the people around you skyping, or stabbing furiously away at their keyboards. And yes, I know that they can type whether they are online or offline, but if just seems to me that with wifi they are much more likely to be using laptops et al. And, like SM (a rare moment of agreement) I prefer to be offline while flying, and for everyone else to be offline too. Let us business travellers preserve every tiny little haven of peace that is left to us!! Heaven knows there aren’t many of them!

[MartynSinclair]

I would be in favour of Q zones on longhaul aircraft… those that want/need to tap away can, those that want sleep can….

This is a similar situation to blinds up/down on a day flight….. the answer falls to the one in control…..

[SimonS1]

“Ian_from_HKG – 25/03/2014 09:22 GMT
To Martyn’s point – yes, you can switch off (or not switch on) but that doesn’t stop you being disturbed by the people around you skyping, or stabbing furiously away at their keyboards.”

Per rferguson’s post above Skype is blocked on BA.

Plus I often work on my laptop on flights )as do many passengers), does the fact that wifi is available really have any bearing on that?

[bacrew1]

G-CIVG is a high J (70 config) 747 not mid J

[LuganoPirate]

Personally I’m in the wifi free camp on planes, but I recognise many do want it. I don’t think zones would work though. If you need to get somewhere and the last seat is in the zone you don’t want, you have a problem.

My son was happily chatting away on Viber to his pals and all those around him were talking. I can imagine in the quieter confines of business if you’re trying to work and your neighbour is non stop talking, it could be very annoying – not to say it wouldn’t be equally annoying in Y if you want to sleep.

[BigDog.]

SQ stings a passenger for £750 for wifi use….

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/singapore/11231784/Singapore-Airlines-passenger-gets-749-Wi-Fi-bill.html

…..on an otherwise enjoyable flight.

[coolflyer]

Are BA any closer to introducing international wifi?

It seems to me that the competition are slowly creeping ahead of BA in this area. American are already offering it on all their 777-300s from London and progressively on their refurbished 777-200 whilst Virgin Atlantic are adding wifi to their new 787s and retrofitting their A330s. Emirates have even announced free wifi across the majority of their fleet.

Whats the big delay from BA? Having wifi on a flight would affect my choice of carrier particularly on a daytime flight.

[Author]

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