Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines-based low-cost carrier, has announced it will install onboard wifi internet access on its fleet of new Airbus A330 aircraft, to be delivered between 2013 and 2014. A statement from the carrier claims that the service, provided by OnAir, will be installed just in time for “the airline’s initial deployment of long-haul services.”
"This aircraft has a range of up to 11 hours, which means CEB could serve markets such as Australia, Middle East, parts of Europe and the US," Candice Iyog, CEB vice-president for marketing and distribution told Business Traveller. "We are exploring the possibility of offering inflight wifi as a free service through our advertising partners and other promotions that we can offer to CEB's passengers. Price points are still being developed."
Eventually, wifi will also be available on its fleet of A320s for its short- and medium-haul domestic and regional routes.
While several legacy carriers have already introduced onboard wifi, most recently Japan Airlines (see story here) and All Nippon Airways (see story here), Cebu Pacific will be one of the first few low-cost carriers in Asia-Pacific to offer the service, with several others considering it for the near future. Scoot, for example, is using iPads for inflight entertainment and will eventually install wifi so that passengers can stream content from an online library (see story here). While Jetstar also uses iPads onboard (see story here), it has yet to connect them to the internet and AirAsia is still exploring the option.
For a list of other carriers offering wifi internet access onboard, click here.
For more information, visit www.cebupacificair.com
Alisha Haridasani
