A330 WiFi

Noticed one of the A346s at Heathrow this week with the blister added for the WiFi. Does anyone know if the A330s are getting this as well?

[mitchja]

Yes, all the remaining VS fleet are due to get WiFi installed at some point.

3 of the A330's already have it as they where the trial aircraft (G-VINE, G-VGEM & G-VLUV)

Is it the same price regardless of class flown?

[mitchja]

Yes £14.99 for the duration of the flight, however, the A330 usage allowance is different than the B789 usage allowance.

The A330 system only gives you 50Mb of data to use, whereas the B789 system gives you more data for the same cost.

The B789 system is also slightly faster too as that's the newer wideband system.

I think the rest of the fleet are all getting the faster wideband version of the system.

Yes £14.99 for the duration of the flight, however, the A330 usage allowance is different than the B789 usage allowance.

The A330 system only gives you 50Mb of data to use, whereas the B789 system gives you more data for the same cost.

That is expensive for not much particularly if you compare it to such as Emirates who give you the first 10mb for free and thereafter it is $1 (US) for the next 500mb.

Indeed, but apart from one route VS aren't really competing with EK. And as their biggest competitor doesn't yet offer wifi at all, they can afford to charge what they think the market will bear on their core TATL routes.

Thanks for that, prob not worth the bother for an a330 night flight. I like the idea of Emirates that the first few Mb are complimentary.

[mitchja]

It's also swings and roundabouts as the cheaper they make it, the more people are likely to use it and with it having a pretty limited bandwidth, the more people using it, the slower the whole system is going to get.

It's also swings and roundabouts as the cheaper they make it, the more people are likely to use it and with it having a pretty limited bandwidth, the more people using it, the slower the whole system is going to get.

Yes that's exactly how I found it on Emirates and just gave up
The 787 however I found to be well useable.

I've found the free WiFi on Norwegian to be very good, only used on short haul though, not sure if it's free on transatlantic.

Ditto JetBlue in America.

[mitchja]

It's a different type of system on Jet Blue (and Virgin America). Not sure about Norwegian though sorry?

They use a ground to air system which is much faster. It works a similar way to how a mobile phone network works with a network of masts installed around the country with transmitters pointing upwards towards the aircraft.

The only route that doesn't work on for VZ is their Hawaii route as once over the ocean, for obvious reasons the aircraft looses it's connection to the masts on the ground.

Any TALT aircraft can only use a satellite based system.