With the technology growing at a great pace, Indian passengers can now expect to browse the internet and make calls on board from next month. The Indian airline SpiceJet has announced that they will become the first airline to offer wifi on board, as their new Boeing 737 Max is fitted with systems to make it possible.
“We have also selected a service provider and as soon as government approvals come, passengers will be able to use wifi on board, most probably from next month,” SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said. “Fares currently are not sustainable and airlines will have raise fares to meet cost of operations and remain profitable.”
The aircraft of the airline is fitted with Satcom that will enable the airline to offer internet on board. Also, the airline will offer wifi ‘complimentary’ for their passengers.
Also, it has been stated that SpiceJet will induct about 9 more aircraft in its fleet by the end of December among which two more will come by the end of this month. This new aircraft will also enable the airline to launch direct flights to Hong Kong and Eastern Europe destinations.
“There are two models of charging wifi on board. One is to fund the cost of it internally and the other is to charge consumers. We are discussing to provide it complimentary and fund its cost through advertisement,” Singh said.
Singh also feels that raising the fare to meet the cost of operations may not impact the demand of their flights as there is a lot of demand for wifi enabled airlines in the Indian market. For now, the fares are low because airlines are adding flights on newer routes and fares are initially kept low to attract passengers on those routes.