SWISS will offer its customers aloft internet connections for the first time with its new Boeing 777-300ER. Travellers will have a choice of three data packages. As part of its new inflight connectivity, the airline will also be offering a roaming inflight phoning option for a trial one-year period.
The first of SWISS’s new flagship Boeing 777-300ERs will enter scheduled service on the carrier’s long-haul network next month. The new twinjet will offer wireless internet connectivity in all three cabin classes. Access will be provided via a broadband connection, and will enable guests to surf or send emails on their laptop, tablet or smartphone device.
Three data packages
To meet travellers’ differing needs, SWISS will offer a choice of three data packages for its inflight internet option. The 20 MB SWISS Connect data package, costing CHF 9, is intended for those wishing to check their emails or visit a few websites; the 50 MB package at CHF 19 is more for travellers seeking to surf their social networks or use the internet to work; and the 120 MB package at CHF 39 provides even more flexibility and the opportunity to make almost full use (apart from streaming) of the internet’s scope and possibilities.
SWISS will also be providing its First Class customers with a 50 MB SWISS Connect data package free of charge.
In its constant endeavours to meet its customers’ needs, the airline is further considering whether to extend this inflight internet connectivity to the rest of its long-haul fleet, i.e. its Airbus A330s and A340s.
Inflight phoning via roaming
As part of its new inflight internet option, SWISS will also be enabling its customers aloft to make phone calls and send SMS text messages and data via roaming telephony for a trial one-year period. The new facility is being offered in the light of recent market research among its customer base. The prices of these services will be set by the corresponding contractual agreements between AeroMobile (the provider of these inflight phone options) and the customer’s phone service provider.
SWISS will be closely monitoring this one-year trial phase, and will be carefully assessing any and all feedback from its customers. And, since safety and the inflight comfort of its guests are its top priorities, such roaming phone services will only be available at service times during night flights: as soon as the cabin lighting is switched off, the feature may no longer be used.
Boeing 777 deployments
The new internet-connected SWISS Boeing 777-300ERs will be gradually deployed from the start of the 2016 summer schedules onwards, primarily on services to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Tel Aviv.
