TAP wants to have WiFi on medium-haul flights

  • ECO News
  • 18 December 2017

TAP is studying ways to introduce internet on board of medium-haul flights. The introduction of this system will take place during next year.

Texting on WhatsApp and Messenger on board of a plane? It might become a reality if you fly with TAP next year. The Portuguese airline is studying ways to introduce internet on medium-haul flights. That service will be included in current aircraft, but will also become a part of new airplanes delivered by Airbus.

The news were disclosed by the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Negócios and was confirmed to ECO by an official source from the company. “In the medium-haul aircraft, TAP will introduce a WiFi streaming service with the possibility of introducing internet”, the company explains, signaling that the introduction of the hardware on airplanes will begin “during 2018”. However, TAP clarifies that neither the cost or speed of the service are yet defined.

This innovation means that it will be possible to exchange messages in the sky. “Messaging via WhatsApp or Messenger might become a reality with the installation of on-board internet”, an official source from the company states. Nonetheless, that source warns against the fact that “in order to make calls or send text messages from an airplane, the aircraft should have a modem which is not part of the configuration that is being studied”.

The Portuguese airline also highlights they will offer other entertainment alternatives, such as an audio and video content streaming service that the company will introduce on board.

Currently, the company has an OnAir WiFi service in flights between Europe and North and South America, on board of the A330 aircraft. That service has a cost of 4.99 dollars for 4 MB, 14.99 dollars for 14 MB and 45 dollars for 50 MB.