Finnair customers will now enjoy the industry’s fastest gate-to-gate in-flight connection speeds for free during the first two months while the service is trialled. Details of price packages will be released in the Autumn. Customers flying from Manchester and Dublin will start experiencing the super-fast service on board Finnair’s Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft as the service is rolled out over the coming year. Travellers will be able to surf the web at the same speed in the air as on the ground to send emails, shop online and even stream music and video – including TV shows and movies – from top video streaming services. Piia Karhu, Finnair’s Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, said: “We are very happy that we can offer our customers something truly special, a state-of-the-art internet connection on our European flights. “Customers can also enjoy the services we provide online through our Nordic Sky portal, such as the latest digital newspapers and shopping options. Having an internet connection onboard also enables us to introduce new tools for our crew to improve the customer experience on our flights.” Finnair’s Nordic Sky portal provides a range of complimentary digital services to customers, such as news, shopping, access to Finnair Customer Care and flight connection status checks, on those flights equipped with internet connectivity. The new high-speed in-flight service follows Finnair’s partnership with Californian-based global communications experts, Viasat Inc., which offers access across all Wi-Fi enabled devices including mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Don Buchman, Viasat’s Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Aviation, said: “Finnair is a customer-focused airline bringing the latest technology to their fleet to ensure advanced passenger engagement. We’re proud to partner with them and provide onboard internet experiences that deliver on unmatched speed and quality.” Six of Finnair’s narrow-body Airbus aircraft already feature the new service and by the end of the summer it expected to be installed in 20 aircraft. The airline’s entire narrow-body Airbus fleet will offer high-speed internet connectivity by summer 2019. The airline’s state-of-the-art Airbus A350 short-haul service from Heathrow already features high-speed Wi-Fi and connectivity is also provided on all of Finnair’s long-haul flights. Finnair offers fast connections from London Heathrow, Manchester, Edinburgh and Dublin via Helsinki to 19 top destinations across Asia and the Far East.
Finnair has launched an in-flight WiFi service for passengers flying on its European Airbus fleet. The carrier plans to have the service installed on 20 planes by the end of Summer 2018 and its whole fleet by Summer 2019. The new feature stems from Finnair's partnership with Manchester-based communications company Viasat. The airline says the in-flight connectivity will allow passengers to surf the internet, stream video and send emails while in the air.