Posted on Monday, 4 January 2016

Of all the things that make for a successful business trip, Internet access is arguably one of the most important. Fast Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in hotels and airline lounges – but less uncommon on aircraft themselves.

But Air Berlin is championing change in the airline industry by offering 3G connectivity on every single one of its short, medium and long-haul flights.

Passengers will be able to use their own 3G-enabled phones with the service, which according to the airline will be "much closer to the experience on the ground".

Which Airlines Offer In-Flight Wi-Fi?

A number of airlines offer an inflight Wi-Fi service, but access is not usually universal. Some carriers only offer it to business class passengers, while others only have it on their flagship aircraft. Some large airlines appear to be adding Wi-Fi as a service very steadily; British Airways trialled Wi-Fi on a single Boeing 747-400 for more than a year before recently deciding to install Wi-Fi across its fleet.

Some of our business travel insurance customers might wonder why it took the UK's national carrier so long to decide that Wi-Fi was necessary on its planes.

While some business travellers may appreciate the respite from work emails, others might view the long periods spent in the air as a great opportunity to get some work done – and work usually requires Internet access.

Other airlines that offer some Wi-Fi access on their flights include China Eastern Airlines, Egypt Air, Emirates, Norwegian and Air France. You can find a full list of carriers that provide Wi-Fi here.

Why Aren't UK Airlines Offering Inflight Wi-Fi?

Aside from BA, no other UK-based airline offers Wi-Fi at at the time of writing. While it would undoubtedly be appreciated by customers (particularly business users), in-flight Wi-Fi systems are prohibitively expensive for some airlines. EasyJet, for example, is holding off adding Wi-Fi until prices fall.

Do you have any experiences of Wi-Fi on international airlines? Would you specifically choose an airline that offered Wi-Fi on-board?

Please leave a comment below.

Get a Quote