First Trip Report on Air France Boeing 787-9
Dec 7, 2016, 3:18 am
#16
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,836
Just got this on the newswire, which made me think of this Air France/WiFi connection discussion:
NSA and British Secret Service spying on phone calls made on board Air France planes
NSA and British Secret Service spying on phone calls made on board Air France planes
Dec 7, 2016, 11:52 am
#17
Join Date: May 2011
Location: OSL / BIA
Programs: FB Platinum
Posts: 308
Emirates and Qatar price per volume, the "big pack" is 100 MB. Using an iPad and doing quite some surfing this is sufficient. Using my PC and all the Outlook downloads the 100 MB are used up quite quickly.
Lufthansa, American, Delta have it based on time. Much more relaxing. With all of them you can also use roaming partners such as Orange or Boingo.
For US domestic flights there is something like a 1 year-all-airlines package, which I believe is USD 39 p.m. I had it this year when during a couple of months I was doing many US domestic flights across DL, AA and UA. Quite neat to just log on.
The smartest solution yet I have seen is - believe it or not - Saudia. On a recent flight on their B789 the way it worked was that pax entered their name and flight number on a dedicated mobile app, which gave them a code, which in turn then gave free WiFi access. This code was only given to J class pax.
All these carriers are smart enough to block access to sites like Netflix or the iTunes film store.
Having said that, the prize for the most brainless design of a WiFi service does not go to an airline, but to Eurostar.
Lufthansa, American, Delta have it based on time. Much more relaxing. With all of them you can also use roaming partners such as Orange or Boingo.
For US domestic flights there is something like a 1 year-all-airlines package, which I believe is USD 39 p.m. I had it this year when during a couple of months I was doing many US domestic flights across DL, AA and UA. Quite neat to just log on.
The smartest solution yet I have seen is - believe it or not - Saudia. On a recent flight on their B789 the way it worked was that pax entered their name and flight number on a dedicated mobile app, which gave them a code, which in turn then gave free WiFi access. This code was only given to J class pax.
All these carriers are smart enough to block access to sites like Netflix or the iTunes film store.
Having said that, the prize for the most brainless design of a WiFi service does not go to an airline, but to Eurostar.
Would you care to elaborate on the Eurostar WiFi issues though? Been a while since i've been on one.
Dec 7, 2016, 12:06 pm
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
It's been a while since I tried to use it on Eurostar, but it was quite bad in the past. The Thalys improved their WiFi recently, but it's still fairly slow. And it is 2016 at the SNCF still has not rolled out WiFi on the TGV's. But we are getting off topic, eh?
Dec 9, 2016, 3:57 am
#19
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Eurostar Carte Blanche, SBB-CFF-FFS GA-AG, SNCF Grand Voyageur LeClub
Posts: 7,836
Eurostar: they have WiFi installed on the new trains. It doesn't work for good chunks of the journey, which they at least tell you. Then you have to register every time you use it, needlessly hasslesome (But I am not a proud owner of great email addresses such as [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], etc). Also they have blocked many sites and services, not just the usual data hungry suspects like Netflix, but others as well - can't remember which, as I was so frustrated that I stopped using it. Lastly, this is the biggest joke, they have their own entertainment portal with movies, etc. TO watch them, you have to use the Eurostar app. However, there is no Eurostar app for the iPad or other tablet devices or anything with a bigger screen, only for smart phones. So you can watch a movie on your smartphone. Really? Stopped using it now and just use the built-in 4G card in my PC or the unlimited roaming subscription that comes with my mobile phone and iPad. Works quite neatly. Not completely without interruptions, but still good.
Thalys: used it last weekend, worked well. Easy to log on, and fast enough for the use that I had. But my experience with it is limited to one return trip.
Otherwise SNCF is really eons behind (in fact, other than having fast trains, which is of course a major achievement and what matters most, was there ever anything they were not behind on?). I remember using on board WiFi on trains that went to Alsace, but then later that didn't work anymore. Does it now? Lydia trains, same thing, no onboard WiFi on trains to Switzerland.
Thalys: used it last weekend, worked well. Easy to log on, and fast enough for the use that I had. But my experience with it is limited to one return trip.
Otherwise SNCF is really eons behind (in fact, other than having fast trains, which is of course a major achievement and what matters most, was there ever anything they were not behind on?). I remember using on board WiFi on trains that went to Alsace, but then later that didn't work anymore. Does it now? Lydia trains, same thing, no onboard WiFi on trains to Switzerland.