Why no domestic wifi?
Oct 31, 2022, 5:39 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Programs: NZ Elite; QF Platinum; CZ Gold; MU Platinum; Marriott Titanium; Accor Platinum
Posts: 1,467
Why no domestic wifi?
Posting this in the air on a QF 737-800 flying a domestic 60 minute route in Australia. Like it seems most QF flights, wifi and entertainment delivery by wifi all provided for free.
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
Oct 31, 2022, 5:51 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,114
Posting this in the air on a QF 737-800 flying a domestic 60 minute route in Australia. Like it seems most QF flights, wifi and entertainment delivery by wifi all provided for free.
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
The economics are also very different. QF will be paying a fraction of the cost Air NZ are paying per mb for data since they can utilituse the NBN Sky Muster satellites deployed above Australia whereas Air NZ are reliant on Inmarsat GX which is a global platform and priced accordingly.
Oct 31, 2022, 5:53 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2021
Location: WLG
Programs: NZ*GE
Posts: 40
Posting this in the air on a QF 737-800 flying a domestic 60 minute route in Australia. Like it seems most QF flights, wifi and entertainment delivery by wifi all provided for free.
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
Is there any good reason apart from not willing to invest in the customer experience NZ cant do this too?
Oct 31, 2022, 6:05 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 2,645
* Cost of setup.
* Monthly cost.
* Cost of weight. They are working towards carbon zero
* NZ's domestic flights aren't that long comapred with QF.
But given that QF users NBN they only have coverage over Australia so international flights have no Wi-Fi.
Right now I would most probably wait for Starlink to become certified as cost, speed and size is likely to be game changing.
* Monthly cost.
* Cost of weight. They are working towards carbon zero
* NZ's domestic flights aren't that long comapred with QF.
But given that QF users NBN they only have coverage over Australia so international flights have no Wi-Fi.
Right now I would most probably wait for Starlink to become certified as cost, speed and size is likely to be game changing.
Oct 31, 2022, 6:22 pm
#5
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,114
Yip while tail fade is only an issue due to the location of the current GX3 satellite, it's not something that will change within the next few years at least but will hopefully change as Inmarsat launch their new GX satellites.
Oct 31, 2022, 6:31 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
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Thanks as always for the knowledgeable very informed replies! Seems not as easy as putting a router into a plane! 😂
I'll keep using my mobile data until its loses coverage then!
I'll keep using my mobile data until its loses coverage then!
Nov 1, 2022, 1:30 pm
#10
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: New Zealand (most of the time)
Programs: Air NZ Elite *G, Honors Gold, IHG Platinum Elite
Posts: 6,114
Doesn't really matter if you leave a phone on.. It pretty much won't work 99% of the time in flight anyway.
Modern cellsite sector antennas tilt down to cover the ground, not upwards to cover the sky. It's slightly different to the old AMPS analogue days where signal would still bleed upwards from omni antennas and some sites were specifically designed for this coverage - Air NZ even used to have a phone on board most of their 737 fleet in the 90s for passengers to use.
Modern cellsite sector antennas tilt down to cover the ground, not upwards to cover the sky. It's slightly different to the old AMPS analogue days where signal would still bleed upwards from omni antennas and some sites were specifically designed for this coverage - Air NZ even used to have a phone on board most of their 737 fleet in the 90s for passengers to use.