Last edit by: sigma421
Onboard WiFi has been introduced to BA's fleet and is being marketed as Highlife Connect. This thread is to track the rollout. See https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb.../wifi-on-board for BA's FAQ on the system.
Long-haul aircraft with WiFi fitted
A350-1000 - All fitted (12 aircraft).
A380 - All fitted (12 aircraft)
777-200ER - All fitted (43 aircraft)
777-300ER - All fitted (16 aircraft)
787-8 - 0/12 aircraft
787-9 - 14/18 aircraft
G-ZBKA, G-ZBKB, G-ZBKC, G-ZBKD, G-ZBKG, G-ZBKH, G-ZBKI, G-ZBKJ, G-ZBKK, G-ZBKL, G-ZBKM, G-ZBKN, G-ZBKO, G-ZBKP
787-10 - All fitted (2 aircraft).
BA are currently trialling free WiFi in first class cabins. For those in other cabins the current cost on all long-haul aircraft is:
Note that prices and services offered are subject to change.
787-8 - G-ZBJA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/M
787-9 - G-ZBKE/F/R/S
The majority of aircraft have wi-fi equipment fitted with the exception of those expected to retire within the next few years. Wi-fi equipment is installed after delivery and the rate at which this happens appears to have slowed down post-COVID.
A319 - 12/29 Aircraft
G-EUOA
G-EUPL/M/N/O/P/R/S/T/U/Y/Z
A320 - 61/67 Aircraft
G-EUUA/B/C/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/R/T/U/V/W/X/Y/Z
G-EUYA/B/D/E/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/R/S/T/U/V/W/X
G-GATH/J/K/M/N/P/R/S/U
G-MEDK
G-MIDO/S/T/X/Y
G-TTOB/E
A320neo - 17/20 Aircraft
G-TTNA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/Q/R
Wi-fi installation has not yet occurred for aircraft delivered from October 2022 onwards.
A321 - 15/18 Aircraft
G-EUXC/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M
G-MEDL/M/N
A321neo - All fitted (10 aircraft)
The price of WiFi on short-haul flights varies according to the length of the route. The following prices are known:
Messaging - £1.99 or £2.99 depending on flight distance.
Browse & Stream (one hour) - £4.99
Browse & Stream (whole flight)
£4.99 (MAN / NCL)
£6.99 (ARN / HAM)
£7.99 (KRK / LIS / MAS / PMI)
£8.99 (AGP)
£9.99 (LED / SOF)
£11.99 (LCA)
Short-haul aircraft not planned to receive WiFi due to retirement
A319 - 18 Aircraft
G-EUOE/F/G
G-EUPD/G/J/K/W
G-DBCA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/J/K
Background information:
Long-haul aircraft with WiFi fitted
A350-1000 - All fitted (12 aircraft).
A380 - All fitted (12 aircraft)
777-200ER - All fitted (43 aircraft)
777-300ER - All fitted (16 aircraft)
787-8 - 0/12 aircraft
787-9 - 14/18 aircraft
G-ZBKA, G-ZBKB, G-ZBKC, G-ZBKD, G-ZBKG, G-ZBKH, G-ZBKI, G-ZBKJ, G-ZBKK, G-ZBKL, G-ZBKM, G-ZBKN, G-ZBKO, G-ZBKP
787-10 - All fitted (2 aircraft).
BA are currently trialling free WiFi in first class cabins. For those in other cabins the current cost on all long-haul aircraft is:
- 1 hour: £7.99
- 4 hours: £17.99
- Full flight: up to £23.99 depending on route
Note that prices and services offered are subject to change.
Long-haul aircraft still to be fitted with WiFi
787-8 - G-ZBJA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/M
787-9 - G-ZBKE/F/R/S
Short-haul and mid-haul aircraft known to have WiFi fitted and enabled
The majority of aircraft have wi-fi equipment fitted with the exception of those expected to retire within the next few years. Wi-fi equipment is installed after delivery and the rate at which this happens appears to have slowed down post-COVID.
A319 - 12/29 Aircraft
G-EUOA
G-EUPL/M/N/O/P/R/S/T/U/Y/Z
A320 - 61/67 Aircraft
G-EUUA/B/C/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/R/T/U/V/W/X/Y/Z
G-EUYA/B/D/E/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/R/S/T/U/V/W/X
G-GATH/J/K/M/N/P/R/S/U
G-MEDK
G-MIDO/S/T/X/Y
G-TTOB/E
A320neo - 17/20 Aircraft
G-TTNA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M/N/O/P/Q/R
Wi-fi installation has not yet occurred for aircraft delivered from October 2022 onwards.
A321 - 15/18 Aircraft
G-EUXC/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/K/L/M
G-MEDL/M/N
A321neo - All fitted (10 aircraft)
The price of WiFi on short-haul flights varies according to the length of the route. The following prices are known:
Messaging - £1.99 or £2.99 depending on flight distance.
Browse & Stream (one hour) - £4.99
Browse & Stream (whole flight)
£4.99 (MAN / NCL)
£6.99 (ARN / HAM)
£7.99 (KRK / LIS / MAS / PMI)
£8.99 (AGP)
£9.99 (LED / SOF)
£11.99 (LCA)
Short-haul aircraft not planned to receive WiFi due to retirement
A319 - 18 Aircraft
G-EUOE/F/G
G-EUPD/G/J/K/W
G-DBCA/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/J/K
Background information:
FAQ : Status of on-board WiFi rollout on BA aircraft
#496
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Greater Metropolitan Area
Programs: Yes
Posts: 367
Google Therefore I claim no accuracy.
Airlines seem to be very cagey with information about their Wifi, and while there are a few different providers there aren’t THAT many. It also seems to be a bit of a wild west still, with various different versions for the same providers, and airlines sometimes making strange choices for different planes, upgrading some and not others etc.
It is always going to be a shared resource, so it will continue to vary from one day and flight to the next.
For example Panasonic are in the process of upgrading their modems which seems to make a big difference so you don’t know which version you’re getting even if you know it’s Panasonic. But that big difference will probably get smaller once additional planes come online and suck it all up again and it gets split between more planes.
So what was once mentioned as really fast in a review might have just been down to that being the only plane in the sky using it. Two years later, the airlines having signed up, 300 planes having come online and no capacity improvements made the same service is dreadfully slow.
Fascinating to monitor though
Airlines seem to be very cagey with information about their Wifi, and while there are a few different providers there aren’t THAT many. It also seems to be a bit of a wild west still, with various different versions for the same providers, and airlines sometimes making strange choices for different planes, upgrading some and not others etc.
It is always going to be a shared resource, so it will continue to vary from one day and flight to the next.
For example Panasonic are in the process of upgrading their modems which seems to make a big difference so you don’t know which version you’re getting even if you know it’s Panasonic. But that big difference will probably get smaller once additional planes come online and suck it all up again and it gets split between more planes.
So what was once mentioned as really fast in a review might have just been down to that being the only plane in the sky using it. Two years later, the airlines having signed up, 300 planes having come online and no capacity improvements made the same service is dreadfully slow.
Fascinating to monitor though
#497
Join Date: May 2016
Location: EDI
Programs: Was BA GGL but no longer travelling
Posts: 583
Good points, and well made, thank you for taking the time to reply to my posts.
Hopefully the technology will keep pace with the demand. It wasn’t that many years ago that WiFi wasn’t available on a plane, and now everyone offers it. And hence probably the slowdowns, as you suggest. I’m really pleased with today’s service though.
I’m not back on BA long haul until June (Atlanta) and July (Vegas) but I’ll be trying one or other WiFi, if available.
Thanks again
Jim
Hopefully the technology will keep pace with the demand. It wasn’t that many years ago that WiFi wasn’t available on a plane, and now everyone offers it. And hence probably the slowdowns, as you suggest. I’m really pleased with today’s service though.
I’m not back on BA long haul until June (Atlanta) and July (Vegas) but I’ll be trying one or other WiFi, if available.
Thanks again
Jim
#498
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Greater Metropolitan Area
Programs: Yes
Posts: 367
#499
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
Posts: 69,232
I am currently on QR572, and WiFi is infinitely better than anything I have ever had in the BA rollout (7 US/CA Flights in last 12 months). Browsing is both faster and more stable.
On my last BA (SEA to LHR about a week ago I was getting 7mbps but it was very erratic. On this flight I’m getting 1mbps but it’s stable. Maybe BA are pushing it too hard?
Do the experts here know if QR are using different technology to BA? I know it’s all satellite, and we are currently over water, but I never expected such a dramatic difference.
Maybe I’ve just been unlucky on the BA flights?
On my last BA (SEA to LHR about a week ago I was getting 7mbps but it was very erratic. On this flight I’m getting 1mbps but it’s stable. Maybe BA are pushing it too hard?
Do the experts here know if QR are using different technology to BA? I know it’s all satellite, and we are currently over water, but I never expected such a dramatic difference.
Maybe I’ve just been unlucky on the BA flights?
The long-haul service is all satellite powered but using different satellites and even different frequency bands between the two providers. There are also challenges around contention with other pax on board and with other planes in the same region sharing the same satellite beam. I've had a QR flight where I was basically the only passenger online and it worked great, but as we approached Doha others awoke on board and started using it, plus more QR planes were nearby causing further congestion on the satellite beam, all contributing to a degraded performance on the same plane/flight where it was great previously.
Also consider that the speed test numbers are a single point-in-time reference and rarely reflect real world or sustained use case. Plus, pretty much every inflight connectivity vendor will throttle back your connection if you use too much data too quickly. Running speed test a few times is a spectacular way to trigger that.
Separately, I've seen a report now of the messaging service pricing at GBP 2.99 rather than 1.99. So that also appears to be distance-based or otherwise variable.
#502
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 5,398
Another shorthaul price point as I had G-GATK from PMI (<1000 miles) on Sunday night. No announcement made about Wifi but I had noticed it frequenting this route so was prepped.
£1.99 for messaging only (i.e. super low bandwidth suitable only for WhatsApp, iMessage, FB Messenger)
£4.99 for one hour
£7.99 for full flight (2h5m)
Thought this was expensive. Was expecting £4.99 for whole flight. I wonder if they are testing price points?
£1.99 for messaging only (i.e. super low bandwidth suitable only for WhatsApp, iMessage, FB Messenger)
£4.99 for one hour
£7.99 for full flight (2h5m)
Thought this was expensive. Was expecting £4.99 for whole flight. I wonder if they are testing price points?
#503
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2005
Location: TLV/LHR
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Elite Amb, HH Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, Sixt Platinum
Posts: 12,948
#504
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,893
#507
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Lon
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 151
Used the WiFi a few days ago on a flight back from DFW in F. It seemed ok but struck me that when you’ve paid several thousands of pounds for an F ticket, it’s not great to have to get your wallet out and pay £4.99 for an hour’s WiFi. Not many decent hotels charge for it these days, and Virgin Trains manage to differentiate between first and standard passengers and offer WiFi free in first. Am I being precious or do others find the charging a bit odd?
#508
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: QRPC Platinum, KFEG
Posts: 998
On Iberia I usually get a few extra vouchers from the CSD. QR always had to pay, even in J, same for AA wifi.
On Turkish I got free wifi as TK Elite Plus, just had to login with my TK number and seat number.
On Turkish I got free wifi as TK Elite Plus, just had to login with my TK number and seat number.
#509
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold (and other non-status plastic)
Posts: 1,889
Here's one more datapoint for you all... LHR-LIS on TTNC last week. Wasn't advertised at all, so I didn't see anyone using it. I didn't bother paying, but did use it to watch the embedded Netflix trailer and browse some flights on the BA app (free). Seemed pretty fast, but literally only used it for a few mins.