Oct 1, 2017, 1:57 am
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
Dec 9, 2017, 2:31 pm
#106
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jan 2009
Programs: Battleaxe Alliance
Posts: 22,127
Dec 11, 2017, 5:14 am
#107
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Lewes, UK
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 1,213
BA travel trade site reporting launch is starting December 2017:
Customers will soon be able to connect to the internet as we aim to have 90% of our fleet installed with Hi-Speed Wi-Fi by 2019, starting with 4 of our longhaul aircraft* by the end of this year.
We will have two packages available to purchase onboard starting from £4.99:
For a limited period thanks to our partner Visa, we are offering all customers flying on a Wi-Fi enabled aircraft one hour of free browsing connectivity until the end of January. If the aircraft is enabled, an announcement will be made by the cabin crew and instructions will be available on how to register and log on by joining the ‘BA Wi-Fi’ network.
*selected 747 Super High J’s and 777-300
Customers will soon be able to connect to the internet as we aim to have 90% of our fleet installed with Hi-Speed Wi-Fi by 2019, starting with 4 of our longhaul aircraft* by the end of this year.
We will have two packages available to purchase onboard starting from £4.99:
- BROWSE for email, messaging, browsing the web and social media (excluding streaming)
- STREAM with faster speeds that support streaming services such as music and videos
For a limited period thanks to our partner Visa, we are offering all customers flying on a Wi-Fi enabled aircraft one hour of free browsing connectivity until the end of January. If the aircraft is enabled, an announcement will be made by the cabin crew and instructions will be available on how to register and log on by joining the ‘BA Wi-Fi’ network.
*selected 747 Super High J’s and 777-300
Dec 13, 2017, 11:02 pm
#108
Join Date: May 2011
Location: DFW
Programs: AA EXP, LT Gold
Posts: 3,148
On BA192 via G-CIVX right now about to descend to LHR.
FA made an announcement about the wifi as we were taxiing out. She said "As of yesterday, (12 Dec) every BA jumbo is wifi equipped".
Remarks about the wifi service...
1. It's very annoying that you cannot sign into GoGo. I tried all sorts of things, but was only able to pay / connect as a guest. This meant I could only connect one device. On AA, you sign in and can switch from laptop to smartphone during the flight. This was not the case with the HighLife Connect.
2. Speeds were really slow for most of the flight, and connection was back and forth a lot. Doesn't seem to be as stable as AA's Panasonic from my experience.
3. Pricing is good, though.
Nice to finally be able to connect on the BA longhauls. This might cause me to fly BA TATL more frequently vs. AA. Might.
FA made an announcement about the wifi as we were taxiing out. She said "As of yesterday, (12 Dec) every BA jumbo is wifi equipped".
Remarks about the wifi service...
1. It's very annoying that you cannot sign into GoGo. I tried all sorts of things, but was only able to pay / connect as a guest. This meant I could only connect one device. On AA, you sign in and can switch from laptop to smartphone during the flight. This was not the case with the HighLife Connect.
2. Speeds were really slow for most of the flight, and connection was back and forth a lot. Doesn't seem to be as stable as AA's Panasonic from my experience.
3. Pricing is good, though.
Nice to finally be able to connect on the BA longhauls. This might cause me to fly BA TATL more frequently vs. AA. Might.
Dec 15, 2017, 1:39 pm
#110
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: San Francisco, CA USA // UA 1K 2 Million Miler, AA EXP 2MM, HH Diamond, SPG Plat // Easily found on SFO-ORDs
Posts: 2,726
Had it recently LHR-SFO. No announcement made whatsoever -- in fact, when I asked crew about it, they said they'd been instructed NOT to announce anything about it.
I couldn't do any kind of account setup -- had to sign in as a guest.
Over far-north Canada, we lost connectivity for ~30 min. Afterwards, Gogo wanted me to repurchase access. I live-chatted and got them to give me a promo code to pay for resumption of service.
It was highly spotty and slow. Some websites more responsive than others.
Happy to have it, but it's far from a smooth experience yet.
I couldn't do any kind of account setup -- had to sign in as a guest.
Over far-north Canada, we lost connectivity for ~30 min. Afterwards, Gogo wanted me to repurchase access. I live-chatted and got them to give me a promo code to pay for resumption of service.
It was highly spotty and slow. Some websites more responsive than others.
Happy to have it, but it's far from a smooth experience yet.
Dec 22, 2017, 7:48 am
#114
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 11,591
It would be awfully embarrassing if 2 Star SkyTrax rated Ukraine International (PS) were to have Wi-Fi on their four second hand 772's before BA.
Isn't it years since BA announced this Wi-Fi rollout? PS stated they were getting 772's in October and will take delivery in March, the a/c are coming from AI where it was not installed.
Isn't it years since BA announced this Wi-Fi rollout? PS stated they were getting 772's in October and will take delivery in March, the a/c are coming from AI where it was not installed.
Dec 25, 2017, 1:24 am
#115
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,187
Dec 25, 2017, 3:47 pm
#116
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: London. Or a plane.
Programs: "Only" 50,000 TPs until BA GGLfL
Posts: 2,779
There is a lot involved in the periphery of the antenna, so the 3 ft antenna is better fitted on the fuselage. More here: https://runwaygirlnetwork.com/2014/1...enna-blisters/
Dec 25, 2017, 7:06 pm
#117
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 5,797
Maybe they will in future. Current WiFi antennae wouldn't fit and even the latest aircraft were on the drawing board long before onboard WiFi became a common thing.
Dec 26, 2017, 1:38 am
#118
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,187
The antenna box there is not meant for satellite antennae... plus you probably don"t want to add weight and drag to a tail fin that is designed differently...
Jan 4, 2018, 3:04 pm
#119
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver, Priority Club Gold, Herts Pres Circle
Posts: 492
Jan 12, 2018, 3:13 pm
#120
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, Hilton Diamond, Marriott GOLD, Accor Club Gold
Posts: 709
Wifi on 777
I had a very surprising experience this evening. I was on BA164 TLV/LHR, which is served by a 777 - and as I was getting ready to put my iPhone into flight mode at Ben Gurion, I noticed a wifi network labelled BAWifi. I mentioned this to one of the cabin crew, who denied it could be the case, because it was only being rolled out on 747s, but he was wrong, and the CSM made an announcement about it just before taxi/take-off. Like the cabin crew member, I had thought it was only on a few 747s, but clearly the roll out is going out more widely.