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WiFi to gate today on BA longhaul

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Old May 14, 2023, 12:51 pm
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WiFi to gate today on BA longhaul

I know this isn't a general enhancement (in the traditional sense) and that it was probably a one-off but on my long haul flight today the WiFi continued right to the gate on arrival. I was under the impression on the 777 that the WiFi switched off automatically as the aircraft descended through 10,000 feet. Is it supposed to be automatic or does someone have to remember to flick a switch? Either way, our Captain was a little surprised.

Is there any likelihood of this becoming a more permanent enhancement?

[There can be no doubt it was working as I was streaming the Arsenal match. As the match entered its last phase I was hoping BA would end my pain during the descent].
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Old May 14, 2023, 1:03 pm
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Crew member was a Brighton fan?
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Old May 14, 2023, 1:04 pm
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Originally Posted by gcuk
Crew member was a Brighton fan?
Amusing
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Old May 14, 2023, 1:32 pm
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Originally Posted by gcuk
Crew member was a Brighton fan?
Just as well, given they were on a 777, that he or she wasn't a fan of non league Airbus UK
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Old May 14, 2023, 2:35 pm
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Had a European friend travelling last night on a delayed flight that was in the air during the Eurovision voting. Mentioned to me today that the wifi didn't work and many people onboard were complaining about that!
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Old May 14, 2023, 4:04 pm
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Oh, so that's why Finland didn't win.
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Old May 14, 2023, 5:41 pm
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Originally Posted by golfmad
I know this isn't a general enhancement (in the traditional sense) and that it was probably a one-off but on my long haul flight today the WiFi continued right to the gate on arrival. I was under the impression on the 777 that the WiFi switched off automatically as the aircraft descended through 10,000 feet. Is it supposed to be automatic or does someone have to remember to flick a switch? Either way, our Captain was a little surprised.

Is there any likelihood of this becoming a more permanent enhancement?

[There can be no doubt it was working as I was streaming the Arsenal match. As the match entered its last phase I was hoping BA would end my pain during the descent].
I've always wondered why BA switch the wifi off coming in to land when several other airlines keep it going until you get to the gate.

My last experience of using BA wifi was LHR to HKG on Easter Sunday when it was spectacularly bad trying to stream the final round of the masters. Would be nice if in addition to wifi we could get sport24 etc like AA, LH have.
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Old May 14, 2023, 5:51 pm
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Have frequently had WIFI to the gate, but haven't paid attention to the equipment type. I don't believe the crew are meant to do anything with the WIFI equipment.
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Old May 14, 2023, 7:23 pm
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Originally Posted by Jpm81
I've always wondered why BA switch the wifi off coming in to land when several other airlines keep it going until you get to the gate.

My last experience of using BA wifi was LHR to HKG on Easter Sunday when it was spectacularly bad trying to stream the final round of the masters. Would be nice if in addition to wifi we could get sport24 etc like AA, LH have.
As a sidenote, AA doesn't have live TV anymore since COVID-19 onboard their long-haul wide-body aircraft so no more Sport24 on AA.
Although, they do have a wide selection of live TV on narrow-body aircraft which could only be streamed over the USA.
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Old May 15, 2023, 1:36 am
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Originally Posted by Jpm81
I've always wondered why BA switch the wifi off coming in to land when several other airlines keep it going until you get to the gate.
BA probably taking a stricter interpretation of the sterile flight deck rule (no non-essential activities under 10,000 feet), although this is more flight deck. IFE runs gate-to-gate in most cases, and certainly under 10,000 feet.

I'm sure the fact that it saves BA money to turn it off earlier, all under the pretence of "safety", has nothing to do with it
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Old May 15, 2023, 2:57 am
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Originally Posted by Jpm81
I've always wondered why BA switch the wifi off coming in to land when several other airlines keep it going until you get to the gate.

My last experience of using BA wifi was LHR to HKG on Easter Sunday when it was spectacularly bad trying to stream the final round of the masters. Would be nice if in addition to wifi we could get sport24 etc like AA, LH have.

We don't do anything with it at all, it is fully automated and I assume runs off a flight script, a bit like certain IFE functions. We have a couple of switches in the flight deck, but merely ensure they are in their normal position as part of our pre flight set up.
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Old May 15, 2023, 6:15 am
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Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
As a sidenote, AA doesn't have live TV anymore since COVID-19 onboard their long-haul wide-body aircraft so no more Sport24 on AA.
Although, they do have a wide selection of live TV on narrow-body aircraft which could only be streamed over the USA.
I watched the world cup live on sport 24 on an AA flight from LHR to DFW in November so they definitely had it post covid.
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Old May 15, 2023, 8:33 am
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Originally Posted by Jpm81
I watched the world cup live on sport 24 on an AA flight from LHR to DFW in November so they definitely had it post covid.
Just a note on this: there's only a certain amount of bandwidth for an entire plane. If someone streams live sport, that's going to seriously saturate what else is available. Sometimes I can barely even send/receive emails on BA wifi (for this reason - people streaming music/video etc). I don't think people know how much bandwidth this uses (or care!).
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Old May 15, 2023, 8:38 am
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Originally Posted by chriswiles
Just a note on this: there's only a certain amount of bandwidth for an entire plane. If someone streams live sport, that's going to seriously saturate what else is available. Sometimes I can barely even send/receive emails on BA wifi (for this reason - people streaming music/video etc). I don't think people know how much bandwidth this uses (or care!).
I was referring to watching it on sport24 which was the live TV.
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