SAS introduces high-speed Wi-Fi on flights to keep up with competitors

SAS said passengers will be able to access Wi-Fi on board some flights from Wednesday, joining a growing number of rivals in Europe to offer the facility as it seeks to boost passenger revenues. More and more airlines now provide in-flight Wi-Fi as satellite technology has matured, triggering what industry players have termed a ‘gold rush’ among suppliers as they race to sign up airlines. SAS is teaming up with California based communications company Viasat which will be providing a satellite-based Wi-Fi service for the airline, although it will not be fully rolled out across the fleet until 2020. Wi-Fi is now accessible on 43% of all available seat miles worldwide, up 10% from early 2017, according to a 2018 report by Routehappy. Premium customers in SAS traveling on business class will be able to use Wi-Fi for free on any flight, while economy passengers will have to pay 4.90 euros per flight. <br/>