Lufthansa Group Broadband Internet Access Expanded to Over 150 Short and Medium-Haul Aircraft

Lufthansa Group has announced on its website that all passengers traveling on European routes will soon have the option of using Wi-Fi onboard. The group is expanding broadband Internet to over 150 short and medium-haul aircraft across three of its airlines this year. The initiative will encompass the entire Airbus A220/320 family (A220, A319, A320ceo, A320neo, A321ceo, A321neo) operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and now SWISS.

The installation of the system will commence in the fourth quarter of 2024 and is expected to be completed in about two years. Following Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Eurowings, SWISS will be the next airline in the Lufthansa Group to offer in-flight internet to its passengers on short- and medium-haul flights. Since 2017, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, and Eurowings have been providing broadband internet on many of their flights.

In a new development, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines are now offering unlimited free messaging for passengers on aircraft already equipped with internet access. Passengers can send and receive unlimited messages on their devices free of charge during the flight, provided they log in to FlyNet with a Miles & More service card number or an email address registered with the Lufthansa Group Travel ID. Other internet packages, including Premium access, have seen a price reduction of nearly 50 percent since the beginning of the year.

The use of Lufthansa Group Airlines' apps and many services on the FlyNet portal of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, the Wings Connect portal of Eurowings, and the upcoming SWISS Connect portal is generally free on all Airbus A220/A320 aircraft equipped with broadband Internet. These services offer a range of features including live flight tracking, connection flight information, service chat assistants, e-journals, Worldshop browsing, and onboard menu viewing.

The onboard internet is also a tool for the crew, helping them optimize flight routes and reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

For the installation of broadband Internet on the additional aircraft, the Lufthansa Group has partnered with Viasat, continuing a collaboration that began with technology company Inmarsat in 2015. The new aircraft will be equipped with a hybrid EAN (European Aviation Network) technology, combining an S-band satellite from Europe with supplementary ground components from Deutsche Telekom using 4G LTE technology.

This new technology also marks an advance in sustainability, as the smaller and lighter antennas compared to the previous technology reduce the total system weight to less than 60 kilograms, thereby cutting additional fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.