In-flight Internet access is no longer a "light luxury".
Written by IT Times reporter Sun Yan
Edited by Pan Shaoying and Sun Yan
In November, on the eve of a business trip, a reporter from the IT Times found that China Eastern Airlines had sent two text messages in a row to introduce its in-flight Wi-Fi products, which was really rare. First, China Eastern Airlines has launched the "In-flight Wi-Fi Multiple Card"; The second is to remind passengers when issuing tickets that this is a flight that can use in-flight Wi-Fi, and economy class passengers have 10 minutes of free Internet time, and first class and business class passengers can use free Internet access for the whole flight.
After boarding the plane, the in-flight Wi-Fi network printed on the back of the seat is particularly conspicuous, and previously, only check the airline's official website or app before boarding, or ask the flight attendant after boarding to find out whether the aircraft is flying Wi-Fi in the air.
The bigger change is that Wi-Fi can be used in the air from the moment the wheels of the plane take off from the ground, without having to wait for the plane to fly level.
Airlines have changed! Wi-Fi in the air has changed!
Huawei, iPhone and other consumer-grade mobile phones have been upgraded to the "piercing the sky" function, satellite communication has entered the daily life of ordinary people, and "never lose contact" has become the basic demand of the new communication era. At that time, it will become increasingly unbearable for travelers to fly without internet access.
When in-flight Wi-Fi is spreading
From "light luxury" to "affordable goods".
In November this year, China Eastern Airlines took the lead in launching the "In-flight Wi-Fi Multiple-Time Card", including domestic (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) half-year and one-year passes, as well as half-year and one-year passes for domestic and international routes, which can be used in-flight Wi-Fi an unlimited number of times during the validity period and are applicable to all wide-body passenger flights.
It is very cost-effective for the "trapeze", if you buy a domestic full-range conventional air Wi-Fi product separately, a single ** is 50 yuan, and the purchase of an air Wi-Fi domestic half-year card** is 186 yuan, only 4 times can be returned. If you buy an air Wi-Fi domestic one-year card, ** is 286 yuan, and you only need 6 times to return to the cost. In addition, the ** for the domestic and international half-year card is 368 yuan, and the ** for the one-year card is 586 yuan.
At present, China Eastern Airlines' wide-body passenger aircraft mainly cover popular domestic business routes, with wide-body aircraft accounting for more than 83% of the routes between Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Beijing Capital Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, and more than 50% of the wide-body aircraft between Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Shenzhen Airport, Guangzhou Airport and Beijing Daxing Airport.
Coincidentally, in June this year, Juneyao Airlines tested the waters and launched an in-flight Wi-Fi "Xinxinlian" season card, which is 99 yuan for unlimited Internet access, and you can return to your capital by flying twice a quarter, but at that time, the 99 yuan season card was limited to 300 pieces.
Ctrip has also joined the in-flight Wi-Fi business model reform, becoming the first travel platform to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi products. At present, Ctrip Golden Diamond and Black Diamond members can use 30 minutes of high-speed Wi-Fi Internet access for free as long as they take China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines wide-body passenger aircraft. Black Diamond members can use it for free 12 times a year, and Gold Diamond members can use it 6 times a year, and it can be used on both domestic and international routes.
In-flight Wi-Fi products have suddenly changed from "light luxury" to affordable consumer goods that are generally acceptable to ordinary people.
The 3,000-meter limit in the air has been lifted
Internet access can be used during take-off and landing
The cancellation of the 3,000-meter limit is the biggest change in in-flight Wi-Fi this year, and it is also the confidence of airlines to take the initiative to change.
On August 5, 2023, China Eastern Airlines took the lead in announcing that in-flight Wi-Fi is available below 3,000 meters, which means that passengers can use portable electronic devices such as mobile phones to access the Internet at any time during the entire flight from take-off to landing. On the same day, Juneyao Airlines announced the completion of the in-flight Internet operation test below 3,000 meters.
In late September, China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines completed the coverage of the entire fleet of in-flight Internet access below 3,000 meters, and these two airlines became the first batch of domestic airlines to complete the full upgrade.
Prior to this, in-flight Wi-Fi devices could only be turned on when the aircraft reached an altitude of more than 3,000 meters, and the take-off and landing phases below 3,000 meters lasted about 15 minutes, which happened to be the time when passengers' demand for Internet access was the strongest.
Taking the Beijing-Shanghai route as an example, the whole flight time is about 90 minutes, excluding the time below 3,000 meters, and only about 70 minutes of in-flight Wi-Fi usage time.
In the future, you don't have to wait until the plane lands to notify your family and friends of the arrival time, you can handle work and remote meetings during the flight, and you don't have to endure the boredom of not being able to access the Internet during take-off and landing.
Through the efforts of relevant departments, at the beginning of this year, China has officially canceled the restriction on the start-up and use of airborne satellite equipment above 3,000 meters, which means that the era of full opening has come.
After the restriction of not being able to connect to the Internet below 3,000 meters is lifted, the digital life of passengers in the air can be truly uninterrupted. For airlines, it provides the basic network capabilities to achieve full service and improve operational efficiency. Zhang Chi, manager of air-ground interaction, told the "IT Times" reporter that the restriction below 3,000 meters has been lifted, coupled with the launch of China Eastern Airlines' in-flight Wi-Fi multiple cards, the cost performance of in-flight Internet access is higher, simply put, it is to spend less money to enjoy longer Internet services.
The era of live air broadcasting
The measured speed is close to that of 4G on the ground
In 2014, the first Internet flight in the history of China's civil aviation was successfully tested, opening the era of domestic in-flight Internet access.
The first in-flight Wi-Fi aircraft was the Airbus A330 of China Eastern Airlines, and so far, China Eastern Airlines has achieved full coverage of 105 wide-body passenger aircraft. Since the launch of commercial operation in September 2021, China Eastern Airlines' in-flight Wi-Fi passenger aircraft fleet has carried out more than 100,000 flights, covering 18 million passengers, ranking first in China in terms of fleet size, number of flights, and number of users.
Airplanes, once considered to be the last "information island", from the complete loss of contact to in-flight audio-visual entertainment, from the in-flight LAN to the extranet, from the "turtle speed" Internet to Douyin, watching live broadcasts, ordinary people gradually realize the freedom of Internet access in the air.
IT Times" reporter measured on the plane, the experience of in-flight Wi-Fi is close to the ground 4G, there is no lag in brushing Douyin, and the family WeChat ** almost does not feel the delay, and watching the live broadcast is not a problem, in the long *** quickly drag the progress bar, the buffer time is within 10 seconds. However, when the aircraft encounters turbulent airflow, the network quality deteriorates.
China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines have started the commercialization of in-flight Wi-Fi operations with the traffic charging model, and have opened the annual card, semi-annual card, and season card model that are similar to Internet paid members, which is not unrelated to the air-ground interconnection of the service provider behind it.
At the end of 2020, China Telecom Group, China Eastern Airlines Group and JuneYao Group jointly established an in-flight Wi-Fi service provider, Air-to-Ground Internet Network Technology Co., Ltd. 5% and 15%, the cooperation model between airlines and telecom operators is the first in the world.
At present, the number of aircraft that provide in-flight Internet access by air-ground interconnection accounts for about half of the country's in-flight Internet access aircraft, mainly the fleets of China Eastern Airlines and Juneyao Airlines.
"Never lose contact" in the air
Narrow-body machine coverage is advancing
This year, satellite communication has begun to enter the lives of ordinary people, Huawei Mate 60 Pro is hard to find, and new energy vehicles such as Zeekr have joined the team of direct satellite connections. Anytime and anywhere access to the Internet is the vision of the 6G era, and satellite Internet is the first "ticket" to enter the 6G era.
In the air, how can you lose contact?
For a long time, there are two main solutions for in-flight Wi-Fi, one is the ATG mode, that is, ground-to-air broadband communication, which provides signals for the aircraft to connect to the Internet through the ground base station; The other is the satellite communication mode, which provides a signal for the aircraft to access the Internet through satellites, and the aircraft can be seen as a huge router that converts into in-flight Wi-Fi after receiving the signal.
At this stage, the implementation of in-flight Wi-Fi technology is dominated by the satellite mode, but in Zhang Chi's view, due to the advantages and disadvantages of the satellite mode and the ATG mode, from a global point of view, the two modes still coexist.
But why is it that people still don't have such a deep understanding of in-flight Wi-Fi? Not because of **, but because of the coverage. At present, wide-body passenger aircraft are mainly covered by in-flight Wi-Fi, because wide-body passenger aircraft operate long distances and frequent flight routes, and passengers have a stronger demand for in-flight Internet access.
However, wide-body airliners do not make up the majority. According to the "2023-2033 Global Fleet and MRO Market**", it is expected that the total number of global civil aircraft in 2033 will be 36,305, of which narrow-body passenger aircraft, wide-body passenger aircraft and regional airliners will increase to 23,364, 6,884 and 3,538 respectively, and narrow-body passenger aircraft are 34 times.
The layout of narrow-body airliners to provide in-flight Wi-Fi is already advancing. Zhang Chi revealed that with the lifting of the restriction below 3,000 meters, the time available for short-distance flights has also been extended, and the cost has been further reduced by technological progress, which has accelerated the layout of narrow-body passenger aircraft to provide in-flight Wi-Fi.
At present, the Internet in the air is still a rather "ritual" or novelty thing, before the Internet, you need to buy and authenticate, airlines cover the air Wi-Fi flights also account for a minority, the real air Internet should be insensitive, just like connecting to the network on the ground.
Typesetting Ji Jiaying.
* Interviewee.
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