Lufthansa tests Internet service on short-haul flights

German airline Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines have begun testing its inflight Internet service on short-haul and medium-haul flights as it bids to ensure that all its passengers stay connected while travelling.

The trial phase, which begun on January 10, will see passengers get free Wi-Fi access while travelling on the airline’s inner-European routes as well as within the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Lufthansa, which is already offering the service dubbed FlyNet in long-haul flight such as Frankfurt-Nairobi, will launch the service officially by April and charge between €3 (Sh327) and €12 (Sh1,308).

“This great news means that passengers from Nairobi can connect seamlessly to the Internet while travelling to any destination in Europe, Middle East and Northern Africa”, said Tobias Ernst, the Lufthansa and SWISS country manager in Kenya.

The FlyNet Internet access will initially be available on 10 Airbus A320s (five each at Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines) before being increased to 20 in the first quarter of the year. Lufthansa expects that the digitisation programme, which is estimated to cost the carrier about €300 million, will be completed on its entire fleet by mid-2018, offering customers an enhanced flying experience.

In 2003, Lufthansa became the first commercial long haul flight worldwide to have broadband internet access.

The service was taken off the market in 2006 after “Connexion by Boeing” satellites ceased operations. It was reinstated in late 2010 on its inter-continental flights and expanded it to all its 107 long-haul aircraft in June 2015.

“Lufthansa passengers can gain Wi-Fi access to the Internet using their own mobile devices. Email services and video streaming will be possible too,” the airline said in a statement. “The analysis of the user behaviour will provide the data necessary to further enhance the service ahead of its market launch.”

Lufthansa, one of Europe’s biggest airlines, resumed direct passenger flights to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from late October 2015 after an 18-year absence from the Kenyan capital.

The German multinational had until then been solely dependent on code-shared flights with its partners - Swiss and Brussels Airlines. Lufthansa operates four weekly flights between Frankfurt and Nairobi.