Has Qantas A380 Melb to LAX got WIFI?

[Flashman]

Hi AFF's,

I will be flying from Melbourne to Orlando via LAX in October on the Qantas A380. Can anyone tell me if the A380 has WIFI?

I have been on other carriers that do but I am hearing that Qantas don't have Wifi.

Thanks

Flashman

 

[Hvr]

No wi fi on Qantas planes.

 

[Mattg]

I believe United may offer in-flight wifi on the MEL-LAX route, but not Qantas.

Personally I don't mind switching off from the outside world for a little while. But I understand that some people feel differently.

 

[Quickstatus]

In 2012 QF "trialled" inflight wifi on their A380 to LHR, and apparently discovered that the take up was very low. Most passengers wanted to switch off. They cancelled that plan.
It is still possible to make phone calls and SMS via their satellite service but no internet connection

They are now mulling inflight wifi on their domestic routes;
QANTAS TO BRING FAST, FREE INFLIGHT WI-FI TO AUSTRALIAN SKIES - Qantas News Room

 

[moa999]

I am surprised QF hasn't tried again on the A380s - presumably most of the equipment is still in the aircraft, just maybe needs an updated receiver for the latest satellites.
As it is definitely one area where they are dropping behind the competition

 

[TonyHancock]

In 2012 QF "trialled" inflight wifi on their A380 to LHR, and apparently discovered that the take up was very low. Most passengers wanted to switch off.

My assumption is that the feedback from pax could only be done using the inflight wifi.

I suspect that QF received no feedback, which suggested customers wanted to switch off.

My assumption is based upon the actual speed of the internet offered. Any feedback I tried to give would still be getting back to QF given the utterly abysmal service that was offered. It was simply dire. Griselda would have been able to send a telegram to Mars faster than a webpage loaded.

 

[RichardMEL]

In 2012 QF "trialled" inflight wifi on their A380 to LHR, and apparently discovered that the take up was very low. Most passengers wanted to switch off. They cancelled that plan.
It is still possible to make phone calls and SMS via their satellite service but no internet connection

They are now mulling inflight wifi on their domestic routes;
QANTAS TO BRING FAST, FREE INFLIGHT WI-FI TO AUSTRALIAN SKIES - Qantas News Room

The low take up was due to a) the limited number of a/c involved (not all 380's had it at the time) and b) the horrible cost.

I used it once, on LAX-MEL - only because I got given a free access code when in F (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered). It was spotty

UA offers it on their 787 fleet. In March I used it from MEL-LAX and it was pretty solid for almost the entire 14 hour flight. Cost about $16 USD IIRC so not cheap, but it did the job for a long time. No real complaints.

 

[moa999]

The low take up was due to a) the limited number of a/c involved (not all 380's had it at the time) and b) the horrible cost.

Agree, but seemingly by now there are more satellites out there (and cheaper bandwidth costs) which might enable them to try again, presumably by swapping out (or re-installing) a new satellite receiver

 

[JamesB]

I believe both UA and AA have it now. I'd love it on Qantas, particularly on QF93 - effectively a day flight even though they try and convince you it's not

 

[RichardMEL]

Absolutely agree - QF should go it again - with more fleets out there having it and it being.. fairly.. common (AY A350 had it too, free for J pax ) that QF will have to go again at some point. I think they probably feel a bit "once bitten, twice shy" after the previous effort and are focused on the test and roll out of the domestic solution in the near future. You'd think though that it would have to be firmly on the radar. The 789's would be a fairly obvious platform to start with as opposed to retrofitting 380's and (retiring 744's). the 330's into Asia would also be good candidates too, IMHO.

 

[moa999]

They've already announced that 737s will get Ka band aerials to hook up to the NBN Sky Muster satellites.

And the 330-200s of which some fly into Asia will get a Ka/Ku antenna

https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2...al-internet-sets-the-context-for-qantas-deal/

 

[Simo]

Very sad QF don't have in flight wi fi...

 

[timster]

ABT just published a list of who has inflight wifi:

American Airlines
ANA
Cebu Pacific
Emirates
Etihad
Garuda
Japan Airlines
Philippine Airlines
Qatar
Scoot
Singapore Airlines
Thai
United

 

[kitkatff]

so if I'm watching Netflix on wifi in the plane, what country's programming would I get between AU and US?

 

[moa999]

so if I'm watching Netflix on wifi in the plane, what country's programming would I get between AU and US?

Depends what VPN you use

 

[Robert Qld]

Just imagine the Pokémon going to waste somewhere over Kiribiti! If QF only had WiFi!

Hahaha...

 

[RichardMEL]

ABT just published a list of who has inflight wifi:

American Airlines
ANA
Cebu Pacific
Emirates
Etihad
Garuda
Japan Airlines
Philippine Airlines
Qatar
Scoot
Singapore Airlines
Thai
United

Finnair too - on their A350's.

It should be noted that all these carriers not all a/c in all fleets have the product - it can still be a bit hit and miss.

 

[BAM1748]

They don't. thank god for small mercies. Some slow down time en route to the next round of meetings.

 

[Welsh-Kiwi]

Cathay Pacific is offering wifi on its A350s.

 

[galah]

The problem with WiFi on the A380 in particular is that you're having to split one satellite connection with 400+ pax, leading to crushingly slow internet. Perhaps they use multiple connections, but still that's where the bottleneck lies.

I recently had the (dis)pleasure of using Delta's GoGo internet over the pacific LAX-SYD on a full 777 and found it to be next to useless, to the point where they don't advertise the plane as being WiFi-enabled