More Airlines Add Free Wi-Fi… For Members Only

Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Lufthansa are among a growing list of airlines to recently introduce free Wi-Fi or messaging on all their flights. Singapore Airlines customers in all cabin classes can use unlimited internet throughout the flight, while Malaysia Airlines and Lufthansa customers can access free Wi-Fi messaging services.

They join the likes of Emirates, Qatar Airways, JetBlue and Delta to offer free Wi-Fi, in some form or another, on almost all flights.

Unfortunately, when flying most of these airlines, there’s a catch: You need to be a member of that airline’s frequent flyer program. Not only that, but your membership number needs to be linked to your booking and on your boarding pass.

This obviously isn’t a problem if you want to add your KrisFlyer membership number to a Singapore Airlines booking, or your Skywards number on an Emirates booking. But what if you want to credit the flight to a partner airline?

Crediting flights to partner airlines locks you out of free Wi-Fi

One of the great things about alliances like Oneworld or Star Alliance is that you can fly with any member airline and receive reciprocal benefits. For example, you can earn Qantas points when flying American Airlines. Or, if you have British Airways Gold status, you can access your status benefits when flying Cathay Pacific.

But all too often, that reciprocal recognition doesn’t extend to in-flight Wi-Fi access.

Flying Singapore Airlines and want to use your Velocity benefits or earn Velocity points and status credits? You can, but you won’t be entitled to free Wi-Fi on board because that’s only for KrisFlyer members. Similarly, if you want to credit an Emirates flight to Qantas Frequent Flyer, you’ll lose your Emirates on-board WiFi access.

I experienced this scenario first-hand when flying Finnair a few days ago. I have Qantas Platinum status and wanted to use my benefits, as well as earn Qantas points and status credits for my flight. So, I attached my Qantas Frequent Flyer number to the booking.

On board the flight, I noticed that Finnair Plus members can get free in-flight internet access.

But I couldn’t log into the excellently-named Nordic Sky internet portal because the system didn’t recognise my Qantas Frequent Flyer membership.

I also flew with Lufthansa recently. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they now offer 30 minutes of complimentary access to Wi-Fi messaging per flight. But this only works if you log in with your Miles&More number or Lufthansa Travel ID. I usually credit my Lufthansa flights to United MileagePlus and don’t even have a Miles&More account, so I didn’t bother going any further.

A few months ago, I was unable to connect to the Singapore Airlines Wi-Fi because I was flying in Economy and my Velocity Frequent Flyer number was attached to the booking.

Virgin Australia also now offers free Wi-Fi to Business and Velocity Platinum guests on selected aircraft. But Platinum members of partner airlines don’t qualify.

Why don’t airlines extend their Wi-Fi offering to members of partner airlines?

I can think of a few reasons that airlines don’t extend reciprocal Wi-Fi benefits to frequent flyers of alliance partners.

One possible reason is that airlines want to encourage passengers to join their frequent flyer program. And that’s fair enough.

This probably works well for customers who are not already a member of any frequent flyer program. But a Qatar Airways Platinum member probably wouldn’t want to credit a Finnair flight to Finnair Plus – forgoing the opportunity to earn Avios and Qpoints, and use all their other status benefits in the process.

A second possible reason is that airlines simply haven’t considered this scenario. I guess it’s similar to the way that some airlines, including Qantas, don’t display the fare class when you buy a ticket on their website. This is highly relevant information for people who might be crediting the flight to a partner airline, since some fare classes do not earn any frequent flyer points. But some airlines seem to assume that everyone is a member of the airline’s own program and therefore don’t need this information.

Probably the most obvious reason is a technical limitation preventing the airline’s Wi-Fi system from recognising partner airline membership numbers. But this isn’t an insurmountable hurdle…

Air Canada extends free Wi-Fi texting to members of selected partner airlines

In May, Air Canada introduced free texting on its flights for Aeroplan members. It also extended this offer to members of Emirates Skywards, Lufthansa Miles&More and United MileagePlus when flying on Air Canada.

To access the free texting, you need to include your frequent flyer membership number with Aeroplan or one of the eligible partner programs prior to departure.

I took a few flights on Air Canada last month. On one flight, my Velocity Frequent Flyer number was linked to the booking and I was unable to log in. But on another flight, I’d included my United MileagePlus number on the reservation and it worked well. So, this is something that can be done if airlines want to!

Some airlines don’t require a login

A much simpler, passenger-friendly solution would be not to require a login to connect to the Wi-Fi network at all.

Qantas is one airline that lets all passengers connect to its Wi-Fi network without providing a membership number. However, Qantas only offers Wi-Fi on its Boeing 737s and selected Airbus A330-200s when flying over the Australian continent.

Malaysia Airlines also removed the login requirement to access complimentary in-flight internet earlier this month. This is now available to all passengers in all cabin classes, including those who are not members of the airline’s Enrich program.

You can still purchase Wi-Fi on most airlines

If you really need to access the internet on board, and you want to credit the flight to another airline’s loyalty program, the good news is that most airlines will still let non-members purchase access.

Vodafone also recently started offering in-flight roaming to Australian mobile customers flying on selected airlines for just $5. Eligible airlines for Vodafone’s in-flight roaming deal include Etihad, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Asiana.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.