Wi-Fi is here to stay

Good news for all those who are in love with their Wi-Fi. Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines have launched satellite Wi-Fi service on long-haul flights. Yes, you heard me right. There will be internet on your flight now.

They say we will be able to surf the web, respond to emails and send text messages. The company has provided a special in-flight website that will allow passengers access to live television news and sports channels!

“We’re confident that, in the future, all our passengers will be able to remain connected when traveling to and from our hubs at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.” KLM CEO Peter Hartman said.

The internet service provider is Panasonic Avionics, and this is a pilot program that will run throughout 2013 on two Boeing 777-300s.

The charges:

Pay up

Nothing comes for free. And certainly not Wi-Fi on a flight. The price you’d pay for checking your facebook profile, and replying to your boss’s mails is $14.18 per hour. That’s approximately 8oo rupees per hour.

Or if you have a longer flight and no one interesting in the seat next to you, you can buy Wi-Fi access for the entire flight. That will cost you $25.84. Maybe you could skip the drinks and snacks, and chat with your girlfriend instead.

But the saving grace is the in-flight website which is free! Yes, free! Free! Free!

yabadaba-doo