From 1 July, you may be eligible for free Wi-Fi when traveling with Malaysia Airlines, as the airline offers it to business class passengers and top frequent flyers.
However, the service is not suitable for all passengers. Free Wi-Fi will be available on about 20 Malaysia Airlines flights, including six long-range Airbus A350s and 14 Airbus A330s. The offer will end on December 31, 2023, the airline added in a release.
What we know about Malaysia Airlines’ free Wi-Fi service
An airline spokesman told executive traveler The service is available for Business Class and Platinum members of Malaysia Airlines Enrich loyalty programme. The update marks the first of a phased rollout as more aircraft are equipped with satellite-powered Wi-Fi service, the spokesperson added.
However, during the initial phase, “customers will have access to a generous data cap of 100MB (per flight) and bandwidth of up to 512Kbps,” the report states. This means travelers can “stay connected and productive while on the go,” but Internet charges will apply after the 100MB limit is hit.
What does Malaysia Airlines’ existing Wi-Fi package offer?
Currently, there are three levels of Wi-Fi services provided to passengers:
- Lite package: Covers instant messaging and chat services (airlines do not recommend voice or video calls), and provides up to 10MB of data traffic at 200Kbps; priced at US$2 (RM9.33).
- Social Plan: For light web browsing, this plan has a 50MB data limit at 512Kbps; priced at US$10 (RM46.65).
- Business Plan: This plan offers up to 200MB data at 512Kbps and is suitable for business travellers. It allows them to surf the web and work accordingly (although not recommended for heavy video streaming); it costs US$25 (RM116.62).
Therefore, free Wi-Fi provides up to half the data volume of the business plan.
In the next phase of offering free Wi-Fi, Malaysia Airlines plans to roll out “a stronger and more comprehensive connectivity solution” that will extend free connectivity to Enrich Gold members, the spokesman said. “For the rest of our Enrich membership customers, they will still receive limited free connections when they spend onboard,” the spokesperson added.
(All currency conversions are done at the time of writing)
This article first appeared on Malaysia Travel + Leisure
(Hero and featured image credit: Samuel T/Unsplash)
