Cebu Pacific to offer online access on long-haul flights

Leading budget airline Cebu Pacific Air is set to provide in-flight internet access to long-haul flight passengers starting next year, the airline announced in a statement Tuesday.

 

It will be the first Filipino airline and first low cost carrier in Southeast Asia to provide internet connectivity.

 

The statement said that the Gokongwei-owned airline will provide the service to passengers on its Airbus A330 fleet starting 2013. The Wi-Fi installation is scheduled for the middle of next year, in time for the airline’s initial deployment of long haul services.

 

Details of the service’s cost, however, are still being finalized.

 

An option to install Wi-Fi on its fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft for short-haul flights is also planned, the statement said.

 

The service will come from in-flight connectivity provider OnAir. 

 

Once Internet OnAir is in service, passengers will be able to access the web during flights and make calls using voice over internet protocol applications through their Wi-Fi-enabled personal electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops.

 

“We are very happy to provide our guests with the convenience of online connectivity while in-flight,” Cebu Pacific vice president for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog said in the statement.  

 

“Cebu Pacific can now engage passengers through innovative web-based solutions that will further enhance their flying experience with us,” she added.

 

Meanwhile, OnAir chief executive officer Ian Dawkins said that Cebu Pacific is their first low-cost, long-range Wi-Fi client in Asia.

 

“As the air transport market develops, we expect to see more low cost carriers operating long-haul routes and there is no doubt they will want to provide connectivity,” Dawkins said. — GCG/AL/VS, GMA News