Customers travelling on two Air France short and medium-haul Airbus A320s will be able to surf the internet, read their emails, watch live TV, or enjoy their favourite series with Wi-Fi access offered by Orange, for a small fee, from summer 2015.
Passengers will be able to use their laptops, tablets or smartphones to connect via Wi-Fi to the internet or a portal offering a wide choice of entertainment including live TV, movies, series, and music, as well as practical information making their journey even more enjoyable, such as connecting flight times and services available at the destination.
Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France, said “Being permanently connected has become an integral part of many of our customer’s daily lives, notably for business travellers on our short and medium-haul flights. This innovative project conducted in partnership with Orange intends to meet this high expectation as closely as possible. With the Wi-Fi offer on board our aircraft, we hope to remain at the cutting edge of developments in digital technology.”
Delphine Ernotte Cunci, Deputy Senior Executive Orange France, said “In-flight Wi-Fi is something that everyone is eager to experience and we are very happy to be able to meet their expectations, thanks to this project conducted with Air France. This is a new demonstration of the Orange group’s capacity to innovate, which is mobilising all its expertise in the area of networks, content and business.”
As part of this joint project, Air France Industries is in charge of installing the equipment required for operating and maintaining the WiFi service on the two aircrafts. Orange Business Services will oversee the technological solution, from the supply of the satellite network, which allows a Wi-Fi connection on board, to the portal accessible by passengers.