Emirates Sets New Onboard Wi-Fi Record

The rise of Wi-Fi availability during flights has made traveling more bearable. It has also made Emirates a new record holder.

In total last month, Emirates reported 1,037,016 customers connected to the internet during their flight, with 94 percent of those Wi-Fi connections made with a smartphone. Two percent of travelers using the internet on their flight connected with a tablet and the rest used laptops or other devices.

Emirates Wi-Fi connectivity is currently available on more than 98 percent of the airline’s fleet, and all passengers receive 20MB of free data. Emirates Skywards members are also eligible to enjoy special benefits depending on their membership tier and class of travel.

The airline has focused on continuously improving the connectivity of its fleet due to the increase in demand for Wi-Fi on board. The route with the most Wi-Fi connections in March was between Dubai and Los Angeles, with more than 6,000 customers connecting in flight.

Emirates has been at the forefront of innovation with connectivity and entertainment during flights, with the carrier becoming the first to allow mobile phone use inflight in 2008. The airline also was the first to install television screens in every seat on every aircraft in 1992.

The carrier’s award-winning in-flight entertainment system now offers more than 3,500 channels of entertainment, including more than 700 movies from around the world. The variety of content is expected to continue growing and will offer Emirates customers even more choices.