In a press release published earlier this week, ANA All Nippon Airways announced several planned improvements to its domestic service – including the offering of free in-flight wi-fi on starting from April 1, 2018.
ANA’s Move from Paid to Free In-Flight Wi-Fi on Domestic Flights
Currently, ANA offers paid wi-fi on both international and domestic flights operated by selected aircraft types.
On international flights, in-flight Internet is available on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, as well as on 767-300ERs configured with 202 seats. And, it comes at the following costs:
- 30 minutes (up to 15MB) for $4.95
- 1 hour (up to 30MB) for $8.95
- Full flight (up to 100MB) for $19.95
On domestic flights, the Internet is available on an increasing number of Boeing 767s, 777s, 787s, 737-800s, as well as Airbus A321s. On the other hand, ANA doesn’t plan to equip its 737-700s, A320s, and DHC-8s with wi-fi.
While the wi-fi service will be provided for free starting from April 1, 2018, as mentioned above, until then, the fees are as follows:
- 40 minutes for 550 yen (about $5) or 550 ANA miles
- Full flight for 1,050 yen (about $10) or 1,050 ANA miles
ANA’s move to make wi-fi free on domestic flights is not surprising. In fact, the airline is merely matching its competitor, JAL, which made a bold “domestic flights in-flight wi-fi forever free” promise earlier this year.
ANA’s Service Improvements on Domestic Flights
Besides the upcoming free wi-fi, ANA also plans other service improvements on domestic flights.
Those include – among others – increase in the number of entertainment options available for streaming through wi-fi, as well as gradual installation of in-flight entertainment screens and power outlets on the airline’s domestic Boeing 777s and 787s.
Overall, even though I don’t think free wi-fi – or wi-fi in general – and personal screens are critical on Japanese domestic flights (most of them are under two hours), it is still great to see this improvement.