Air Serbia officially launches inflight internet and mobile connectivity services
01 October 2015
Air Serbia, the national airline of the Republic of Serbia, today achieved a major milestone by initiating the gradual deployment of mobile and internet connectivity across its entire fleet of Airbus A319 and A320 passenger aircraft, making it easier for its guests to stay in touch with friends, family and work during their flight.
The move makes Air Serbia the first airline in the region and one of the few airlines in Europe, to offer mobile and internet connectivity services across the majority of its fleet.
The official launch follows a public test phase which took place last week on one of Air Serbia's Airbus aircraft (JU-APJ), when members of the Serbian online and ICT community, and the airline's guests had the opportunity to test the functionality of the new system and provide feedback. These learnings were then used to perfect the system before its official launch.
From today, the service will be available on all flights with duration longer than 1 hour and 20 minutes operated by two additional aircraft (JU-APH and JU-APB). Another aircraft is expected to join the "Air Serbia Wi-Fly" fleet on 15 October, by when the service will be operational on a total of four aircraft. Air Serbia's entire Airbus fleet is expected to be fully connected by the end of Q1 2016.
The inflight connectivity suite includes Wi-Fi and mobile services. These services comprise the "Air Serbia Wi-Fly" solution, powered by the Panasonic Global Communications Suite (GCS).
Guests will be able to connect to the Air Serbia Wi-Fly network and enjoy broadband services on their Wi-Fi/WLAN enabled devices including smartphones, tablets and laptops, allowing them to write emails, surf the internet, update social media and much more, all from the comfort of their seat.
Dane Kondić, Air Serbia's CEO, said: "With this breakthrough, we are truly delivering industry-leading services to our customers, honouring our commitment to continuously innovate our offerings and provide our guests even more choice, convenience, and entertainment. The "Air Serbia Wi-Fly" network will offer guests with a similar connectivity experience in the air that they enjoy on the ground - at home or at work."
The mobile connectivity solution incorporates roaming agreements with other operators and can be accessed by guests through their roaming-enabled GSM mobile phones and smart phones to make and receive phone-calls, send and receive SMS messages and emails, and use mobile data services.
To ensure safety, the inflight service will be offered only when the seat belt sign is turned off and the aircraft has reached cruising altitude.
The new connectivity service will include the default Air Serbia "Wi-Fly" portal, in Serbian and English, which guests will be able to browse free of charge, accessing the latest weather forecasts, news updates and information about Air Serbia, its destinations and airline partners.
To celebrate the launch, a complimentary 30-minute internet access voucher will be given to all Business Class guests on connected flights until the end of the year. Regular internet access services will start at 4.90 EUR for 30-minute access (download limit 20 MB), 8.90 EUR for 60-minute access (download limit 50 MB) and 13.90 EUR for access throughout the duration of the flight (download limit 90 MB) and can be purchased using credit cards (MasterCard, VISA, American Express, Discover and Diners Club). Thirty-minute access vouchers (20 MB) will also be available for cash at a cost of 5 EUR (600 RSD). Mobile telephone usage will be billed by the guest's mobile service providers based on applicable international roaming rates.