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With airlines like JetBlue already offering free wifi ‘at every seat and with airlines like Delta rolling out universal free wifi on its domestic and international routes, the days of paid-for wifi in the skies are slowly drawing to and end.
Cathay Pacific has offered free wifi to First Class passengers since 2022, but as it doesn’t really fly very many First Class passengers any more, that hasn’t been much of a concession from the airline. I’m sure its income statement has been able to handle the hit with relative ease.
Now, however, the airline has gone a little bit further as it confirms that it’s keeping to its promise from the beginning of the year and following a set of successful trials, is now offering Business Class passengers complimentary wifi on all of its connected aircraft.
In addition, Cathay plans to roll out free wifi to all of its Diamond elite flyers regardless of the cabin they’re flying by November 2024, but it doesn’t look like this is being rolled out for other oneworld Emerald elites.
There is no difference between the wifi that’s being offered free of charge to premium cabin passengers/Diamond elites and the wifi that paying customers are offered, so eligible customers will now be able to do everything from checking emails to streaming audio without paying a fee.
Also, unlike some airlines (e.g. British Airways), Cathay Pacific allows all customers to switch devices as many times as they like during the flight without incurring any additional fees, but only one device per account may be connected to the internet at any given time.
As things stand, approximately 90% of the Cathay Pacific fleet is equipped with onboard wifi with the airline claiming that it intends to have wifi on all of its aircraft by ‘mid-2025’.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific is keeping a promise that it made at the very start of this year and is now offering complimentary wifi to all Business Class passengers on all of it connected aircraft. The airline’s Diamond elites can expect to be offered complimentary wifi regardless of the cabin they’re flying in from November 2024, but there’s no sign that other oneworld elites will be offered the same benefit.
