Pictured left: AirAsia A320 aircraft
The three companies will make an initial investment of US$1.8 million (RM5.6 million) to set up the connectivity systems on six AirAsia aircraft by year-end.
AirAsia non-executive chairman Abdul Aziz Bakar said the airline has equipped four of its 96 fleet of A320 with GSM onboard system. It will install the system on two additional aircraft before the end of the year.
“We will see how it goes during this trial period,” said Abdul Aziz.
He added that installing the connectivity systems on board was “a very heavy investment and we really need to be sure of the results before embarking and expanding the service to the rest of our 96 aircraft in operation currently.”
Abdul Aziz said the service was expected to boost the airline’s ancillary income, which contributes about 15% of its total sales now. The airline is also looking at innovative products to increase its ancillary income to 20%.
Response from customers on the four operating aircraft was promising, he added.
Maxis chief operating officer Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke said the company is targeting 50% of mobile revenue from its non-voice operations from 36.6% currently. “This tie-up will certainly push our data revenue.”
However, AirAsia is not the first Malaysian airline to offer in-flight calls and data. National carrier Malaysia Airlines, also in cooperation with Maxis and UK-based AeroMobile Limited, has been offering voice calls, SMS, emails and GPRS services since early this year on board the Boeing 777-200 aircraft (pictured right) across Europe, Australia and the Asian region including China and Japan.. Launched earlier this year is available to Maxis post-paid customers.
While the airlines assert that in the the in-flight mobile service will enhance their clients’ travel experience and help them keep in touch with loved ones while airborne, other passengers who yearn for some peace and quiet may not agree.
Whatever, there is no stopping the march of technology and social media that is slowly but surely taking over our lives.
Featured image credit (wifi on the airplane): Ockra/iStock
