Qatar Airways, the national airline of the country, will fit its next generation A350 and A380 fleets with mobile and Internet connectivity from OnAir, a global inflight connectivity services provider.

This comes after the airline has been operating OnAir’s GSM on its A320s for over three years. In total, over 150 Qatar Airways’ aircraft will have OnAir connectivity, including its Boeing 787s.

Qatar Airways’ passengers have the choice of using either the GSM network or Wi-Fi. They can use their mobile phones and tablets for calls, texting, emailing, updating social media and surfing the Internet.

It is very simple to use, with billing working in exactly the same way as international roaming, a statement said. They can also access the Internet using any Wi-Fi enabled device.

“We have been operating Mobile OnAir for more than three years on some of our aircraft and it's clear that our passengers want, and are coming to expect, inflight connectivity,” said Akbar Al Baker, chief executive officer of Qatar Airways.

“We have seen high levels of usage of the OnAir services on flights to and from Europe, as well as on regional flights. The pattern emerging is that business travellers typically use mobile data, for example for email and reading the news. Leisure passengers are more likely to send text messages or update twitter and Facebook accounts.”

The award-winning airline currently has orders for 13 Airbus A380s, including options, with deliveries starting in 2014. The airline also has orders for 80 A350s.

“Qatar Airways is the first of four airlines to date to have selected OnAir for its A350 fleet, and our fifth A380 customer,” said Ian Dawkins, CEO of OnAir.

“Clearly, OnAir's products are perfect for every aircraft type, from the biggest long-haul aircraft to the much smaller single aisle planes operating on short routes.”

OnAir has regulatory approvals from over 90 countries, as well as roaming agreements with more than 350 mobile network operators. Also, OnAir uses Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband network, designed specifically to provide worldwide satellite coverage. – TradeArabia News Service