Emirates has set a new record with over 1 million wi-fi connections made on board its flights in March alone.

During the month, 1,037,016 Emirates customers connected to the internet during their flight.

The connections were mainly made over mobile devices with over 94 per cent of users connecting with a smartphone – twice as many connections were made on an iOS mobile phone as compared to an Android mobile, and about 2 per cent with a tablet. The remaining connections were made with laptops and other devices.

Wi-fi connectivity is available on over 98 per cent of the Emirates fleet, including all A380s, 777-300ERs and 777-200LRs. Customers in all cabin classes receive 20MB of free wi-fi data. Emirates Skywards members enjoy special benefits depending on their membership tier and class of travel, including free wi-fi when travelling in First Class or Business Class. Over 94 per cent of passengers connecting to wi-fi on board Emirates in March took advantage of the complimentary offer and logged on free of charge.

The highest data usage from a single passenger was made by an Emirates Skywards member who stayed connected throughout their flight from Dubai to Johannesburg, consuming 4.9 GB of complementary data.

Emirates continually invests in improving bandwidth on board by upgrading the connectivity solution on the fleet. Staying connected has become a mainstay and an expectation on Emirates flights and the demand for wi-fi on board has been steadily increasing each month.

The route with the most Wi-Fi connections in March was EK215 from Dubai to Los Angeles with over 6,000 customers connecting in flight.

Emirates has been at the forefront of innovation with connectivity and inflight entertainment on board. It was the first airline to allow mobile phone use inflight in 2008, and the first to install TV screens in every seat on every aircraft in its fleet in 1992. Today, the airline provides one of the most comprehensive and state-of-the-art entertainment and connectivity services in the skies. ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system, now offers over 3,500 channels of entertainment, including over 700 movies from around the world. - TradeArabia News Service