International Qantas flights get fast, free WiFi

Qantas is rolling out WiFi on international flights, and passengers can expect the same fast and free Internet service as they enjoy on most domestic Qantas flights.

WiFi is already fitted to the Qantas Airbus A220, Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 737 jets which fly the majority of routes within Australia – and in some circumstances, such as flights to Asia, they provide Internet access while the plane is still over Australia.

But Qantas is now taking that a step further, with its international fleet to be outfitted with satellite Internet tech to deliver high-bandwidth WiFi through the combined Inmarsat and Viasat networks, following a US$7.3bn merger between the two companies.

Viasat exec Don Buchman says Qantas’ international WiFi will match the domestic service for “the digital experiences it can provide, from live TV and sports to social media and streaming.”

Qantas says it will add WiFi to the Boeing 787, Airbus A330-200 and A380 fleet as they go through heavy maintenance checks, to reduce the time they are out of service.

The Qantas A330-200s – which mainly fly the longer routes to Asia, although one also does Brisbane-Los Angeles – should all have WiFi by the end of 2024.

The Qantas 787s and A380 superjumbos will start to see WiFi installed from the start of 2025.

Of course, the ultra-long range Airbus A350s intended for non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York will arrive from mid-2026 with WiFi already installed; the same will apply to the A350s and 787s replacing the aging A330s from 2027-2028.

Qantas currently sees Web browsing making up around 38% of use on domestic flights, with “at least a quarter” of passengers streaming video and 15-20% for audio streaming.

Some international flights already have WiFi

Passengers on most Qantas flights to and from Singapore, Bali, Jakarta and Manila already enjoy fast free WiFi, but only for that part of their journey when the aircraft is over Australia.

That’s because they are on domestic Qantas jets – specifically Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 737s – which rely on the domestic NBN Sky Muster satellite network, which in turn has a footprint focussed on Australia.

The footprint of the Sky Munster satellite which powers Qantas WiFi.

This means while your international flight is above Australia you can expect WiFi to the same standard as most domestic Qantas flights; but once your plane leaves the Australian coastline behind, you can also wave goodbye to WiFi.

As frequent flyers can attest, “we’re still in Australia” is often a large portion of the journey to Asia.

For example, on the daily flight QF81 from Sydney to Singapore almost half of the eight-hour trip is spent over Australia.

Many Qantas flights between the east coast capitals and Singapore will now have WiFi access while they're over Australia.

And if you’re flying from Sydney or Melbourne to Bali, two-thirds of the trip falls within Qantas’ Australian WiFi coverage zone.

There’s another caveat before you can get connected above the clouds: your flight must be on a WiFi-enabled Qantas Boeing 737 or Airbus A330-200 domestic jet. This rules out the Airbus A380 and longer-range A330-300s, as well as the Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Here are the initial overseas routes for Qantas WiFi on international flights:

• Sydney-Singapore
• Sydney-Denpasar (Bali)
• Sydney-Jakarta 
• Sydney-Manila
• Melbourne-Singapore 
• Melbourne-Denpasar (Bali)
• Brisbane-Singapore 
• Brisbane-Port Moresby
• Perth-Singapore

(Routes where the aircraft don’t spend as much time within the Sky Muster satellite’s coverage zone – such as to New Zealand – have understandably been left off the list.)

You can expect the cabin crew to make an announcement is WiFi is available on your flight, and if so, you can even begin using it while the aircraft is on the ground all the way until it moves beyond satellite coverage.

So what’s the WiFi experience like on this handful of popular Qantas international flights?

It’s exactly the same as you’re already enjoying on domestic Qantas Boeing 737 and A330-200 flights, because it uses exactly the same system.

Connect to the Qantas Free Wi-Fi hotspot on your laptop, tablet or phone and click the big red Connect button.

Getting online with Qantas' 'international' WiFi service.

After watching a short video advertisement, you’re online.

We happily clocked download speeds around 10-15Mbps: that’s more than enough for streaming video or music, let along basic email and Web browsing, and much faster than what’s currently available on the global satellite-based network of most airlines

(Things are different when you’re using a ground-based network, as is commonly the case in North America for example.)

Upload speeds for Qantas WiFi tend to be clipped around the 1Mbps mark, so file uploads and heavy cloud computing access will need some patience.