Finnair To Launch $33 Million Wi-Fi Investment on New Airbus A350
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Finnair has announced a $33 million investment that will see most of its fleet connected to Wi-Fi by 2018. A Wi-Fi debut is planned for fall with the delivery of the newly purchased Airbus A350 XWB – one of 19 ordered by Finnair and the first flown by an European airline.
“This investment will enable us to offer a wide array of new services to our customers, ranging from inflight entertainment to in-flight sales and ancillaries,” says Pekka Vauramo, Finnair CEO.
The extra-wide body aircraft, which Finnair plans to use as its “new flagship long-haul aircraft,” boasts a fuel consumption and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that is 25 percent less than competing planes of the same size category.
Finnair was one of the first airlines to reveal its design of the A350 XWB’s cabin interior. A total of 778 orders from 41 customers have been placed for the aircraft with Qatar, Singapore and Etihad airlines purchasing more than 60 jets each.
Further Wi-Fi installations will continue in 2016 on Finnair’s long- and short-haul fleets and the airline has plans to expand on digital services.