Low-cost airline Mango has equipped all six of its Boeing 737-800 aircraft with in-flight WiFi.
To celebrate the completion of the fleet rollout, Mango and G-Connect are offering on-board connectivity at R1 for a day pass and R2 for a week's access pass throughout the month of October, on all flights.
According to Mango, the G-Connect In-Flight WiFi has "exceeded all expectations" with over 250GB of data usage and an 8% take-up rate during the installation period.
"Traffic of approximately 9 000 e-mails, 1 678 tweets and 652 Facebook posts were logged with a total of 27 000 sessions during the beta phase, expected to end by November," says Mango.
G-Connect CEO Carel van der Merwe says broadband at high altitude delivers speeds which compare favourably to broadband connectivity on the ground.
"The service has seen a 98% up-time throughout with usage, we anticipate, growing to a 12% uptake, following the completion of fleet rollout," says Van der Merwe.
"Interestingly, we have seen the majority of use focused on sending and receiving e-mail, showing that the potential for upping productivity during a two-hour flight has become an important business tool."
Van der Merwe expects to see the same trend as in other parts of the world, where 50% of business travellers take WiFi-enabled flights in order to be reachable during business hours.
"We are in a competitive age during which access to information and ease of communication enhance productivity. To this end, effective connectivity is essential and WiFi in the sky will soon become another standard amenity - travellers will change airlines just to have it."
According to IMS Research, global aviation WiFi installations will reach over 3 000 aircraft by year-end, marking a 60% growth from 2011. Over 15 000 aircraft are expected to be WiFi-enabled by 2021.
Last month, Mango also announced the rollout of a new mobi-site and tablet applications, which allow users to book, pay for flights, choose seating and purchase additional products while on the go.
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