Qantas passengers in Australia will be able to tune into live sport while in the air

Qantas is promising improved technology will allow passengers to stream live sports and their favourite shows while on domestic flights in Australia.

Qantas passengers on some Australian domestic flights will be able to tune in to live sports, their favourite shows and music from later this month.

The airline has done deals with Foxtel, Netflix and Spotify and is promising speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional inflight WiFi.

The free service in the first aircraft will be switched on within the next fortnight and the rest of the airline's fleet of domestic Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 aircraft will follow from mid-2017 onwards.

The faster connection speeds - which enable streaming - are made possible through the Sky Muster satellite service and represents a significant upgrade over older satellite technology accessed by most other airlines, Qantas says.

Signals reach the aircraft as it flies through the satellite's 101 spot beams across Australia.

Air New Zealand plans to launch WiFi in its international fleet later this year.

Qantas Group executive of brand, marketing and corporate affairs, Olivia Wirth, said that fast, free internet would open up a huge range of options for customers inflight.

"We know that email, online shopping and general web browsing will be popular uses when we switch on WIFI, but what a lot of people relish about flying is being able to catch up on their favourite TV shows or watch movies they didn't get to see at the cinema," she said.

While Foxtel, Netflix and Spotify were all paid subscription services, they would offer free access to Qantas customers on and off the aircraft for between three days and one month after their Qantas flight.

Customers will log on to the Qantas inflight WiFi via their own devices, and will be greeted by a landing page with a range of options.

As well as links to access Netflix, Spotify and Foxtel, this page will feature real-time flight data; hotel, restaurant and transport options at your destination; the latest weather;and personalised information linked to their itinerary and frequent flyer account. Streaming of Sky News Australia will also be available.

Late last year Air New Zealand said it was in the final stages of negotiations with suppliers and would begin rolling out inflight WiFi on transtasman flights.

Proving flights would begin in the second half of this year and internet services progressively available on Tasman, Pacific Island and long haul jet fleets from the end of next year, said Luxon.

Several airlines serving New Zealand already offer WiFi.

Emirates has had the service for several years, American Airlines has WiFi across the Pacific and Cathay Pacific's new A350 aircraft to used on the Auckland route from Hong Kong also has WiFi on board.