Free Wi-Fi is arriving on Air New Zealand planes but when should you use it?

FaceTime on a plane: Is Air New Zealand's high-speed satellite internet worth phoning home about? Photo /123RF

Air New Zealand will be rolling out super-fast Starlink internet across domestic services from the end of next year, all for free. The airline says this new connectivity will allow passengers to check messages and keep in touch with loved ones, all on the go. But there’s one thing they still won’t allow you to do: take a phone call.

Being able to check the status of your connecting flight is a good thing (forewarned is forearmed). The satellite internet provider from SpaceX should have ample bandwidth for the entire plane to browse the web, share holiday snaps to social media or even make bookings and travel reservations even after the plane has departed - for those who like to do things last-minute. Hawaiian Airlines, the first customer of Starlink’s inflight satellite internet on A320s, has reported speeds of up to 220Mbps and a latency of 30 milliseconds.

Air New Zealand says its new onboard Wi-Fi will be fast enough to stream video midair. Inflight entertainment is now theoretically limitless.

Why can’t you FaceTime or place video calls on planes

However, even though it is technically possible, there are some things Air New Zealand is asking passengers not to do on their planes.

“Current aviation rules still prohibit all voice calls, even those that use apps,” says the airline’s current terms of use. So, there will be no FaceTime or WhatsApp calls in the cabin.

New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority says that while the technology has arrived, procedural changes are still needed to allow calls to be made.

The guidelines are closely aligned with other civil aviation rules in places like the United States, which is currently reviewing the rules around what can and can’t be done using satellite and portable internet communications.

The NZ CAA has doubts whether calls on commercial planes will ever be allowed, mainly because phone calls in cramped plane cabins are really annoying.

“The Department of Transportation is considering restricting in-flight voice communication on cellular and internet calls, not for safety reasons but due to concerns that noisy passengers will talk loudly on their devices,” says their advice on portable electronic devices.

There are already companies offering solutions such as Skyted with its goofy-looking privacy mask, which is aimed at quietening inflight phone calls. For now, you’ll have to wait until you get home to tell everyone about your latest holiday.

While the cost to passengers is free, Starlink’s aviation arm is selling its aircraft transceivers to the private jet market at a cost of $244,500 per unit and a monthly cost of $40,000.

Still, Air New Zealand has said the decision to invest in the Starlink satellites will “change the way customers travel around Aotearoa”.

The airline’s chief digital officer Nikhil Ravishankar called it a “no-brainer”, saying: “Our free and accessible Wi-Fi onboard international flights has proved incredibly popular among customers, so we can’t wait to bring connectivity to domestic flights.”

What you can and can’t do on Air New Zealand’s Wi-Fi

Even high-speed, free satellite internet is not unlimited. Coverage and bandwidth will affect the experience. If everyone on a plane is connected and the route is passing through an area of high satellite usage you may have some interruption to your browsing.

Currently, Air New Zealand blocks or slows access to high-data-use services. Although the airline says restrictions on video streaming and intensive downloads will be eased when the first Starlink sets go into operation late next year, at present you are not allowed to use inflight Wi-Fi to do the following:

• Make video or voice calls
• Download apps or updates via app stores
• Stream high-resolution video
• Access cloud storage services
• Play real-time video games online
• View potentially offensive material, such as pornography or violent content