TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Step aboard a low-cost airline and the amenities can be jarringly basic. Forget about free snacks, even in-flight entertainment is limited to a magazine filled with advertisements. All to keep the cost down. Against such a backdrop, many international no-frills airlines have managed to steer passengers away from the monotony of stark minimalism.
Now, learning from the global peers, Indian budget airline SpiceJet has decided to offer free in-flight Wi-Fi. For SpiceJet, it’s part of a bigger strategy to bite off market share from full- service airlines. The low-cost carrier is expected to be the first in India to offer on board Wi-Fi when it is cleared by the government.
Instead of flyers being charged for the service, advertisers would bear the cost in return for pop-up ads. “We think there is a business model in providing WiFi services free to passengers and earn money from advertisers. This will be a differentiating feature of the airline,” SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said. Among global carriers, JetBlue, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines provide free Wi-Fi. Usually, airlines charge a fee for providing the service.
