“The Complimentary “The 20-minute Wi-Fi facility will enable passengers to stay connected across all cabins and is also ideal for those who wish to purchase extended Wi-Fi plans using Indian credit/debit cards,” Vistara said, adding that the service allows customers to receive a one-time password via email, facilitating the purchase of extended in-flight Wi-Fi services during an active session.
Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer, Vistara said
The airline was
“We are delighted to pioneer and become the first Indian airline to offer complimentary Wi-Fi on international flights across all cabins. We are confident that customers will appreciate this value addition which is aimed at making their Vistara journey more convenient, productive and seamless,” Rajawat added.
Under the internet connectivity plan on Vistara's international flights, all Club Vistara members of any tier and any cabin will be given free chat facility throughout the flight. For others, Rs 372.74 plus GST will be charged for chatting on messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger etc with unlimited data. For surfing the internet on these flights, the airline has set a rate of Rs 1577.54 plus GST, which will give embedded audio and video streaming for content on social media, web etc. For Rs 2707.04 plus GST the customer gets unlimited data that allows all streaming protocols, it said.
“Vistara's international flights operating on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A321neo offer advanced wireless connectivity powered by Panasonic avionics, enabling seamless internet access on Wi-Fi-enabled devices at altitudes up to 35,000 feet. Passengers can stay connected and access emails, information and social media with ease,” it said.
Vistara's parent company Singapore Airlines also offers free WiFi to members of its loyalty programme 'KrisFlyer'.
Airlines have been offering Wi-Fi connectivity on flights for over a decade. While most airlines charge for the service, others, such as the US budget airline JetBlue, for example, have been offering it for free since 2013, offering unlimited data and high-speed connectivity throughout the flight. Several other international airlines such as Philippine Airlines, Norwegian Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air New Zealand also offer free Wi-Fi, but impose some data caps, usually giving more data to business and first class passengers. Several other airlines have integrated the service into their loyalty programs. Airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Delta Airlines (and Singapore Airlines as mentioned above) offer the service for free to their frequent flyer members. Some of these airlines have certain conditions for economy class passengers to use Wi-Fi, while most airlines offer it for free only to business and first class passengers.
Vistara Wifi Plans:
| Plans | Free/Paid | Details – Cabin/Class |
| 20 minutes | Complimentary | All cabins.
Customers using Indian credit and debit cards can purchase extended plans during an active session of 20 minutes as they will receive the OTP via email. |
| 50 MB | Complimentary | Business Class and Platinum Club Vistara members |
| free chat | Complimentary | For all Club Vistara members across any tier and any cabin class. This package is for the entire flight. |
| to talk | Paid – Rs.372.74 + GST | Messaging apps only (i.e., WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, etc.) with unlimited data (free for Club Vistara members) |
| Wave | Paid – Rs.1577.54 + GST | For embedded audio and video streaming (i.e., content on social media and the web, etc.) with unlimited data |
| Stream | Paid – Rs.2707.04 + GST | Unlimited data that allows all streaming protocols. |