Malaysia Airlines to offer free wi-fi on select flights from 1 July

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You might be eligible for free Wi-Fi from July 1 while travelling by Malaysia Airlines as the company is offering this service to business class travellers and top-tier frequent flyers.

However, the service is not for all passengers. Free Wi-Fi will be available on around 20 flights of Malaysia Airlines, including six long-range Airbus A350s and 14 Airbus A330s. The offer will end on December 31, 2023, a press release by the airline adds.

All we know about Malaysia Airlines’ free Wi-Fi offering

A spokesperson from the airline told Executive Traveller that the service is for business class and Platinum members of Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich loyalty programme. The spokesperson added that this update marks the first phase of a staged rollout as more aircraft get fitted with satellite-powered Wi-Fi services.

However, during the initial stage, “customers will have access to a generous data cap of 100MB (per flight) with a bandwidth of up to 512Kbps,” states the report. This means that travellers can “stay connected and productive during their journey,” but the internet will be chargeable after the 100MB limit is reached.

What do the existing Wi-Fi packages by Malaysia Airlines offer?

Currently, Wi-Fi offerings for passengers are across three tiers:

  • Lite package: It covers instant messaging and chat services (voice or video calls are not recommended by the airline) and offers up to 10MB data at 200Kbps; price USD 2 (RM 9.33).
  • Social package: Meant for light web browsing, this package comes with a 50MB data limit at 512Kbps; price USD 10 (RM 46.65).
  • Business package: This package offers up to 200MB data at 512Kbps and is meant for business travellers. It allows them to surf the internet and work accordingly (though heavy video streaming is not recommended); price USD 25 (RM 116.62).

Thus, the free Wi-Fi offering is up to half the data that the Business package has.

According to the spokesperson, for the next stage of providing complimentary Wi-Fi, Malaysia Airlines has planned to introduce “a more robust and comprehensive connectivity solution” that extends the free connection to Enrich Gold members. “For the rest of our customers who are Enrich members, there will still be limited complimentary connectivity available for their consumption on-board,” adds the spokesperson.

(All currency conversions were done at the time of writing)


This article first appeared on Travel + Leisure Malaysia

(Hero and Featured Image credit: Samuel T/Unsplash)

Anushka Goel

Anushka has worked with publications such as Times of India and Being Indian. A graduate from Xavier Institute of Communications, she specialises in entertainment, food and travel. She also likes to write about sustainability and beauty. When not working, you can catch her reading a book, tending to her plants, cooking or playing an instrument.



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