Passengers using low-cost airline Mango to fly between Johannesburg and Durban between now and 31 January will be able to use the G-Connect in-flight Wi-Fi service for free. And it’s all part of a plan to beat a world record.
Mango launched the in-flight Wi-Fi service in May. The airline says it expects to transport more than 75 000 passengers between Durban and Johannesburg between now and the end of January.
Mango CEO Nico Bezuidenhout says that although around 8% of passengers on average have been using the service, he hopes that this initiative will result in a fifth of flyers connecting. Should Mango manage this, it will be the highest Wi-Fi usage ratio ever achieved on any route worldwide.
The service offers of average speeds of 1Mbit/s and has been in beta testing phase since launch. Carel van der Merwe, CEO of G-Connect parent WirelessG, says the record attempt will play a pivotal role in ensuring technical readiness as the system exits beta.
Mango and G-Connect plan to introduce on-demand entertainment, live television and limited games across its in-flight Wi-Fi network in 2013. Mango also plans to offer an iPad application for bookings and payments to complement its existing mobile site. — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media
