South Africa’s Mango Airlines has become the first regional airline to offer Wi-Fi services to its passengers in the air. Just as we reported last month, the airline will allow its passengers to buy a “one-way pass” for R50 (for a flight), or a “one-day pass” (for a specific day of travel) for R90, or a “top-up pass” (for a specific amount of time) at R1 a minute.
Commenting on the development, Mango Airlines spokesman Hein Kaiser said that the Wi-Fi will allow people to connect to the internet while flying.
Other South Africa airlines have opposed the idea terming it “a costly addition to passengers.” South Africa’s iOL news is reporting Kulula’s group marketing manager, Heidi Brauer, as having said:
“The cost to the customer will be too high… and we have a mixed fleet, which means a different retrofitted solution for the various aircraft, also a costly way to go, in a time when fuel costs are high and airlines are tightening their belts.”
However, Marié Bray, manager of communications at the SA Civil Aviation Authority, said that the body had approved the use of Wi-Fi on aircraft which is pay-as-you-use system. The CAA official also confirmed that passengers and aircraft safety would be continuously monitored.
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