Qantas passengers will soon get to use Netflix and Spotify inflight
Flying is about to get a whole lot more fun.
At least for anyone midway through binge-watching a TV series they can't bear to be apart from. Airline passengers will soon be able to watch hours of TV shows and films for free, listen to 30m odd songs – oh, and watch live sport too.
Well, those flying with Australian airline Qantas will anyway. The carrier has secured a deal on Wi-Fi enabled domestic flights, with Netflix, Spotify and Australian TV Foxtel coming on board to provide content.
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While all three are paid subscription services, they will offer free access to Qantas customers on and off the aircraft for between three days and one month after their flight.
- Foxtel will offer three days free access to its app every time a customer flies, allowing customers to stream live sports, news and TV shows as well as its full range of on-demand content (no subscription sign-up required)
- Netflix will offer new customers access to the entire Netflix service as part of a 30-day free trial. Existing Netflix members just need to log in to continue watching at no extra charge
- Spotify will offer a 30 day free trial of its Premium music service, which has no ads, shuffle play and unlimited skips
The service will take flight for the first time later this month on its first domestic aircraft, with the rest of the airline's fleet of domestic Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 aircraft following from mid-2017 onwards.
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Customers log on to inflight Wi-Fi via their own devices and then access a range of options.
Qantas' group executive of brand, marketing and corporate affairs, Olivia Wirth, said the fast internet will open up a huge range of options for passengers inflight.
"We know that email, online shopping and general web browsing will be popular uses when we switch on Wi-Fi, but what a lot of people relish about flying is being able to catch up on their favourite TV shows or watch movies they didn’t get to see at the cinema," she said.