Review: Virgin Australia’s in-flight WiFi

Need to stay connected over the clouds? Virgin Australia’s in-flight WiFi is now available on most of its Boeing 737 domestic and international flights, with more to roll out in the near future.

However, while the airline’s main rival Qantas offers free WiFi to every passenger, Virgin’s in-flight internet is free only to business class passengers, Velocity Platinum frequent flyers and members of the invitation-only Beyond program.

For everyone else, it is offered in two “high-speed” packages:

• a 30-minute pass, priced around $10, is definitely good for 30 minutes
• a Flight Pass, which costs about $20, lets you stay connected for the duration of the flight

Payments can be made by Visa, Mastercard and JCB or American Express credit and debit cards. Cash, EFTPOS, Maestro or prepaid travel cards are not accepted.

Virgin Australia WiFi is only free for a select group of passengers on each flight.

How fast is Virgin Australia WiFi?

Executive Traveler tested Virgin Australia WiFi on a recent Virgin Australia flight between Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Connecting to Virgin’s in-flight internet was as easy as connecting to any airport cafe or lounge – you can join Virgin Australia’s onboard Wi-Fi directly at wifi.virginaustralia.com from any laptop, smartphone or tablet and no need to open the Virgin Australia app.

As a Platinum, Business Class or Beyond passenger, you just need to enter your last name and seat number to enjoy free WiFi.

Connecting to Virgin Australia WiFi is easy.

The download speed was just under 5 Mbps, although the speed test was unable to measure the upload rate.

In practical terms, the connection was stable, albeit relatively slow – especially compared to Qantas WiFi’s 10-15Mbps – but sufficient for email, general web browsing and social media.

However, it’s worth noting that you can only connect one device at a time.

How many Virgin Australia planes have WiFi?

At the time of writing, Virgin Australia is in the process of retrofitting WiFi on its Boeing 737-800/MAX fleet, using Intelsat’s 2Ku technology – the same found on Japan Airlines.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson says: “Most Virgin Australia aircraft are WiFi enabled and we are in the middle of a WiFi activation program across our fleet. Our new MAX aircraft on order and being delivered are all Inflight Connectivity.”

The distribution does not include Fokker 100, Airbus A320 or Boeing 737-700 aircraft.