SWISS plans to gradually equip its entire short-haul aircraft fleet with broadband internet access from Winter 2024/2025. The installation programme will extend to 59 Airbus A220 and A320-family aircraft. As with its long-haul fleet, SWISS’s customers travelling on European flights will in future enjoy free internet chat access, along with attractive product offers for more extensive online functions such as email, surfing or social media use.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) will soon be offering its customers broadband internet access systemwide. The entire SWISS short-haul aircraft fleet will be gradually equipped with the requisite technology from Winter 2024/2025 onwards. The programme is part of a broader rollout throughout the Lufthansa Group; at SWISS, it will extend to 30 Airbus A220 aircraft and 29 aircraft of the Airbus A320/A321 family. SWISS had already successively equipped its long-haul fleet with broadband internet from 2016.

Free internet chat access

As with its long-haul fleet (see the media release of 28 July 2023), SWISS will be offering travellers on its short-haul services free internet access to use chat and messenger services such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, so they can send and receive unlimited text and picture messages free of charge throughout their time aloft. Inflight guests will also be able, for a fee, to surf the web and use email or social media platforms along with streaming and VPN services.

“We appreciate how important it is for our customers to remain in touch, for professional or private purposes, while they’re on the move – be it to chat, to exchange emails or just to keep abreast of the latest news,” says Heike Birlenbach, SWISS’s Chief Commercial Officer. “So we’re delighted that we’ll soon be able to accommodate this need on our shorter flights, too.”

Reliable and more sustainable technology

SWISS’s short-haul inflight internet access will be provided using a new hybrid technology known as the European Aviation Network or EAN, which combines a satellite link with ground-based radio technology to deliver a reliable broadband internet connection. The new technology is also advanced in sustainability terms: the on-board system weighs substantially less than previous technologies, which translates into less fuel consumption and correspondingly lower carbon dioxide emissions.