Airlines in India are bracing themselves for stiff competition, with two additional carriers looking to get a slice of the market soon. And low-cost carrier SpiceJet is planning to offer new features and products (possibly at affordable rates, given the Indian market) to stay competitive in the game. If everything goes as planned, SpiceJet passengers could soon enjoy in-flight WiFi on some of its planes.

Coming soon

With SpiceJet completing 17 years in the industry, its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh sent an email to employees detailing the upcoming development in terms of fleet and products. Predictably, future projections and load factors were discussed, but some of the airline's current and forthcoming offerings were also mentioned.

Listed among them was the possibility that the airline could soon offer WiFi services on its planes. Singh mentioned,

"We will continue to add new products and new routes to our network this year. SpiceClub, our wonderful loyalty program launched our co-branded credit card recently and we hope to start a broadband internet service onboard our aircraft soon."

Only on the MAX?

With the plan apparently in the initial stages, other details such as the service provider or tariffs are still to be disclosed. However, Singh's mail suggests that the new service will be provided on the airline's new Boeing 737 MAX airplanes.

This makes sense as installing WiFi services on airplanes is fairly expensive, and with SpiceJet planning to replace older aircraft with the new MAX planes, it looks highly likely that it will be a MAX-only feature. Singh added,

"The Boeing 737 Max the flagship of our fleet has successfully returned to service and earned rave reviews from passengers. Over the next few months we will induct many more Max aircraft in our fleet with the goal to replace all our older aircraft with the Max.”

Not the first in India

The Indian government gave the country's airlines the go-ahead to use in-flight WiFi in 2020. The decision also coincided with Vistara receiving its first Boeing 787 aircraft, which became the first Indian commercial aircraft to provide internet service. Of course, in a price-sensitive market like India, airlines have to price their services within reason.

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Vistara initially provided the service for free to gather information on system functionality and feedback on the overall customer experience to fine-tune the service further. It now offers plans on its two 787s and new A321s from 20MB to 200MB in the range of $2.95 to $24.95.

How does it work?

Airplane WiFi mainly works either by using air-to-ground systems or satellite-based systems. In the first, towers are used to project signals upwards, which are received by antennas installed on the base of the aircraft fuselage.

In satellite-based WiFi systems, antennae are fitted on the top of airplanes that receive signals from satellites orbiting the earth.

Of course, there's much more to it than explained here, and Simple Flying has delved deep into the subject, offering a more detailed analysis of how in-flight WiFi works.

Are you someone who uses in-flight WiFi a lot? What do you think about SpiceJet offering the service soon? Please let us know in the comment section.