Wednesday’s Qatar Airways flight was the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to deliver both Wi-Fi Internet and mobile phone access to passengers via OnAir’s inflight connectivity, the companies announced.
   The 13-hour flight from Seattle to Doha contained about 100 passengers with a very positive response to the inflight connectivity. A total of 1,250MB of data was used for over 50 Internet sessions, averaging the usage per session at around 22MB. Around 75 phones used the mobile network, where nearly 50MB of mobile data was used and 340 text messages were sent. Already operating on Qatar’s A320 fleet for three years, Mobile OnAir has allowed passengers to use their mobile phones and smartphones on flights in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
    “Qatar’s passengers are used to staying in touch with friends and family using OnAir: access to connectivity is now an integral part of any inflight experience,” OnAir CEO Ian Dawkins said in a statement. “This is the first of Qatar’s B787s and OnAir will be on the entire fleet. These are the most modern aircraft being operated by an airline that prides itself on the highest levels of passenger services. It confirms why OnAir is leading the global inflight connectivity market.” Qatar’s Dreamliner will enter commercial service on Nov. 20. Sixty of Qatar’s B787s are currently on order, all equipped with OnAir connectivity.