Qantas is adding free wifi to selected international flights from today.

Since 2017, Qantas has already been offering free, high-speed internet to passengers on most domestic flights operated by Boeing 737-800s and some Airbus A330-200s.

Qantas is now extending this offering to selected international flights operated by the same aircraft types. Free in-flight wifi will be available only while the aircraft is flying over Australia.

Effectively, this means that passengers flying on Boeing 737-800 or short-haul configured Airbus A330-200s to or from destinations in Asia will be able to access the internet for several hours of the flight.

Which international routes get Qantas free wifi?

It’s especially good news for Qantas flyers to Bali. Wifi is now available for a large part of the flight on Boeing 737 routes like Sydney-Bali and Melbourne-Bali, as well as Brisbane-Port Moresby. It’s also available on other flights to/from Asia which are operated by A330-200s configured for short-haul operations.

But flights to destinations like New Zealand or the Pacific Islands don’t spend much of the flight over the Australian continent, so would only be in range for a limited time. And flights operated by other aircraft types which don’t have wifi capability, including A380s, A330-300s, long-haul A330-200s and Boeing 787s, still won’t have wifi available.

Around half of Qantas’ Airbus A330-200s are fitted out for short-haul flying. These jets are mainly used on trans-continental flights to/from Perth, but also appear at times on routes like Perth-Singapore, Brisbane-Singapore or Sydney-Jakarta.

If you’re unsure which type of A330-200 you’re flying on, you could count the number of Business seats on the seat map. The short-haul planes have 28 Business seats, while the long-haul version has only 27 Business seats as 5K is missing. The short-haul version also doesn’t have seat-back TV screens in Economy, with in-flight entertainment instead provided on iPads.

Wifi coming to Qantas’ Airbus A350s

Qantas has said that its new Airbus A350s will have in-flight wifi available. These aircraft will arrive from 2025, and Qantas will use them on ultra long-haul “Project Sunrise” routes like Sydney-New York.

Virgin Australia has been progressively rolling out wifi onto its Boeing 737 fleet since last year. Rex also offers in-flight wifi on selected Boeing 737 aircraft.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines will roll out free wifi to all passengers on all flights, starting from 1 July 2023.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.