Ooredoo Group Chairman HE Sheikh Abdulla bin Mohamed bin Saud al-Thani with al-Baker, al-Sayed among other executives following the Ooredoo - Qatar Airways agreement signing

By Pratap John/Chief Business Reporter

Free Wi-Fi service for 15 minutes will be available to all passengers on some 62 Qatar Airways flights from Qatar National Day following an agreement the national carrier has signed with Ooredoo.
Under the MoU signed between Ooredoo and Qatar Airways on Monday, the telecom major will sponsor the national carrier’s onboard Wi-Fi service to “enhance customer experience on Qatar Airways flights and provide unmatched connectivity in the air.”
The “first-of-its-kind” MoU was signed by Ooredoo Qatar CEO Waleed Mohamed al-Sayed and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar al-Baker.
Speaking to Gulf Times after the agreement signing, al-Sayed said Ooredoo would be able to provide onboard Wi-Fi service in all Qatar Airways flights by June next year.
With the onboard Wi-Fi service, customers can use portable electronic devices (PEDs) to access e-mails, browse the Internet and also send SMS/MMS via their smartphones once the service is enabled on board.
He said passengers can access free Wi-Fi service for the first 15 minutes. After this, customers will be able to continue using the Wi-Fi service by entering their credit card details when prompted.
Al-Sayed said the charges fixed for the “period beyond the first 15 minutes” are very reasonable under a “three price-plan”.
For the first one hour after the free period, the charge would be $5 (QR18). For three hours it will be $10 (QR36.5) and for unlimited use it will be $20 (QR73).
“The agreement will initially be for a period of three years and we hope we will be able to provide the service in association with Qatar Airways for a longer period. Qatar Airways flies to majority of places in our geographical footprint,” al-Sayed said.
He said currently there was no proposal to roll out the service with other airlines.
Ooredoo strives to ensure that customers can always enjoy the best network wherever they are in the world, and our partnership with Qatar Airways takes our commitment to connectivity to the skies. Qatar is leading the way in the incredible facilities being offered to visitors and residents, and we are pleased to extend our work with Qatar Airways through this important agreement.”
Al-Baker, said: “Qatar Airways continues to strive to offer the very best on-board experience for our customers, and our cutting-edge on board Wi-Fi service provides an incredible connection. We are proud to work with Ooredoo, a leading Qatari company, to bring this service to the world.”
He said passengers in all cabins of the aircraft would be able to avail of the free onboard Wi-Fi facility and extend it for a longer period at a very reasonable price.
Passengers on the Qatar Airways flights will be made aware that the network is available with the Ooredoo logo on the log-in screen, crew announcements, in-seat pocket information and on-flight screen adverts.
The move to enable Ooredoo’s network on board aircraft will enable Qatar Airways to give travellers the latest generation of connections quickly and cost-effectively, in a flexible and scalable manner.
This agreement is the latest in a line of cutting-edge initiatives between Qatar Airways and Ooredoo, which include an initiative by the national airline to move both its primary and backup data to Ooredoo’s cloud-hosting platform, announced earlier this year.
Onboard Wi-Fi is part of Qatar Airways’ state-of-the-art communications system available on all A380, A350, B787, A319, and select A320 and A330.