Japan Airlines, a member of the oneworld alliance, is making history by offering passengers free WiFi in Japan, a country that is very hard for international users to tap into due to the country’s own telecommunications network.
The free service will entitle flyers of Japan Airlines (not codeshares or other metal aircraft) to use more than 200,000 hotspots upon landing. Flyers will be able to use the service from December 2 forward.
“We are pleased to enter into a cooperation with Wi2 so that we can provide our overseas customers traveling to Japan with an even higher level of service,” said Yoshiharu Ueki, President of Japan Airlines. “And we hope our customers will have a more enjoyable visit because they can now more easily stay connected.”
The airline says it will be easy to sign up for the service, simply by going to their website and entering some basic information.
Not only does the airline get a good PR rating out of this, the country also can see increased tourism, if folks traveling in know they can stay connected for free.
It’s worth noting that only those passengers with JL flight number will be able to receive this service. Booking an AA flight number, but on JL metal will not trigger the free service.
Jamie Larounis is an avid traveler, blogger and miles/points educator. Traveling well over 100,000 miles a year and staying in hotels for over 100 nights, he leverages miles, points and other deals to fly in first class cabins, and stay in 5-star hotels. The Forward Cabin shares his experiences, musings, reviews, tips, tricks, resources and industry news with you, the fellow traveler.
If I am flying JL but using AAdvantage miles for that flight, would I be eligible for the free wifi?
I don’t believe so.