Emirates restores free in-flight Wi-Fi for all Skywards members

Earlier this month Emirates announced that all passengers on its flights are now eligible for free Wi-Fi on board, which sounds like great news and certainly piqued our interest, after Singapore Airlines became the first carrier in Asia to rollout free Wi-Fi to all Business and First Class passengers from January this year.

As is often the case with Emirates, some further reading is needed beyond the PR headline, and this “news” is no exception, because:

• The latest Wi-Fi connectivity has already been in place for five months, since January 2023.
• The latest offering has simply restored the carrier’s pre-COVID free Wi-Fi options, which were quietly cut in early May 2020 during the pandemic, to save costs.

Emirates complimentary Wi-Fi plans

Despite offering complimentary Wi-Fi to Skywards members before COVID-19, Emirates culled this benefit almost as soon as the pandemic’s impact on the aviation industry began to be felt, in early May 2020.

“This pandemic has disrupted many business models, including for airlines and satellite and data providers. When Emirates was flying a full fleet we were able to purchase data in bulk, which made offering a free WiFi service feasible even though the airline still subsidised the service with millions of dollars every year…

“… Like all airlines, we’ve had to adapt our inflight offering to the current situation, but we are monitoring developments closely and look forward to resuming these popular services when practicable.”

Emirates

Here’s how Emirates’ free Wi-Fi packages then looked during the COVID-19 pandemic between May 2020 and December 2022, having been downgraded.

Emirates Complimentary Wi-Fi Allowance (during COVID-19)
Skywards Tier	Travel Class
	Economy*	Business	First
Blue	None	Unlimited Free Chat	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Silver	None	Unlimited Free Chat	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Gold	Unlimited Free Chat		Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Platinum	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi

* Including Premium Economy

Here’s a summary of the latest fleet-wide complimentary Wi-Fi allowances, in place again since January 2023, based on your cabin class and frequent flyer status.

Emirates Complimentary Wi-Fi Allowance (latest)
Skywards Tier	Travel Class
	Economy*	Business	First
Blue	Unlimited Free Chat		Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Silver	Unlimited Free Chat	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Gold	Unlimited Free Chat	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi
Platinum	Unlimited Free Wi-Fi

* Including Premium Economy

As you can see Skywards Silver and Gold members in Business Class now get unlimited free Wi-Fi (previously, they only got a Chat package), while Blue and Silver members in Economy Class now get the Chat package (previously, only paid options were available).

This almost restores the pre-COVID allowances, however Blue members in Business Class and Gold members in Economy Class got unlimited free Wi-Fi before, but now only get the Chat package, which is a big shame because it means you can’t simply sign-up and benefit from unlimited access in Business Class.

Note that the Unlimited Chat package on Emirates provides access only to WhatsApp, Messenger and other text messaging services, throughout the flight.

Unlike some other airlines, Emirates only offers complimentary Wi-Fi if you’re also a Skywards member, with your membership number added to your booking on the Emirates App or through Manage your booking online.

Travel in a particular cabin class alone (even First Class) as a non-Skywards member, or when crediting miles from the flight to a different partner like Qantas Frequent Flyer, means you won’t benefit.

Live TV on Emirates (ice TV live) was also suspended during the pandemic, but made a comeback in 2021.

Regular Wi-Fi costs

The good news with Emirates Wi-Fi is that it has always been one of the more affordable options out there, if you are not eligible for a full-flight package and need to remain connected on board.

Pricing, depending on the flight duration, is as follows:

• US$2.99 – US$5.99 for Unlimited Free Chat (full flight)
• US$9.99 – US$19.99 for Unlimited Free Wi-Fi (full flight)

In selected regions, Emirates also offers an (astronomically expensive) unlimited free 30-minute Wi-Fi connection at US$9.99, but we’ve never seen this one on our Singapore – Dubai – Europe trips or vice-versa, so we’re not sure where it applies.

How good is Emirates Wi-Fi?

Most Emirates aircraft use the first-generation SITA OnAir Wi-Fi system, which is now one of the slowest on the market.

As Singapore Airlines regulars will recall from times gone by on pre-retrofit A380s and 777s, getting speeds north of 1 Mbps is a rarity with this system, so there’s plenty of patience required, especially when multiple users are logged on.

Some newer Emirates aircraft, like the latest Boeing 777s, do thankfully have a faster system where you should get around 5 Mbps download speed.

Luckily things will take a big step forward for Emirates next year, with the first of 50 brand new Airbus A350-900s boasting the latest GX Aviation Ka-band Wi-Fi system, also used by Singapore Airlines on its Airbus A350 Medium Haul, Airbus A380 and selected Boeing 777-300ERs.

This system offers typical download speeds of 7-9 Mbps, a marked improvement. You can refer to our comprehensive guide on SIA’s Wi-Fi here, to see which flights you can already take advantage on when flying with that airline.

Emirates is now offering some form of free in-flight Wi-Fi connection for all passengers, provided they are Skywards members, which is great news.

Do be aware that in many cases this is a Chat package, optimised only for messaging services rather than more productive work.

It’s not groundbreaking unfortunately – almost the exact same offering was available before the pandemic, but complimentary access was quietly cut back for over two years due to COVID-19 cost saving.

Also, you’ll still have to be a Skywards member crediting your flight to that programme in order to benefit, though thankfully the carrier’s regular pricing for in-flight Wi-Fi isn’t too crazy, even if you’re ineligible for that reason.

(Cover Photo: Emirates)