"On this PK-GQR flight from Denpasar, the Wi-Fi service is live. The team and I [have enjoyed the service] from an altitude of 35,000 feet," said Citilink president director Juliandra Nurtjahjo at a press conference in Jakarta on Friday as quoted by Antara.

The service is part of the airline's collaboration with in-flight wireless internet service provider PT Mahata Aero Technologi (Mahata).

Aircraft that provides the facility will be equipped with the GX Aviation System, which is said to be the world’s only high-speed global wireless connectivity service sent through a high-throughput satellite (HTS) network. According to a statement, the service is owned and operated by Inmarsat Aviation in cooperation with Lufthansa Technik as the hardware, design and certification provider, and Lufthansa Systems as the software integration provider.

Read also: Free Wi-Fi service will not affect ticket prices: Citilink

Based on an agreement with PT Mahata, an additional of 18 Citilink planes will be equipped with the Wi-Fi facility next year.

"Hence by the end of 2019, we will have a total 20 aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi from our target of 50 planes by 2020," said Juliandra.

The Wi-Fi-equipped Citilink PK-GQR plane caters to passengers on the Jakarta-Denpasar, Jakarta-Banjarmasin and Jakarta-Medan routes.

The free service is said to target millennials who make up 70 percent of Citilink’s market. (kes)

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