China Eastern Airlines trials WiFi service

China Eastern Airlines will test China's first onboard Wi-Fi service on a Shanghai-Beijing flight on Wednesday morning, the airline said yesterday.

Passengers onboard the Airbus 330 will be able to access Wi-Fi provided by a telecommunications satellite, the Shanghai-based carrier said.

They can switch on their laptops and tablet computers once the aircraft reaches a cruising altitude of 3,000 meters.

However, passengers on the 8am flight from Hongqiao International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport will not be allowed to use mobile phones.

And the Wi-Fi service will be suspended for takeoff, landing and during turbulence to ensure passenger safety, as users might be distracted by their electronic devices, the airline said.

The service will be free during the trial but the carrier and China Telecom will charge a fee during formal commercial operations.

The speed of the service can reach 32 megabytes per second and users will be able to browse web pages, use the WeChat messaging platform and do a spot of online shopping when about 200 passengers are using the service simultaneously.

And they will be able to hold video conversations when around 50 passengers are using the service, tests found.

China Southern Airlines has also received the approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to offer in-flight Wi-Fi.

It plans to launch a trial on its Guangzhou-Beijing route.

China Eastern Airlines did not say how long its Shanghai-Beijing trial will run.