Lufthansa Provides 30 Minutes Of Complimentary “Basic FlyNet Messenger” Service Through The End Of December
Lufthansa has decided to update their offers for their onboard internet service FlyNet and is now – at least for the time being – offering passengers 30 minutes of the online chat package free of charge.
The ability to use this offer is of course contingent on the aircraft being equipped with functioning onboard FlyNet in the first place and the complimentary package is rumored to be available until the end of December 2022.
Lufthansa has reacted as many competitors such as Air France are already offering chat messenger connection on a complimentary basis, not only for 30 minutes but the entire flight and it’s unclear at this point if LH is going to expand this option or if it will go back to a paid service coming January.
You can access Lufthansa’s website with a description of FlyNet here.
Simply connect your smartphone, tablet or laptop via Wi-Fi to the FlyNet® network and get started. FlyNet® is now available on an ever increasing number of flights within Europe and to and from North Africa and the Middle East. The FlyNet® portal is available throughout the entire flight and you can use all of its functions free of charge: from flight- and destination-related information to Lufthansa services such as check-in for your connecting flight, right up to Miles & More services, shopping in Lufthansa WorldShop and many more. In addition, Lufthansa offers you a number of different tariffs with which you can use the full extent of the powerful FlyNet® Internet access as soon as the aircraft has reached cruising altitude.
Keep in mind that on short and medium-haul flights Lufthansa has largely removed all inflight entertainment and instead provides entertainment only to the devices passengers bring with them themselves and then connect to the onboard network for free-of-charge content.
This doesn’t include wifi internet services though and the website still mentions the following rates as standard for short- / medium-haul trips:
There is no mention of the complimentary 30-minute option, likely because it’s a temporary campaign and not a standard offer at this point.
The option is however widely reported online and currently available on flights where Lufthansa offers FlyNet and it’s actually functional. After the 30 minutes are up the connection is interrupted and payment will be required.
Conclusion
Lufthansa is currently offering passengers a 30-minute complimentary wifi connection in their basic chat service on flights where the network is available. This is designed as a temporary promotion for the remainder of the year.
I’m surprised that Lufthansa hasn’t come up with something customer friendly like offering at least the messenger option for free during the entire flight like many competitors already do it. They have already removed all entertainment options from their single-aisle aircraft and watching multimedia content on a cellphone really isn’t something to look forward to.
As nice as it is to finally be able to access the messenger complimentary at least for a short time, Lufthansa is (once again) clearly behind the times. This is standard with many other carriers and they are still charging 3+ Euro for the service.
