Qantas (QF) has confirmed that Wi-Fi will not reach its entire international fleet until early-to-mid 2027, extending a rollout that was originally due to finish by the end of 2025, Sky News reported. Qantas International CEO Cam Wallace revealed the new timeline this week, saying most of the airline’s Airbus A330s already have the service while a small group of Airbus A380s still need the necessary hardware installed. The delay affects long-haul travelers flying Qantas between Australia and destinations across Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and North America.
Wallace said the holdup on the A380s traces back to a change in maintenance plans, since some of those aircraft were originally due to be fitted with Wi-Fi equipment during visits to the Middle East. Qantas has since pushed those installations back, adding the A380s to a queue that also includes a handful of other international jets. The airline says the remaining work should be finished within nine months, putting full coverage on track for around April 2027.
Qantas Confirms Full International Wi-Fi by Early-To-Mid 2027
Wallace acknowledged the long wait directly, telling Executive Traveller that “we accept this has been a long time coming.” Most of Qantas’ Airbus A330 fleet, which flies routes across Southeast Asia, already carries the necessary equipment. The remaining gap sits almost entirely with the Airbus A380s and a small number of other wide-body aircraft still awaiting installation.
Around a dozen aircraft across the international fleet still need Wi-Fi hardware or system upgrades, according to Travel And Tour World’s coverage of the rollout. Qantas has not published a full public schedule listing every aircraft type and its installation date. The airline maintains that the network-wide upgrade is progressing, even though the completion date has moved multiple times since the project began.
Why The Airbus A380 Fleet Caused the Latest Delay
Fitting Wi-Fi to the A380 involves far more work than adding it to a newer aircraft like the Boeing 787. Engineers must cut into the top of the fuselage to fit an external antenna and a protective radome, then run cabling and supporting hardware through the cabin, according to 2PAXfly. Qantas’ 787s, by contrast, arrived from Boeing with much of that infrastructure already built into the airframe.
Qantas originally planned to install Wi-Fi on its A380s during scheduled maintenance visits based in the Middle East. That plan changed, and the airline moved the work elsewhere, pushing the superjumbos further down the installation queue. The shift added months to a project that had already slipped several times before the A380 change occurred.
A Rollout Years in the Making: How the Timeline Slipped
Qantas first promised Wi-Fi across select international flights by March 2024, a deadline the airline missed. As reported by Simple Flying, the service then activated on Airbus A330-200 flights to destinations including Singapore and Hong Kong from late January 2025, following hardware installation during heavy maintenance checks. By March 2025, the fast, free connection had gone live on those Asian routes.
The airline had also planned for its Boeing 787s, Airbus A380s, and remaining A330-300s to gain Wi-Fi as they passed through heavy maintenance during 2025. That schedule slipped again, and the newest completion date now points to April 2027, nearly two years later than the airline’s original end-of-2025 target. Qantas’ upcoming Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, ordered for its Project Sunrise ultra-long-haul flights, will arrive with Wi-Fi built in from delivery, avoiding the retrofit problem entirely.
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How Fast Is Qantas Wi-Fi, and Will It Stay Free?
Qantas has committed to keeping international Wi-Fi free for every passenger, from first class through to the back of the economy cabin, once an aircraft is equipped. Passengers connect through the “Qantas Free Wi-Fi” network and follow prompts on a login page rather than paying for data packages. The service relies on Viasat’s satellite network rather than the newer, faster Starlink system that several rival airlines have adopted.
Download speeds on recent Boeing 787 flights have ranged between a modest 10Mbps and a stronger 50 to 100Mbps, with the fastest results recorded within the coverage area of Viasat’s newest ViaSat-3 satellite constellation over North America.
Speeds on other routes, including those crossing the South Pacific and Southern Ocean, are likely to vary more, since satellite coverage thins out over those regions. Qantas has not said whether it will eventually add Starlink capability to any part of its fleet.
How Qantas Compares with Emirates, Singapore Airlines, And Other Global Rivals
According to Travel And Tour World, Qantas’ delayed rollout stands in contrast to several international competitors moving faster toward fleet-wide connectivity. Emirates is working toward full Starlink-powered Wi-Fi across its entire aircraft fleet by 2027, with a stated goal of offering the service for free.
Singapore Airlines is preparing to introduce Starlink-powered Wi-Fi across its Airbus A350 and A380 long-haul aircraft, a move the same report describes as a coming benchmark for premium inflight connectivity.
In the United States, Delta Air Lines and other major carriers have already normalized free or low-cost high-speed internet across large parts of their long-haul networks.
That broader shift has raised passenger expectations well beyond what Qantas currently offers outside Australian airspace. Qantas’ domestic network, by comparison, has offered free Wi-Fi since 2017 through the NBN Sky Muster satellite system, giving Australian travelers a service that its international flights have taken years longer to match.
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What Equipped Aircraft Will Offer Passengers
Once an aircraft carries the necessary hardware, Qantas’ Wi-Fi package includes the following features, based on details published by the airline and Simple Flying’s earlier reporting on the rollout:
- Free access for every passenger, regardless of cabin class
- No data caps or time limits once connected
- Streaming support for services such as Netflix and YouTube
- Free access to news publications and social media
- Real-time flight tracking and updates during the journey
Coverage still cuts out once an aircraft leaves the range of a connected satellite, meaning some long ocean crossings may see gaps even on equipped jets. Qantas says the experience should closely mirror what domestic travelers already receive once the international rollout finishes.
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What Happens Next for Long-Haul Qantas Passengers
Passengers booking Qantas international flights between now and April 2027 should expect Wi-Fi availability to depend on the specific aircraft assigned to their route. Wallace’s comments suggest most A330 services already carry the service, while A380 routes are more likely to remain offline until the retrofit queue clears. Qantas has not indicated any near-term plan to speed up the remaining installations beyond the nine-month estimate given this month.
The rollout’s completion will coincide closely with the airline’s Project Sunrise plans, which aim to launch nonstop flights from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD) to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in 2027 using new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi from day one. Qantas already operates one of its longest existing routes between Sydney and Perth Airport (PER) on Wi-Fi-equipped Boeing 787s, giving a preview of what full-fleet coverage should eventually look like elsewhere. For now, travelers on Qantas’ existing long-haul jets, particularly its A380s, face a continued wait for a feature that has already become standard on several competing airlines.