BA to offer business travellers free Wi-Fi

Travellers flying with British Airways and using its business and frequent flyer lounges will now be able to get online via BT hotspots for free.

Following the agreement of a three year deal between the airline and BT's Openzone Wi-Fi hotspot division, BA travellers will get access to the internet wirelessly in the airline's 25 UK lounges, and will roll out this week at the new Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow Airport. The terminal opens today (27 March) and contains six BA lounges that will be able to host up to 2,500 passengers at a time.

The service will be available to travellers at all other Heathrow lounges, Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen beginning 1 April.

The decision to offer the service gratis comes after much demand from both business and leisure travellers, as both groups are increasingly travelling while equipped with the latest Wi-Fi enabled devices.

"British Airways has met customer demand for free Wi-Fi head on," said Chris Bruce, general manager of BT Openzone. "The explosion in Wi-Fi enabled devices is accelerating this trend and the British Airways service means that passengers can use their time productively before boarding their flights."

This plan will make British Airways the first UK airline to offer free and instant internet connectivity to its passengers. Access to the web will be granted through BT Openzone, although users will not be required to have a voucher as they do to use the service at other locations.

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