Aiming to ‘meet and exceed’ customer demands, Singapore Airlines (SQ) has announced the roll-out of an In-Flight Connectivity program that will bring internet and mobile services to travellers in the air.

Announced this morning, the US$50 million program will allow travellers to connect to the internet, send and receive emails on smartphones and other electronic devices as well as send and receive SMS text messages while flying at 35,000ft.

Launching on 14 of the airline’s aircraft from today on non-stop flights between Singapore and Newark and Los Angeles, the carrier’s senior vice president product and services Tan Pee Teck described the move as an evolution in-line with customer preferences and expects the initiative to keep the airline “at the forefront of airline product innovation”.

“As our customers’ preferences towards entertainment and connectivity options change over time, so must we,” he said.  

“Mobile and Internet connectivity capabilities are just the start, enabling our customers to stay connected even when flying at 35,000ft.

“There will be much more investment in the months and years ahead to keep our customers both connected and entertained.”

The new technology will be rolled out across Singapore Airline’s long-haul fleet over the next two years, however, the carrier noted deployment on aircraft will be subject to regulatory approvals from individual countries.

Promotional price plans are also being introduced from today for wireless Internet access.

The promotional prices, which will last until 30 November 2012, are US$25 for 30 megabytes of data and US$10 for 10 megabytes of data.