Norwegian med transatlantisk wi-fi - Curt Lewis

Norwegian Air's flights to the US set to offer free wi-fi - but dispute over future of airline internet access is hotting up

• Norwegian will be the first low-cost airline to offer free wi-fi to all passengers on its transatlantic flights
• About eight other airlines offer free wi-fi but few are transatlantic and none low-cost

Norwegian Air has announced it will become the first low-cost airline to offer free wi-fi to all passengers on its transatlantic flights within a year even as a dispute over the future of airline internet access hots up.

The company is the biggest low-cost European airline across the Atlantic, offering $99 (£77) single flights from London to New York. Now it plans to equip its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 737 Max aircraft with wi-fi.

A spokesman for Norwegian said: 'We were the first to launch free wi-fi in Europe and the first to have it fleetwide for short-haul.'

Logging on: Norwegian's flights to US set to offer free wi-fi 

The airline flies from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh across the Atlantic and to Europe. The exact terms of the service are not yet known but Skype and Netflix are unlikely to be accessible.

About eight other airlines offer free wi-fi on flights, though few are transatlantic and none are low-cost.

British Airways has begun equipping almost 120 of its aircraft with wi-fi access, however passengers will be charged to use it.

Connection: Internet will be available over the Atlantic

Meanwhile, UK-based satellite firm Inmarsat is facing legal action from rivals over its plans to beam wi-fi signals to planes across Europe.

A few days ago the company launched a satellite capable of providing the service and it aims to switch on its European Aviation Network by the end of the year.

But ViaSat, Eutelsat, and Panasonic have filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice.

They are seeking an injunction amid claims that the European Commission should have prevented national regulators from granting Inmarsat permission to use the radio spectrum for in-flight wi-fi.

Inmarsat's chief executive, Rupert Pearce, claims the project has full permission.