Qantas launched in-flight WiFi on its Boeing 737-800 for its domestic flights in Australia.

The move marks the start of a rollout across 80 Qantas planes; it will be complete by the end of next year. The service uses broadband providers Viasat and Nbn’s Sky Muster satellite service for speeds up to 10 times faster than other providers.

This means passengers can access Netflix and Spotify, with Foxtel and Stan to follow in the coming weeks. Voice calls are not permitted.

“Inflight WiFi has been on our wish list for quite a while, but the sheer size of Australia meant it was hard to offer a service that was fast and reliable. The Nbn has made it possible and we’re really pleased to be able to tap into this service,” said Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas Group.

“The technology we’re using on-board this 737 is a generation ahead of what most airlines around the world have and there’s a fair amount of complexity involved. That’s why we’ve installed it on one aircraft for the first few months until we’ve finished fine tuning and are ready to roll out to the rest of the domestic fleet.

“On flights between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, where we have a lot of business travellers, we expect the system to get a real work out with email and web browsing. We also know customers want down time, which is why we’ve partnered with streaming services like Foxtel and Stan so there’s no shortage of things to help people tune out.”