British Airways-owner IAG to provide Wi-Fi on short-haul from 2017

LONDON, Nov 2 (Reuters) - British airways-owner IAG said it would start to provide Wi-Fi across its airlines' shorthaul fleets from 2017, following similar moves from rival airlines as passengers increasingly demand to stay connected in the air.

IAG said it signed a deal with satellite company Inmarsat (LSE: ISAT.L - news) to be the launch customer for a service which will offer a 4G broadband network onboard.

The service would be available to people travelling on British Airways flights from next summer, while its other airlines, under the Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling brands, would be equipped with the Wi-Fi technology from later in 2017.

Rival carrier Lufthansa started providing satellite-based broadband onboard its short-haul flights starting from last month, while Norwegian has offered customers free Wi-Fi onboard for some time.

IAG said earlier this year it would start fitting its long-haul flights with Wi-Fi and that by 2019, 90 per cent of its airlines' fleets would be fitted with the connectivity equipment.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Victoria Bryan)