We reported earlier this year that Mango would be the first South African airline to offer a Wi-Fi service on its aircraft. Between then and now, the first inaugural flight has been flown, and most reports so far have been positive.

The month of August will also see the service moving out of its beta phase. Only one plane in the Mango fleet remains to be kitted out with the necessary equipment. Reports are stating that this final plane will be ready towards the end of September.

If you’re a frequent traveller from Cape Town to Jozi, then you may also be glad to know that August will also be the month that prices are slashed. A normal three hour voucher, which essentially covers your pre-flight cup of coffee at Wimpy and the bulk of your flight, has now been reduced to R25 from R50. This is valid until the end of the month. Passes vary based on how long they last, with the three hour voucher being the shortest, all the way to a 30 day purchase (only R250!) for those that spend more time in the air than on the ground.

Even better news for social media freaks is that access to Facebook and Twitter during flights will be completely free of charge. This will inevitably lead to Facebook status updates to do with posting it from 35 000 ft, so consider yourself warned. Just please no-one tell the BlackBerry army that their phones have Wi-Fi. A plane is no place for BBM.

Not a bad achievement by Mango at all. I wonder how long before we’ll be seeing this technology making its was to other local airlines.

[Source: MyBroadband]