Qatar Airways is to offer passengers free inflight wifi for up to 15 minutes from Thursday.

The Gulf carrier has signed a three-year deal with telecommunications firm Ooredoo to sponsor wifi across its fleet.

From December 15, passengers on connected aircraft will receive a quarter of an hour's complimentary internet access, after which further connectivity costs $5 for one hour, $10 for three hours and $20 for an entire flight.

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways CEO, said: "We believe on-board shouldn't mean off-line. As an ambitious and award-winning business we understand the need to stay connected whilst going places."

Wifi is available on all of the airline's A380, A350, B787 and A319 aircraft and on select A320 and A330 aircraft.

Source: BuyingBusinessTravel