Airtel, Reliance Jio in-flight roaming plans: Benefits offered, airlines they will work on, and more

Airtel and Jio, both offer in-flight services to their customers that let them stay connected while on-board a flight. Both the telecom service providers offer multiple in-flight plans and offer both data and calling benefits as a part of it.
There are a lot of questions and things that one needs to know about using the in-flight services and opting for the in-flight pack while travelling.

In this explainer, we will tell you everything that’s there to know about using in-flight services.
What is in-flight services?
In-flight services, as the name implies, allow users to stay connected when on board a flight. The service includes data, SMS and calling benefits. The feature is a part of the international roaming plan, however, it can be opted as a standalone pack by users and there’s no need for an international roaming plan for this to work.

Let’s check the in-flight plans offered by Airtel and Reliance Jio
Airtel In-flight plans
Airtel has announced a total of six in-fight plans -- 3 in prepaid and 3 in postpaid. The plan starts at Rs 195. Here’s a complete list of plans offered.

Reliance Jio in-flight plans
Jio’s in-flight plans also start at Rs 195 and there are a total of six plans including both prepaid and postpaid.
Prepaid plans

Postpaid plans

Supported airlines

In-flight services are not available on all flights. Both Airtel and Jio have partnered with airlines to offer in-flight services. Notably, these plans are available only for international flights.
Jio in-flight services: Supported airlines

Airtel in-flight service: Supported airlines

Incoming and outgoing calls with in-flight services
One difference between the regular plans and in-flight plans is that incoming calls are not allowed on both Airtel and Reliance Jio. However, users can make calls with the allocated calling minutes as per the plan. For instance, the Rs 195 plan comes with 100 minutes of calling, so users can make phone calls up to 100 minutes with the plan.
Data services are not unlimited
Data, as a part of the in-flight services, is limited. It depends on the in-flight plan. Also, once the data quota is over, the data will stop working, there’s no unlimited data on offer, even at the reduced speeds. Also, the data speed will depend on the airline and the service provider.
SMS benefits
All the incoming SMSes are free. However, outgoing SMSes are once again limited as per the allocated quota with each plan.
In-flight service vs data services provided by airlines
In-flight services are provided by telecom operators like Airtel and Jio. However, some airlines offer their in-flight service that can be purchased when onboard to be able to use the data. However, compared to the in-flight services, the services offered by airlines are comparatively more expensive and may not include calling benefits (depending on the airline).