surrender (your down time): wi-fi at 35,000 feet is coming
Whether you’re in Singapore, Stockholm or Seattle, people expect to be able to reach you, virtually 24/7. The only escape (and one I cherished) was on a flight – especially a long one like the 17 ½ hour nonstop from Singapore to Newark. I loved not having access to my phone or Wi-Fi – for the first few hours, that is.
Not surprising, as virtually everyone now uses either Wi-Fi or their mobile service to do everything from answering client emails, to booking restaurants, to checking flight departure times to looking at pictures your friend posted on Facebook. While being accessible all the time is great for productivity, it’s a double-edged sword.
Aircell's gogo in-flight Wi-Fi service on Delta
Last year I flew on American Airlines and was able to test out their Wi-Fi service during the flight for about US$12. It worked pretty well – I had a few issues with set-up but I saw the potential. Today North American airlines including Air Canada, AirTran, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Delta, JetBlue, Northwest, Southwest, United and Virgin America all have some level of Internet service, from one-plane pilot programs to major roll-outs. An in-flight system by industry leader Aircell costs about US$100K to install, and adds only 300 pounds to a plane.
An excellent article from Web site On the Beach highlights a long list of domestic and international airlines offering the service here. In Asia, airlines offering in-flight Web including Air China, ANA, Asiana, Eva Air, JAL, Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines, Qantas and Singapore Airlines. In EMEA, Wi-Fi is offered by Austrian, British Air, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, SAS and Virgin Atlantic. Check your carrier’s Web site to find out what exactly they currently offer.
Regardless of whether we want it, Wi-Fi is coming to a plane near you. The good news is that I like having the choice. And I definitely prefer that my neighbor is composing emails than chatting away on a mobile phone.
More on Wi-Fi in this New York Times article and this ZDNet posting, both from May 2009.
[...] up on a previous TTDaily post about in-flight wi-fi (which mainly is available in the US and on flights over land), Lufthansa has announced it will [...]