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Few People Are Using Wi-Fi on Airplanes, But It's Early Yet
Although a number a major airlines have gone to great pains in offering Wi-Fi connectivity on their flights, few passengers are buying. USA Today says that "some analysts" estimate that on-board Wi-Fi adoption tops out at around 10-percent of a given plane's passengers. We at Switched rely on the Internet to make our coffee, pump our blood and give our poor lives some meaning, so we have no idea what's wrong with these people.Maybe everyone's balking at the prices. Leading provider Gogo, which has partnered with eight large airlines, offers access for somewhere between $4.95 and $12.95, depending on the length of the flight. Of course, flying is getting more expensive in and of itself, what with the fees for ancillary services like extra bag handling and changing reservations. In the first quarter of this year, airlines pulled $769 million in baggage fees alone, a substantial jump from the $578 million earned in the same period last year.
But rising costs aren't keeping people from flying. In fact, the International Air Transport Association reports that airlines saw their number of passenger increase by 11.7-percent in May of this year, as compared to May of 2009, and that passenger traffic is now 1-percent above pre-recession levels. (The May 2010 figure, though, could be skewed by all those tourists stranded as the result of Eyjafjallajökull's little volcanic hiccup over the Atlantic back in April.)
Maybe people just want to disconnect for a bit, which seems crazy to us, but may be entirely pleasant for people who don't require RSS feeds to function. Still, the U.S. commercial airline fleet only has about 950 planes fitted with Wi-Fi, and will see about 1,000 more upgraded by year's end, so it's a little early to write off in-air Internet. [From: USA Today]
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Comments
3
Subscribe to commentsIanJul 7th 2010 1:02AM
well for people who travel for work i can see this working out, but for a regular person i can get off the net for a few hours while i travel. unless its free, and there is an outlet in coach seats.
DesigndillJul 14th 2010 4:52PM
Acredito que algumas horas fora da internet não va fazer diferença.
TonyJul 19th 2010 11:07PM
As a frequent flyer (250,000 plus domestic only miles each year), I resent the in-sky-wi-fi. My clients are now assuming that I am available even when in the air. The flight used to be my down time, a time when I could relax. I refuse to answer emails while in the air. I spend as much time as many flight attendants on planes and that is only getting to work! Next thing you know, they will start allowing cellular calls in the air (or skype). Who wants the distraction? I enjoy the upgrades to the comfort seats (first class) that I earn with my loyalty and want nothing more than to relax. The clients can wait until I land. It will only be a couple of hours. I'll call them from the airport lounge when I'm connecting or at my destination.