The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi • Hacker News Board

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#51

Post by chrismartin » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 12:57 AM UTC

All of this seems predicated on the assumption that no work or fun happens without continuous internet service. Why not download and queue up your work/entertainment ahead of the flight? I look forward to digging deeply into something for a few hours without the notification hail and temptation to browse the web aimlessly.

Also, it bears repeating that Gogo issues fake SSL certificates to intercept their users' encrypted traffic.

http://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/gogo-inflight-internet...

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#52

Post by seanmcdirmid » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:01 AM UTC

caseysoftware wrote: post #47

caf wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same reason that hotel minibar pricing is so high.

Don't worry, minibars are dying too: http://priceonomics.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-hotel-mini-... It's hard to keep that level of pricing with convenience stores nearby and more and more companies unwilling to reimburse for the minibar.

Minibars are still a big thing in Asia, especially at resorts where convenience stores are probably far away.

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#53

Post by 0x0 » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:06 AM UTC

If you pay up for a given amount of megabytes of transfer, what is the risk that someone else can wireshark up your MAC, clone it and overrun your quota?

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#54

Post by ryan-c » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:20 AM UTC

bitwize wrote: post #27

joezydeco wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now it's touch screen "entertainment in-flight systems"... Enjoy that while it lasts. United is moving to a BYOD system where you use your own phone or tablet to watch in-flight entertainment. The new cabins have removed all screens and armrest audio systems (oh yeah, and headphones too) http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/inflight/ente...

United are cheapskates; they rank slightly above Spirit Airlines in my book. And at least I can get good games on my Android tablet. The ones on Virgin America flights are shitty SDL ports of old arcade and puzzle games with glitchy graphics.

Those "shitty SDL ports" are open source games written 10 to 20 years ago by one guy, for fun. Trash talking them is somewhat uncalled for.

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#55

Post by colinbartlett » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:25 AM UTC

tehwebguy wrote: post #30

Titanous wrote: post #22

GoGo is quite aggressive about variable pricing. An all-day pass is $16 if you buy it ahead of time, but if you buy it on the plane it can cost up to $50. They also do split testing of their prices and discriminate based on the user agent.

Also, if you have an AMEX Platinum you get 10 GoGo passes (per year, I think)

That's only the corporate card, not the consumer one.

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#56

Post by jrockway » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:26 AM UTC

ubernostrum wrote: post #13

mcescalante wrote: post #9

This is why JetBlue won best customer service in 2014 and it doesn't seem like they really have serious competition; they actually make an attempt to make customers happy. I book JetBlue every single time I can (even when it's more) because I can actually use WiFi without spending more than my (already expensive) ticket cost, and I get more than a single miniature water bottle.

Except JetBlue is switching to low-cost-carrier style fare tiers, charging for checked luggage and other ancillaries, etc., largely at the behest of their shareholders who feel that being indistinguishable from the other budget airlines would be more profitable.

They're not quite the same as other LCCs, they do have "mint" service on transcons which is quite competitively priced.

I stick to the legacy carriers because I tend to buy fares without all the usual bullshit included, and because I like the mileage program. (You can't redeem JetBlue miles for a first-class ticket to Hong Kong.)

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#57

Post by jrockway » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:29 AM UTC

nwhybrid wrote: post #43

icebraining wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems fine by me, since I can bring my own water but not my own WiFi :)

The TSA would have a field day with all your cavities if you try to even so much as bring more than an ounce over three through airport security. Good old USA!

You bring an empty water bottle and fill it up at the airport. I've never seen an airport that charges for tap water.

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#58

Post by colinbartlett » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:29 AM UTC

I know of two cost-saving measures for Gogo:

1.) Buy your pass on the ground first and it can be half the price.

2.) Some Delta flights offer free video streaming to devices via a Gogo app. Simply click the link that says "I need to download the app" and the internet switches on so it can redirect you to the AppStore. Switch back to a browser and it still works....

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#59

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:29 AM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #34

yishanl wrote: post #15

Does anyone really expect anything of airline flights anymore? At least those of us in commercial/economy class? Years ago great customer service was defined as giving someone the can and some free peanuts. Now it's touch screen "entertainment in-flight systems." Not like any of those things have made the flying experience any better. So I just pick the cheapest flights available. Sure, Wi-Fi is a plus, but the envir…

> Now it's touch screen "entertainment in-flight systems." Not like any of those things have made the flying experience any better. I couldn't disagree more. A fourteen-hour flight with in-flight movies is vastly superior to a fourteen-hour flight with the back of the seat in front of you.

[deleted]

Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi

#60

Post by jessaustin » Mon, Jul 06, 2015, 1:36 AM UTC

delecti wrote: post #35

sgnelson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to take advantage of that business traveler who is expensing everything has "has to have internet access for work."

My understanding (though I don't have any sources and it could just as easily be hearsay) is that nicer hotels jumped onto the new business model and signed long-lasting contracts with providers of internet service when things were just getting established. So it's less that nicer hotels are necessarily trying to milk you, and more that the nicer hotels jumped onto the bandwagon when it was still a bad financial deci…

I'd be surprised to learn that any of these hotels had e.g. twelve-year linens contracts. For that reason it's really difficult to learn they signed an exclusive wifi service contract for that long. How did they know wifi would still exist now?