The economics of airplane wifi remind me of the economics of the hotels wifi. Go to a 5-star hotel and you will pay 15 extra dollars for the priviledge of having a lousy internet access. Go to a small hostel and you will get good internet access for free.
The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
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Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#72The economics of airplane wifi remind me of the economics of the hotels wifi. Go to a 5-star hotel and you will pay 15 extra dollars for the priviledge of having a lousy internet access. Go to a small hostel and you will get good internet access for free.
I complain (politely) about the internet fee at the desk, and more than 70% of the time its removed from the bill. The front desk almost always has authority to make those kinds of adjustments.
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#73Earlier quoted context omitted.
You didn't say flying was a waste of time. You said the experience hadn't gotten any better. Those aren't related ideas.
Uh, a bad experience is a waste of time. And I'd call these opinions, not ideas. Not sure if I agree with being downvoted but out of my hands. :)
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#74I find the $20-35 well worth it. I look forward to the day when wifi becomes standard on all flights. In the meantime, as a quick protip, you receive complimentary Gogo (at least on AA) with a business Amex Platinum. See http://ir.gogoair.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251827&p=irol-newsArti...
Works for personal platinum Amex as well. Between my $200 in airline credit yearly, comp' Boingo/Gogo wifi, airport lounged, etc, its worth the $450/year annual fee.
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#75The economics of airplane wifi remind me of the economics of the hotels wifi. Go to a 5-star hotel and you will pay 15 extra dollars for the priviledge of having a lousy internet access. Go to a small hostel and you will get good internet access for free.
I've noticed this most at mid-range places, rather than the upper or lower end of the market, which seems to treat wifi as a necessity.
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's only the corporate card, not the consumer one.
The consumer one does have Boingo access, though, which can come in handy.
I just realized I never realized they were different, since the name is so similar.
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#77Earlier 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...
Honestly, I prefer that anyway. I've got no shortage of devices with plenty of my own media, and now I don't have to be stuck 12" from a screen I can't reliably turn off, that will be shining advertisements and redundant safety lessons in my face when I'm trying to sleep.
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#78All 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' encry…
Re: The economics of in-flight Wi-Fi
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
The consumer one does have Boingo access, though, which can come in handy.
Is Gogo vs Boingo basically business vs consumer? Or..? I just realized I never realized they were different, since the name is so similar.