Airplane Broadband - Inflight Internet Access is Finally Here!
of years ago to provide Internet access on airplanes,
however, it was expensive to implement, and generally had no positive
business case for airlines. Simply put, the customer demand
wasn't there to warrant the cost building it; customers simply weren't
ready to pay for such a service.Well, times have changed, and now most of the major airlines are either already testing it on some of their flights, or are serious conversations about how and when they're start offering airplane broadband. I don't know about you, but I find this to be tremendously exciting. Even if I don't end up purchasing such a service each time I fly, I love having the option available. It also speaks to the maturity and evolution of mobile broadband in general, which is nice to see. Why offer airplane broadband? People these days are getting more and more used to being connected, whether it's to your family, friends, or work. We've got a computer at home, one at work, netbooks, and access to cell phones that can access email and the Internet. There are even new televisions coming out that are connected to the Internet, as well as appliances like fridges! It really truly is a mobile revolution. Now think about getting on an airplane with limited television access (if at all), completely disconnected from the world. Many people may be so happy about having that time to themselves to reflect on life, or just relax that not having access may be some degree of paradise. But for many others, it represents frustrating down time where they can't be productive, or lost time catching up on emails, organizing their iTunes, etc. So, with that in mind, airlines are starting to compete on offering other services. And let's face it, they've pared down the services so far now, that airline travel can probably be considered one of the worst service industries in the world; how sad. Well, inflight broadband is an opportunity for them to actually add a useful service! Over the years the technology has become more robust and reliable, as well as more affordable. Which means that airlines can now offer a good, solid service at a reasonable price, and actual make some money from it as well. I know, we're tired of being nickel and dimed, but the bottom line is that if airlines can't be profitable, they'll continue to go bankrupt, which will ultimately mean less competition and higher fares for us in the long run. Who are they targeting?  The
logical primary target customer for airplane broadband are
business users. Why?
Because they tend to have time sensitive work that could mean
the
difference between winning and losing a multi-million
dollar deal, that
will make it easy to justify the relatively small price of access.
And most business users will be expensing the cost anyway.
I know I've been traveling on business many times where the
flight was idle, wasted time. Ok, I got to relax,
which was
nice(!), but productivity-wise, it wasn't a good use of time.
Then you end up spending the evening catching up, which means
lost time with clients, or bonding with colleagues. Net net
is
that inflight broadband would have been sweet, and well worth the price!Even just a few years ago, this wouldn't have been the case, but now that people are so connected with all of the various devices, I see so many other targets among both kids and adults, such as:
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