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Because iPods, mp3 players, portable DVD players, toys, books, magazines, newspapers, & little bottles of booze aren't entertaining enough?
How do you feel about American's decision? Are you a traveler who could use the in-flight service to get some work done? Are you someone who thinks Wi-Fi at 35,000 feet will be more harmful than good? Join the discussion and tell us what you think.
#1 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:39 AM EDTNo way I'd pay a cent for it. It's free all over the place, sometimes you just need to decompress and a flight a decent time to do it. Besides, with the cramped seat space I don't know they expect you to open a laptop (I'm 6'2" and 220 lbs). Besides, if the Wi-Fi service is anything like their food it's going to suck anyway.
Nothing like pr0n in the friendly skies!
I'd probably pay if I had to take a flight during the day and I could be working those hours instead of counting the day as a vacation. I'd prefer if it was free, of course. Seems like the airline should cover the fee, but with airlines charging for checked bags these days, what can you expect? It's definitely a luxury, but for $10 I could make a lot more than that while getting work done.
I understand airlines need to generate more revenue, just like every other bussiness in this tough economic time, but what will be next, charging for the use of bathroom facilities ! I think that most bussiness would be better served if they try to run a thighter ship by trimming some of the fat within the organazation, and that usually starts at the top . That would also set a good example to everyone! I also think the days of pensions are allready starting to get antiquated companies can not afford to keep that kind of expense on the books, instead they should provide better health insurance and let people have stock options and let them save for there own retierment just like all us other independent bussiness owners!!!
#2 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:53 AM EDTOne airline actually IS already charging to use the restroom. Bring your own paper!
Another money grab issue like credit card company fees. This is like a drud dealer pndering for clients. Cell phone companies used it. It's the add ons that'llkill you. Get them hooked for free or cheap and then raise the prices and offer other goodies. Get back to basics. Move people, and you don't have to try to move all the people, from one place to another, on time, comfortably and with service.
#3 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:06 AM EDTI say pay nothing , let the non-union employees take a pay cut they make way to much in that over priced industry......
#4 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:00 PM EDTI do see it as a value-added service, especially for the businessman who travels frequently. For those people, being able to work on the plane is a real time-saver. But considering the cost of Internet at home, I can't see why anyone would pay $15 or more for access for one flight. $5 on the other hand, I could see.
Also, I'm curious as to why people would be so adamant as to not want it available for others. Is a person using a laptop annoying to you? If so, that already happens on most flights. I don't understand why Internet access on a flight is a problem for those who do not want to use it, so long as they are not asked to pay for it.
#5 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:35 PM EDTI use this service all the time and love it. It has made me so much more productive. If I could only use it on all the flights.
#6 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:37 PM EDTCome on folks. Let's get real for a minute. Wifi, cell phone usage.....it's all a bunch of "self-important" BS! Whatever the issue "is", it can wait until you land. Nothing is that critical other than the fact that we make it "critical". We did just fine before all the hi-tech stuff!
#7 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:57 PM EDTClearly, you are not a business traveler. Those of us who travel frequently for business lose many hours per week sitting in airplanes. If you can get work done during that time, it means you don't have that work sitting waiting to be done when you land. Generally, when you land, you are committed to other activities--conferences,meetings, etc., so there is no opportunity to get other work done. Most hotels charge a fee for wi-fi usage, so it makes sense that the airlines would too. I would probably pay $5 or maybe even $10, but no more. Re cell phones, that's a little different. I can't imagine anything more miserable than sitting on a plane with 200 people all carrying on their own cell phone conversations. That would not be practical, but using the internet on your laptop while flying just makes sense.
And there are those of us who are business travelers who relish the "out of contact" time to read a book or take a nap. If your job is that hectic that you can't take a couple of hours off, you are probably headed for a heart attack, stroke, or burnout.
CHEERS PETE! Turn off the BS, have a cocktail and take nap that's probably long overdue. Even Bill Gates isn't on the clock that long.
It can wait.
I travel a lot for business as well, but I don't feel the need to use the Internet on a plane. That being said, if I had to fly from LaGuardia to Gatwick, then I would probably change my mind to alleviate boredom. I think that they should add power to every seat first before doing Friendly Sky's WiFi.
I already use my laptop on the plane, so if I am on the internet, why would that bother anyone?? If I want to pay 15 bucks for WiFi on that plane, it is my right, no mater how stupid you think it is! Next week, I will be on my 247th flight on AA since Jan 07... Last year, I did 122 flights... Believe me... When you are flying that much, you NEED to be connected... Sometimes I spend 2 whole days out of the week flying, going through airports, immigration, customs, etc etc... Bad enough I have to get home that friday and spend hours on the computer over the weekend catching up... 15 bucks??? Its WELL worth it to me...
PS... Bottom line, if you dont want it, then dont pay for it, sleep, and let me surf away!!
:-)
#8 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:39 PM EDT$15 so I can relax when I get home and spend time with my wife? Cheap!
For those who say, "...we did fine before all this 'high-tech stuff'", you likely don't fly for business. At the very least, I can get my trip report, expenses, and catch-up email done; if I'm lucky I can get a jump on work for the next week. It's not like my employer doesn't expect me to keep up with the home front the same time I'm on the road. Most of the jobs in my segment of the high-tecyh industry expect you to be reachable 24x7. It's just the way it is any more.
#9 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:04 PM EDTwhy can't you wait until you reach then ground, where you will not be interfering with other paying passengers who might want a bit a piee and quiet!
I would love Internet in flight to file expenses and trip reports. I'm on the internet a lot researching for books I'm writing.
#10 - Tue Mar 31, 2009 8:58 PM EDTwait until you get on the ground so that you do not impair other air travelllers flight!
How does being on a computer disturb everyone else? Many people already do work on their laptops on the computer. Many listen to music (loudly enough that people around them can hear it). Longer flights have movies. People bring children who talk loudly and cry.
If you're already on a laptop, the internet won't make it more distracting for those around you anyway.
I wouldn't pay for in-flight internet; I'm not THAT addicted to it. That said, I'd much prefer the airlines have internet access onboard than allowing cell phone use. At least (providing the headphones work) it's QUIET.
#11 - Thu Apr 2, 2009 6:50 PM EDTNO, NO, NO!!! in flight cell phones in the closed confined space of a plane for hours at at time with up to hundreds of people talking overly loud to be heard above the din of the aircraft as well as the other passengers. Have you ever been in a line at the bank with the obnoxious talker behind you in line talking so loud that the security guard comes over to ask him to keep it down, or in a crowded restaurant with tables so close you can share the contiments without getting up & the person at the next table talking so lound they hear him or her in the kitchen talking about the interest rates, or his girfriend & the drunk he had last night. Well you get my point. again NO NO NO this is one place we can't escape if this is allowed your already horrible flight in to cramped seats with lousy or no food sitting next to the person who spills over into your seat or wears way to much perfume will be even more intollerable.
#12 - Fri Apr 3, 2009 10:58 AM EDTI don't pay for in flight TV, why would I waste my money on the net. Cigarette smokers can wait until the flight is over to feed their addictions. So can we netaholics.
#13 - Fri Apr 3, 2009 10:28 PM EDTWhen I fly, I do NOT want the person next to me to be sing thie internet and jabbering via email! It is bad enough on the ground when you have persons jabbering on their bells phones concerning business/personal conversations that I would not like to listen too! tHEY ARE OBSTRSIVE!
#14 - Sun Apr 5, 2009 9:34 PM EDTHonestly, we have to pay for bags, headphones, food, seats, the cost of fuel, they should at least give us the internet for free. what next pay toilets?
#15 - Tue Apr 7, 2009 10:34 AM EDTHow long before they want to charge us for the air we breathe?????
#16 - Tue Apr 7, 2009 2:35 PM EDTGood point. I can see it now... "$5.00 Air Fee".
You already are paying for the air...they pressurize the cabin don't they? :-)
I don't understand how me using the internet would bother anyone. This article is about the internet, not cell phone usage. In fact it states that any kind of voice over internet would not be allowed. Whether I am able to surf the net or not, I am still going to be typing away or reading stuff on my computer, what is the difference?
If I want to pay, let me. If you don't want to pay, don't. But don't destroy it for the rest of us.
As for those of you that think it should be free, it sounds like the airline has to pay for the service to begin with, so it would not be realistic for them to offer it free. Heck, you have to pay at many hotels and even Starbucks. I see the airlines making you pay for this service as reasonable.
#17 - Tue Apr 7, 2009 3:17 PM EDTI'd use the internet, and I would be happy to pay for it. Especially on cross country flights. I usually have my laptop out anyway. I don't think it would bother other passengers for me to be on the internet. Can't be any worse than the guy I sat next to on the way back from Dallas who sang along with his Ipod the whole way.
#18 - Thu Apr 9, 2009 2:13 PM EDTIt's obvious in the comments here that most people have never used Wi-Fi on planes. And the posting here indicate an ignorance to its use. Having used it more than 20 times since it first started appearing on flights last summer (yes, that's almost 1 year ago), I can say that unlike talking on a cell phone, no one - unless they are watching everything you do - has any idea whether you are on the internet live, or doing normal work on your computer. But it's incredibly liberating and productive to get work done on the plane.
While I would like it to be free. That's really unrealistic. The infrastructure to support this is expensive. Its about $100K to equip each Aircell (GoGo Inflight) aircraft, but the actual ground network of antenna's cost in the millions and millions of dollars. The providers should expect to be paid for this service. Also, the service has good bandwidth and a fat pipe. But it is not unlimited and if it was free, everyone would use the service, making it incredibly slow for everyone. Based on what I see, the current prices are fair, but not outrageous. They just need a monthly plan for those of us that fly weekly. But this can and should be a profit center for the airlines.
#19 - Thu Apr 9, 2009 2:57 PM EDTI would be willing to pay for internet service, but only the airline provided an electrical outlet at each seat similar to Air Canada.
#20 - Thu Apr 9, 2009 3:44 PM EDTYou're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
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With all the other annoyances on an airline, internet access would top them all. I would rather pay to NOT MAKE IT AVAILABLE.