You may have noticed that the use of WIFI internet access is increasing by the day. If you walk into airports of international level quality, most have free WIFI which is on offer for the convenience and enjoyment of its passengers. While this is a rising trend, it must be remembered that WIFI means shared access of resources, the efficacy of which under conditions of massive simultaneous use is yet to be seen. On a different note, a number of airlines are now toying with the most desired carry-on accessory by providing free WIFI access to passengers during their flight. Recently there was a trial conducted by Google where it partnered with Virgin Airlines to provide free in-flight WIFI access to passengers on an experimental basis.
Some of the gadgets that were run on the WIFI in-flight trial run were laptops, smartphones, as well as media players that are portable. One of the airlines that has understood the importance of WIFI onboard its flights is Southwest, a common innovator among U.S. based airlines. It may be remembered however that the Federal Communications Commission has not given its approval to such services as it is yet to be formally launched and is currently still in a trial period.
Looking to the future, Southwest Airlines has tied up with Row 44 to roll out inflight WIFI for its entire fleet, using Ku band satellites. The WIFI rollout for the fleet is planned to be through in the first quarter of 2010. The WIFI platform in use here is JiWire’s advertising platform, where instead of access to a few paying customers, Southwest will give limited access to all passengers, and it already has a few flights that offer WIFI.
Airlines agree that it is an expectation from most passengers to get WIFI access during flights. That is why passengers will be delighted to get free inflight WIFI access. The idea is to allure as many passengers as possible to use this service, and rake in the dollars by means of advertising revenue. It makes much better business sense to do this, as compared to offering paid access to only a few passengers. This business model should work as WIFI service has become common in some of the smaller European carriers already.
It is possible for airlines to bring together the WIFI and the onboard TV platforms so that more passengers can easily use the service. A case in point is the onboard messaging system in Virgin America’s flights where passengers can message each other while they are in the flight and relax with a cup of wine in their drink holder.
If WIFI access is being provided, it is logical to ask for cell phone access too. But this does not seem very feasible more from the social impact angle rather than the security perspective. It seems the Communications Commission and other agencies are not willing to allow cell phone usage inflight as it could lead to a great deal of disturbance to other passengers. Cell phone users who yap away on their handsets during the fight can cause huge annoyance to others onboard.