Internet Access On Airplanes. a good thing or a bad thing?

[jimmy89 0]

WiFi is a great idea, I have to agree. But do we really need to have the Internet and computers everywhere with us. I can understand plane trips that are going from one side of the country to the other, but a bus trip? really? its only a couple of minutes that you have to go without the internet. And if you can live, just use your mobile phone, it works just as well!

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

Well for short flight between cities on a continent I can't really see the internet being available as a "necessary" thing, however intercontinental flights or intercountry flights that last for 3 or more hours I can see having the internet available as a positive thing.As for the tech support issue, have 2 flight attendents that know how to work the system and the rest just having regular duties. That way if someone has a tech question they can have the 2 trained people deal with the issue. Getting WiFi to work usually isn't that hard of a problem, and if it is a major issue that someone is having with their laptop or hand held then they will just have to go without their connection, or just have a kiosk set up in the terminal that will help people get their equipment set up for their specific flight.As for the noise of the key tapping or VoIP use, well we already have to deal with people using their laptops and cell phones on the flights already, I don't really see the addition of WiFi adding that much more "white noise" to the flights that will have it available, out side of some person getting a bit over excited when their game gets a bit more intense then they expected.

[Palpatine1405241527 0]

I think it is good, and useful, especially for the pilots. Internet can find imformation like the weather news in the landing place. It will also "accompany" the boredom of the passengers. You know, taking a plane wasn't as fun, you will get bored sometimes usually on long travels. Internet will be a good tool also to contact your friends or relatives that you will be coming or coming soon.

[Barako 0]

I think it's a great idea, it would give people something to entertain themselves with on long boring flights, and it could serve as a distraction for those who are afraid of planes, but somehow end up having to take a flight anyway. ^^Although, having to have the internet EVERYWHERE we go, even on flights, does seem a bit excessive, once I think about it. Whenever I'm on a flight somewhere (which definitely is not often) I usually just look out the window and enjoy the view. ; Though if I were stuck with something other than a window seat, I think having net access would be a good thing.Hmm.... I wonder how reliable the connections would be at 10,000 feet, anyway o_o;

[nightfox1405241487 0]

This isn't really new, but maybe in the US.
In Toronto (where I am), the VIVA Rapid-Transit Bus Service, they are testing free WIFI on the buses while on the go, so WIFI in transportation isn't really a new thing.

xboxrulz

wow... I should head out to Toronto... only about a 4-5 hour drive (roughly, could be more) for me to get out there. I know I'd probably be stuck on the busses lol but it does seem pretty useful! Who can pass up FREE WI-FI!?!?

Seems like it could work. I know it would make flying more enjoyable, that's for sure!

[N]F

[ginginca 0]

Personally I think the concept is cool. When I'm travelling I am completely disconnected which makes me uncomfortable.I don't know if it's something I would use or not. I don't even carry a laptop - to keep my luggage to a minimum. When I fly with my daughter I have crayons, paper, books, stuffies, favorite bear and blankie. (And then there's her stuff too *grin*).The moment I walk off a plane my cell phone is ON. And I'm typically checking my voicemail. So if I could check my email while on board ... I know I would.I like the I-Cafe concept. But most domestic flights are two short to have your PC on for very long. I like to think about drop-down trays that reveal a browser, keyboard and mouse. That would keep my 5 year old occupied. She lives for the internet and has had her own domain since she was born.

[warallthetm 0]

Last year i flew song airlines and they have a media center for each seat. After about a minute of messing around with it i found out that it was based on linux. They had direct tv on it, and you could check the tv listings meaning that they did have a form of internet access on it. After furthor investigation, i found out that the whole plane was networked togeghther using a linksys router whih had a central modem. I assumed that have a couple of 56k modems hooked up to some kind of cell phone. There was no keyboard so i couldnt access anythink outside their gui

[Arbitrary 0]

Ok, maybe this is from the perspective of one who thinks flying is a big deal, but frequent flyers, people who fly 4-5 times a week can probably think of better ways to pass the time than internet and constant business calls. Look ... it's an excuse to have some time off from the crazy cell phone and non-stop emails from your colleagues. After all that's what you do all the time you're not on a flight ... "I'm in a plane, I'll get back to you in 3 hours" smile.gif. That's the time you get to yourself ... maybe read a book, or watch some TV or listen to some music and just relax. I'm sure the Business Class is better than the Economy Class. A few hours without intenet and cellphones isn't going to kill all those CEOs!

 

I am inclined to agree with you, (for the health of our poor people ) as we do need a couple of hours of relaxation every once in a while. After all, it's not like we can stay up twenty four seven and answer business calls and emails. Of course, the point behind this is that it's not the CEO's choice. Once airplanes begin offering Internet access, their clients will expect some contact even while they are on an airplane. If the clients know this is possible and decide (assume) that you are ignoring them on purpose, they could get pissed. So it all comes down to...what the airlines decide. (I hope they decide for the better)

 

On the other hand, I'm also inclined to say that there isn't anything better to do on a plane anyway. What could you do--watch some movie, listen to music, read a book (if you brought one)? The Internet is at least something extra to chose from, so it's definitely not bad. And even with the Internet, we don't have to be talking to clients all the time--we could be just messing around and pretend to our clients that we don't exist on the Internet because we're not "on". Fixing our boredom is number one. And whichever way works best, I guess we ought to use it.

[Cruzo 0]

Sure, and it be better if high-end computing servers were cheaper too, but really: a global plane based relatively high speed internetwork is not cheap to build and run: we're talking about fitting equipment into planes, trials and testing, satellite bandwidth, the cost of satellite services, etc. This is not inexpensive.I actually think $30 is not too bad for what you're getting. It's not for everyone, but it's within the reach of many people, considering many of us think nothing about easily spending $30 on a restaurant meal.Not only this, but international airlines are not actually loaded with revenue that they could absorb the cost of this service into existing price you pay, and really, I wouldn't want my mother (a non internet user) to pay higher trans-atlantic fares so that she can subsidise web browsers: user pays!I'm sure we'll see the service expand and improve in the future, but for now, it's a fairly decent start. I'm not on a 6 figure salary, yet I'd have no problems paying for this service on the 2-3 12+ hour flights I make per year.

[Impious 0]

It can be a great idea to fligths being less boring and tiring. But I heard once that it can harm the electric part of the plane. I also imagine that if internet waves can do that, why not the waves emitted from tvs and radios can't to? It is impossible to deny tha fligths will be much less tiresome but at the same time can facilitate the job from those people who work connected to the internet! In my case it will make any difference at all because I need to take medicines to sleep, as DRAMIM ( do you know it ?) in another way, if I do not, I can feel myself bad. So i just sleep all fligth long! I hope you guys who dosen't sleep at aeroplanes, enjoy the internet access, by the way, we don't have it here in brazil yetsee ya

[Saint_Michael 3]

Interestingly enough I saw a few headlines saying airports are testing on wifi signals on airplanes to help people get connected to the internet. Now how that will work I don't know as I only saw the headlines about doing this and not reading them in depth about, so I have to look around and see what the idea is about setting up WIFI on a aiplane.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

People have been using satellites to connect to the Internet for years. However, it's still way too expensive for the average person to use it. Therefore, it's not too popular either.I would definitely love it if there was WIFI internet on the aircraft, like it's own little router in every single commercial airliner in that airline which offers it.xboxrulz

[patronus4000 0]

Internet access on planes would be awesome (and I do assume that headphones will be provided for each computer). I have never gone on a plane before simply because I haven't had to and am afraid of plane crashes. It'd be great to, as some others have said, get some work done, keep yourself entertained during the long flights. I don't think there'd be a lot of social issues though. There might be people who are too curious for their own good and try to look at what you're typing or reading (and then try to comment on it). And it might be annoying if you're trying to sleep and the guy next to you types really loudly. I doubt that there will be alienation issues. For example, if two passengers want to talk badly enough, they won't be surfing the Internet or watching in-flight movies; they'd be talking to each other. For the rest of us, since we'd rather not talk to strangers most of the time, the Internet would be a nice way to pass the time.Regarding the cost issue, I don't think that Internet access (even on planes) will cost too much. I think they should charge only those who use the connection separately in the beginning, to see how many passengers actually utilize this feature. If most of the passengers use this, they could just simply incorporate the fee into the cost of the ticket.Serena

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

I think our air tickets are already expensive. I think we should just charge separately. Period.I would definitely want this so I can go on MSN whenever I want to talk to my friends, even if I'm going to my annual trip to Hong Kong and back.xboxrulz

[iGuest 3]

I don't know how you came up with all that, but I suspect somebody fed you some BS somewhere.  NO satellite orbits at 11 miles, let alone a geostationary one.  The Karman Line, a widely recognized boundary for the beginning of space, starts at 100km, or 62 miles.  And that is well below where an orbit of any duration can take place.