Gulliver | Connected flights

The unstoppable rise of in-flight Wi-Fi

By B.R.

A COUPLE of announcements over the past fortnight have highlighted the pace at which the internet is now invading the skies. First, Lufthansa announced that it would begin to offer broadband internet on short-haul and domestic routes, with the first planes being fitted with the technology in summer 2016. This is significant because European carriers have been laggards compared with American ones in this respect. (Ryanair, the continent’s second-biggest carrier after Lufthansa, will not offer Wi-Fi at all until next year; British Airways meanwhile only offers it on its A380s, at least in economy class, according to SeatGuru.) Then earlier this week, Virgin America announced that it is teaming up with Netflix, an online video service. Netflix subscribers are to receive complimentary access to movies and television shows on its planes. Virgin America, which claims to be the only carrier to offer Wi-Fi on all of its planes, recently signed a deal with Viasat, a satellite-maker that will allow it to offer faster onboard internet. According to the carrier it will offer internet speeds that allow travellers "to experience internet speeds similar to what they have at home”.

Of course, there is often a big difference between the performance that firms claim for their products and what they deliver in the real world. And in-flight Wi-Fi performance is variable because it depends on the number of other passengers using the service. A plane-full of people ploughing their way through a series of “House of Cards” will lead to some frustrating mutual buffering. Still, speeds seems to be improving. At the moment, the cost of in-flight Wi-Fi—$5 an hour or $14 for 24 hours on United, for example—seems to be acting as a decent way of balancing supply and demand. According to a survey by TripAdvisor last year, only 10% of Americans are prepared to pay for onboard Wi-Fi. But it is likely that, in the future, the model will change. It will not be charging for the internet that makes airlines money, but marketing ancillary products online to passengers. Hence the airlines will have an incentive to get as many passengers logged on as possible; that means prices will tumble.

While decent—perhaps free—internet on planes would be great, Gulliver has two concerns. The first is the prospect of people making internet and VoIP calls, resulting in a cabin filled with incessant yabbering. There will be no peace to be afforded to those who want to read a book or catch 40 winks. (Worse still, it might encourage those insufferable types who insist on taking their phone calls on speakerphone when travelling, of whom Gulliver has despaired before.) The second is work. I am quite productive on flights. The reason for this is precisely that there is no internet connection. Without the option of compulsively checking e-mails, looking at Facebook or listening to the test match—all those things that compete for my attention while in the office—it is amazing how the words just flow. I suppose the only answer is to find some self-discipline.

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