Airline Wireless connectivity

The recent Orbitz for Business survey results regarding the value of Internet connectivity on the plane continues to produce headlines like this " Most Business Travelers Don't Need Wi-Fi On Planes". Conclusions such as this based on this research are very misleading. According to news reports (as I have not had access to the actual survey results) the question asked whether the traveler would take a less convenient or more costly flight to get Wi-Fi. This is obviously a loaded question. Wrapping the issue of in-flight Wi-Fi adoption with flight selection is absurd. Business travelers are on airplanes for one reason only, getting to their destination so they can conduct business. In my view business travelers and the corporations they work for, will embrace in-flight broadband connectivity when it is available. In fact I would go farther to say that connecting to the Internet while on the plane will become as common as connecting in your hotel room is now. Whether the traveler will use the connectivity for business or pleasure is a different issue. Having logged thousands of miles over the years I frequently see business travelers both playing solitaire or watching a movie on their laptop or portable device as well as working on business. Let's not draw any conclusion until wireless ubiquity in the air becomes a reality.

Conversation with Aircell Senior Management

For some time I have been talking about ubiquitous computing and the always connected traveler. I just received a briefing from the senior management of Aircell about their plans to implement Wi-Fi connectivity on commercial aircraft. Back in 2001 the buzz about this subject concerned the Boeing Connexion roll out with Lufthansa airlines. Last August Boeing announced that it would be discontinuing the Connexion service. So why will Aircell succeed where Boeing failed? It is all about the technology and business model. Boeing's Connexion equipment was expensive and heavy (1,000 lbs) and needed to be installed when the aircraft was taken out of service. Aircell's technology is lighter and can be installed while the plane sites at a gate overnight. Apart from this advantage, Aircell also has a business model where the airlines share in the revenue (the cost for consumers will be equivalent to Wi-Fi connections in hotel rooms). American Airlines and Virgin America are the two launch customers. In the case of Virgin America the technology will be integrated with the seat back screens allowing all customers to browse the Internet even if they don't have a laptop or PDA. This always connected environment fits well with the airlines' need to sell ancillary services on board for additional revenue sources. In addition, the opportunity to communicate with their best travelers on the aircraft provides some unique CRM capabilities which will likely surface as the Aircell connectivity becomes common place.