inflight wi-fi - Gizmodo

posts about #inflightwifi more →
United Adding Wi-Fi to a Measly 13 Planes
Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
45Mbps Internet Access Coming to Airplanes, Hopefully Sooner than to My House
Would You Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi?
In-Flight Entertainment Could Go Wireless, But You'll Have to Bring Your Own Screen
Virgin Gets Wi-Fi On All Flights
The Weird State of In-Flight Wi-Fi in the US
American Airlines Installing Wi-Fi on 318 Planes
Virgin America Flight Timetables Now Have Wi-Fi Ready Status

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Michael Wiegand
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
Cut Alaska and Southwest some slack, guys. Their respective boardrooms only just discovered that the internet exists and that people might want to use it on a plane.
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Kaiser-Machead
10/08/09

@Michael Wiegand: The saddest part is the photo above is not retouched.
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Rick Lobrecht
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
how would this work? An ad injecting proxy server at the access point?
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jamjen
10/08/09

@Rick Lobrecht: Not too sure, but I remember back in the day of NetZero actually being free, they'd have a banner ad that was "always on top" that was it's own window (not the browser). So you could force users to download a small executable to use the WiFi (not to connect, but to actually reach out to the internet). You have to launch the file, which would then take up ad space on your desktop.

I have no idea if this is even close to what they'd try (I'd actually bet not), but it's plausible.
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jakebathman
10/08/09

@jamjen: I can't remember what airport I was at, but they had an ad-supported wifi service where you had to watch an ad in your browser to get 15 minutes of connectivity. Getting on the network was open, just the browsing part was restricted until you watched the ad (or paid a little $ to get ad-free internet).
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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
I wonder: Could one person make their PC a hotspot, and everyone leech off them?
[lifehacker.com]
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psychiccheese
10/08/09

@GitEmSteveDave_IsWaving: Pay for the connection, sell to passengers at 2$/person.

I like the way you think.
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Kaiser-Machead
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
I'd still like to pay to avoid ads. I'd get enough ads on the pages I visit (unless Adblock stops em dead), so I don't want ads popping up every now and then from the actual WiFi service itself. It may sting for some, but in my case, after paying $300+ for a flight to wherever, $30+ for the cab ride to the airport and other varied costs for drinks and food I get at either the terminal, mid-flight or both, what's another $10+ for access for a couple of hours.
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Edited by Kaiser-Machead at 10/08/09 12:59 PM Kaiser-Machead was starred Kaiser-Machead was unstarred

jakebathman
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
I have absolutely no problems with anything ad-supported. I don't expect anything for free, and it's a good compromise on a paying service.

Who knows, I might actually buy something from SkyMall instead of thinking about it on the plane then forgetting all about it once I leave.
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scoobydoo
10/08/09

In reply to Southwest and Alaska Airlines to Test Ad-Supported Wi-Fi
Looks like the source article screwed up - JiWire already exists, they are just one of the companies behind the new service.
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Kaiser-Machead
07/23/09

In reply to US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
I quite enjoyed gogoinflight's wifi service aboard the Virgin America flight to and from San Francisco last week. Only thing is that if there's no AC outlet on other flights like Virgin does throughout the main cabin, the experience is seriously gimped, unless you have something that can hold a charge for the duration of the flight.
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Castleknight75
07/23/09

In reply to US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
Hey if it makes the flight seem shorter, i am all for it... plus if i dont like inflight movie i could always pull up my Hulu queue and watch what ever I want
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Kaiser-Machead
07/23/09

@Castleknight75: It works ok, but media streaming can be dodgy. If you don't mind the hiccups and stalls, you'll quite enjoy yourself.
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kingbob337
07/23/09

In reply to US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
I guess it has gotten cheaper. The flights I have had with the gogo service, were 6.95 for flights less than two hours or 14.95 more than two hours. Then I think it was 2.95 regardless of flight time or something like that for handheld devices.

I would have still would have perfered an AC outlet over this though. You only get them in first class, usually.
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Kaiser-Machead
07/23/09

@kingbob337: I paid $12.95 for the service and was up and running for well over 4 hours.
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chauncy that billups
07/23/09

In reply to US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
In other news, US Airways has announced a new "No Wi-fi" fee. If you don't wish to use wifi, you will have to pay a fee of $15.
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PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
07/23/09

In reply to US Airways Getting In-Flight WiFi in 2010
I think, as part of the infrastructure stimulus, we should create a nationwide wi-fi web so that everyone can have internet access anywhere. I bet that would have a huge impact on things like education etc..
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Edited by PurpleMonkeyDishwasher: at 07/23/09 9:49 AM

jameszhang
07/23/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher:
Do you really need WiFI outside of urban and suburban areas? It would really be a huge waste of money to have WiFi in the Rocky Mountains, say.
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North Star
07/23/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: It's a good idea, but not now. We're hemorrhaging enough money as it is now, and that would be expensive. The rewards on that would be more long-term.
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PurpleMonkeyDishwasher:
07/23/09

@North Star: There would be both short and long term benefits as with any infrastructure project. Short term would be the creation of jobs and long term would be the benefits described above. Although getting Wi-Fi anywhere might be a far reach, it would be beneficial to get all the major cities/metropolitan areas covered much like Wiimax is doing with select cities.
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North Star
07/23/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: I agree that it would have good short-term effects. But this is a huge and expensive project (even if we're talking about just major cities), one best left for when the economy is back on its feet. The economy is slowly getting better, so there's a chance for this in the near future.
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Edited by North Star at 07/23/09 10:20 AM North Star was starred North Star was unstarred

Kaiser-Machead
07/23/09

@Purple Monkey Dishwasher: If I could pay a small monthly fee to get open wifi throughout NYC, I'd pay it, so long as the service performed satisfactorily. Free things are nice, but to get nice things, I'm ready to pay.
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fuchikoma
05/27/09

In reply to Would You Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi?
Of course (enough) people would pay for it; they have no alternatives, and there are a lot of internet addicts out there.

It's the same as the scam where they don't let you take any significant liquids aboard, then charge you $5-$10 for a simple bottle of water (which should be illegal seeing how it's a basic biological need!) Even if you can get wi-fi for free at Starbucks, when you're stuck on a plane and just have to check your email, Facebook, Twitter, or favorite Gawker blogs, a few bucks for wi-fi access won't seem so bad.
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92BuickLeSabre
05/26/09

In reply to Would You Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi?
No. No. No. No. No.

(yes)
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badhatharry
05/26/09

In reply to Would You Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi?
I wouldn't pay for crappy pre-packaged food, but the airlines still want to charge me for that.
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OMG! Ponies!
05/26/09

In reply to In-Flight Entertainment Could Go Wireless, But You'll Have to Bring Your Own Screen
Wifi on planes had better block Hulu and YouTube. If you've ever ridden on BoltBus, you'd know that it just takes two college students heading home for a three-day weekend to destroy everyone's bandwidth.
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