In Flight Wi-fi Expectations

By Author: Steve Robinson
Total Articles: 467
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Currently you are far more like to find cheap airplane tickets and discount hotel rooms or cheap vacation packages than you are to find Wi-Fi on your flights.

Today fliers on the five largest U.S. airlines are likely not to be offered onboard Wi-Fi. Of the country’s biggest airlines, Delta is the one airline where fliers tend to find Wi-Fi. Delta has outfitted Wi-Fi on about 70 percent of its planes.

Delta is considered the friendliest U.S. tech airline because of the availability of outlets and USB ports at its gates, its ever-present social medial presence, the quality of its mobile apps and its mobile check in options.

Delta’s entire mainline domestic fleet offers Wi-Fi. About 39 percent of its regional fleet with two class configurations offers wireless.

Wi-Fi availability at other large U.S. airlines is as follows:

• American Airlines 30 percent
• Southwest 19 percent
• US Airways 17 percent
• United-Continental 2 percent

Delta’s planes flying international routes do not currently offer Wi-Fi. To offer such service they would need to move towards ...
... satellite based Wi-Fi vs. their current ground based approach.

United-Continental has announced its intention to offer satellite Wi-Fi. Starting this year it will outfit satellite based Wi-Fi on its entire mainline fleet. When completed, passengers will have Wi-Fi access worldwide on United planes, including former Continental aircraft.

The best (in terms of offering Internet access) among smaller U.S. airlines is Virgin American which offers Wi-Fi on its entire fleet and will launch Gogo’s much faster ATG4 service early next year. Virgin America’s planes offer power outlets at every seat across all cabins.

Among other top ten U.S. airlines, Frontier has 35 percent of its planes Wi-Fi enabled, whereas JetBlue has no such planes. The one thing that is certain is Wi-Fi will increasingly be added to planes. The only question is which airlines will be the quickest to add Wi-Fi to their entire fleets.
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