The NYT has a good piece about the economics of airlines providing WiFi on their planes. I am not exactly a seasoned traveller. I’m one of the people who hold up the security checkpoint because I’m never sure what to do before I am told.
That said, when I travel, which is usually for leisure, it always surprises me how unwired the airlines and airports are. I get frustrated at the lack of WiFi and I’m not even working! The technology is there — Boeing has been putting a lot of weight behind it since 2001 — but the airlines don’t see the money in it.
Does anybody else thinks this seems short-sighted? If say, United, had WiFi on their planes, wouldn’t you go out of your way to book a flight on United versus their competitors? Moreover, the airlines are losing money like crazy anyway, what’s another half-million to fit your planes with WiFi?