WiFi Is Working on Alaska Airlines But How Much Would You Pay?

March 6, 2009 at 3:11 PM | by juliana | 0 Comments

While we have no idea what the heck is up with Air Canada's WiFi, we do know that Alaska Airline's internet service is real and it is mostly spectacular. Harriet Baskas, who writes Stuck at the Airport tipped us off to her in-flight WiFi experience yesterday as she rode Alaska Airlines from Seattle to Orange County and back.

The first day online (courtesy of Row 44) wasn't worthy of any Branson-style celebrations and in fact, the only way passengers knew that the service was on the plane was by noticing the big WiFi decal plane by the door or if they read the card in the seatback pocket. However, those who used it seemed to like it very much:

Once folks did discover the service - which is complimentary during the test period - they used it, talked about it to their seatmates and across the aisles and, of course, sent e-mail messages: �Guess where I�m writing from.�

The service was a bit sluggish on the return trip, which got folks talking even more, but generally once travelers got connected, they seemed delighted to have this new amenity as an in-flight option.

Stuck at the Airport then wrote that the airline is asking travelers to fill out a survey with an important question being: "How much would you pay for this service?" Ah, a loaded question indeed.

While we gripe about pay-for-WiFi in hotels, we think paying for WiFi on a plane is reasonable. Why? Think about it this way. You are in an airplane, 35,000 feet in the sky, with (admittedly bad) food service, lavatories and seatback entertainment (hopefully). Given all of these amenities, which humans for thousands of years lived without, paying for internet seems acceptable. According to Stuck at the Airport, most passengers agree with this school of thought, saying they would pay a fee for this service.

However, we think anything above $12.95 would be wrong (That's the de facto standard fee most airlines are going with these days.) Most hotels charge that amount for 24-hours of usage but cross-country flights clock in at just under six hours.

We actually think a per-hour plan would work best. What if you just want to check your email for an hour during an eight-hour flight? $12.95 for one hour is not economically sensible. Then again, we've ponied up at least seven bucks before in an airport for less than 15 minutes of web time. It all depends on how long you can last without the latest news on Brangelina we guess.

How much would you pay for in-flight WiFi? Let us know in comments below.

Related Stories:
· Alaska Air Starts WiFi Trials, Gives It Away for Free [Jaunted]
· In-flight Wi-Fi a swing-vote for road warriors? [Stuck at the Airport]

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