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JetBlue Giving All Passengers Free In-Flight 'Fly-Fi' High-Speed Wi-Fi (betanews.com)
BrianFagioli quotes a report from BetaNews: Today, JetBlue announced something miraculous for travelers. Every one of its passengers will have access to free in-flight high-speed Wi-Fi, which it calls "Fly-Fi." This is on every single aircraft in its fleet. In other words, if you are flying JetBlue, you get free high-speed internet "JetBlue's Fly-Fi, which clocks in at broadband speeds beating sluggish and pricey Wi-Fi offerings onboard other carriers, keeps customers connected with an Internet experience similar to what they have at home, including the ability to stream video and use multiple devices at once. The service enables JetBlue to deliver Amazon Video streaming entertainment to customers onboard to their personal devices, as well as web surfing and chatting on favorite messaging apps," says JetBlue. The vice president of JetBlue, Jamie Perry, explains, "It's 2017 and our customers expect to be connected everywhere, whether that be from the comfort of their sofa or 35,000 feet above it. That's why we're so proud that JetBlue is now the only airline to offer free, high-speed Wi-Fi, live TV and movies for all customers on every plane."
(damn subject line limits, 1 letter too short) I want to know how long before we admit that nobody is ever going to be allowed to smoke on a domestic flight in the USA again so the airlines can paint on a "No Smoking" sign and repurpose the "No Smoking" light to one where the pilot can indicate when we're allowed to get our portable electronic devices out or when it's time to put them away again.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
The legacy carriers need to massively reform, particularly United.
The *are* reforming. The majority of the flying public have made it clear that the most important thing to them is low fares. They'd love blankets and pillows and hot meals and leg room but they're not willing to pay for it - They just sort by price in Expedia and book the cheapest option.
So United and Delta and everyone else are reforming to meet that need: They offer a rock-bottom product with no services, and then allow people to buy the services they want, a la carte. Want leg room? Buy up into Economy Plus. Want a hot meal? Buy it off the menu. Want to check a bag? Pay $X. Indexed to the cost of fuel + inflation, you're still paying less today even with all the a la carte items than you were 25 years ago.
If they're not assigning you a routable IP address and delivering connections to you, then it's not internet. It's internet's bastard child. But it's close enough for most people, most of the time.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"