Although still not available on all aircrafts, WiFi is the inflight entertainment service travellers appreciate most and even goes so far as to determine the purchase of a ticket in 44% of cases, according to a study conducted by the British telecom group INMARSAT.
Since the first video was shown on board a plane back in 1921, inflight entertainment has been a concern for both airlines and passengers. Even so, the possibility to enjoy movies on regular flights only appeared in the 1960s, and the option to watch them on individual screens only became available in 1988.
Now, in the internet age, the big challenge for airlines is to provide inflight network connectivity. After ticket prices, and flight slots, having Wi-Fi when flying is essential for passengers. So much so that 60% of all passengers surveyed by Inmarsat say inflight Wi-Fi is now a necessity rather than a luxury. (This data reflects the opinion of 9000 passengers from 18 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and North and Latin America).
Although technology is important to passengers, not all planes are equipped with what’s needed to enjoy it on board. Electronic devices have always had to be put on “airplane mode” to avoid communication problems between the plane and control towers. Many people thought this was just a myth, but it’s still necessary to do it nowadays on most flights.
Airline companies decided to equip planes with Wi-Fi to counterbalance the lack of communication when flying. The first companies with the services appeared in 2004, thanks to Boeing and Lufthansa. However, 13 years later, it’s not available on all flights.
However, nowadays, most companies offer it as a paid service. There are only eight airlines allow their customers to browse online for free: Air China, Emirates, Hong Kong Airlines, JetBlue, Nok Air, Norwegian, Philippine Airlines, SAS (paid in tourist class) and Turkish Airlines. Nonetheless, the wave of the future is that an increasing number of companies will offer free WiFi to meet passenger demands.
