It looks like this year Santa may decide to fly Virgin America, Air Tran, or Delta. Now he can get on his IPad via complimentary WiFi from Google and check off the naughty and nice kids on his "Santa's list" application. Maybe we'll all get our presents a day earlier!Not sure what I'm talking about?
Google announced that for this holiday season it will be offering free Wi-Fi from Gogo on all domestic U.S. flights on Virgin America, Air Tran, and Delta. Passengers no longer have to decide whether they want to pay an additional $10 to get online.
Last year Google offered free Wi-Fi at dozens of airports across the U.S. and are now stepping up the antics. This free service will last from November 20, 2010 through January 2, 2011.
It appears to be a good incentive to these airlines. And these holiday gifts from Google will definitely help them to continue to dominate the market. Will this cause a lot of fliers to change airlines?
It isn't that expensive on some airlines. Southwest announced last week that it will offer Wi-Fi for only $5 no matter the length of the flight for the next two years in the 32 planes equipped with it. An according to MaximunPC less than 10% of passengers actually use Wi-Fi. Will this drastically increase the number of in-flight Wi-FI users? Maybe this increase will lead to new consumers entering the market after the promotion and increase demand.
Well, we are Americans and Americans like free stuff. So I think, yea, it will! After all how many of us waited in line for 20-30 minutes to get a free piece of grilled chicken from KFC or a free milkshake from Chick-fil-a? They would both cost under $5.
Is it worth it to you??
I totally would consider it! For me, it's all about the incentives. I think this will improve business for these airlines during a busy travel season. I do not think it will be a drastic change, but that little incentive could be the deciding factor for someone who was either planning on traveling by car, or with another airline.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of having internet, especially if the inflight movies are lame and I would rather watch my netflicks! While I think it is a good incentive offering it for free, I think most people are still too cheap to pay for it and others just want the ability to get off the grid for a few hours. Business people used to rely on the plane ride as a quiet break from the office, and now they are able to be contacted again through wireless and even cell phones. In my opinion we don't need to be connected to technology every second of the day.
ReplyDeleteI think this could definitely have an impact on which airline a traveler chooses. People always go for anything that is free or less expensive. It is a great thing for business people who travel alot and frequently use the internet in airports and on planes.
ReplyDeleteI think this would be a good idea, especially for the individual who really travels and may need this and really its not that expensive! This could really change the way people fly and with which airlines.
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