Are you bothered by passengers who are on their laptops or tablets during a flight? With mobile workers doing business from all points possible, being connected in the air is an expectation, not a nice-to-have perk. The airline industry is making up ground and progress has been significant in recent years.
According to Gogo Wireless, a Wi-Fi provider for airlines, Internet access in 2009 was available to 153,000 passengers. Data from 2011 reveals access is now available to 153 million. So for those who relish being out of touch on a plane, those days are numbered.
Conditioned to be wired all the time, today’s professionals just don’t know when to shut it down. “Passengers have an expectation of ubiquitous connectivity in their lives, especially young travelers,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst. “The traveler wants to have control over when they go online.”
In the end, it’s all about productivity. Business travelers carry a range of devices that allow them to keep working no matter where they are. And, they want to use them anywhere at anytime. However, consistent high-speed Internet service has yet to climb to 30,000 feet. Too many simultaneous downloads can bring service to a crawl on an aircraft.
Do you rely on Wi-Fi when traveling? Does it really make you more productive during your flight? Or, are you just surfing the web for fun?
