Yesterday, AirTran Airways announced their plans to add high-speed Internet on every aircraft in their fleet by the middle of this summer. All 136 aircraft, consisting of Boeing 717s and Boeing 737-700s, will be equipped with Aircell’s Gogo wireless internet technology. This initiative will make AirTran the first major airline to offer Wi-Fi on-board fleetwide – a bold move that may encourage other airlines to push up their expected dates for the customer-friendly service.
AirTran will charge $9.95 for flights under three hours and $12.95 for flights greater than three hours. For mobile devices, it will cost $7.95 to access the internet.
Most carriers nowadays offer Wi-Fi, but it’s limited to a hundred-or-so aircraft. Carriers have been fairly slow to integrate Wi-Fi. I believe that non-Aircell carriers with hopes to integrate Wi-Fi into their fleet, like Southwest, are still pending FCC approval for the technology. Some airlines have expressed concern over the drag, that the equipment (mounted on the top of the fuselage) adds, because it means that the airplane will burn more fuel. Yet, when you think about it, how many customers will want to use Wi-Fi? I would think a good chunk – business traveler or not, it’s a popular utility.
Chairman, President and CEO of AirTran Airways, Bob Fornaro, said that adding Wi-Fi fleet wide will be a “game changer” for the airline industry. Judging by that, I think our prediction that airlines would well-embrace Wi-Fi, is correct. Sure, it hasn’t taken off as quickly as hoped, but the economy is still hurting airlines. We’ll keep a close eye on the airlines and see how they respond to this move by AirTran. It’ll be costly, but it might be worth it.
Image: Flickr.com (Creative Commons)
