I took a domestic flight in the United States yesterday, and was intrigued to find wi-fi available on the plane.
It’s extraordinary. US airlines have been struggling financially to the point that customer service agents are like unicorns – a mysterious animal no-one quite believes exists. On a flight Miami-LAX, there was one television screen per hundred people, mounted in the ceiling, and you had to buy your earphones. Lunch was a $10 USD soggy sandwich and bag of chips. It was reminiscent of a trip I took on a Greyhound bus while at uni. So much for the glamour of air travel.
Yet, they’ve managed to bring internet to the skies! Yippee!
It’s actually surprising that it has taken this long to get our personal devices working in the sky. You can get perfect mobile phone reception at the underground train at Martin Place in Sydney, but until now have had to rely on the expensive in-seat phones the airlines provide.
In Australia, we’re not quite there. The Australian Communications and Media Authority several years ago conducted an inquiry into mobile phone use on planes. There was much uproar that the last domain of quiet (apart from the dull roar of engines and screaming toddlers) would be interrupted by the beeps and dings of text messages and overly loud teenage conversations.
As a result, none of the airlines have yet adopted the strategy, and we still have to turn our devices to in-flight mode before switching them off.
(I took 40 domestic and international flights last year. I could give that safety demonstration in my sleep).
Flying business class, of course, is much more pleasant with USB ports to charge the devices, but I think the final word on in-flight communications comes from the inimitable West Wing communications director Toby Ziegler.
FLIGHT ATTENDANT 2:
You can’t use your phone until we land, sir.
TOBY ZIEGLER:
We’re flying in a Lockheed eagle series L-1011. It came off the line 20 months ago and carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system. Are you telling me I can still flummox this thing with something I bought at Radio Shack?
