User Fees

Seggy

Seggy

Well-Known Member
Think there is going to be user fees associated with airlines as they start offering wifi inflight?
 
Think those fees will be overly-inflated to the point of dissuading users? And that's when there's competition.
 
We've got WiFi on most of our planes now, and all of them will be equiped within two months. The fee starts at 7.95 and goes up to 12.95, depending on the length of the flight. I think that's pretty reasonable.
 
You must log in to a Web page to use Gogo, so a Web browser is needed. After you sign in, programs can connect directly to the Internet.
American Airlines recently rolled out Gogo on some 767-200 planes. Most of the routes are coast-to-coast. The cost is about $13. For flights less than three hours, the cost will be about $10.
Delta plans to install Gogo on its entire fleet by next summer. All Virgin America flights could have Gogo by year's end.
Click to expand...

Yup, if you want to participate, you pay. If you dont, you dont.
 
ATN_Pilot said:
We've got WiFi on most of our planes now, and all of them will be equiped within two months. The fee starts at 7.95 and goes up to 12.95, depending on the length of the flight. I think that's pretty reasonable.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. How often do you pay that rate to access the internet at hotels where you stay? Or does the lodging committee specifically seek out locations where that's free.

As a customer, given a choice between per-use fees and an all-you-can-use subscription for WiFi acess, I'd rather have the subscription. Seems like it would encourage repeat business, like many other loyalty programs.
 
Minuteman said:
Fair enough. How often do you pay that rate to access the internet at hotels where you stay? Or does the lodging committee specifically seek out locations where that's free.

As a customer, given a choice between per-use fees and an all-you-can-use subscription for WiFi acess, I'd rather have the subscription. Seems like it would encourage repeat business, like many other loyalty programs.
Click to expand...

Might be nice to offer your most frequent fliers comp access. But then again, they're probably the ones generating the most WiFi revenue.
 
N826AW said:
Might be nice to offer your most frequent fliers comp access. But then again, they're probably the ones generating the most WiFi revenue.
Click to expand...

Maybe a one-time-use code good for one flight for every 2000 miles flown or something like that? Gives a reward, yet doesn't totally give away the product?
 
Free wifi would be a way for an airline to differentiate itself and make it a non-commodity. They'd have to raise fares to compensate, but it'd be a way to do it.

Oh, sure, you'd lose the "I want the lowest cost carrier period" crowd but do you really want them?

The more you can do to differentiate yourself from the rest of the airlines, the better.

I think I may write something up about why United gets my business and why I'm going to continue to use them whenever possible. Six inches really does make a difference.
 
Minuteman said:
Fair enough. How often do you pay that rate to access the internet at hotels where you stay? Or does the lodging committee specifically seek out locations where that's free.
Click to expand...

I'd say about a third of the hotels we stay at do charge for access. A lot of our pilots just go without it at the hotels that charge. We'll probably push for free access in our new contract.
 
tonyw said:
I think I may write something up about why United gets my business and why I'm going to continue to use them whenever possible. Six inches really does make a difference.
Click to expand...

Economy plus?

I sat in E Plus from Tokyo to Dulles and I found it to be alright, and on the way there I had Business class so I had something way better to compare it to.
 
v1valarob said:
Economy plus?

I sat in E Plus from Tokyo to Dulles and I found it to be alright, and on the way there I had Business class so I had something way better to compare it to.
Click to expand...

Yes. After flying on US Airways from Phoenix to Anchorage and back and dealing with the lack of leg room, I'm going to stick with United unless there are no other options.

Unfortunately, when it comes to flying to Anchorage, they are not an option. They were last summer, but they are not now.:mad:
 
Heh, none of the hotels we stay at charge for internet. It's funny, I can tell that ATN stay at better hotels. It's always the better hotels that charge for internet and never the Best Westerns, Ramadas, etc.

The best hotel we stay at is a Doubletree, but they don't charge either.
 
All I know is that I wouldn't pay for it unless I need it for something specific.

I go with the low cost carrier... Point A to point B. Southwest usually wins.
 
SpiraMirabilis said:
Heh, none of the hotels we stay at charge for internet. It's funny, I can tell that ATN stay at better hotels. It's always the better hotels that charge for internet and never the Best Westerns, Ramadas, etc.

The best hotel we stay at is a Doubletree, but they don't charge either.
Click to expand...

Well, some of our hotels are better, but not most of them. We actually stay at some of the worst hotels compared to other majors. It's one of our big sticking points in our next contract.
 
Well of course they're gonna charge for net access. On e-plus, it's really a pretty dang good deal!! They were offering it for a 100 dollar upgrade in Tokyo, pretty much a steal for a 10hr flight. UAL gets a lot of crap for service issues but this is one area where they do really well!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top