Regular readers know that I’m not a fan of the airline industry after a string of miserable and abusive flying experiences (yes, I’m talking to you, US Airways), but the free, in-flight WiFi on this Alaska flight is pretty damn cool. Not exactly speedy, but respectably responsive.
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The Alaska Wi-Fi is, based on my understanding, on cellular phone technology. The problem they had for a while was allowing for the uninterrupted transfer from one mobile tower to another while in flight. But it hasn’t worked well in some areas (i.e., across Montana, etc.) because of big gaps in the cell phone coverage. It doesn’t work on cross-ocean flights because of the lack of cell phone towers.
Boeing tried to avoid these problems, and facilitate usage in intercontinental flight, by using satelite links for it’s Connexion by Boeing system. But the satelite costs were high, the hardware requirements on the airplanes were expensive, and the “satcom bubble” on top of the airplanes caused deterioration of the performance and fuel efficiency of the aircraft. Boeing expected the airlines to pay a regular fee for the service, and pass that cost on to the airlines. It didn’t work, only a few carriers had the equipment installed, and they found that passengers weren’t willing to pay much for the service any more than they would pay the expensive charges for those phones which used to be on the back of the seats.
an innovation you would not enjoy if airlines were run by the government
hey goldy, why do you get to fly while some poor folks have to stay home?
# 2: nominated for the most ridiculous comment of the day. And that’s saying something.
yawn; i was helpoing the poor dude out. i mean, he has to fly commercial and everything..
Hell, I have to fly commercial in a month for a gig in Shreveport. Reno to Dallas – Fort Worth via Phoenix or Las Vegas. On Southwest.
Pray for me.
Alaska is OK if you don’t mind broken jackscrews plunging planes into the icy North Pacific and gangbangers rifling your baggage.
sadly i agree w goldy; in flight wifi is very cool. even when alaska cranks the x country rates to $12.95 it will be worth it.
of course now you need to get a laptop w/ adequate juice.
Take it from a flyer, Alaska is pretty good. Oh, they’ve got the cost-crunching that all the airlines have. But they do a decent job.
Hey Goldy,
It turns out that there are real, bonafide, conservatives that don’t like being “packaged and shipped” as well.
Your Mommy buy you yet another plane ticket Goldy? Poor woman, I truly feel for her. :)
# 6: I usually prefer Alaska over Southwest, as long as I don’t have to check any baggage. Southwest just has too much cattle-car (or “race to the seats”) for my taste.
But the last time I checked baggage on Alaska it got lost on a one-leg flight between San Francisco and Seattle. I mean, how is it possible to lose a bag on a single-leg trip, when I checked in four hours in advance of my flight??????
As for the wi-fi, the comment about the battery power on the lap top is a valid one. My work laptop is an older model which won’t last an hour without being plugged in. On international flights there are usually AC plugs in business and first class seating areas, and the foreign carriers are moving toward having AC plugs available for all seats (even economy) in airplanes configured for international travel.
But the lithium batteries in computers are being identified as a flight hazard. A couple of years ago there were new restrictions on transporting them as cargo, and newer regulations are prohibiting them in baggage areas completely (so you can’t carry a spare as checked baggage). It’s a good idea – they sometimes have a tendency to catch on fire for no apparant reason, and you don’t want that happening in the cargo hold where you can’t observe it in the early stages of a fire or get at it to put it out very easily.