Source: www.wired.com
I have discussed before now how internet access is considered to be the new fourth utility. And to keep up with consumer lifestyles – the need to be always available and access what they want, when they want it, at a click of a button – airlines have begun offering internet services to their customers. Oman Air is the next to do this, from this month it will offer in-flight web access to its customers.
As a consumer, I can look at this from two different perspectives:
As a frequent flyer I travel a lot, for both work and pleasure. And what I enjoy about flying is the ability to switch off. No one can contact you, leaving you to sit back and relax to enjoy a few hours’ peace. On the other hand I am also a businessman and I know those few hours in the air can really eat into a working day. This new development will allow me to carry on working even when I am 30,000 feet up in the clouds.
It is encouraging to see airlines responding to the changing demands that consumers are making with regard to technology – hotels have been doing this for years. However, it will be interesting to see, as the market matures, how airlines cope with the challenges that hotels have historically faced with the implementation of internet services: bandwidth availability, the ‘paid-for or free internet access’ debate, managing varying levels of demand and the level of investment required to support high usage. Only time will tell.