Lack of free wi fi on airlines

[OmarB]

Cant help thinking airlines lose a huge marketing ploy by continually charging for wifi onboard. Have just enquired as am on Eva to London in June and its £15 certainly no big deal but shall not bother. Surely the likes of etihad emirates qatar etc etc could have a huge advantage if one offered free wifi onboard instead of charging.

Forums would be all over that within 48 hours for sure

[davidge]

Eva & Thai even charge for wifi in Business Class. It wasn't very good either.

[CuppaTea]

Anyone remember this from years back ?

Airline considers fee for lavatory use

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/04/07/ryanair.lavatory.fee/

It seems they didn't do it but shows how far some airlines will go to squeeze every cent out of us.

Maybe some people are fooled by very low headline prices but don't realise that in the end they pay more for a normal service

I agree that Wifi should be free and sensible airlines should push it as "Look how much better its to fly with us than our competitors" as part of an overall strategy.
 

[mbamber]

Used the free wifi on Emirates 10mb was OK for facebook email etc if you want more it is 1$ for 500mb I think so not expensive.

[Richie]

5 minutes ago, mbamber said:

Used the free wifi on Emirates 10mb was OK for facebook email etc if you want more it is 1$ for 500mb I think so not expensive.

Wow that is good. I would use that for sure if that's the case.

[CuppaTea]

5 minutes ago, mbamber said:

Used the free wifi on Emirates 10mb was OK for facebook email etc if you want more it is 1$ for 500mb I think so not expensive.

The extra cost is the issue, not the amount of it and yes I agree $1 for 500mb is not much but it is extra to the price of your ticket.

Some airlines charge for reserving a seat, some extra for certain seats, some even for meals and drinks and any luggage placed in the hold.

The price of our seats should be all inclusive but instead the airlines artificially lower the ticket prices by charging extra for things we will probably use.

Sure we have the option not to have the extras but I guess many do and do so without considering those costs when we book.

We just see the headline ticket price but its not what many end up paying, really those prices are deceptive and deliberately so.

[mbamber]

1 hour ago, CuppaTea said:

The extra cost is the issue, not the amount of it and yes I agree $1 for 500mb is not much but it is extra to the price of your ticket.

Some airlines charge for reserving a seat, some extra for certain seats, some even for meals and drinks and any luggage placed in the hold.

The price of our seats should be all inclusive but instead the airlines artificially lower the ticket prices by charging extra for things we will probably use.

Sure we have the option not to have the extras but I guess many do and do so without considering those costs when we book.

We just see the headline ticket price but its not what many end up paying, really those prices are deceptive and deliberately so.

True but a lot of people go for the cheapest price of the seat Ryanair used to advertise Price's without extra fees that you had to pay, Emirates now on the cheapest tickets charge if you want to book your seat.

[OmarB]

$1 for 500mb is very cheap on emirates an i wasn't aware of it for sure

[docbunsen]

i used it for free on emirates business class and found it very poor to be honest i cant ever see me paying to use it .

[gmingot]

The long term plan is for airlines to get people used to paying for Wifi. The airlines are working on the theory that the majority of customers carry some kind of internet enabled device aboad, be it a phone, laptop, tablet etc this will allow the airlines in the future to remove seat back Tvs and therefore save/make money in several ways.

1. No more capital cost of seat back Tvs

2, No more IFE maintaintance required, no compensation to passengers with broken IFE

3. Weight saving hence fuel saving from not having 300+ screens and underseat boxes

4. Charge people to stream IFE to their own personal devices

[hioctane]

On 4/19/2017 at 6:49 AM, CuppaTea said:

The extra cost is the issue, not the amount of it and yes I agree $1 for 500mb is not much but it is extra to the price of your ticket.

Some airlines charge for reserving a seat, some extra for certain seats, some even for meals and drinks and any luggage placed in the hold.

The price of our seats should be all inclusive but instead the airlines artificially lower the ticket prices by charging extra for things we will probably use.

Sure we have the option not to have the extras but I guess many do and do so without considering those costs when we book.

We just see the headline ticket price but its not what many end up paying, really those prices are deceptive and deliberately so.

But the question is.. why should the price be all inclusive when we all have different needs? You say they are charging extra for things "we will probably use." Who is to say what we will "probably use?" Some examples.. meals.. I don't like airline food or I have special needs so I bring my own meal. Why should I have to subsidize your meal? Drinks.. I don't drink alcohol. Why should I subsidize your alcohol? Reserved seats.. Why should you have a better seat than I when we both paid the same price? Luggage.. I pack light. Why should I have to subsidize your carryon AND checkin bag? 

It is not to say I don't like inclusive prices.. When the price is right, I'm all for it.. but if a la carte pricing can save me 100s of dollars.. I am all for that too.

[CuppaTea]

5 minutes ago, hioctane said:

But the question is.. why should the price be all inclusive when we all have different needs? You say they are charging extra for things "we will probably use." Who is to say what we will "probably use?" Some examples.. meals.. I don't like airline food or I have special needs so I bring my own meal. Why should I have to subsidize your meal? Drinks.. I don't drink alcohol. Why should I subsidize your alcohol? Reserved seats.. Why should you have a better seat than I when we both paid the same price? Luggage.. I pack light. Why should I have to subsidize your carryon AND checkin bag? 

It is not to say I don't like inclusive prices.. When the price is right, I'm all for it.. but if a la carte pricing can save me 100s of dollars.. I am all for that too.

These removals of included stuff such as food & drinks for example were previously considered standard as was hold baggage, the fact that some airlines now want to charge extra for them shows they are doing so just to reduce the headline advertised price.

Following on from what your saying why don't all airlines price their flights fairly for everyone ?

The key factor is weight

Why do airlines not charge all passengers by every Pound or Kilo of their bodyweight combined with their luggage to come with their own individual ticket price ?

Then charge extra for everything else, like, food & drink & Wifi etc ?

Because there would be a huge public outcry, especially from the "larger" people, so instead they remove things that previously were included and then charge extra for them and they don't do this for passenger choice, they do it to artificially lower their headline ticket prices and consider that this tactic will increase their profits.

If they though for a second that removing and then charging extra for stuff would lower their profits they wouldn't do it. 

I do take your point that you feel you can save money by not having any of these extras but to attempt any justification of fairness on the part of the airlines goes out of the window when a 35 kilo spinner is charged the same ticket price as a 100 kilo swamp monster.

Lastly, and I don't want to seem unkind with this, I can understand that what's included or not really doesn't matter on a short flight but when its a long one it really does, the reason is the other passengers.

If someone added up all the extra charges that are included as standard by other airlines, then I bet the ticket prices are about the same so only those who couldn't work that or those that couldn't afford anything more expensive would be most of the passengers, the rest a few others like yourself.

People looking for the cheapest possible flight, such as parents with kids and people without the money for anything better are not the ones most of us would want to be cramped up with for hours on end.

If you pull out your home made sandwiches on one of these flights you may well have other passengers asking you for one

Back to the Wifi, obviously I think it should be free.

 

[hioctane]

1 hour ago, CuppaTea said:

These removals of included stuff such as food & drinks for example were previously considered standard as was hold baggage, the fact that some airlines now want to charge extra for them shows they are doing so just to reduce the headline advertised price.

Following on from what your saying why don't all airlines price their flights fairly for everyone ?

The key factor is weight

Why do airlines not charge all passengers by every Pound or Kilo of their bodyweight combined with their luggage to come with their own individual ticket price ?

Then charge extra for everything else, like, food & drink & Wifi etc ?

Because there would be a huge public outcry, especially from the "larger" people, so instead they remove things that previously were included and then charge extra for them and they don't do this for passenger choice, they do it to artificially lower their headline ticket prices and consider that this tactic will increase their profits.

If they though for a second that removing and then charging extra for stuff would lower their profits they wouldn't do it. 

I do take your point that you feel you can save money by not having any of these extras but to attempt any justification of fairness on the part of the airlines goes out of the window when a 35 kilo spinner is charged the same ticket price as a 100 kilo swamp monster.

Lastly, and I don't want to seem unkind with this, I can understand that what's included or not really doesn't matter on a short flight but when its a long one it really does, the reason is the other passengers.

If someone added up all the extra charges that are included as standard by other airlines, then I bet the ticket prices are about the same so only those who couldn't work that or those that couldn't afford anything more expensive would be most of the passengers, the rest a few others like yourself.

People looking for the cheapest possible flight, such as parents with kids and people without the money for anything better are not the ones most of us would want to be cramped up with for hours on end.

If you pull out your home made sandwiches on one of these flights you may well have other passengers asking you for one

Back to the Wifi, obviously I think it should be free.

 

Airlines should charge by weight... but it is hard to implement and it is a very sensitive subject.  I am not not fat and overweight so it doesn't affect me. However, sure fat people would complain, but a bigger complaint would come by women who would object to being put on a scale at the airport. Food and drinks are easier to charge and is not as sensitive. They already do this on Ryanair in Europe and Spirit in the US. Since Spirit started charging for baggage, major airlines in the US are following suit.

It has nothing to do with being able to "afford it". It is about the principle of being charged for something you don't need or want just so someone else can have the luxury!

As for wifi. I am perfectly fine with it being an additional charge. If a airline decides to give it for free, I am fine with that too. For me it is important. I would pay extra for that. However, when I buy my plane ticket, I will factor the price of the wifi into the price of the ticket. I understand that it costs airlines a lot to setup the infrastructure for wifi.. I also understand that my grandma, who won't be using it, shouldn't have to subsidize my want for wifi.

[just hanging]

the vast majority of people flying will look for the cheapest seat in the cheapest flight.  This is why the extras cost.  If the airline included them in the price, it would go higher and you would choose a cheaper airline......

[rainman333]

wifi isn't a consideration when I book a flight

and I don't want my inflight meal service + drink service delayed because the flight attendants are too busy trying to help everyone connect to wifi

[Luv2Phuket]

I usually fly Cathay....they don't HAVE wifi -- free or otherwise.

I actually appreciate the time that I spend "unplugged," and the wifi I have had on any flight in the USA (always extra cost) inevitably has sucked and been like dial up speeds.

Funny bit from Louis CK about airplane wifi - 

 

[hmurphy]

On 2017-4-19 at 5:15 PM, docbunsen said:

i used it for free on emirates business class and found it very poor to be honest i cant ever see me paying to use it .

I fly Emirates Business all the time, and their Wifi is only $1 - and it's fine for FB messenger and Whatsapp, and some web browsing.  At $1 - I don't know what the rub is

[docbunsen]

the rub is it didn't work

[Hispano]

As long as it works for social media and forum browing, is ok for me. I've already checked Emirates flights, and they offer it in tourist class  

[mbamber]

3 minutes ago, Hispano said:

As long as it works for social media and forum browing, is ok for me. I've already checked Emirates flights, and they offer it in tourist class  

Turn off app update if you are using a phone or pad and you get 10mb free otherwise the limit will be used up very quickly.  

[LeoTex]

I my airline (Delta) had free WiFi.

The only deal they have is buying a "Global Pass" per trip (one way) for $28 US.

However you can use the WiFi free to get on the Delta website. I guess they think if you're bored enough you will get on their  website and buy a ticket.

LeoTex

[stephens07]

Etihad cost £18 for 24 hours .
Qatar was about half can't remember but emirates was the cheapest by a long way .
Flights tho emirates Manchester to bkk April 2016 £459
Heathrow - Qatar October 2016 £350
Heathrow - Etihad April 2017 £340
Over all I'd say emirates is the best of the 3 airlines I've flown on mainly because they use the airbus both flights .