No Down Time, Even in the Air
When I was in college, one of my professors had been a field reporter for Voice of America. He told us the story of an influential CEO he interviewed who appeared to be the busiest man in America. He asked the CEO (unfortunately I can't remember his name) when, if ever, time was afforded to simply think. The CEO responded (and I am paraphrasing) that "he used to be able to think on long flights, but now they put those phones on the back of the seats. I never get a break."
It's been a while since I have been on a plane that has phones, but given a New York Times story I read this morning, it looks like very soon we all will have no peace in the skies. A few different Internet start-ups are developing services that allow air passengers to check email and even surf the Web in flight.
I am not surprised that the response from the blog community has been positive. Without a doubt I would pay for this service. Initial reports say JetBlue will be offering it for free for email use. I would pay for that, too. As it is, I spend money each time I get to Logan Airport to sign up for its Wi-Fi service, even though I log on for only thirty minutes or so before boarding a plane.
Another interesting aspect of the in-flight Internet news--JetBlue is one of the early adopters. JetBlue often promotes its technology and its relationships to popular technology companies. That's smart. People want to fly airlines that are technologically advanced, for obvious reasons. Being early to market with Internet access enhances the company's hip aura, in contrast to the dingy relic image I associate with many other airlines. No question Virgin Atlantic is also in the hip Airlines category. As noted in The Times piece, they are also one of the first to offer Internet access, except for them it's through the inflight entertainment systems.
Going back to my college professor's story for a minute, if I'm trying to work or think through some deeper topics, I'd much rather have the person sitting next to me in flight surfing the 'Net than chatting (probably loudly to be heard over the engines) on one of those seat-back phones.
Posted by Ross Levanto on December 7, 2007 at 7:50 AM
