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I Would Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi, But Leg Room Is More Important

I Would Pay for In-Flight Wi-Fi, But Leg Room Is More Important

For someone making a living writing, traveling is frustrating when on a deadline. That is the primary reason I always travel by train if possible and the time loss isn’t too great. There’s room to write, and always wifi when traveling in Sweden. Airlines are a different matter. Cramped and no wifi isn’t ideal for working. Obviously I’m not alone in wanting to get some work done traveling, at least according to a Wi-Fi Alliance survey, conveniently wrapped up by GigaOM.

Still, of the 480 travelers surveyed by the Wakefield Research on behalf of the Wi-Fi Alliance, 55 percent were willing to move their flight times by one day in order to catch a plane with web access. Seventy-one percent would rather have Wi-Fi than a meal. For those who have not used Wi-Fi in-flight, 87 percent expected they would use it to tackle email, and 63 percent said they would to sign into other online productivity tools for work.

Personally, I would pay for wifi on a flight, and reschedule to make it happen. I would, however, demand leg space first so that I could actually fit the MacBook Air to get some work done.

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Would you pay for in-flight wifi?

View Comments (2)
  • I had it for free on my last flight and it was great. Not necessary but great.

    I would pay for it if they would let me use while I’m waiting to board and until they close the doors (it’d be worth more to me). And I think I’d cough up the money every time.

  • I wish that traveling by train were more practical here in the U.S. for the reasons of comfort and convenience that you mention. But when the typical trip I take covers thousands of miles and the nearest station may be several hours away from my starting or destination point, it’s not really an option.

    WiFi should be rolled out fleetwide on the airline I will be using for my next flight. I’m really looking forward to it!

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