United Airlines Examining How Wireless Internet Fits Into Its Future
Runway Girl broke the news that United (UAUA) is apparently testing satellite-based internet on a single airplane. The airline, which has been by far the least interested in on-board internet of all the legacy carriers, must still be searching for a value proposition that makes sense. Satellite-based internet from provider Row 44 could provide some answers.
Today, United only has wireless internet on its 13-strong dedicated fleet of 757s that fly only between New York/JFK and both Los Angeles and San Francisco. That's it. This service is provided by AirCell, a ground-based provider of internet access. Until now, this has been the extent of United's Wi-Fi efforts.
The problem with these efforts is that the p.s. traveler is not your usual traveler. There are far more premium seats on these airplanes than on the rest of the fleet, and there are a disproportionate number of businesspeople traveling. So whatever happens on p.s. isn't really indicative of what will happen from a commercial perspective on the rest of the fleet.
So is the Row 44 test on a single airplane an effort to see how the regular people respond? I doubt it. If you really want to see if something will be worthwhile from that perspective, you don't put it on one airplane and not tell anyone about it. If nobody knows in advance, it's going to give you much lower usage info than you would expect otherwise.
So it seems to me that United is using this as more of a technical test of Row 44's abilities. It's probably an effort to judge the change in fuel efficiency due to the antenna that must be installed on the airplane as well as the general installation and operating characteristics. United is likely also trying to get a feel for how well the system works compared to its AirCell operation.
There's also another, more exciting possibility. Right now, Delta is the leader among legacy airlines and has Wi-Fi on nearly every domestic mainline flight. Now that United is the largest airline in the world (after merging with Continental), it might want to leapfrog Delta's efforts. A satellite-based system would let United have global coverage for its large international network instead of just on flights over the US. United could be thinking about that. Then again, you would think that they would test that on a long haul airplane instead of one that stays domestic.
Of course, this may all be absurd speculation since the airline is only testing this on one airplane, but it does raise a lot of questions. Airlines don't usually go to this extent to test a system like this unless there is at least a glimmer of intent to do something with it.
Related:
- Finding Good Usage Numbers for Onboard Wireless Internet
- The Importance of American's Wi-Fi Announcement
- Alaska Gets Its Wireless Internet Test Up and Running