2013 › October

Gogo's air-to-ground Wi-Fi network has been rendered even more of a legacy system by the new FAA rules on portable electronic devices because Gogo would have make massive changes to it to make the Wi-Fi system work below 10,000 feet.

This should be easy enough to understand: Good users sit in rows of three, people talking on a cellphone get their own row. Wait, that's not the message?

Sometimes acquired companies transition to the parent company and lose their whole mojo. That doesn't appear to be happening with Avis Budget and Zipcar, which is getting newer vehicles at lower cost, and is positioned to move into new geographies at a quicker pace.

JetBlue and Delta will get a lot of street cred with passengers for being swift in implementing the new procedures for portable electronic devices, although it will be unlikely to change any market share dynamics.

We're willing to bet it's some time before airlines remedy the videos since flyers care more about using their Kindles than viewing an accurate safety video.

Now that this is handled, how about we move on to finally modernizing air traffic control with the much-delayed Next Generation Air Transportation System?

There will be a ton of passenger confusion about what the new FAA framework on expanded use of portable electronic devices will mean for passengers, especially as it may vary airline to airline. Delta is out front in beginning to communicate these prospective changes to its customers.

We're patiently waiting for Bilton's victory lap story.

It will be race to be first, to jump on the PR value of it, until it will be commonplace...

We're all for getting rid of silly rules, but we're also fans of planes working. The FAA committee's recommendation that airlines base their decision on the age and type of planes they are flying -- even if that means we need to keep our Kindles off for 10 minutes -- seems to be the smart way forward.