Why Airlines and Airports Alike Need to Embrace Free Wi-Fi
Photo Credit: Passengers using United's in-flight Wi-Fi. United Airlines
Skift Take
The double standard on Tyler's comment is clear, as are the benefits some airlines have realized they can gain if they ignore him.
You're going to be able to access the internet everywhere some day soon, without having to pay for it.
You know that. We know that. The Finns know that. So do airlines and airports. It's only a matter of when.
Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO of IATA feels it's high-time that airports got around to giving passengers free, easy to access, Wi-Fi at all terminals around the world. He said so at the SITA IT Summit last week, when addressing attendees.
Skift was present and asked Tyler whether he believed airlines should offer free Wi-Fi on board to passengers, and that was when Tyler's forward-thinking moment passed. "No," he replied, appearing annoyed with our silly question.
The argument, not only by Tyler but from others present, was that comparing Wi-Fi at airports to Wi-Fi on planes wasn't apples-to-iPhones. Infrastructure to provide Wi-Fi on aircraft, we were told, is much more complicated than infrastructure to provide Wi-Fi in airport terminals.
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