4 ms·

While on a flight recently, I realized... Why doesn't Google sponsor free in-flight WiFi? It would be much easier than Google Fiber or Project Loon, and it woul

by btrask 11y ago

While on a flight recently, I realized... Why doesn't Google sponsor free in-flight WiFi? It would be much easier than Google Fiber or Project Loon, and it would let them deliver more ads to a fairly wealthy group of people.

chiph 11y ago
They did it at least once over the Christmas holidays two years ago. Probably didn't pay off for them in terms of ad revenue by flying web browsers.
- soylentcola 11y ago
  Sure, but it's at least good PR. Like some other companies, they do a lot of "nice" things that may not gain them anything immediately but it's good for branding and it's still a "by Google" tag on something people want. It reminds me more of companies that underwrite NPR programs or whatever. They aren't getting paid directly but lots of potential customers hear their name and that they sponsored something you want.
bitwize 11y ago
Because the (American) airlines will say no. Or, they will accept the offer and then charge $12 per seat anyway. I think they get perverse joy out of nickel and diming people to death. When not-uncomfortable seats are a premium feature, there's nothing they won't charge for.
- greggyb 11y ago
  American travelers tend to purchase tickets based solely on price. If your consumers are very price conscious, you move as much as you can out of the base price. Don't blame airlines in the US, blame airline customers. Personally, I like the nickel-and-dime scheme, as you call it. I rarely take cross country flights. My typical travel is 3-4 hours of flying at the most. I absolutely prefer a cheaper base ticket price, because I don't care if they give me crappy food for "free" in that time frame. At 6'2", I fit comfortably even in Spirit's closely-spaced seating. I travel very light and typically have a single bag. For me, a lower base fare with extra charges for the rest is something I prefer. I am very happy that the US air-traveling market agrees with me and has pushed the industry in this direction.
  - rconti 11y ago
    They haven't even bothered to try. 3" more legroom for $40? No. Human-sized seat? I'd pay double the price. But I'm not going to pay 5x as much.
    - djloche 11y ago
      Alaska Airlines has more often than not convinced me to upgrade to first class. The one way ticket will be ~$100-150 steerage and ~$200 for first class, which gets me that human sized seat and personal space, usb and standard power. That upgrade is worth it to me. $50-100 to reduce my anxiety for a few hours? sold.
      - rconti 11y ago
        I'd be all over that. I recently flew a short Virgin America flight where I only had to pay $190 instead of $140 to get a first class seat. Frankly, I'd pay double for every flight I'm on to get even half that much comfort. The seats were massive, the legroom insane (could not touch the seat in front of me with my feet if I tried), full recliner, etc. You'd think there would be a logical in-between, but in a world where 20% more space in business class costs you 5x as much, there's no room for the average customer to have a pleasant flight.
    - dazzla 11y ago
      American Airlines way back had "more room" seats which were only slightly more expensive. I loved it and became loyal. But then they stopped. I guess not a lot of people wanted to pay the few bucks.
      - ubernostrum 11y ago
        They still have those seats; they're branded as "Main Cabin Extra". They're not super expensive, but the price will vary depending on the perceived desirability of the specific seat you select (i.e., an extra-legroom middle seat probably doesn't cost as much as an extra-legroom aisle). Most airlines also build free or discounted access to those seats into their frequent-flyer perks, though Delta has recently begun cutting back hard on that and treating it as a possible-but-not-guaranteed after-booking "upgrade" even for their top-tier customers.
hammock 11y ago
Why Google? Why not literally any other company?
- ars 11y ago
  Because: https://www.google.com/loon/ https://www.google.com/loon/

by btrask 11y ago

chiph 11y ago

They did it at least once over the Christmas holidays two years ago. Probably didn't pay off for them in terms of ad revenue by flying web browsers.

soylentcola 11y ago
Sure, but it's at least good PR. Like some other companies, they do a lot of "nice" things that may not gain them anything immediately but it's good for branding and it's still a "by Google" tag on something people want. It reminds me more of companies that underwrite NPR programs or whatever. They aren't getting paid directly but lots of potential customers hear their name and that they sponsored something you want.

bitwize 11y ago

Because the (American) airlines will say no. Or, they will accept the offer and then charge $12 per seat anyway. I think they get perverse joy out of nickel and diming people to death. When not-uncomfortable seats are a premium feature, there's nothing they won't charge for.

greggyb 11y ago
American travelers tend to purchase tickets based solely on price. If your consumers are very price conscious, you move as much as you can out of the base price. Don't blame airlines in the US, blame airline customers. Personally, I like the nickel-and-dime scheme, as you call it. I rarely take cross country flights. My typical travel is 3-4 hours of flying at the most. I absolutely prefer a cheaper base ticket price, because I don't care if they give me crappy food for "free" in that time frame. At 6'2", I fit comfortably even in Spirit's closely-spaced seating. I travel very light and typically have a single bag. For me, a lower base fare with extra charges for the rest is something I prefer. I am very happy that the US air-traveling market agrees with me and has pushed the industry in this direction.
- rconti 11y ago
  They haven't even bothered to try. 3" more legroom for $40? No. Human-sized seat? I'd pay double the price. But I'm not going to pay 5x as much.
  - djloche 11y ago
    Alaska Airlines has more often than not convinced me to upgrade to first class. The one way ticket will be ~$100-150 steerage and ~$200 for first class, which gets me that human sized seat and personal space, usb and standard power. That upgrade is worth it to me. $50-100 to reduce my anxiety for a few hours? sold.
    - rconti 11y ago
      I'd be all over that. I recently flew a short Virgin America flight where I only had to pay $190 instead of $140 to get a first class seat. Frankly, I'd pay double for every flight I'm on to get even half that much comfort. The seats were massive, the legroom insane (could not touch the seat in front of me with my feet if I tried), full recliner, etc. You'd think there would be a logical in-between, but in a world where 20% more space in business class costs you 5x as much, there's no room for the average customer to have a pleasant flight.
  - dazzla 11y ago
    American Airlines way back had "more room" seats which were only slightly more expensive. I loved it and became loyal. But then they stopped. I guess not a lot of people wanted to pay the few bucks.
    - ubernostrum 11y ago
      They still have those seats; they're branded as "Main Cabin Extra". They're not super expensive, but the price will vary depending on the perceived desirability of the specific seat you select (i.e., an extra-legroom middle seat probably doesn't cost as much as an extra-legroom aisle). Most airlines also build free or discounted access to those seats into their frequent-flyer perks, though Delta has recently begun cutting back hard on that and treating it as a possible-but-not-guaranteed after-booking "upgrade" even for their top-tier customers.

hammock 11y ago

Why Google? Why not literally any other company?

ars 11y ago
Because: https://www.google.com/loon/ https://www.google.com/loon/