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Delta Outfitting Entire Domestic Fleet With In-Flight Wi-Fi

markbao 18y ago
All the wifi in the world isn't any use when your battery dies. Seriously, this is awesome, but I think I'll take a power outlet over wifi.
- cstejerean 18y ago
  You might also want to look into a laptop with better battery life. For most domestic flights I have no problem with battery life.
  - markbao 18y ago
    Oh, I was thinking in the mindset of Boston <-> San Francisco which is like 6 hours. (changed 2:43pm EDT. brain == !functioning) For the usual flight, battery is fine and wifi is a win!
    - joshwa 18y ago
      Boston <-> SF is only 10 hours if your flight is delayed 5 hours. OTOH, wifi + power on a NYC->Asia flight might make economy for 12-15 hours almost bearable...
      - jrockway 18y ago
        Unfortunately in flight WiFi only has regulatory clearance over the US, so this is a long way away. It still won't make the flight bearable, though, because as soon as the person in front of you reclines, you can't open your laptop anymore. This has happened to me more than once. (Now I can book exit rows, so this isn't a problem for me, but not everyone is in that position; especially on international flights.) Fortunately, some airlines are beginning to install "shell" seats in the economy section, so people can't recline into your space anymore. I think it's only CX right now, though. Here's a link: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/neweconomyclass http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/newecon...
      - markbao 18y ago
        Definitely agree. DC -> Beijing clocking in at 14 hours is just aggravating, with a MBP battery that only lasts 2.5-3 hours.
- jrockway 18y ago
  AA has power outlets on all of their domestic mainline (not AE) flights. Not every seat has an outlet, so look at seatguru before you pick a seat, but they're not hard to get.
gsiener 18y ago
The problem with this is that planes are basically the last safe haven from work. Even vacations aren't sacred anymore.
- modoc 18y ago
  If I'm traveling for work (i.e. not a vacation), being able to do billable work while in the air means I'm not losing tons of $ in addition to suffering through a coach flight. Obviously there's some work that can be done off-line, but having net access would improve my ability to do billable work while in transit. If you're going on vacation, don't bring your laptop:)

All the wifi in the world isn't any use when your battery dies. Seriously, this is awesome, but I think I'll take a power outlet over wifi.

cstejerean 18y ago
You might also want to look into a laptop with better battery life. For most domestic flights I have no problem with battery life.
- markbao 18y ago
  Oh, I was thinking in the mindset of Boston <-> San Francisco which is like 6 hours. (changed 2:43pm EDT. brain == !functioning) For the usual flight, battery is fine and wifi is a win!
  - joshwa 18y ago
    Boston <-> SF is only 10 hours if your flight is delayed 5 hours. OTOH, wifi + power on a NYC->Asia flight might make economy for 12-15 hours almost bearable...
    - jrockway 18y ago
      Unfortunately in flight WiFi only has regulatory clearance over the US, so this is a long way away. It still won't make the flight bearable, though, because as soon as the person in front of you reclines, you can't open your laptop anymore. This has happened to me more than once. (Now I can book exit rows, so this isn't a problem for me, but not everyone is in that position; especially on international flights.) Fortunately, some airlines are beginning to install "shell" seats in the economy section, so people can't recline into your space anymore. I think it's only CX right now, though. Here's a link: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/neweconomyclass http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/newecon...
    - markbao 18y ago
      Definitely agree. DC -> Beijing clocking in at 14 hours is just aggravating, with a MBP battery that only lasts 2.5-3 hours.
jrockway 18y ago
AA has power outlets on all of their domestic mainline (not AE) flights. Not every seat has an outlet, so look at seatguru before you pick a seat, but they're not hard to get.

gsiener 18y ago

The problem with this is that planes are basically the last safe haven from work. Even vacations aren't sacred anymore.

modoc 18y ago
If I'm traveling for work (i.e. not a vacation), being able to do billable work while in the air means I'm not losing tons of $ in addition to suffering through a coach flight. Obviously there's some work that can be done off-line, but having net access would improve my ability to do billable work while in transit. If you're going on vacation, don't bring your laptop:)