Originally Posted by
ftnoob
Any technical reason why the system has to be shut off on the ground? Assuming your pass is good for more than one leg, losing access in between legs is going to be frustrating during regular ops and efficient connections. (Plus it would be more efficient to get your computer configured for access (and make sure it is working) while sitting in the boarding area.) Paying for access and not having it is going to be maddening when you get one of those three hour connections in an airport without free Wi-Fi, irregular ops, or you are stuck in the plane on the ground for an extended period of time. (Will FAs be able to comp the "first round" of Wi-Fi?)
This is JUST a guess:
As hard as it already is to get people to turn off their phones (it's way too much of a fight), I can't even imagine trying to get someone to turn off their laptops for departure if we had internet turned on. Productivity only goes so far within the confines of safety, efficiency for the airline and trying to achieve compliance on the part of the passenger.
As for our abilities to comp etc. We don't have any details at all. We don't know pricing, we don't know anything at all other than this is the testing phase and during the testing phase it will be complimentary. I can't imagine they'd have you pay for the service beforehand (before knowing it works). I would think you'd sign-on, and pay yourself.... like at a hotel, but this is JUST A GUESS!!!!!! This way the crew doesn't have to juggle handing out a passcode, dealing with failed CC-swipes, refunds for technical problems etc.