FlyingMoose

I think it'll matter to coach passengers on certain routes where the alternatives are better but not by a mile. Flying to LHR the BA business product is vastly superior to SAS Plus.

The coach products hardly differ, having WI-FI on board on SAS will definitely affect the airline choice of more people than you think. Especially when it is free for everyone. Its not so much a revenue item as its becoming something that people expect anno 2016.

I've been doing far more SK long haul flying now their cabins are on par with competitors and they have functional usable wifi (95% of the time). The only reason not to select SK at the moment is the terrible food. I can however eat at the airport but not bring my own wi-fi, so 9 hours with a better meal and without wi-fi or the opposite is a simple choice.

GUWonder

It's a significant expense with marginal return, but I am 100% certain that some will book one airline over another just because of that little additional feature.

I already choose DY on some routes over SK just because the wifi option is useful to me. Often enough I make/revise/complete my trip plans on the fly, and for that in-flight connectivity counts enough to make a decision where decisions are made: at the margin.

And as much as I've disliked DL SkyMiles, I've chosen to fly DL over other carriers -- including TATL -- just because DL's got more wifi. Even as I've got to pay for that.

And as much as I have allowed the US legacy carriers' frequent flyer programs to be a major feature at the margin in how I allocate my travel budget, JetBlue's wifi being available for free has helped to further drive a wedge in between my budget expenditures and the US3 carriers.

I doubt that I'm all that unique, as much as some may wish to believe me to be.

sbm12

JetBlue sees it as a potential profit center, not a cost center, even though pax aren't paying. It sells content sponsorship rights for the on-board portal and other areas that bring in enough money to pay for the service rather than charging individual passengers the same.

Inmarsat, not Intelsat (and I screw that up all the time, too). And there are two separate networks in play. One is Global Xpress ("GX"), a Ka-band satellite solution with a (non-polar) global coverage footprint. The other is the hybrid S-band satellite/terrestrial network. LH committed to GX on its short-haul fleet and to testing the S-Band/ATG solution. The GX hardware is expected to be in production later this year while the hybrid S/ATG won't be ready for a while yet. Towers are supposedly going up and the satellite is going to launch in 2017 IIRC but deployment won't be for a while. There are also questions about the licensing for the spectrum in some countries based on Inmarsat missing its deadline of EOY 2016 for having hardware in orbit.

Also, the Viasat/Eutelsat operation is a joint venture and not particularly time-limited. Arguably ViaSat will no longer need Eutelsat around 2020 when ViaSat-3/B launches with EMEA coverage but that's a long way out yet and, IIRC, Eutelsat is a partner on the financing and operation of that satellite based on the JV agreement.

That revenue can come from other channels than just ticket prices or ancillary fees. :-:

GUWonder

How much money does JetBlue think they will get from the likes of Amazon?

CPH-Flyer

Revenue could come from sponsorships and cobranding via the wifi. Though I think it will be insignificant amounts. There is also the option to sell premium streaming content. But with the average stage length of SK's European flights it is hardly going to be a item. Jetblue is much better situated for that.

SK1989

The first refreshed short haul aircraft is now back in service (LN-RRA). A total of 66 A320s and B737s will get new interiors during the coming two years. As described on the website, the refresh is done in three separate blocks (seats + Wifi + USB) depending on the aircraft maintenance cycle. This means that the complete update will be done in stages on some aircrafts.
https://scandinaviantraveler.com/sas...e#cabinupgrade

SK2751

And of course, the CRJs are not going to be touched, and this is where my butt suffers most hours. This might actually be good for my butt, given that every aircraft refurbishing project makes seats harder

SK2751

A link to the page with the progress in this project: https://scandinaviantraveler.com/sas...cabinupgrade/3 (LN-RRA seems to be ticked off already).

CPH-Flyer

I am surprised that they already upgrade the cabin on the A320, they have not been around that long, and whole not new all of them the cabins are already with slimline and relatively new seats.

SK1989

The new recaro seats that already is installed on A320 and some B738s are only getting new (grey) seat covers...

FlyingMoose

I do welcome USB-power and WIFI on more shorthaul aircraft. Especially during morning flights, having covered emails and leaving the plane with a fully charged iPhone has considerable value.

vd0t

How is the Wifi availability on SAS flights? It's almost the end of 2017...

AStarr

Haven't seen it yet personally except for long-haul flights. I'm mildly annoyed having relocated from the US and flown almost exclusively with JetBlue and had WiFi on board for some years now. SAS has been my main airline since relocating because you know, promises of WiFi but come to find out that virtually none of the inter-European flights on any airline has it (though if anyone knows an airline that doesn't consistently have it - please let me know - I have a 90 minute train journey without WiFi+mobile phone service on one end of my commute on top of this when flying via MAN plus dealing with sh*t WiFi at MAN after the lounge access ending and I'm starting to feel like I'm travelling in 1999 again - my option has been to add 5 hours to the trip and fly via LHR if I want to do any work properly on a transit day, which given the state of MAN versus LHR, I'm pretty cool with going through LHR despite the longer journey)

rumbataz

I haven't seen it on two return flights in recent weeks. Mind you, the aircraft cabins I was in were quite old so I was not surprised to find no WiFi.

FlyingMoose

I'm mostly surprised not to have found it on the new A320NEO aircraft.