UA needs to copy DL immediately on WiFi
Jan 8, 2020, 2:17 am
#46
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(This is "mobile shell", an intelligent shell intended for flaky / high-latency connections. It won't drop you and it will make typing over a high latency connection less infuriating)
Last edited by VegasGambler; Jan 8, 2020 at 2:38 am
Jan 8, 2020, 2:25 am
#47
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Yeah, my point is UA needs to commit to free WiFI and make sure efforts are a high priority to implement. If there's anything that'll change a passenger's mind about one legacy airline over another (all other things being near equal), it'll be free (and reliable) WiFi. If UA is playing catch up with DL on this down the road, it will show up in the numbers.
Jan 8, 2020, 5:03 am
#48
Join Date: May 2017
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That's where the IFE at every seat comes in, and stream to your own device. No way 1/4 of the plane will be all trying to stream netflix or some other show all at once.
Jan 8, 2020, 7:19 am
#49
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I want it to be reliable. I don't mind paying to have it reliable. Right now I pay and it's not reliable. Thus I don't want to hear anything about free WiFi until they can get the paid version working.
Jan 8, 2020, 7:24 am
#50
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Quite a blanket statement. Sign me up as someone who couldn't care less about wifi in the air. In fact, ceteris paribus, I would choose a flight without wifi because of the inevitable irritating behaviours this would encourage in those around me (incessant loud typing typing, fiddling with phones, VOIP calls, etc).
Jan 8, 2020, 8:07 am
#51
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Jan 8, 2020, 8:18 am
#52
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Just because that's the maximum they can provide to one user, does not mean everyone on the plane can consume that much bandwidth simultaneously. My wifi network can easily provide over 1 Gbps of bandwidth per user but if there are 30 people connected to it, and all 30 people try to consume 1 Gbps at the same time, they're not all getting that much.
Jan 8, 2020, 8:39 am
#53
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I'm probably rare in that I don't want to work on the airplane. Not a fan of someone seeing what I'm up to as I've often seen competitors on the same flight. At best I use it for united.com which is already free. I can count on one hand the times I've actually paid for wifi, so free or expensive, I'll likely rarely use it. I don't even carry my computer anymore. iPad and iPhone of course, but nothing else.
Jan 8, 2020, 8:55 am
#54
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However, when I found myself on Air New Zealand in last couple of weeks w/ free WiFi, I made some use of it - and not for work.
I can live w/o it, but I certainly recognize that being connected is a big deal to a large and growing segment of the flying public. I was on a cruise ship last week. It was pretty obvious that importance of being/time spent being connected was (roughly) age related. United's future passengers are demanding connectivity, not necessarily me. A forward-looking company cannot ignore the importance of free (it's becoming expected) and reliable access. As for bandwidth, using today's technology and standards to say "it can't be done" is not cognizant of how fast things change. I think I bought a 80MB disk drive for $200 (no typos) in about 1987.
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Jan 8, 2020 at 9:12 am
Jan 8, 2020, 9:30 am
#55
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 11
This is the United forum, where anything UA announces is presumed to be overpromised and will never come to fruition, but anything DL announces is immediately a competitive threat. 
I do think that UA is prioritizing the WiFi experience, but I also agree that the last thing I'd want at the moment is for it to be free. And I'm extremely skeptical that DL will ever be able to deliver what Bastion was promising -- ground-like speeds for free.
I do think that UA is prioritizing the WiFi experience, but I also agree that the last thing I'd want at the moment is for it to be free. And I'm extremely skeptical that DL will ever be able to deliver what Bastion was promising -- ground-like speeds for free.
Js, almost 20 years! Thanks!
Jan 8, 2020, 9:39 am
#56
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That is how I fly on United.
However, when I found myself on Air New Zealand in last couple of weeks w/ free WiFi, I made some use of it - and not for work.
I can live w/o it, but I certainly recognize that being connected is a big deal to a large and growing segment of the flying public. I was on a cruise ship last week. It was pretty obvious that importance of being/time spent being connected was (roughly) age related. United's future passengers are demanding connectivity, not necessarily me. A forward-looking company cannot ignore the importance of free (it's becoming expected) and reliable access. As for bandwidth, using today's technology and standards to say "it can't be done" is not cognizant of how fast things change. I think I bought a 80MB disk drive for $200 (no typos) in about 1987.
However, when I found myself on Air New Zealand in last couple of weeks w/ free WiFi, I made some use of it - and not for work.
I can live w/o it, but I certainly recognize that being connected is a big deal to a large and growing segment of the flying public. I was on a cruise ship last week. It was pretty obvious that importance of being/time spent being connected was (roughly) age related. United's future passengers are demanding connectivity, not necessarily me. A forward-looking company cannot ignore the importance of free (it's becoming expected) and reliable access. As for bandwidth, using today's technology and standards to say "it can't be done" is not cognizant of how fast things change. I think I bought a 80MB disk drive for $200 (no typos) in about 1987.
Jan 8, 2020, 10:04 am
#57
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No way. Back then you would be lucky to get a 10-20 MB drive, and it would cost more than $200. I got a 30 MB (really a 20 MB RLL) drive in 1989, and I am sure it added more than $200 to the $3000 cost of the complete (minus display) 386 system.
Jan 8, 2020, 10:22 am
#58
Join Date: Nov 2007
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100% This. Until the "free" wi-fi can handle a large number of the passengers streaming video (while not dropping a ton of packets for those on VPNs or other connections) it is a dubious proposition and marketing fluff. If anyone thinks that people won't want to stream on a plane, there is a term for that, "OK boomer".
Jan 8, 2020, 10:38 am
#59
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That's a lot of streamers though. 1/4 of the plane?? Most people are just texting, on instagram, or playing stupid phone games.
So while free basic email wifi is likely achievable, it probably will be necessary to charge / restrict for a premium level of service that supports streaming.
Jan 8, 2020, 10:43 am
#60
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Well, United tried to provide wifi on our recent B787-8 flight from SFO to PPT....however, we were told by the Polaris Club staff that because the wifi system was broken on the airplane, UA could not operate the flight until it was fixed. At least, that's what we were told. We finally departed SFO over five hours late to Tahiti......with no wifi.