Southwest Nears Inflight Connectivity Path
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Michael Mecham/Seattle mecham@aviationweek.com
By the end of August, Southwest Airlines expects to decide its next step in inflight connectivity as it grapples with the age-old question of how to get passengers to pay - and how much they will pay - for a service that they are used to getting for free. Southwest, which has not opted for inflight entertainment systems, is experimenting with Row 44 satellite-based Internet connectivity for laptop and hand-held devices on four of its 737-700s and has seen a "tremendous response," Doug Murri, senior manager of technologies, told a World Airline Entertainment Association workshop here Tuesday.
"Customers want to be connected and they want it to be free," he says. But Southwest is skeptical of that business model. After determining high acceptance of the product when it was free, it is now experimenting with pricing, from $2-$6 for handhelds and $6-10 for laptops, depending on flight stage lengths.
He says Southwest wants to control pricing just as it does other passenger services and indicates that access to the Row 44 product may be tied in with passengers who opt for Southwest's slightly higher business-seat pricing.
Consultant Russ Johnson of RAJCO Services noted that people do pay for Internet connectivity on the ground but the charge is often indirect and rarely on a per-use basis. Cable Internet rates would equate to 15 cents for a 15-hour flight - far less than any of the airlines feel they can charge.
John Tiliacos, managing director of onboard products at American Airlines, says his company is happy to see AirCell determine pricing. American debuted AirCell's air-to-ground connectivity offering and has found that 90% of passengers using it are fully satisfied or at least "somewhat satisfied" with the experience. It has installed systems on all its domestic 767-200 fleet, is half-way through its MD-80/90 aircraft and will tackle legacy and new 737s later this year.
Tiliacos declined to give usage rates. "We are happy enough that we are expanding it," he says of passenger acceptance.
Extensive user group surveys were conducted by AirTran before it committed to AirCell. It tackled its 50 737 fleet first and completed the last installation on its 86 717s on July 13.
Delta/Northwest is not as far along, but fully committed, says Mike Henry, manager of onboard media. In contrast to American, it chose to do its narrowbodies first, starting with 200 MD-80/90s and working its way up through 757s, and then to 737s. It expects to reach the 300 aircraft level by this fall and have all 500 aircraft installed by the end of next year.
All users said older aircraft take longer to install equipment on because they don't have as many equipment racks available and tighter access for installing antennas.
Photo credit: Southwest
